John stepped wearily into his small, dimly lit apartment. The distant sounds of the city faded as he closed the door behind him, enveloping him in nothing but silence. The air was stale, tinged with the scent of yesterday's takeout. With a sigh, he flicked on the kitchen light, bathing the entire apartment in a soft glow. John collapsed into his bed, and stared up at the ceiling, his mind swirling through many thoughts.
"What a sorry excuse for a life," he muttered, a bitter edge tainting his words.
Another day had slipped by, another endless cycle of mundane tasks that gnawed away at his sanity. Four hours of overtime had kept him captive until 10:30, leaving him questioning the choices that led him to a career in accounting.
And then there was the solitude. His university friends had long since drifted away, and as for his family... the less said, the better. At 24, fresh out of university, and yet, he found himself returning to an empty apartment late at night. Another sigh escaped his lips, heavy with unspoken loneliness.
Well... there was one thing to return to.
He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone, a new flip phone he got this year. It was the one good thing about his job—the pay wasn't too bad. With a flick of his finger, he unlocked his screen and launched the DS emulator. The only thing he could return to after a long day of work was the game that accompanied him throughout his life, from childhood, all the way to his college days. Pokémon.
He started a new game of Pokémon Black, trying another Randomized Nuzlocke challenge. He'd failed so many attempts before, but this time had much more potential. His starter was a Taillow, and everyone who has attempted a Nuzlocke knew how amazing a Guts Swellow would be.
The night slipped away with him lost in the only comfort he could get, until the fatigue from a long day's work got the best of him. His phone slipped from his hand, landing gently beside him as he sank into a deep slumber.
As the morning light crept through the crack in the drawn curtains, John stirred from his slumber. Another day loomed ahead, filled with tiresome labor. He realized he had fallen asleep in his suit, and didn't even bother brushing his teeth before bed. Perhaps he should consider preparing for sleep beforehand next time.
With a sigh, he rose from bed, stretching his limbs within the confines of his suit. The blazer hung on a kitchen chair as he made his way to the bathroom, where he showered and brushed his teeth. John browsed through his wardrobe, selecting a plain, teal suit for the day. A buzz from his phone interrupted him while he was changing into his suit. It was his boss, likely with yet another mind-numbing task awaiting him at the office.
After putting on his suit and slinging his laptop bag over his shoulder, John took one final glance at his empty apartment before slipping into the hallway. He locked the door behind him and hurried to catch the elevator. One look at his smartwatch revealed that only nine minutes remained until the subway train arrived—he would need to hurry.
Running in a heavy suit, burdened by his laptop bag, was no easy feat. He navigated the busy streets, hoping to catch the last train to his workplace. Missing it would mean another day lost. He zipped through the maze of people, until only one corner was between him and the subway.
Even after finally arriving at the subway, he didn't slow down. His black hair blew in the wind as he scanned his ticket and dashed inside. Fortunately, the train was still there, loading up people from the station. Unfortunately, though, the door began closing just as he arrived.
"Shit!" he cursed, breathless from the sprint.
He bolted, towards the door, praying that it doesn't close before he gets in. Another hour-long wait for the next train, and facing another scolding from his boss, was the last thing he needed today. Only a small gap was what remained of the closing door, but luckily for him, it was enough to fit his slim build.
He made it! However, he was not that enthusiastic about it. John leaned against the now closed door, gasping for air. With shaky hands, he reached into his laptop bag, hoping to find his water bottle. His heart sank as he realized he had left it at home.
"Fucking great way to start the day," He muttered, still catching his breath.
As the train traveled through the city, John sat back, resting his head on folded arms atop his laptop bag. An hour and 30 minute-long journey awaited him, so he allowed himself to doze off, hoping he wouldn't miss his stop yet again.
_
As John woke from his slumber, he found the train eerily empty. Panic gripped him as he feared he had missed his stop once again. With a resigned sigh, he realized he'd have to wait for the next stop and take a taxi to work. The day seemed to be spiraling further downhill.
Pulling out his phone, John intended to watch a few videos until the next stop, only to find no signal. Before he could comment on that, the train began picking up speed. It wasn't a slight increase; the train suddenly accelerated until it shook violently.
Confusion clouded John's mind as the train continued to accelerate, the windows blurring into white. The lights flickered and then died completely, leaving the inside of the train in darkness. The shaking intensified, forcing John to grip the handrail tightly.
Minutes stretched into an eternity as the train hurtled forward, accompanied by a deafening roar. Suddenly, it began to slow down, and the sight outside the windows cleared to reveal a surreal landscape of cosmic blues and violets, dotted with countless stars. John's heart raced as he realized they were in space. Had he been drugged while asleep?
Without warning, the train accelerated again, streaks of light from the stars flashing past the windows. Unable to hold on, John was thrown from his seat, hitting his head on a pole and losing consciousness.
_
When he came to, a woman in a peculiar police uniform stood before him, concern etched on her face.
"Are you okay?" she asked, her hand resting on his shoulder.
John could barely make any sense of his current situation. His fogged vision quickly began to clear, and his surroundings slowly came into focus. He was still in a train. However, the once empty carriage was now filled with curious onlookers with their gazes fixed upon him.
A jolt of realization struck him as he realized that he was sprawled on the train floor. John quickly pushed himself up, only to be greeted by a sudden wave of nausea that threatened to send him toppling forward. If it weren't for the officer grabbing onto him, he would've definitely tasted the floor by now.
"What happened to you?" the officer asked, concern evident in her voice.
"I... I don't... know..." John struggled to comprehend, his voice barely heard.
The officer takes his arm over her shoulder and slowly escorts him outside the train, and sat him down at a nearby bench at the station.
"Should I take you to the hospital?" she offered.
John shook his head in reply. Who knows how much time he already wasted trying to get to work this morning. Whoever drugged him while he slept was an absolute bitch!
John rose from the bench, grabbing onto a hand rest in order to steady himself. "Thank you, officer... I'll manage from here." He assured, slowly taking a few steps towards the nearest exit.
He still wasn't back to normal, but progress has been made. Still, too much time was wasted. He needed to get to work, unless he wanted to be fired, which honestly didn't sound that bad anymore.
His eyes caught onto a group of kids playing near one of the exits, where he was headed to. More specifically, though, it caught onto something standing next to that kid. John could not tell what it was from afar, but as he continued his approach, he finally made sense of it. It was a rat. Only if a rat was about 3 feet tall and had knives for teeth. A giant rat. And it was looking at him. The big rat was looking at him, and he was looking at it.
"Those are some strong psychedelics," He mused to himself.
While exiting the subway, John noticed one of the overhead signs displaying "Castelia City" instead of "New York City". He disregarded it, blaming it on his hectic state of mind.
John exited the subway, only to be met by a completely unfamiliar part of the city. It still definitely looked like New York, so maybe it's a part of town he never went to before. Meaning, it was probably quite a distance away from his workplace... This taxi fare is going to be bad.
He pulled out his phone, aiming to use Google Maps to find out where he is. But, as soon as he unlocked his phone, the menu for the game he played all night yesterday greeted him. Now is not the time for games, though, so he pressed the home button... Nothing happened.
He pressed the home button a few more times, frustration building with each attempt. Despite his efforts, the screen remained stubbornly unchanged. With a resigned sigh, John leaned against a nearby wall, his hand instinctively reaching into his pocket for a cigarette in a feeble attempt to distract himself from the shit he'd gone through today. People streamed past him, their presence a blur in his peripheral vision, while more of those odd creatures flitted by. Of course, he purposely ignored those in an attempt to claim some of his sanity.
He took out his phone again in a final attempt to fix the glitch. As he fumbled with the device, he folded the phone open, revealing the second screen of his DS emulator. He instantly noticed something was off. A vivid memory reminded him of where he was last night before he dozed off. He was in Striaton, and he just defeated the first gym. So why was he now in Castelia?
The memory of the subway sign flashed through his mind, the connection to the fictional city within the game suddenly as clear as day. His eyes wearily scanned his surroundings. A bustling street, towering buildings, all eerily similar to what is displayed on his phone screen.
He accessed his inventory in the game, only to find it empty, devoid of the potions and pokeballs he had bought last night. His party only consisted of a level 5 Taillow, while the other two pokemon he caught completely disappeared. Try as he might, logic failed him... How could he be inside a game?
The absurdity of his situation only intensified. The creatures he had seen, the rat, the strange beings resembling pokemon... it just didn't make sense. Yet, as his hand held onto the cold, spherical object inside his jacket pocket, reality asserted itself in the form of a pokeball.
He stared at the familiar object in his hand, his mind lost in millions of thoughts. All questions that begged to be answered, but one of them stood out. What in the world was happening?