Chapter 2

The next few minutes were a bit of a hectic blur for Akari. After introducing herself, the group of struggling trainers quickly began to shepherd her away, taking her from the beach where they found her to a small village. And with every step, Akari found herself asking more and more questions.

If the Pokéballs being made of a wood-like material had struck her as strange, seeing the village was like having a Wooper shoot her with a Water Gun. Everything was made of wood! Row after row of huts, made of cut and treated dark timber made up the streets as she walked through them, with small stalls and signs being made of light oak planks. It was like taking a step back in time, and the deeper she travelled through Jubilife Village, the more she began to suspect that this may have been the case.

In the distance, on a raised ledge, she could see a group of men toiling away with hoes and shovels, hoisting and moving massive mounds of dirt for… farming? Akari wasn't sure. She didn't know much about farming, only that it involved fields and seeds. Or at least she was pretty sure it included that.

On the right, secluded from the rest of the village with a massive divider, was a fenced off field. It seemed mostly empty, untouched and left alone, with only a few shapes dotting the landscape. The only things she could spot worth noting were a few Pokémon who were enjoying the sun. It almost reminded her of the expanse behind Professor Rowan's lab where he kept the Pokémon he was studying or looking after.

What was weird about this though was how the villagers were reacting to it. Three villagers, dressed in casual kimonos, were huddled together and seemingly shaking. One seemed to hesitantly point and mutter something, but what they said was lost to Akari's ears. Squinting her eyes, she was able to make out at least three of the Pokémon; a Bidoof, a Starly, and a Shinix. Pretty common Pokémon around Sandgem town, which she had plenty of experience dealing with back home.

So why were there so few of them?

A few minutes later, she found herself before a really impressive structure. It reminded her of a noble's manor, grand and resplendent. Akari remembered visiting one just south of Hearthome City as part of a research paper that Professor Rowan was writing. They visited the Trophy Garden at the back of Backlot Mansion to document the various rare species of Pokémon that seemed to gather there, and was a dominating structure that made Akari feel uncomfortably small.

This building was even bigger however, having several floors in the mansion and two tower-like structures built into the corners, and had similar architecture to the Backlot Mansion. But where that mansion had several decades, or even centuries, of weathering visible on the outer walls, this one had nothing. Not even an errant layer of dirt marred its surface, as if it were brand new.

Whatever this building was, it was seemingly their destination, as Akari was quickly guided inside. The interior had a similar level of resplendent design, with fine red carpet with a symbol embroidered into it, a stylised of 'G', the edges of other letters overlapping each other. Fine wallpaper with beautiful patterns lined the walls, broken up by empty frames. There were staircases on either side of the entrance, framing the main office that was opposite.

Inside this room was a giant desk absolutely covered in stacks of paperwork, as well as charts which circled around it. Sitting at the centre of this circle, jotting down notes in a large journal, was a stern-faced woman. She was immensely pale, with blue hair and eyes, with wrinkles that framed her eyes from years of dutiful work. She had an Abra floating over shoulder, acting like it was reading her work, even despite the fact its eyes were completely shut. Whoever she was, there was no doubt that she was an important figure.

Especially given how Professor Layton shuffled slowly forward, wringing his hands together before speaking up.

"Captain Cyllene, a moment of your time please?"

Cyllene paused her writing, looking up slowly and showing the exhaustion in her eyes.

"Professor Layton. Have you finally managed to reacquire the escaped Pokémon, or is this going to be yet another acquisition request for replacements?" She asked, her voice being completely monotone. Whether that was just her tone of voice or her attitude toward the Professor, Akari couldn't tell.

Professor Layton perked up at this, straightening up. "Ah! We managed to recapture them. And in record time, thanks to our new- "

"Indeed, and how many times has this happened now? Is this the sixth or seventh? I appreciate the value of your research, but we cannot abide such carelessness with our research projects. It takes our corps members several days to capture even a single subject like what you've got, which means we've lost weeks of work due to this. Have you managed to identify the cause for this yet?"

The words seemed to die in his mouth, opening and closing in a pointless attempt to form words. Akari watched him for a moment, waiting for him to come up with an answer, before her eyes drifted to the other members of the group who were in the room with them. Now that she was standing close to them, she could see that their altered kimonos had the same symbol that she spotted on the carpet on them. Whatever it resembled, it seemed to be part of a bigger organisation.

A moment later, she returned her focus to the conversation, finally decided to speak up.

"They were lacking enrichment."

The two adult's head snapped to her, making her shrink in on herself under their intense gaze.

"Explain." The captain said sternly.

"These Pokémon are just young and energetic. You keep them in a lab all day and they'll start getting antsy, which is probably why they ran off. If you let them play a bit or do some battles with them, then they'll be fine."

Cyllene stared at her for a moment, her face utterly unreadable, before she blinked once.

"Who are you?"

Akari went to answer, before she realised that she was still in her pyjamas from when she went to bed the night before, with Piplup images plastered all over it. Her hair was still tied in a bun and she was missing one of her socks, making her look pretty dishevelled. Despite that, she tried to puff her chest up to make her look a bit more dignified.

Cyllene pursed her lips in this, before turning toward Laventon.

"She's remarkably comfortable with Pokémon Professor. Who is she?"

"That's actually part of what I wanted to report. This young lady managed to capture those three Pokémon in only a few minutes, when everyone else was struggling to even get close. She has a natural talent with Pokémon. But what is most interesting is her origin – she came from the Rift!"

This finally got a reaction from the stoic Captain, her eyes widening before switching back to Akari.

"Is this true?"

"I guess," Akari shrugged. "I don't really know what happened if I'm being honest. One moment, I'm climbing into bed and the next I've woken up on a beach. How or why it happened is as much a mystery to me as it is to you. I don't even know what this Rift is."

Nodding enthusiastically, Laventon jumped in again.

"Precisely! Which is exactly why I wanted to propose we allow her to join the Galaxy Team's Survey Corps." Cyllene looked at the Professor quizzically, while Akari did a double take at his suggestion.

"And why would we do that? Its hard enough to feed our current members and while I sympathise with her plight, we are not a charity. Commander Kamado would not permit, not with the current state of the village." Akari raised an eyebrow at the mention of this 'Commander Kamado'.

"Of course not, but consider this: she managed to capture our three troublesome specimens in next to no time, and clearly has a strong understanding of Pokémon we do not. Such expertise could be of great benefit to the Galaxy Team, and help us to finally make some headway with understanding the beasts."

Cyllene made a tent with her fingers, pondering this while Akari stared at the Professor intently, eyes boring into his head. She couldn't help but cringe at his usage of the word 'beasts', but decided to hold her tongue. Wherever she was, it was clear the relationship between humans and Pokémon were very different to what she was used to, which explained their shock at her skill at catching the starters. She also realised that, whether intentional or not, Professor Laventon was giving her an important lifeline with this idea; a means for food and shelter in this unknown land. Whatever was going on, this was her best course of action to figure out what was happening and how to get back home.

It didn't take long for her train of thought to be interrupted. "Very well, I accept your logic Professor. However, I must remain fair and offer her the same trial that all new members of the Survey Corps must undertake. She must undergo an expedition to the Obsidian Fieldlands and contribute to one of our ongoing research projects. We will give her lodging for the night and then she'll have a week to complete this task. Should she succeed, she will keep these lodgings and be a full-fledged member of the Galaxy Team. Young lady, what is your name?"

"Akari."

"Akari. Do you accept this trial?"

With very few options, and wanting nothing more than a moment to sit down and process the day's crazy events, she nodded.

After a few more minutes of ironing out details, in which the Survey Corps member she saw earlier with the Pikachu was assigned as her surveyor for her trial, whose name she learned was Rei. After that, they agreed to meet the next morning to set off and they were allowed to go.

Outside the office, now standing alone with the errant Professor, Akari looked up at him.

"Thank you for doing that," she said quietly, catching the man off guard. "I appreciate you looking out for me, getting me somewhere to stay and all. You didn't need to do that."

The man simply laughed, scratching his head as he turned to her. "Of course I did. I wasn't going to let someone be homeless, especially someone as talented as yourself. If I really needed to, I'd have let you stay in my room, but thankfully we haven't had to resort to that. I think you'll like the huts we've been building for our Team members. Got everything you need, and the beds are surprisingly comfortable. Now come, before I let you go, I want to give you the tools you'll need for tomorrow."

The two walked down the hallway before ending up in a large room which seemed to have been converted after-the-fact into a makeshift laboratory. Row after row of bookshelves lined the walls, filled with history books and research papers by other avid researchers. At the back near the windows, there were chalkboards filled with notes and diagrams presumably drawn by the man, seemingly focused on different Pokémon habitats. Lined up on lines of string that ran across the room were sketches of Pokémon, most of which Akari actually recognised. Zubat, Magikarp, Ponyta, Geodude, Paras, and Eevee were just some of the recognisable creatures that Akari could pinpoint, all of which had been poorly drawn in the midst of the environment.

As Professor Laventon filtered through his stuff, opening and closing drawers in search of something, Akari dug into her pockets and pulled out the three Pokéballs she'd used earlier. When the man turned back around, she held them out to him.

"Here you are Professor, I hope they help with your research." The man stared at her for a moment, looking like a Stantler caught in headlights. After composing himself, he shook his head.

"Actually, I was thinking that maybe you should look after them." Akari stared at him in shock, her wide eyes asking the obvious question: why? "After hearing what you said when talking to Captain Cyllene, I realised that you were absolutely right. I've been keeping those poor creatures in my lab for weeks; they must've been bored out of their minds. I think they'll be much better off with you. All I ask is that you jot down anything you discover about them; their personalities, abilities, moves, diet, or anything else noteworthy in this." He then handed her a massive sketchpad, about the size of A3 paper, filled to the brim with empty card for her to write and draw on.

"My main goal," he carried on, "is to learn about the Pokémon of this land, and how to befriend them. Humans and Pokémon are still trying to come together, but there is an underlying fear that still exists in people. The only way to erase that fear is through understanding, which is the goal of our noble Galaxy Team. With your expert knowledge on Pokémon, I think you can greatly benefit our efforts. So please, keep them. I hope they serve you well."

Wordlessly, she nodded, before taking the offered sketchpad.

Later on, she found herself alone in her new dwellings. It wasn't much, but there was a lot more than she was expecting. In the centre of the room, in a specially dug-out hole, was a small firepit with a rig setup to allow her to cook over it. There was more furniture than she was expecting, with drawers, cabinets, pots, and much more filling the hut. At the back of the cabin was a bedroom area, with a large storage chest, a dresser, a full body mirror, and a surprisingly comfy looking bed.

Setting down her sketchbook, she pulled out the three Pokéballs and called out the Pokémon within.

Soon, she had the three starters standing in front of her, shaking off the effects of being inside the rudimentary devices. Plopping herself down on the bed, she sighed heavily before addressing the three Pokémon.

"Hey guys, nice to properly meet you. I'm Akari, and I'm going to be your trainer now." The three Pokémon looked taken aback by this, which Akari chuckled at. "Yeah, I know. I don't look like a typical trainer, but I'm going to do my best. I have no idea where I am, what I'm meant to be doing here, and nothing but a vague vision to guide me, but I will do my best. I hope you're willing to help me, but please know that I won't force you."

The three Pokémon seemed to share a look, before nodding to one another and moving forward toward her. Rowlet quickly fluttered up to her shoulder, nesting on it and leaning into her face while cooing affectionately. Oshawott clambered up into the bed and cuddled up next to her under her arm. And finally, Cyndaquil leapt into her lap and curled up, their warm body heating her up.

Eyes misting over, Akari managed to choke out some words. "Thanks guys, I promise, I'll do my best." Rubbing away the tears in the corners of her eyes, she clapped her hands together. "First thing's first though, dinner!"

By the next morning, she'd managed to learn a fair bit about her three Pokémon, all of which had been documented in her sketchbook along with early drafts of a drawing of each of them.

Oshawott was a little prankster and loved to act silly. In the space of an hour, he had hidden the sketchbook no less than seven times, giggling manically every time Akari noticed. However, he seemed to do that out of boredom, as once she requested he show off his moves, the pranks came to a stop and he became serious. Knowing this made it much easier to laugh the harmless pranks off. His moves were Tackle, Tail Whip, and Water Gun.

Cyndaquil also seemed to be a bit devious, but didn't express it in the same way at Oshawott, or at least not that Akari had seen. She seemed to giggle at Oshawott's antics, but didn't do any pranks herself, instead watching lazily as Akari prepared them food and set them up with makeshift beds. She got the impression that there was more to Cyndaquil than she let on, but was willing to let it slide. She would have the chance to strengthen their bond at a later date. Her moves were Tackle, Leer, Smokescreen, and Ember.

Rowlet, a stern little bird, was seemingly the oldest of the three, based on how he acted. He seemed to act as the voice of reason for the trio, as he gave Oshawott a light smack when he went to hide the sketchbook for the eight time during their dinner. He spent most of the night staring intently at the door to their cabin, seemingly watching for something when they turned in for the night. His moves were Tackle, Growl, and Leafage.

Looking at herself in the mirror, Akari was appraising her current outfit. Knowing she couldn't travel in her pyjamas, she decided to rummage in her new dresser for clothes, and found an outfit she could use. It was one of the same altered kimonos that she saw the other members of Galaxy Team wearing, adjusted for travel. It was the same skirt-tunic combo that seemed to be commonplace in this village, but also had insulated tights which kept her legs nice and warm along with thick wooden sandals for her feet. The last thing she added to her outfit was a red scarf she tied around her neck, adding a bit of colour variety to the outfit. While different from what she wore back home, she was growing to like this outfit.

Calling her three partners to follow her, she left her cabin, and found Rei waiting outside anxiously for her, Pikachu at hand. Nerves rushed through her for a moment, realisation at the fact that this was technically the start of her Pokémon journey, in a world she knew next to nothing about and was stuck in, but she swallowed this down. Whatever the reason for her being here, she would find it, and she'd do so with skill and determination.

Sparing a look at her partners, who gave her an affirming nod, she stepped forward, taking her first steps into the great unknown.

And she was looking forward to every second of it.

Hey everyone, I'm back.

This took a wee bit longer than I thought it would, but I had some logistics to work out. I'm deviating a bit from the actual game a bit in favour of the story, as I felt it would make sense. For starters no Arceus phone. I have good reason for that, which will make sense as the story goes on. Second, the starters. Now, for the game, it makes sense why you only got one of the three (to be in line with other Pokémon titles) but from the story's perspective, there's no reason why Laventon would only give her one. If he wanted her to study them for the Pokédex, it would make more sense to give her all three, especially since she caught all three in beginning.

Now, I have a lot of ideas for the next section of this story, some unique to this story and others inspired by the game, but at the same time, I'm open to ideas. I've barely seen any of these types of stories so far, and I'm fascinated to see what ideas people can come up with. So please, feel free to share, I'd love to hear them.

Otherwise, that's it for this chapter. Next time, Akari starts her journey with earnest. Watch as she meets some familiar (to us) faces, endures trials, and encounters the unique aspects of Hisui. Much love as always, peace – TWoS.