Chapter 2 The World of Pokemon

"Drapion, use X-Scissors, and Vespiquen, use Slash!" a young trainer called out towards his bug pokemon as they attacked a wild Graveler and Staravia, knocking both of them unconscious. The boy looked to be about sixteen or seventeen years old and had light green hair and emerald eyes with an odd, cowlick antennae sticking up on the top of his head. He wore a black tank top with two orange hexagons meeting in the middle of his shirt, along with orange pants and sneakers with white undersides. Proud of all the take downs his pokémon had done that afternoon, he decided to give them a break.

"Great job, you two! You deserve a good rest." Both of them flashed into their pokeballs before the boy strolled around in the grass. Normally, he would've had just trained on one of the routes near Victory Road because it was closer to the League, but he liked the privacy of the spring he visited. It was surrounded by rocky terrain and crumbling landscape, keeping most humans out and strong pokemon in. He first discovered the place after he accidentally slid into a broken fence after being chased by some persistent fans. After clearing away some of the underbrush and debris, he found an abandoned dirt road that led to the mountain spring. The spring had very clear, almost translucent water. It was perfect for attracting bug pokemon, his favorite type of pokemon, but it was very difficult to get to on foot. Gratefully, that just made the pokémon here even tougher, making it an ideal training spot for one of the Elite Four, especially for one who was trying to get off the radar of his many crazed fans.

It wasn't that he didn't love his fans. It was just he could hardly go anywhere without someone recognizing him as Aaron of the Elite Four. It was fun at first, but now it was nearly impossible to go anywhere without being badgered. The only people he could rely on, outside of his family, were in the Elite Four, some of the Gym leaders, and the champion, but that was a very small crowd of people, and he only tolerated a few of them. Not the most open group of friends. He was starting to suspect the fangirl attacks had something to do with his iconic green hair and outfit. Maybe he needed a new look?

Before he could think about any extreme makeovers, a bush rustled, revealing something shiny and orange skittering out of the large clump of grass. Lucky day! A shiny Kricketot! Aaron thought as he chased the rare pokémon through the tall weaves of grass. He had never seen a different colored pokémon before, aside from the red Gyarados the news had shown on television, but he had heard about their rarity, and he wasn't going to let an ideal opportunity like this slip away from him.

"Man, that thing is fast," he huffed before he smirked at hearing a familiar xylophone clink ahead. "But it even it can't keep up with its own tiny feet. Go pokeball!"

He wildly threw a red and white orb retrieved from his back pocket ahead through the grass, hearing the chirp of the Kricketot as the device bobbed against it to capture it. His pokemon were way too strong to just simply battle a pokemon as weak as Kricketot, so he had to pray for a one-shot capture. One... two... three... click! The pokeball finished wiggly with a satisfied click as Aaron grinned broadly at the latest addition to his team.

"Sweet! A new bug pokemon! Now, where did that pokeball g-?" he smiled to himself, picking up his new teammate before he noticed a crumpled figure lying face-down in the grass near where the pokeball had landed. Momentarily forgetting about the shiny pokémon, he pocketed his Kricketot and ran towards the collapsed figure, kneeling down onto his knees in the grass. He didn't know anyone else had been up here, and judging by how the figure was contorted, it wasn't in the most ideal napping position. It appeared to be a girl that seemed to be about fifteen with long, chocolate-brown hair that was strewn about all around her like twine. "Oh my god! Hey, miss? Are you alright?"

She didn't respond. Had she been attacked? He didn't see any marks or damage, but that didn't mean they weren't there. There could have been internal damage. While checking for injury, he didn't see any pokeballs on her either. Who would come out to a spring like this without any pokemon? It was dangerous to venture into the wild without protection. That was rule one of trainer school! It was a wonder if she wasn't harmed out here in the wilderness. Worried about her condition, he leaned down to check her vitals. He knew some of the basics of first aid, but he wasn't really sure what to do in this situation. When someone is unconscious, you aren't supposed to move the body, and the nearest pokemon center was miles from here.

Now that he got a better look at her, he noticed that she wore a black tank top with the words 'Make games, not guns' on it with denim blue jeans and white sneakers. She also had a silver ball-chain necklace with two silver dog tags clinking at the end of it. One of them had a large star on it, the other read:

Brown
Damien J.
017-36-5249
AB Positive
N/A

Was that her name? He didn't think it was a girl's name. Gently lifting her right hand, Aaron pressed two of his fingers over her wrist to check her pulse. It was slow and steady, but still going. However, he couldn't tell if she was breathing. Leaning down, he turned his head so that he could try and feel her breathe on his cheek.

"Oh thank god, you're alive," he sighed, relieved that he felt a small breathe before she began to stir. He turned his head back towards her and saw two dark brown eyes staring back at him, not realizing how close he was before her scream rang through his ears.

"AHHHH!" the girl cried out, flailing around to push him away trying to put at least three yards between them. Didn't this guy know ANYTHING about personal space? she thought with a hand on her chest, trying to catch her breath.

"Ahh jeez! Man, that hurt," Aaron winced, clutching his right ear. This girl had a voice on her, that was for sure.

"Who are you? What's going on? What do you want with me!?" she demanded fearfully.

"Miss, please calm down and try not to move," he eased, trying to steady her frantic behavior. "I'm sorry if I scared you, but I found you lying unconscious nearby, and I wanted to make sure you were okay, so try to make no sudden movements until I can see that you're okay."

"I'm fine, I just fainted, but you don't have to be two inches away from my face to do that! What the hell were you trying to pull anyways?" she spat, looking suspiciously at him, like he had done something immoral.

"I was checking to see if you were breathing," he explained with a small frown. "That's what you're supposed to do in first aid."

"Well, I'm breathing, so leave me alone," she growled, pushing his hand off of her arm as she tried to hide the flush on her cheeks. She didn't like it when people messed around with her when she was vulnerable, especially guys. It was weird, and it made her feel all jittery and uncomfortable. The fact that she was unconscious just made it weirder. He looked like he was around her age and seemed pretty average except for the fact that he had green hair.

"Okay, I'm sorry, but I gotta to ask: what is up with your hair? Did you just come from an anime convention or did a bunch of your buddies dare you to dye it?" she asked staring at his odd cowlick. Aaron was almost stunned by this comment, trying to recover from the out-of-nowhere, backhanded comment.

"...You were lying face-down, unconscious, in the middle of nowhere, and the first thing you do is insult my hair color?" he stated incredulously. She blinked at him, taking in just how rude the comment sounded.

"Oh, I'm sorry! I didn't mean it like that, I just-!" she stammered, worried she had offended him before he interrupted her frantic worry with a small laugh.

"Naw, it's okay," Aaron smiled, waving off her odd comment before placing his hand sheepishly on the back of his neck. "Actually, this is my natural hair color."

"Odd... I've never heard of anyone having natural green hair," she smirked. She had heard of people dying their hair at an early age, but to accept something so bizarre as one's hair color was a bit unusual.

"Oh yeah. A ton of people back home have green colored hair," he affirmed.

"Oh? And where is that?" I asked curiously, humoring him to hear his answer.

"Eterna City," he replied. Eterna City? It sounded so familiar. Where had she heard that name before? He continued on talking before she could think too hard about it. "So, where did you come from? Or do most girls your age greet people by insulting their hair color?" he joked.

"Like you have to ask. I'm from Northern Dunes," she replied as-a-matter-of-factly.

"The Northern Dunes? Is that in the Kanto region?" he asked as she gave him a look as if he had lobsters crawling out of his ears. Kanto region? That was from a pokémon game, but... why would he say it like it was an actual place?

"No, it's where we are."

"No, we're not. This is Send Off Springs," Aaron assured.

"Send Off Springs? Wait... So I'm not... and this is ... so that thing was real," her eyes widened. "Oh my god, we need to get outta here! That thing's going to get me again!"

"Wait wait wait, hold on. Slow down. Get you? What thing?" he asked in alarm, grabbing her shoulders to steady her.

"A weird, big, monster thing grabbed me with one of its black tentacles and pulled me into the lake, and the next thing I know, I pass out and wake up with you two inches away from my face," she pantomimed as she explained what happened.

"That's weird," Aaron said thoughtfully to himself. "I didn't see any monster or anything. Could you describe it?"

"I don't know. I didn't see it very clearly. It was some sort of creature with red eyes. It looked kind of like a giant, armored wyrm."

"...A worm?" he deadpanned.

"No, not worm. Wyrm," she rolled her eyes. "W-Y-R-M. You know, like a dragon with wings and no legs?"

"I don't think I've ever heard of a dragon type with wings and no legs before..." his brow furrowed before shrugging. "I don't know. I'm not a dragon type expert."

Dragon type expert?

"Soooo, if I'm not in Northern Dunes, then where am I?" she finally drew out.

"Send Off Springs, I just told you that," he replied. She mentally face palmed herself before trying to answer again.

"I know that, but what area is Send Off Springs in?" she said a little more slowly.

"Ohhhh. You're in Sinnoh," he chirped as she gaped at him. Was this guy serious? Kanto, dragon types, Sinnoh? If this was a joke, it wasn't very funny. She had to deal with a lot of guys picking on her at school because of her love of pokemon. They would even mispronounce the names of things just to piss her off. But this was just... messed up.

"Okay, if I'm in 'Sinnoh,' prove it to me," she smirked, crossing her arms firmly in doubt. Aaron scratched his head a little before answering.

"Well, about a couple miles north of here is Veilstone City. If you need to call somebody there, I guess my Yanmega can take you wherever you need to go," he said as he began feeling around in his orange pant pockets. It wasn't until he pulled out a familiar red and white orb that her smug glare quickly fell off her face. As he tossed the ball into the air, a large, six foot, green and red dragonfly appearing out of the white and red flash. Its large, forest green scales hovered above the ground, beating its red tipped wings in a loud, continuous rhythm as the girl gawked in disbelief.

Oh...my...god.

"Yanmega over here is the fastest flyer that I've got, so he can pretty much take you anywhere you want to g-" he began before he saw the girl drop to her knees. She felt like she was going to faint.

"Whoa! Hey, are you okay? Do I need to take you to a pokemon center or did Yanmega freak you out? I heard some girls don't like Bug types, but he's not that scary!" the boy began to ramble in concern, her eyes widening as she caught the words "Bug types" and "pokémon center," which only seemed to scare him more.

"...You sure I'm in Sinnoh?" she finally managed to breathe out in almost a whisper, stopping the boy's loud ramblings.

"Umm... yeah," he said giving her a panicked look as she covered her eyes with her hand as reality finally set in. "Oh crap! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to make you cry. Please don't cry," he worried, starting to ramble again before he saw her start to smile.

"I'm not crying. I'm just... really happy," she beamed before staring off at the distance. "I can't believe I'm here. I'm finally here." Aaron gave her a startled look as she began to grin like an idiot. "I've always wanted to come here, and now I'm actually here! EEEEEE!"

"Owww! A warning next time, please?" he winced, holding his ears again.

"Sorry. I'm just... really excited to be here," she grinned, speaking a little more calmly.

"Yeah, I got that."

It was a spectacular feeling. She was in the Pokémon world. She was in the freakin' pokémon world! She felt so free and elated, it was like this huge burden that had finally been lifted. "So, now that you know you're in the Sinnoh region, are you still up for that ride? Or are you freaked out by bug types?" he asked unsurely, Yanmega giving the girl a curious glance.

"Are you serious? I would love it! Plus, don't worry, I'm not afraid of bugs. Actually, I think Yanmega are pretty cool. Can I pet him?" she asked.

"Sure. Go ahead," he replied happily as she walked over to the giant green dragonfly, stroking its head.

"Oh my gosh!" she squeaked, causing Aaron and Yanmega to tense up. "His scales are so weirdly smooth." Both began relax as she continued to pet him, relieved they weren't going to relive through another girl becoming squeamish and flip out on them. This girl certainly had an... interesting personality. He honestly wasn't sure what she would do next.

"This is so cool," she smiled as she scratched his head.

"Yan, yan," said Yanmega, clearly enjoying the attention as he started to rub his head against her, his vibrating wings almost imitating that of a purring cat.

"Ha ha, looks like he likes you. Usually most girls I meet tend to freak out anytime I send out Yanmega or any of my bug type pokemon," his trainer said, clearly relieved that the girl wasn't afraid of his six foot dragonfly.

"For real? Why would anyone be afraid of this big sweetheart?" she gaped before giving Yanmega a hug around the neck. "This is the first time I've ever seen a Yanmega up close." Or any pokemon for that matter, but who cares? I'M PETTING A FREAKIN YANMEGA! she thought happily.

"Well, you're about to ride one pretty soon," Aaron grinned.

"Sweet! The offer still stands, right?"

"Only if you still want a ride," he shrugged as the girl nodded quickly.

"Definitely," she replied before her brow furrowed at the bug pokemon. "But... will there be enough room for both of us?"

"Don't worry. He's a bit bigger than most Yanmega, so he should be able to fly us, as long as it's not too far."

"Wow, he must be strong then," she remarked, looking back at the large dragonfly.

"The strongest," Aaron grinned proudly. "So, where to?"

"Umm..." she hummed, contemplating on what she wanted to go. "Do you know where Sandgem town is? I need to see Professor Rowan."

"Yeah, I know where that is. What's your business with the professor?"

"I want to register for the pokemon league and receive a starter pokemon from him."

"The pokemon league? Now that's a tall order. You don't look like you're ten years old," Aaron joked.

"My mother made me start late. She doesn't really... approve of what I'm doing," she frowned before changing the subject. "Anyways, have you been to the Pokemon League?"

"I have, and I gotta tell you, they are tough. I wouldn't be surprised if you lost to the first gym."

"Hey, I may have started late, but I'm far from inexperienced. I've been through quite a few... battle simulations," she finished, not really wanting to reveal everything to a complete stranger. "You know, it only now occurred to me that I asked you for a ride, and I don't even know your name."

"You don't know my name?" Aaron blinked, dumbfounded.

"No. Should I?" she tilted her head as the boy pondered over this odd revelation.

"No... I guess not," he drew out slowly before relaxing a bit. "Name's Aaron."

"Hi Aaron, I'm Diane Brown, but please, call me Diana. Diane is what my mother calls me," she smiled, extending her hand towards his before he shook it.

"Nice to meet you, Diana," Aaron grinned before they broke the handshake and crawled onto Yanmega's back with Aaron leading in the front. "Alright then. Yanmega, next stop Sandgem Town!" he commanded as Yanmega began to beat its wings, lifting them off of the ground.

"Omigod!" Diana screamed, causing Aaron to look over in concern.

"First time flyer?" he asked.

"Uh yeah, you could say that..." she spoke nervously.

"Don't worry, you'll be fine. Just hang on tight! Yanmega likes to go fast," Aaron grinned as Diana's stomach began to drop as Yanmega began to hover and pick up speed. She shrieked, squeezing her eyes shut and clinging tightly to Aaron in fear of falling off. Aaron stiffened at the sudden contact as she whimpered as Yanmega's elevation seemed to rise.

"Hey, easy. I was just kidding! I'll slow him down," he eased trying to comfort the terrified teen.

"Not funny..." she mumbled, pouting at the fact he had teased her. As the wind began to die down, she began to relax a little but still refused to open her eyes.

"If you're too nervous, here! You sit in front." He undid her arms around him and scooted behind her, Diana slightly panicking that he switched positions on Yanmega when they were probably a couple thousand feet in the air. "Now, hold on here and open your eyes."

She felt him place her hands on Yanmega's head. She didn't want to comply, but she didn't want to fly blind either, now that she had no shield protecting her.

"Don't worry. I won't let you fall," he eased gently before he firmly wrapped his arms around her waist for balance. "I'll be your seatbelt."

She felt a small, sheepish blush spread on her cheeks. That line was so cheesy, it belonged in a chick flick or some bad fanfiction. But he didn't seem to mean anything by it, and it did distract her enough to do as he instructed. Hesitantly, she opened her eyes to a spectacular sight.

"Wow..." she murmured, awestruck by the view. The houses seemed miniaturized and the fields looked like patches on one big quilt as the clouds flowed beneath them in the afternoon sky like milk and honey as a flock of Starly and Staravia flew.

"Helloooooo down there!" she called out as Aaron laughed.

"Now that you've seen the view, let's continue on," he grinned as Yanmega's wings began to beat louder. "Maybe when we land in Sandgem Town, we could ask the professor about your mysterious wyrm."

"What?" she asked, Yanmega's wings being a bit too loud for her to hear.

"I SAID, 'WE SHOULD PROBABLY ASK THE PROFESSOR ABOUT THE WYRM YOU ENCOUNTERED!" he shouted a little louder.

"Don't bother. Whatever it was, it brought me here to the Pokemon world, and now, I'm never going back home!" she replied.

"WHAT?" he yelled, now not being able to hear her.

"I SAID 'OKAY!'" she lied as they continued on towards Sandgem Town into the afternoon sun. I probably shouldn't tell him I'm from another world. He'll probably think I'm coo-coo for Coco Cocoa Puffs! she thought, humorously imagining herself being hauled off in a straight jacket by a bunch of men with their butterfly nets.