CHAPTER ONE:
A NEW BEGINNING
While walking through the woods, I had second thoughts about what I had said earlier. About this all being a dream.
Cause there's no way I would be able to dream something like this.
The trees were big and tall. They towered over me like giants. I could hear the occasional bird chirping. Though I felt like I could understand them, as crazy as that sounds.
I had thought a few times about flying myself out of the woods, but I couldn't get myself to do it. Maybe it was the fact that I couldn't actually fly before. Or maybe I was a little scared.
Or both.
Something was not right about where I was. There was nothing really around for miles. No sign of life other than the birds twittering around. And even they were starting to get quieter.
Was I going the wrong way?
I decided to take a break. It was beginning to get dark and my feet were starting to hurt. Sitting down on a log, I suddenly remembered the words I saw in my head not that long ago.
"Welcome to the world of Pokémon?" I thought. "What even is a Pokémon?"
As I kept thinking about those words, my stomach began to growl intensively. No wonder, I hadn't eaten all day.
But what do things like me even eat?
I got up and began to walk around some more, until I came across a bush of, what I could only guess were berries. But they didn't look anything like normal berries.
"Should I eat these? They may be poisonous…"
There was only one way to find out.
I grabbed a handful of the berries and smelled them to make sure. They didn't smell bad, so I put one in my mouth.
It somehow tasted good. Like really good. It almost tasted like a raspberry, but not quite as tart.
I decided to eat a few more, but ended up eating nearly the whole bush. I probably should've saved a couple, but it didn't really matter.
After my meal of berries, I realized it was starting to get dark out. I didn't want to be in the woods in the dark, but it looked like it was too late. The sunset was pretty, however, and made the sky a beautiful orange.
But then, things got scary.
I don't know why, but the darkness has always been something I've disliked. I still remember when I was human, and I used to sleep with a nightlight on. It didn't matter how old I was, I would still have a little light in my room when it got dark.
I decided at that point, it would probably be a good idea to rest for a little while. I found a patch of woods where I could lay down, and took advantage of it.
But no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't get my eyes to close. It was torture trying to get myself to sleep.
I kept thinking about my situation. What exactly was I? Was I a Pokémon, like those words said?
And would I even be able to get home? Or was this where I would stay for the rest of my existence?
Those thoughts, and the darkness, kept me up for a long time.
—
After a while, I had finally gotten to sleep, but it wasn't long before I was woken up by a rustling sound.
I jolted myself up, and looked around. I couldn't see anything, but I could still hear a noise coming from somewhere.
I would've opened my mouth to ask who was there, but I was so in shock I couldn't say a word.
The rustling was getting closer, and closer. I didn't know what it was. But I figured it wasn't something friendly.
I braced myself for what was going to happen. Was I done for? Was this the end of my short life as a Pokémon, or whatever I was?
Then, I saw it.
It looked like a small, bipedal wolf. It had red, glowing eyes that matched its maroon-ish fur. It also had a mane of sorts, with hair covering one half of it's face. It definitely looked like it was going to attack.
I pulled back, frightened beyond words, pushing myself away from the wolf.
And then, I realized it did the same thing.
Whatever it was, it was as scared of me, as I was of it.
"Please. Don't hurt me, I don't wanna die!" it said. Its voice really not matching it's look.
The thing I was the most scared about was the fact that I understood exactly what it said.
"Uh… I'm not gonna hurt you," I managed to say. I was somewhat surprised I was able to talk as well, given my new appearance.
The wolf creature perked it's ear as I said those words.
"Wait, really?" it said back. "Or are you trying to, I don't know, lull me into a false sense of security before eating me?"
This thing was definitely afraid of me. Did I really have that gruesome of an appearance?
"What? No." I answered. "If anything, I thought you would hurt me."
I could tell it was starting to get less scared by it's body language. But it still looked terrified. It also looked like it had gotten hurt at some point, as I could see some scrapes on it's arms and legs. Like it had gotten into a fight.
"You're seriously not gonna kill me?" it asked.
"Why would I kill you?" I asked back. "I don't think I've ever hurt anyone before."
The wolf was still breathing heavily, but at least it wasn't as scared of me as it was before.
"Hey, what's up with those cuts on you? Did you get into some fight or something?" I asked.
It paused for a second before answering.
"Yeah… I kinda had just woken up on some beach, and…"
"Wait." I interrupted. "I woke up on a beach too!"
The wolf's ears shot up.
"No way!" it said. "What do you remember before that?"
"I don't remember much," I answered. "All I remember is being in my room, in my bed."
The wolf's tail began to wag. It was obviously excited about what I had just said.
"Me too!" it said. "Are you saying that you used to be a human too?"
I paused. Was this creature just like me? I didn't think it would be possible, but we, apparently, were both from another world.
"Yeah," I answered. "I don't know how I got here, or anything that's going on. All I know is that I used to be something else."
The wolf was very excited by this comment, as it's tail was wagging harder.
"Same here!" it said. "I can't believe I'm not the only one!"
It walked over to me. It's size was fairly small, but I couldn't tell if it was usually small, or if I was just huge.
"My name is Ruffles," he said, sticking his paw out for me to shake it.
Just then, I realized. I couldn't remember what my name was. I don't know if it was nerves, or what. But my mind was a blank.
"Uh… I don't think I have a name." I said back.
"Oh yeah," Ruffles said, putting his paw down. "I forgot my name too when I woke up."
Ruffles paused for a moment and looked me up and down.
"I think I got the perfect name for you," he said. "How about Udon?"
"Udon?" I asked. "Like the noodle?"
"Yeah," Ruffles said back. "I figured it would be a good name for you, you know, since you have those big antenna-things that kinda look like noodles."
I didn't even realize I had antenna. I guess I never thought to check.
"Huh," I said. "Udon's good. It's a good name."
Ruffles stuck his paw back out.
"Okay, let's try this again," he said. "My name is Ruffles."
I stuck my hand out as well, and we shook each other's tight.
"My name is Udon," I said.
"Would you like to join me on my adventure?" Ruffles asked. "We can try to become human again, together."
I thought about it for a second. Did I really want to join this wolf on his adventure? I guess we both had the same end-goal. And I definitely didn't think I could do this on my own.
"Yeah," I answered. "Let's do it."
"Okay," Ruffles said back, letting go of my hand. "But first, we really need some rest. One of us can keep watch, while the other sleeps."
I nodded. "Okay, you can sleep first, since you look like you really need it."
"Thanks, man," he said, laying down on the grass.
Before he went to sleep, I had to ask him a question.
"Hey," I said. "Why'd you name yourself Ruffles?"
"I don't really know, to be honest," he said back. "I guess it had something to do with my past life, but I can't remember too well."
"Ah, gotcha," I said. "And, don't worry, by the way, about me hurting you. You're my friend now, and friends don't let anything bad happen to each other."
Ruffles looked happy.
"Same here, buddy," he said. "Good night."
"Good night," I said back.
