Dume's POV
Complete darkness. Sensory deprivation. The passage of time was only a suggestion for a while. Living, dreaming, comprehending? Unknown.
My consciousness, my senses, my awareness. They slowly tried to piece together. Trying to interpret existence with an undeveloped brain would be normal at the beginning of any life. Unquestionable and nonforboding if it were all you ever knew.
It was not all I had ever known. I had a previous life. A previous sense of self. As my new life, and my new self grew and formed, knowledge of what I used to be came with it. My mind slowly morphed from an incomprehensible mass of genesis for an unknowable amount of time - it felt like a lifetime, yet an instant - and slowly I became conscious.
If experiencing the primordial horror of conscious early fetushood had not been bad enough, what met me after was scarcely any better. Where once, my memory didn't work well enough to truly recall who I was, I then knew what I had lost in great detail. Where once, I didn't see, nor hear, nor feel, I then saw the darkness, I heard the silence, and I felt the weightlessness. Where once, emotion was an unknown concept, I then was afraid. Very, very afraid.
Alone in the dark, barely able to move, unable to cry for help. Yet, I was cursed to think. I could think so clearly. I was aware of every moment I was stuck in that wretched eternal damnation of nothing. Was I in hell? It seemed the only apt explanation as to why I'd be fully conscious in unknowable misery.
I distracted myself by sleeping when I could. I slept most of the time, even. It was the only thing to distract me from the living hell that was consciousness. When I couldn't sleep, I'd try to cry. It didn't work. At least, not for a while. It worked eventually, but even then, it didn't provide much solace to my seemingly damned soul.
I don't know how long it lasted. I didn't know if my memories were even real anymore. It felt as if the void was all I had ever known, with my old life being only a faint whisper of the pass. Eventually, however, I woke up with a surge of energy coursing through my body.
I'd always figured I had a body. It could never do much, but at that moment it felt like it could do anything. I desperately felt around, only to encounter a solid surface. Finally, something! Something!
I desperately whipped, kicked, thrashed, and slammed my body with all of the power I could muster. Slowly but surely, I felt the surface begin to give under force. With one final, loud shout - the first time I'd used my voice in my time in hell - I smashed right through the barrier.
I shrieked intensely as my eyes were assaulted with light. So it did exist! Light was real! My ears were no better, assaulted by the ambient sounds of my surroundings.
I tumbled briefly across a soft, cushy surface, before landing on my back. Albeit dizzy, I tried to squint my eyes open.
From my upside-down view, I was in some sort of dark forest. Howling wind assaulted my ears. Rain pelted me from all sides. The bright moonlight lit the foliage with an otherworldly glow.
Several feet away, I could see a large egg, sporting a suspiciously me-sized chunk missing from it.
Realization dawned upon me in that instant. I shouted in pure rage.
"Jesus Christ! May eternal damnation be brought upon the wretched soul which brought such unsavory reality to my poor mind!"
My small, weak voice echoed silently into the air around me. Although it could barely be heard over the howling wind, it still could. I immediately regretted my little outburst when the rustling of leaves met my ears.
I abruptly looked toward the sound. My whole body was tense, ready for action. To my relief, however, it appeared to simply be the wind rustling the shrubs.
Sighing in relief, I began to aggressively flail my apparently stubby limbs. Eventually, with some effort, I was able to topple myself back onto my tummy. My tummy which was currently demanding food.
"Great..."
With a huff of effort, I stood on all fours to the best of my ability. Was I a pokémon...?
Shrugging off the thought, I began to shakily walk forward, making my way through the wet grass. The pouring rain created a layer of water almost up to my mouth, which was quite difficult to wade through. My back was already soaked from laying in it, and then the rest of me was, too.
Shivering, aching, cold, I slowly pushed my way through the water, whining with the effort. It sucked. I considered as to whether or not it was better than being in that egg. I wasn't cold, wet, and hungry in the egg, but at least cold, wet, and hungry was alive. I didn't feel very alive in that prison.
My progress was steady for a long time. My perception of time was so warped by that point that I didn't even bother trying to suss out how long exactly "long" was. Nothing really changed until I heard a low growl.
I froze in place. Admittedly, the temperature was doing a good job making me feel that way already, but the fear shooting through my system put me on high alert.
A pokémon soon stalked out of the brush, looking down upon me. A houndour.
If it were to attack, the rain would at least protect me from any fire, but that didn't exactly reassure me.
"U-Uhm..." I stammered, shivering. My eyes locked with the towering canine's own steely glare. "I don't think I'd taste very good, just between you and me."
The houndour snorted in amusement.
"Indeed, I do not wish to consume plants. Not that you're even large enough to provide sustenance to me"
"O-Oh!" I smiled. "That's a relief!"
"I have more pressing reasons to end you."
Alarm forced my systems into full gear. I turned and began to back away, but before I knew it, water splashed all over me and sharp fangs sank into my back.
I squealed in agony as I was lifted. The dog tossed me up, then firmly swatted me with a paw.
My body shook with pain from the impact. Dizzily, I flew through the air for several seconds. I landed with a splash in a particularly large puddle. Fighting the searing pain in my back, I fought with all of my energy to stay above the water.
Over the roaring rain, I could faintly hear another voice chiding someone.
"Bad girl, Sosh! Bad!"
I struggled, but I eventually placed my forelegs up on the side of the puddle, holding me in place above the water.
A blonde human girl was running down the incline toward me, struggling not to trip over her pink dress. Much to my dismay, the houndour was following her, albeit with its ears pinned back, and its posture more submissive.
The girl looked down at me with a worried gaze as she approached. She quickly knelt down and cupped both of her hands around me, lifting me up and to safety slowly.
Shivering, I nuzzled into her palms for warmth. It occurred to me suddenly just how tiny my new body was as she was able to entirely cover me with her hands.
"Sosh!" I heard the girl snap. "First you run off all crazy-like, and then you attack a little defenseless pokémon?! What's gotten into you?!"
"I-I..." the houndour's voice came out weak and ashamed.
"Ugh, save it! We'll deal with that later. Come on, let's get 'em inside."
"Forgive me, master..."
With that, I felt movement resume. I bounced up and down as the girl began to sprint, albeit keeping me steadily held against her chest.
Confused, scared, but ultimately relieved, I opted to let my consciousness fade once more... The last sight my mind caught before drifting off was that of a sneasel watching us from a distance.
I woke up slowly, groggily, to find myself in complete darkness, as I'd become accustomed to. It took me a moment to remember.
Hadn't I hatched from an egg?
I shifted my body to find myself underneath some sort of fabric. I nuzzled my way out from under it to look around at my surroundings...
I was in a cardboard box of sort. A yellow blanket was atop me. There was an oran berry in one corner, and a small bowl of water in the other! Lovely!
Still hungry from before, I quickly made my way over to the berry and began to aggressively gnaw at it. It was almost as big as me, yet I was still able to tear away thick, sweet, juicy flesh.
As I ate, I began to ponder my situation. I had been turned into a pokémon, somehow. Then I'd gotten assaulted, and promptly saved. Bit of an eventful night, it seemed.
...Would I ever see my family again...?
The thought hung heavily on my mind. The life I'd left behind. The people of which I shared love. Would we never again be fortune to each other's company? Already, it felt like a lifetime since I'd seen them, but it stung just as fresh as a wound from yesterday.
The wound on my back stung a lot, too, after thinking about it. Admittedly, it was less than when I'd gotten it, and even less after scarfing down half of a berry, but it still felt awful...
Where was I, anyway...?
A cursory glance allowed me to gleam that I was definitely indoors, judging by the presence of a ceiling. Without being able to see over the sides of the box, however, nothing else was really present to inform me.
"Yo!" I called. "Anyone there?"
I jumped in alarm upon hearing some sort of movement from beyond my box. I cowered into the corner, under my blanket, peeking out with dread. I really hoped I didn't just make a mistake...!
First a pair of ears, then the face of a persian peeked over the side of the box. The cat observed me curiously with a polite smile!
"Why, howdy, there, little fella!" she greeted warmly. "Glad to see you up and at 'em!"
"U-Uhm... Y-Yeah," I squeaked, shrinking back. She was huge. Or, was I was tiny?
"Sorry about Sosh! That one's a religious freak, and old Esmeralda doesn't help one bit."
"Right..." I mumbled.
Smiling, the persian reached her paw in. It was, as predicted, quite large. Maybe even bigger than me!
"I'm Spring!"
I shakily reached out my own dainty paw to lightly shake hers. She squeed with seeming adoration as I did, causing me to blush a bit!
"Um... Nice to meet you! I'm Dume! Dume Baringa, that is!"
"How old are you, anyway? You're pretty small, but you seem too smart to be young!" As the persian began to pull away her paw, I clung tightly onto it as to achieve liberation from the box. She did not fight me on it, instead setting me down onto the wooden floor in front of her.
I pondered over her question. I wasn't sure if it was smart to tell her I was a human, but it wouldn't make sense if I were a newborn. I opted for truth, though with omission of choice details.
"I'm twenty-one," I responded, nodding. "I'm not supposed to be small, and I kinda just ended up in that forest; I don't know how."
"Hm... So a mystery!" Spring chirped. She lowered her posture to smile at me from eye level. Excitement filled her big, curious eyes. "Why, you're an awfully intriguing fellow, Dume Baringa!"
"Suspicious is rather the word I'd choose."
My whatever I had stood on end upon hearing a familiar voice. Sure enough, I turned to see who else but Sosh herself scrutinized us from the entrance to another room. As the houndour walked over, instinctively hid behind Spring's leg.
"'Scuse me?" the persian asked, tilting her head.
Sosh quirked an eyebrow, side-glancing toward Spring.
"A pokémon named 'Doom Bringer' shows up mysteriously in the forest." She paused for dramatic effect. "There is no punch-line." Her gaze refocused on me. I backed off from her level glare. "It's just like Esmeralda predicted; a strange pokémon will show up in the forest at this exact date, which may spell doom for us all." Her eyes narrowed, scrutinizing me further. "If that even is a pokémon. Not one from around these parts, that's for sure."
Spring slowly sat down with an exhale of relief. She scooped me up in those massive paws of her's and delicately settled me into her lap. I felt a bit more at ease as she stroked my back, careful not to touch my damaged areas. As she did, a peculiar sort of rustling met my ears, causing my eyes to widen in intrigue.
"This is here is what folks call a shaymin, I believe!" Spring mused, looking down toward me. I met her friendly gaze, which granted me a flowing feeling of assurance! "From what I understand, they're exceedingly rare in most places! You must be pretty far from home, Dume."
As she spoke, I felt my mood sink back toward where it may have been previously. The conversation and new world had helped me forget for just a little while, but there, with a dejected look forward, the fog veiling thought of my mother and brothers lifted just a bit from my mind.
"Yeah... I really am..."