Haruki briskly walked around the hospital's backyard garden. Even though it was closed off by other buildings and tall palm trees, its dirt and stone pathways snaked through what he could only describe as wallpaper material. The garden was a canvas of vibrant tropical flowers, but its red, pink, and yellow palette did something more. He wasn't sure how, but his body felt great as he walked around the garden. He breathed as if his little incident at sea never happened, and the lingering ache in his chest had completely disappeared. Maybe it's the garden's doing, which would explain why the staff was so insistent on him going outside.
"It's therapeutic." A nurse had told him after giving a report that he'll be cleared in a few days. "Might do you some good." He raced outside shortly after she left.
Still, even with his renewed vitality and the fresh air, he wasn't reassured in the slightest. He kept thinking back to what Anabel said moments ago.
How could she remember anything from the Battle Frontier? From what he remembered from Emerald, the seventh generation games, and her occasional appearances in other Pokemon media, the fan consensus about her backstory is that she used to work at the Battle Frontier, fell to whatever universe Sun and Moon took place in, lost all memory of her past life in the process, and was now a head Interpol agent. He vaguely recalled some dialogue brought up during conversations about Ingo when Legends Arceus released, something about him remembering bits and pieces. But was it enough to disregard his revelation? He wasn't sure about that.
Perhaps whatever version of the Pokemon world this differed from the media he knew in some ways. He wouldn't be surprised if that was the case; it's impossible for the Pokemon world to follow every bit of contradicting and outlandish information published as a result of the franchise's global and multimedia status.
Simple questions such as whether Pokemon shrink into Pokeballs or turn into energy as shown in the anime, and which depiction of characters such as Lusamine was "the best" across the franchise were the source of many heated internet discussions.
Speaking of which, until he saw any mention of Ash Ketchum or Red, Haruki still didn't know which version of the Pokemon world this was. He didn't have a preference, but it'd be nice to know what to expect and what's already happened.
Haruki thought back to when Anabel took his phone. He really should've asked for a replacement, so he can finally get some answers-
He froze. In his mindless wandering, he stumbled into the garden's left corner; the one place the hospital staff told him to not go near. Various fruits and vegetables flourished in rows surrounded by a mix of potted and unpotted flowers, and standing right before him was a Florges. It looked up from the ripe tomato plant it tended and floated towards him.
After his first encounter with the Audino, Haruki itched to see another Pokemon in-person again. However, Anabel and Looker told the hospital about his Faller status and that they were forbidden from approaching him with any Pokemon; he'd only seen other Pokemon from far away since then. Now Haruki understood why the pair said so.
Yes, he recognized it as a Florges, but now that he was face-to-face with one…
There were so many things to take in: its warm eyes, the two large leaves on its legs swaying as it moved forward, and the massive bouquet of yellow flowers around its head. Up close, every detail of its body was as intricate as the Audino from earlier.
He had no idea what to make of it. On one hand, the warmth in its smile–it can smile!–was exactly like any person's. On the other hand, it was a humanoid plant. Plants aren't supposed to smile. Plants don't have hands or legs. They don't float. And plants most definitely aren't three-feet tall-!
Florges huffed and thrust a nearby potted flower into his arms. Haruki caught a whiff of the red flower's sweet scent and his racing thoughts were immediately swept aside. His shoulders slumped down as he accepted and cradled the pot.
He stood there for a moment and only thought about how it smelled, until the Florges gently took the pot and placed it back onto the floor. For the second time that day, a Pokemon completely pacified him.
"Thanks," he finally whispered. "That was nice."
The Florges gave a sharp thrill and bowed. Its eyes beamed and its palms lightly clapped together with satisfaction at Haruki's compliment.
Like the Audino before it, its body language was easy to read. It must be their more humanoid build that makes them so transparent. For a moment, Haruki was torn between whether he spoke to a mutant human or plant, until he grinded that thought to a halt. This was a Pokemon; its own classification.
"Did you grow all of this yourself?" He gestured at the rows of pots. The Florges shook its head, grasped his hand, and led him towards a posted sign to the side. A sheet of paper was taped on a wooden stake, listing pictures and the names of a few employees and their Pokemon that were responsible for the garden's different sections. The Florges waved its free hand over the left hand rows, where the flowers and vegetables were, then pointed at itself.
"Oh, thanks. That makes more sense now," Haruki stammered and stared down at their intertwining hands. It's warm. Why would a plant be warm?
His racing thoughts were once again cut short, this time by someone clearing their throat.
The same nurse from earlier stood to the side. She looked rather displeased at her patient.
"You ran off real quick. Don't do that again; you need to be with someone in case something happens."
Haruki turned away, but looked back as the nurse grabbed his hand. She examined it, checked his pulse, and placed her hand on his forehead.
"Well, you're handling her much better than those two said you would." The nurse gave a small smile. "Seems like you improved a lot compared to when you first met Liz!"
Haruki shook his head. "No, I didn't. I froze up again, at first. But they gave me some flowers and that loosened me up."
"She."
"Excuse me?"
"Afuro's a she. All Florges are female."
"Aw, jeez. Sorry about that; I didn't know," Haruki apologized. Florges was an all-female species?! How did he miss out on that? He should've known before opening his mouth, and now-!
The Florges giggled–a bright, high pitched jingle–and floated upwards to pat his head.
"You're… not angry?" Haruki whispered. Afuro shook her head.
"Why would she be?" The nurse asked. "You didn't know, that's all."
Haruki stammered, but couldn't find any way to continue the conversation. Thankfully, at that moment, his rumbling stomach decided to bail him out.
"Well, it's way past lunchtime! Time for your first meal here!" The nurse laughed and headed back into the hospital. Haruki turned to Afuro and did his best to smile.
"I've got to go now. Thanks for showing me around the garden. You're doing a great job." Afuro simply smiled and waved the pair goodbye.
Haruki sat in front of the small wooden table in his room, tracing his finger down the menu. The nurse stood next to him and waited patiently for him to pick out a meal.
The choices were familiar and standard for an "American" menu: beef with curry rice, sesame cold noodles, beef patty hamburger, mustard sandwich with ham, Clauncher claw soup, tomato basil soup, some types of salads with assorted fruits-
He paused. What was that in the middle? Claw soup? Clauncher claw soup? A chill ran through his body as he read and reread the menu selection.
"Excuse me," he raised his hand. "Are these actually Clauncher claws?"
"What do you mean?" The nurse asked.
"Is this from the real thing? A living moving Clauncher?"
She nodded. A vision of rows of Clauncher sitting on conveyor belts, ready to be processed, jumped into Haruki's mind.
"And the rest of this?" He stammered. "Is this all from Tauros and stuff?"
She scoffed. "No?! That's all synth-meat. Some old folk say it tastes close to farm-meat, but no one's ever proven it; hardly anyone eats farm-meat now. And don't even think about ordering some; that's revolting."
"You just said that the Clauncher claws came from live ones. How is that any different from 'farm-meat?'"
"Because the Claunchers are still alive? Farms just pick up the claws that fall off here and there; no harm done."
Haruki's head spun. The Pokemon franchise wasn't alien to showing or using meat products. He heard about the Switch games featuring them during its meal-making minigames and the anime had probably mentioned meat a few times in its decade-spanning broadcast time.
Although, it was always a rather sensitive concept, both for fans and the official media, that was never addressed head on. The Pokemon world preached the bonds between man and nature, which focused on friendship and cooperation. But the idea of farm-produced meat added a subservient undertone; that some Pokemon or some organism didn't have such luxuries and would just die felt a bit out of place in the franchise.
With what the nurse revealed, any guilt that might've come out of mealtime was washed away. Haruki wasn't sure about how they farm the Clauncher claws that "just fall off," but the nurse made it sound ethical.
But still, to actually taste Pokemon flesh… Haruki swallowed. He can't do it; not even out of curiosity. Knowing what a Pokemon tasted like, even if it was just a synthetic reproduction, was something he didn't want to get even close to his conscience.
"I'll…take, aw jeez, what would you recommend for vegans?" He asked.
"The salad here is pretty great! So is the tomato soup; it really warms you up. Would you like to try those?" Haruki nodded.
As soon as the nurse left the room to get his lunch, Haruki sighed and rested his forehead on the tabletop. Unless he was willing to live with the guilt of eating a Pokemon, his meat-eating days were over.
He wasn't hostile or alien to the idea; when the stars lined up just right, his family would leave going to the supermarket to the last minute, so the only ingredients available in the fridge were vegan for one or two lunches and dinners. But this is too sudden! He seriously can't eat meat anymore?
He sighed, sat back up, and turned his attention to the laptop the hospital loaned. He can't think about this right now; he doesn't want to think anymore about the future. So, he opened the laptop and thought about the present instead.
He logged in and typed "Ash Ketchum" into the search engine. And the moment of truth reveals-
"Did you mean: 'Ash Ketchup'?"
Haruki snorted. Apparently, this joke transcends universes. He typed in "Satoshi," but the iconic anime protagonist was nowhere to be seen. This would normally be enough to draw a conclusion, but Haruki just wanted to check one more time. Who else only existed in the anime, with no game counterparts whatsoever? He thought for a moment, typed in "Norman Hoenn Normal-Type Gym," and clicked on the first result detailing his profile.
He vaguely remembered catching some episodes of Ash's Hoenn journeys as a kid and he was pretty sure Max was an anime-exclusive character. If he didn't appear under a list of Norman's relatives, this couldn't possibly be the anime universe.
Lo and behold, Max was absent in the paragraph written over Norman's personal life. But there was something else; something else was missing, as a matter of fact.
Neither May nor Brendan were mentioned. Instead, listed as Norman's son, was a boy named Ruby: Pokemon Contest extraordinaire.
Ruby? That was not the fandom's default name for the third generation male protagonist! Haruki searched for Ruby next and skimmed the first profile he saw. The profile told of Ruby's strong distaste for Pokemon battles, despite his talent for it and his father's position. It also spoke of how Ruby rose to fame years ago, when he agreed to and achieved his goal of winning every Pokemon Contest venue in Hoenn in an eighty-day time limit, next to his rival and now lover, Sapphire Birch.
This was from the Adventures manga! He's in the manga universe? Of all the different versions of the Pokemon universe, a franchise completely dedicated to appealing to children throughout its life, he lands in the one universe where the bad guys are serious, stakes are raised, and blood is allowed on-page.
He immediately searched every major villain organization, search history be damned. To his absolute delight, every villain organization was foiled at every turn and was largely disbanded, arrested, or restructured after their major operations. Teams Aqua and Magma were one of those organizations; now dedicated to the conservation of their respective ecosystems, but without the eco-terrorism branding and attempts to control gods. Team Rocket was the exception on the list; they went under the radar years ago and focused their attention on small operations around the world.
Unfortunately, there wasn't a single mention of any apocalyptic Legendary-related event in Paldea. Haruki didn't mind that; he knew practically nothing about the newer games, except Legends Arceus, and from what he remembered, the ninth generation manga adaptation just started publication anyways. That meant he didn't need to worry about anything happening over there, or anywhere else narratively, as a matter of fact.
With most of the major game events being accounted for, this meant that he was in the "post-canon" of the manga. Hopefully, that means some ancient god won't drown an entire region or some psychopath doesn't try to recreate all of reality anytime soon.
With the end of that train of thought, the nurse picked the perfect time to deliver his lunch. Haruki barely had any time to thank her before his attention was snatched away by the blue and red fruits on the salad plate.
"What are these?" He poked at a slice of the blue fruit with his fork. It looked like a severely-mutated orange; the skin texture and size were the same, but everything–even its insides– were a dark blue, almost like a blueberry.
"Those are Oran Berries! And those," she pointed to the red apple look-alikes. "Are Leppa Berries."
Haruki just stared incredulously.
"You call the blue berries Oran Berries?"
The nurse nodded slowly.
He picked an Oran slice and bit down. He immediately dropped the slice back into the plate, sputtered, and downed the nearby glass of water. It took him a moment to clean out the taste in his mouth.
The berry's texture was drier than an orange, almost like a pear, and variety was the only word to describe its flavor. It wasn't sweet, yet there was a pinch of sourness, bitterness, and what he could've sworn was spice. How the hell is a berry spicy?
He coughed one final time and looked up at the nurse, who, for some reason, looked very amused at his reaction.
"It's an acquired taste," she chuckled. "Trust me, it tastes way better the more you try it. It also tastes great mixed with other things!"
"I don't think I want to," Haruki gasped. Still, he bit off the Oran slice whole, cringing as he did so, and immediately jammed a forkful of salad into his mouth. The nurse was half right about the better taste, but he still wasn't used to tasting something new. He'll have to; he'll go through it almost three times a day from now on, if he was really unlucky.
The nurse giggled at Haruki's intense concentration as he ate. She waved him goodbye, told him to take his time, and closed the door behind her as she left.
He ate the rest of his first meal in a new world in silence.
Haruki tapped his foot as he sat in a picnic chair in the hospital backyard. Night had fallen, and as soon as he finished his salad dinner, a nurse said that Anabel and Looker had returned and wished to speak to him outside. As he pondered over what could be so important that they came back so quickly, Anabel and Looker walked through the hospital doors.
Haruki almost gave them a wave, until he noticed their glares and fast strides towards him. It wasn't cold, but he felt a bit of a shudder at the new expression on their faces. He had never seen such intensity plastered onto a character like this.
They both sat opposite to him. Anabel then leaned forward and rested her chin on her hands.
"How do you feel about eating Pokemon meat?" She asked coldly.
"I don't even want to try it. Ever," Haruki answered automatically.
Anabel immediately took out her phone, tapped and swiped for a moment, then slid it across the table. Displayed was a picture of a gutted fish, from a family dinner long ago.
"This was found on your phone. What do you make of this?"
Haruki just shrugged. There was a brief pause.
"Haruki?" Looker whispered. "We come here just to say, such–ah–customs are very frowned upon here. Very."
"What customs?" He asked innocently. A split second later, he connected the dots between Anabel's question and Looker's warning.
"Is this about the fish? That's not a Pokemon. Nah, that's something completely different," he said.
Now it was Anabel's turn to be confused. She turned the phone back towards her and examined the image one more time.
"How is it not?" She turned the phone around once more, as if now Haruki would correct himself.
"It just isn't," he muttered. Pokemon are Pokemon because they're designed as such, branded as such. Animals are just that; animals. No one ever questioned it.
Anabel pressed onwards. "Explain."
Haruki frowned. Did he really have to think of the differences now? He furrowed his brow and thought about the livid memories of today, of meeting two extraordinary creatures. They were wonderful experiences, mixed with a touch of fear, but what made them so? They were Pokemon, world-famous creatures, acting beyond their distorted depictions from a screen.
He remembered the glint of unease in Liz's eyes and the warmth in Afuro's. He thought long and hard about anything similar from animals he's seen, until he realized that there was nothing to compare them to.
"I think it's intelligence? Something like that. I met a Florges today. Her name's Afuro. She was kind. She showed me around that garden over there." He pointed behind him. "That fish, and animals back at home, they can't do that. They're just there, if I had to describe it? They can't smile or make sounds, well, they can, you just don't get anything out of it. Like-" Haruki let out a low growl and bared his teeth.
"Like that. Afuro giggled at me today and I knew she meant it as a giggle. The closest thing I've heard back at home is an animal mimicking the sound, but not the feeling behind it. Does that make sense?"
"Sapience," Anabel whispered. "Complex organisms in your world don't have any sapience, like oysters and insects."
"Some have it, I think; dolphins and elephants, and others, but I can't remember them all," Haruki shrugged. Looker immediately took out his pocket notebook and urgently wrote what was just said. As soon as he finished, it was now his turn to lean forward.
"Speaking of which," he said. "We like to pick up where we left off earlier today. You said that you remembered Anabel working in the Battle Frontier. How did you learn about that?"
"Because I saw her there."
Haruki immediately shut his mouth. At that revelation, Anabel and Looker somehow appeared even more interested in him.
"Could you elaborate?" Anabel asked.
"Elaborate on what?"
"Did you see me in-person?"
Haruki's face felt hot from the pressure in her voice. He really wished he didn't get himself into this. How was he supposed to explain that he knew Anabel from playing Emerald? Could he lie? No, they'll just push more, and sooner or later, they'll know everything; most likely from his own mistakes.
He only raised their suspicions with each conversation; there was never any chance in hiding to begin with. With his tendency to speak without thinking, he'll screw up sooner or later. Haruki decided on the spot: Better to make it sooner then.
"No, I saw you in a game," Haruki finally admitted. And just like that, a great weight disappeared from his heart. Judging by their stares, the two agents are completely caught off guard by his answer.
"I'm sorry, can you repeat that? I do not think I heard that correctly," Looker slowly asked.
"I said," Haruki took a deep breath. "That I saw you–you both, actually–in video games."
"And what were games called?" Anabel glanced down to her phone.
"You appeared in a bunch of them," Haruki pointed to Looker, then Anabel. "And you appeared in two: Pokemon Emerald, and Sun and Moon. Three if I count the Ultra Sun and Moon games."
"That's five," Anabel interjected.
"No, no, that's three. Most games have two versions. Anyways, you were at the Battle Frontier in Emerald and then an Interpol agent in Sun and Moon. The games said you lost your memories, so I thought that was the case here."
Haruki shifted uncomfortably at their bewildered stares and looked down. "I'm sorry."
"No, no! There's nothing to apologize for- uh, could you excuse us for a moment?" Haruki watched Anabel grab Looker's arm and led him away from the table, far enough so he could barely hear them.
A few frantic whispers later, they sat back down, as Anabel clutched her phone rather tightly.
"Alright, let us continue," Looker said, as if nothing from the past few moments had occurred. "You said that these…games contained information about Fallers. What were the games about?"
Haruki propped his chin on his palm. There isn't really a singular answer for that, since the plot for each game was completely different… Or was it? He thought back on his and everyone else's experiences playing the games. There was a formula, wasn't there?
"In every game, you generally travel around a region, catch Pokemon, make a team, battle Gyms, and challenge the League to be Champion."
"Then how did you learn about Fallers?" Anabel rubbed her temples. "That's not information the public generally knows about, even for a region-traveling trainer."
"Well, you and Nanu said it yourselves," Haruki glanced at Looker. "There's this whole story arc about Interpol recruiting the player to capture Ultra Beasts after they become the Alola Champion."
Questions exploded out of the two agents. They asked about irresponsibility, confidential information, and the inaccuracy of the events, only stopped their bombardment when they noticed Haruki slumped in his chair with a very dejected expression on his face.
"I know, I know," he whispered. "It doesn't make any sense. But that's the truth and that's how I learned about all of this."
"Whoever makes these games should really stop and think about what they are showing," Looker huffed. "Such information should not be so hastily revealed, especially in a video game of all things!"
"It's alright," Haruki said softly. "It won't hurt anyone."
"What do you mean by that?" Anabel asked. "Glorifying an operation like that sets up horrible expectations for any trainer, champion or not! You can't just go out and catch an Ultra Beast like it's normal!"
Haruki slumped even deeper down into his chair. "Because…because we don't have any trainers. Or Pokemon, actually."
Both agents fell silent for a moment. Looker's jaw dropped while Anabel's eyes darted all over Haruki's figure, as if he would suddenly jump up, laugh, and say it was a lie.
"B-but that does not make any sense!" Looker finally stammered. "How could you possibly know about Ultra Beasts and the Battle Frontier if Pokemon don't exist in your world?!"
Haruki squirmed in his chair. "Because it's just a brand. For us, Pokemon only exists in stories."
"No." Anabel immediately shook her head. "No, that's-that's impossible."
"Well, it's not for us. Most animals are like that fish; they're all normal by Pokemon standards. No moves, no types, and only a few have…what was it? Sentience?"
Neither agent bothered to correct him. They just stared blankly at him, then back towards each other. It was Looker who finally spoke up.
"So, everything you said about the Ultra Beasts and Fallers, you learned all of that from a story? A game?"
"Yes."
"And the both of us, we appeared in those stories as…characters?"
Haruki nodded. He understood why Looker spoke with so much confusion, as if he could barely say it. But it was the truth and he couldn't think of any other way to tell them.
"These games, how much have they covered?"
"A lot. And it'll cover more and more; we still get new games every two-to-three years."
"I see… Chief, is there anything on your mind?" Looker turned to Anabel, only to find her face awfully pale.
"Chief? Anabel? Are you alright?"
"I'm sorry, we'll have to continue this tomorrow."
Anabel didn't even wait for a response as she suddenly stood up–almost knocked over her chair–and marched away. Looker sputtered for a moment, thanked Haruki for his cooperation, and ran after his superior.
Haruki didn't pay attention at all to Looker's appreciation. He slammed his forehead down onto the cold tabletop and thought back to Anabel's pale, almost panic stricken face. He was guilty of making her feel that way, but what else could he do? He showed all the cards in his hand, at least the baseline of what he knew, and now he didn't have to step around eggshells whenever those two showed up.
Besides, they're Anabel and Looker. One is a former Frontier Brain and is now the head of an entire international police force division, and the other is an ultra-badass detective agent who's tussled with many evil organizations determined to conquer the world.
They'll manage.
Author's Note
Sorry for the long wait! This chapter was a pain to write and procrastination didn't help at all. The biggest hurdle was definitely thinking of the different ways Haruki reacts and interprets all these new things. I hope he came off as a bit aloof during all of this; he's learning a lot and he hasn't reflected on a critical detail about himself that will be the focal point of the next chapter. The closing scene was also a pain to write; how exactly do you tell a fictional character that they're fake from our perspective? I had to take it really slowly; Haruki hasn't even touched the surface of the Pokemon franchise for us.
As for story specific notes, yes, I'm aware that Florges isn't a Grass Type. Haruki just assumes it is at first glance and he can't remember every Pokemon's typing. Also, don't underestimate animals. They might not "laugh" or share the same body language that we do, but plenty of them are able to express amusement or joy in their own way, like bees and octopi (thanks to Cyberfire22 for this information!). Of course, Haruki doesn't know about this.
As always, thank you for reading and reviewing! Hope you enjoyed this chapter!