Always Audacity
Chapter II - Forwards and Onwards
The sky was almost picturesque. A big bright sun, a few fluffy white clouds over there. Lots of strong trees topped with emerald green leaves. Not that they were actually emeralds just regular…
Groaning, Sam thumped his head against the tree he leaned against. He was still half convinced that this was some kind of dream, even if the slight throb running down his back of his head seemed to confirm that, yes, this was all real. But the question was how this was even possible? He knew what he was right now. A Pokémon, and yet he somehow thought he was a human. How did that even work? They were completely different species at the end of the day.
"Come on!" he growled, pounding his paw into the bark. "I've got to remember something from before… err…" He chewed on his lip, his mind going blank. "Okay okay… my name is Sam… I'm – was human… obviously I'm a guy… unless I'm non-binary or… hang on, where did I hear about that?"
…
"Dang it." he hissed, "No idea."
Slowly, he began to pace, questioning his memory. Trying to glean something from before he had woken up in the first place. Hmm... maybe I should try asking myself some questions, see if anything comes up from all that... yeah, let's give that a try.
Bringing himself to a halt, rubbed his hands together and started the questioning. Where did he come from?
...No idea.
Okay, what did he look like as a human?
…nothing.
He grumbled to himself. How old was he?
"25."
The lack of hesitation nearly caused him to cheer, his eyes instead widening in delight, "H-Hey! I know my age at least! So what did I-"
Sam's mind went blank again. "Dang it!"
Angrily, he swivelled round and booted the nearest tree. But as his paw connected, his entire leg turned to jelly, the pain rushed up it like a wave. He hopped away with a cry, clutching his throbbing foot like some cheap cartoon character. Okay mate… calm down, stop acting like some bratty kid!
Taking a deep breath, Sam forced himself to relax, rubbing the back of his head. Probably some weird fire rabbit hormones or something he figured.
And then there was that voice. The… star? If it was even one. Asking him for help. But help with what? Did they want help? Someone else? He shook his head, maybe it was tied to him being a Scorbunny?
He frowned to himself, They knew me too… but… how? I don't… damn it, I can't remember that either.
With a shake of his head, he rubbed his paws together. Alright, forget about the memories… I need to find some help first.
He slowly spun on his foot, scanning his surroundings. Other than the pool of water he had found himself next to, the only other feature of note was an opening in the trees. That had revealed what was a barely marked, dusty path that cut into the woods, but beyond that, he couldn't tell what would lie within. Well… it's better than nothing.
And with that, Sam started to jog his way down the path.
It was fairly easy going, twisting and curving through the trees even if the path was barely… well… that at all. Shrubs, bushes and grasses rose up around him in every direction, hanging around in little clearings where the sun managed to break through. Even a few surprisingly big flowers were poking out from the grass. The canopy offered plenty of shade from the sun high above his head too, so he wasn't going to cook anyway.
Well… technically I'm already cooked… you know… being a fire type Pokémon and all…
He stopped mid stride, rubbing the back of his head. Hang on… Pokémon have awesome powers, right? I should be able to do some fire moves! Err… what moves can I do… Ember, I think? That tends to be pretty standard for fire-types, right?
…
Err… how do I do that?
He frowned to himself as he started walking again. So, Ember… works out of the mouth, right? Almost like breathing fire or something. But I've got ha- paws so… does it come from me using those instead or i-
"-hat seeds are these? Blast Seeds?"
"No, they're regular ones, I told you!"
Sam slowed down again, his ears already twitching around to track down the source. Well, that didn't take long to find someone… sounds like they're… huh, further down the track.
Beating his feet into the dirt, the Scorbunny rushed on ahead, picking up speed as he pushed onwards. Maybe there will be other humans there. Don't know how I'm going to explain things but I've gotta try.
"Damn… they just look the same, you know?"
"The same? They've all got symbols on them you nitwit!"
"You know what I'm like! It's pretty easy for me to mix that stuff up!"
"Clear! Symbols!"
Blast Seeds… what? Never mind. Either way, sounds like they should be some regular people to talk to.
He emerged into the clearing, paw raised in greeting, "Hey there, look, I'm a bit lost can you-?"
The Rattata and Pidgey spun towards him, eyes widening in surprise.
Immediately, Sam began to run on autopilot, "Ah right… you guys are Pokémon… right… this is going to be weird, but are there any… trainers near here? I kinda need an idea of my circum-"
The Pidgey snapped its beak with an audible crack, "Trainers? What the hell are you talking about?"
"H-Huh?"
"Yeah!" the Rattata exclaimed, "What's a Trainer?"
Sam's mouth hung completely open, as the full gravity of what just happened hit him like a sack of bricks. How can I be so stupid?! I can talk so…
It was obvious… he was a Pokémon and could talk regardless… it only made sense that other Pokémon could do the same.
And frankly, there was only one word he could say in response…
"…crap."