Chapter 1 - Fated Meeting

Mysterious Clearing

The first thing I can sense is the distant rustling of leaves, their crinkling filling the air, a simple breeze floating past me, the hissing of the wind as everything began to intensify. I can feel the air rushing around me, whirling around my body as a faint cry of pain whimpered from my hoarse throat. I try to stand, feeling rough dirt and grimy earth beneath my feet. The smell of morning dew hits me, like I'm spread out in an emerald sea of grass, but before I can focus, I feel my senses beginning to shut down. My eyes blink, trying to keep myself from falling unconscious again.

I begin to feel the slight pitter-patter of rain dripping down from the heavens, a large blanket of dark grey clouds looming above me. My vision begins to blur once more, a cracking thunderous white light cascading down from above as thunder and lightning began to strike one after the other, droplets of water falling faster and faster. I feel my eyes slide shut as a river of light blue washes over me, forcing me down into the darkness, covering me in a blanket of sleep.

And then the blue was gone, leaving Darkness.

Everglade Path

"Hmmm, now which way was it again?"

The sound of soft footsteps on a gravel path, the thump of something hitting the floor, and the annoyed pains of one who had just fallen onto the ground. That was what could be heard in the Everglade Forest that day. For, one traveller was walking along the road, avoiding rocks that had implanted themselves in the path forwards, and had long since just become an obstacle for the curious adventurer to overcome. Paper began to rustle as the traveller began to fumble with a large map, trying to find his way, yet failing.

This traveller was different to your ordinary run-of-the-mill adventurer though. He was small, smaller than a person, reaching up to a fully grown human's stomach in height. His skin was coated in green scales, although the light green blended the scales in so well, that you could hardly tell there were any indentations. There was a small leather pouch hanging from the waist of the traveller, the waist being a soft orange and red colour, faint lines going through the underbelly, like a pattern. Piercing green eyes gazed out into the wilderness, and as the traveller came out into a small clearing on the path, his head seemed to curve at the top, making a slight heart shaped indentation.

This person was known, in the World of Humans, as a Pokémon, an entire species of animals that had evolved to learn natural powers. Hundreds had been discovered, and over eighteen different types had been found. This Pokémon was known as a Treecko, a Tree Gecko, a Pokémon that had the power over the elements of plants due to the species mastery of the grass typing. He was mainly used to battle against other trainers, but that was in the human world. Here, in the World of Pokemon, he's a teenager verging on adulthood, a young man looking to follow his dreams.

"There should be a sign around here," The Treecko sighed, walking to the opposite side of the clearing, ignoring the sunlight that was slowly burning down his back. He held his hands to his hips for a moment, giving a small scan of his surroundings unable to see a single wooden signpost, eventually looking down at the ground in defeat.

"I'll never find Coral Town at this rate," He groaned, the Gecko flopping to the floor, landing in a sitting position, dust rising up into the air, as the Pokémon thought about his next move.

You see, this Pokémon here was travelling around the region, and his next stop was a small seaside village called Coral Town. It sat in between the forest and the edge of a pristine ocean, but the forest was known for its trickery, and many a Pokémon were lost under the eaves of the everglades.

Looking up, the Pokémon saw that some white clouds had just come in across some of the distant mountains to the North back the way he had came. Looking at the soft and velvety clouds, he could not help but smile. It was a rather beautiful sight, a bright blue sky, a few white clouds to make sure it didn't get too heated on the surface, and of course, for those Pokémon that lived near such lands, a meadow or a field to just lay down at, maybe underneath the shadow of a tree, just watching the days go by without a care in the world. That was a pasttime he could certainly have gotten behind when he was younger.

But that was for the lazy, for those that did not want to experience what life had to offer them.

The Treecko hopped up, not wanting to waste any more time than he had. He had not gone on this trip to sightsee, he had gone to become stronger, to discover new places, to find valuable treasures. This Treecko wanted to explore the vast reaches of the region, become a legend that would be spoken of for a long time, that was his dream; but it was also his wildest fantasy.

Beginning, yet another trek down the path into the Everglade Forest, the Pokémon thought about his own problems. He was shy, but he was determined. He wasn't very strong, but that was why he needed to train, to become stronger. He wanted to be remembered... But he was nothing more than a simple forest Treecko, with big dreams and little grasp of reality. Dreams came true all the time in the stories he was told as a young lizard... But the world wasn't a story to be read.

Looking back up at the sky, the Treecko tensed up, noticing that the sky had gotten much cloudier. There was still a blue sky, but some of the soft clouds he had seen, mere minutes before, had become darker, more visible to the eye. This was not good for the grass type who knew exactly what the clouds meant and as determined as he was he knew he would not make it to Coral Town during the middle of a storm.

Yes, the clouds were darkening, coming from across the mountains where the weather was always wet and rainy, the Cold North, the opposite of the Warm South. The climate there was perfect for those Pokémon seeking to train their body and mind, but the training was heavy, and the toll it took on you was unbearable. The Treecko could not survive up there on his own, and that is why he came south. To seek training from a different source...

As the first droplets of rain began to drop from the canopy, the forest Gecko took another moment to look at his surroundings. None of the trees looked very inviting to rest in, nor were they inhabitable by any means, and he should know. He had lived in the trees for most of his life, after all. The home he left behind to pursue this career and the family along with it, he could just imagine them now, huddled up inside one of the many hollowed tree trunks that they called home, waiting for their son to return and realize his mistakes, or so they wanted him to feel.

Brushing off his family for the moment, the Treecko continued to walk, eyes darting left and right for anything.

"I need to find shelter," The Pokémon groaned silently to himself, finally letting his thoughts take control of the matter at hand. He needed to find where the trees were densest, wanting to avoid any stray bolts of thunder, as well as the constant pounding of the rain. At least he can alleviate the water somewhat, he'd be able to think, maybe even catch his bearings.

Finalle spotting a large forested area to his left, the Treecko darted into the trees, jumping over the trunks skilfully as the rain began to fall down hard, no longer a light sprinkle but a heavy shower, the sound of the rain hitting the floor becoming nullified as the Treecko got used to it.

A sudden flash of light and he felt himself trip forwards, blinded for a moment as his leg caught itself on a stray root. But he didn't stop there, feeling himself sliding down a small hillside, curling up as he slammed into trees and rocks, attempting to minimize the pain. And then he felt his breath leave his chest as he slammed hard into the trunk of a tree.

"Gah!" He cried out, eyes widened in pain.

The rain continued to hammer down as the Treecko slowly unwrapped itself from its position on the tree, wincing as he flopped on to the soggy earth, slightly dazed as he looked around. Trees were all around him as far as the eye could see. The hill he had fallen down was too steep to climb back up in the rain, the muddy terrain being the least of his problems now. He could feel a cut on his leg and looking down a small trail of blood was dripping from a scratch.

"That smarts..." He groaned, pulling himself up into a standing position. The cut throbbed for a moment with pain but then slowly began to calm down and the Gecko finally got into a small walking speed. Wherever he was walking to, he knew one thing. "I really need shelter..."

Pushing through some branches, he was surprised to see a faint light emanating from behind some trees, just a few paces away. Stepping closer, curiosity got the better of him and he quickly hopped over to the trees, peering through the tree-line and into a small clearing.

It was grassy clearing, untouched by the rocky roads above, a few small yellow flowers also dotting the clearing in a way that seemed to contrast with the dark forest. And then, past the flowers, there was something else. Something like a small bundle, blue in colour... "What the-?"

The Treecko hopped into the clearing, feeling the rain dripping down onto his shoulders and he let out a shiver before continuing on towards the blue object; except it was not an object at all, because as he got closer to the blue thing, he realized that it was moving, up and down, breathing in and out. With a startling clarity, he realized it had to be a fainted Pokemon!

The Treecko was by its side in a second, darting over to see what had happened. The Pokémon was laid out across the grass in a ball shape. As the Gecko looked down at it, he saw bright orange cheeks, three small spikes on both cheeks, and it made him jump for a moment. Slightly nervous, he tapped the unconscious Pokémon, seeing if he could get a reaction, and he saw the light blue fin on its head move, twitching!

"Uh - Hello?"

Another twitch, and then the breathing became faster, and as the Treecko peered closer trying to see if the Pokémon was okay, he was greeted with two confused light aqua blue eyes staring straight back at him.

"Waaaaa!" The Treecko cried out, jumping backwards, falling over his feet, tripping backwards onto the grass with a wet thud.

The mystery Pokémon looked over to the Treecko, eyes glowing slightly as it picked itself up off of the floor, wincing as it did so. And as it stood up, the Forest Gecko got a good look at the species of Pokémon it was. Other than the head fin, and the orange spiky cheeks, it had a pale blue underbelly, walked on four legs, and had a pale blue tail fin. I flicker of recognition passed across the green eyes of the Treecko, and he looked at the Pokémon in surprise.

"W-where am I?" The mystery Pokémon groaned, eyes droopily looking around.

"Y-You're in the Everglade Forest," The Treecko stuttered, slowly stepping away from the new Pokémon, shuddering slightly as it looked in his eyes. "I found you passed out."

The Pokémon just looked at him, confusion etched across his face. "Everglade For-" And then it paused, eyes widening, the blue Pokémon stepping backwards, tripping over its back feet.

"Are you okay?" The green Pokémon questioned, taking a cautious step towards the other, who was now lying on the floor, staring straight up at the sky, shaking tremendously.

Within moments, the Pokémon bounced up off of the ground, eyes catching sight of the Treecko, before shouting, "A talking Pokémon! Y-Y-you're t-t-talking!?" Taking another step back, the Pokémon looked around, fear embedded in his eyes. "How is this happening? Pokémon can't talk, right? I must be dreaming!? Yeah, that's it! Definitely dreaming!"

At that, the Treecko found himself a little creeped out. Had he found some kind of nutcase or something?

"Speak for yourself," The Treecko replied, pointing back at the blue Pokemon with hostility. "You're a Mudkip and you're talking too, you're being a bit of a hypocrite."

The Mudkip then stopped, looking over at the Treecko with a clear look of confusion on his face. "I'm not a Mudkip, I'm a human being!" The Mudkip shouted, his voice giving away a distressed tone.

"Are you nuts or something? You're clearly a Mudkip, you've got the orange cheeks and everything." The Treecko explained as the Mudkip turned his head to look at his body, and he just froze there for a moment, the Treecko watching with his own sense of confusion, his mind racing to figure out what was going on. 'Oh god, he must be an escaped lunatic or something! He is definitely not a human, I mean, they haven't been seen for years and here this Mudkip is, pretending to be a human... Oh man, I need to get out of here!'

"I... I've really turned into a Mudkip," The blue water type gasped, causing the Treecko to snap out of his thoughts. "But I can't remember anything... My head, it hurts so much..."

"You must be delusional," The Gecko announced, turning away from the Mudkip. "Please, just keep away. You're really freaking me out!"

The Mudkip turned around at those words, looking straight at the Treecko, head tilted slightly, eyes raised in disbelief. "You think I freak you out, Mr Treecko. Well, try waking up in the middle of a damned forest as a Mudkip, who can't remember how he got here!" The Mudkip raged, angrily turning away before trying to take a step in the opposite direction, legs buckling slightly.

"I have a name you know! It's Ozzy! Not Mr Treecko!" The Treecko named Ozzy growled, huffing as he also turned away from the Mudkip, both of them now steaming with anger.

"Well my name's Ewan then, and I am a human!" The Mudkip, known as Ewan, shouted, before pausing for a moment. "Or at least... I was."

As Ewan turned to look at Ozzy again, he was surprised to see that the Treecko had actually vanished, and he silently sighed, looking down at the grass with a mixture of confusion and irritation.

'Why can't I remember anything? I mean, I know I was a human. I don't know how, but I do, I just have a feeling... And now I'm a Mudkip? That doesn't even make any sense! And it doesn't help that I don't have hands, just four paws! How am I supposed to feel about all of this? Talk about an out of body experience... And that guy just ups and leaves me like that, what the hell?'

Looking up in an attempt to maybe locate that Treecko, Ewan's eyes noticed the dark clouds hanging in the air, and the rain was steadily getting worse and worse. A sudden rattling of the teeth, and the Mudkip knew he needed to ask questions later, find some shelter now, or else he'll freeze to death in the rain.

Moving his front left paw, he tried to move his front right paw, but he felt himself trip forwards onto the grass again. Looking backwards, he saw the source of his problem. 'Right, I have back legs now...' Lifting both his front left leg, and his back left leg, he moved them forwards, doing the same with the right legs, letting his paws touch upon the grass. It was a weird feeling, but he needed to get used to it or he'd be stuck in the rain for hours. And even if he was a water type Pokemon now, there was no guarentee that would help him in his state.

After adjusting himself to a slow walk, Ewan began to pace over to the tree line, noticing a strange feeling on his head. Shaking his head slightly, he could feel something attached to him, a fin, sitting there as if it were the most normal thing imaginable. "And I have a fin now, great..."

He felt himself trip over his feet again, smacking his head on the rough bark of a tree, grunting as he felt the familiar throb of pain that just refused to give him a break.

Suddenly, he felt something hit the ground nearby him, a flash of light blocking his view for a moment, and when he turned to see the problem, the charred grass that had been hit made him tremble, as if something was terrifying him to the core. And glancing up once more, he realized...

It was lightning.

"Who does that guy think he is?" Ozzy grumbled, moving his pouch around his waist so that it wouldn't be soaked by the rain. The canopy of the tree leaves finally managed to give him some cover, but not nearly enough to last the night, though his mind was too busy being focused on that Mudkip in the clearing.

'That guy has to be psycho crazy, I mean, since when did Pokémon think they were humans? It just doesn't make sense! Why am I still thinking about this anyway? I have to find shelter! Yeah, shelter, that's it! Just stay focused on what's important...'

Continuing his pathway through the mud, he tried to forget about the Mudkip, and instead focus on his own quest, his quest to become stronger, and to help out Pokémon in need! That was his dream after all, and he couldn't follow his dream if he got caught in the storm...

And then it all smacked into his head like a ton of breaks as he turned around, looking back in the direction of the clearing.

'That Mudkip, he may be nuts, but he needs help. Isn't that what I have to do? Help Pokémon in need? But then - what am I doing running away!? I need to go help that guy before he hurts himself!'

Taking off in the direction of the clearing, he could see that the loud booms and bright flashes of thunder were getting worse the closer he got to the clearing, and as he came across the tree-line he bounded out into the grass noticing that the Mudkip was no longer where he was before. The grass seemed to have been crushed, wilted and bent down, meaning the Mudkip had to have walked somewhere, or at least tried to given he didn't seem too sure of his ability to walk.

Another flash of light and a sizzling sound to his right caused him to turn, noticing the burned up grass that was mere paces away from him. Looking up, the rain fell around the sides of his vision, and a bright flash of light illuminated the sky. `Since when had lightning been striking down here?`

And then he heard the whimpering, just a faint sound, coming along the wind to meet him. It sounded quiet, but the unmistakable fear in its tone was there. Turning to his left, the small blue form of the Mudkip came into view, huddled against a tree, shaking tremendously. For a moment, Ozzy just stood there confused, but when another flash lit up the sky, he noticed the Mudkip tense.

"He's afraid of the lightning, duh," Ozzy said relieved, mentally slapping himself for his stupidity. "Water types don't like electricity..."

Taking some steps towards the tree, he saw the Mudkip still curled up, not wanting to move away from his position. "Hey? Mudkip... Uh, I mean, Ewan?" Ozzy called out, taking a few more steps towards the other Pokemon, who uncurled for a moment, Ozzy looking straight into the blue eyes of the scared boy. "Come on, I'm sorry for what I pulled back there, I want to help, if you'll let me."

Ewan nodded for a moment, Ozzy now just a few paces from him, holding out his paw for Ewan to take. Gladly, Ewan moved one of his paws to grasp the one Ozzy held out, but just as they made contact, another flash of light lit up the skies and this time Ewan saw it coming.

The lightning, blue and yellow, white and pure, slashed through the air, slicing down towards the two of them, the Treecko not even noticing the oncoming burst of electric energy. In a quick flash, there was a sizzle, and scream, and then a burning smell filled the clearing. Ozzy, now face down on the ground, quickly jumped up, ready to shout at Ewan, when his words fell short, and his mouth went dry.

Ewan sat there, face down on the ground, black charred marks across his back. Some of his skin had been penetrated by the shock wave, and his breathing was hitched in pain. Quickly moving over to the Mudkip, Ozzy began to call out for the creature in earnest. "Ewan, come on - don't do this to me, okay? Just stay breathing and I'll, uh, I'll think of something! Just keep yourself awake, or alive - I mean-" Ozzy slammed the ground with his paw in frustration, fear clouding his own thoughts, as he realized he could not do anything where they were.

"I don't have a choice..." Ozzy whispered to himself, moving to Ewan's side. "Okay, Mudkip, I'm going to carry you, just - just keep alive!" Slipping his paws underneath the rather heavy Mudkip, he managed to lift Ewan up, before slinging him over his shoulder. And then, with that, he began to trudge back into the forest.

"That hit, that must have hurt him badly, being a water type..." Ozzy winced as he thought of the burn marks, letting beads of sweat drop from his forehead. As he looked back up into the canopy of the trees, he began to notice the sky lightening up. Had the rain done enough damage to them and decided to leave? Or was it sheer dumb luck? Whatever it was, if the rain had still been there, Ozzy would have given up hope of saving Ewan.

It must have been minutes later, when finally, he felt the warm heat of the sun on his neck, and he smiled for a moment, his vigour returning, giving one last burst of hope to get out of this damned forest and to Coral Town! He had to make it there! To save the Mudkip from his injuries!

His knees buckled slightly as he began a slight descent in terrain, and as his eyes got used to the lighter vision with the sun shining, even noticing that the trees were thinning. The bark around the trees was becoming a lot browner, healthier, and lighter too. The trees were growing smaller, and then he heard something that made him smile. The sound of water, just faint and in the distance, but it was the sound of crashing water, an ocean!

"We're almost there Ewan, keep it together, just don't faint on me," The Treecko consoled, the Mudkip giving a loud groan in pain as he was jerked forwards slightly by a root. And then, moment by moment, the Mudkip's eyes fell shut, and as Ozzy noticed this, his speed increased, but by that point, the world of the Mudkip had grown dark, and only an abyss of sleep was before him.

Abyss

"Is he gonna be okay?"

"The burns are rather serious, but nothing a few days of rest and some burn heal won't fix."

"So he's going to live then?"

"Of course he's going to live. Just gotta give him time to recover, especially from an injury like a bolt of lightning."

"Thank goodness... You hear that Ewan, you'll be fine! You'll be okay... Just rest now, I'll be here when you wake up..."