Chapter 2 - Stranded
I think I'm lying on something soft. Am I in bed? God, I hope it was all just a shitty dream and nothing else.
I'm definitely not dead, right? Hopefully this isn't the afterlife… Wait, where even am I?
Ugh… The last thing I remember were those flashing lights… A-and that Toucannon, he's not here, is he? Was it even a 'he', I could still hear the stupid bird's voice in my head. Ah, whatever. I'll assume it's a 'he', I ain't gonna be respectful to the guy that just tried to kill me in a way that'll definitely scar me for life.
Not that… attempting to kill someone in any way won't scar them but… uh, my brain felt too muddled to make any proper judgements. My eyes felt sore from the weight of my own eyelids, complimented nicely by the unquenchable desire for water. So all in all: I felt like I'd been dragged through the Distortion World and back - what a wonderful start to the day.
I bolted up, only to instantly recoil as a building pain around my abdomen forced me to quietly lie back down. That, and a stabbing headache both combined their powers to transform my experience into unadulterated agony.
It was a solid few minutes before I could muster enough strength to blink my yellow eyes open, squinting at the lighting in the room.
Nothing but a sanitised, blank white ceiling greeted me.
Oh right, I was in the Pokémon Centre, after I escaped what I was assured would be certain doom, I stumbled through the front doors.
Twisting my entire body just to look down, I noted that I was lying on a pristine bed. The padding was… okay, well, the bed's edges revealed that it had seemed to fade in and out of colour at times. It was older than I thought, but for someone as tiny as I was, it was more than enough accommodation. Unfortunately, it didn't at all feel like the bed I had slept in when I was human. There was a telling rigidness to the mattress informing me that the bed was more akin to a cookie cutter model rather than the plush, more slept-in mattress I had at home.
Panning my eyes to the door, I realised that I was in one of the rooms the Pokémon Centre used for treating sick and injured Pokémon. I've only been to Pokémon Centres a few times before, but that sterilised quaintness was so recognisable it meant there was no doubt in that regard. My room was fairly utilitarian, a metallic device with multiple glowing lights attached was held aloft beside my bed, along with a tray filled with syringes and God knows what else. A couple of toys were sitting in a box by the corner.
Nudging my way to the edge of the bed, I steadily roll to my tiny feet. Thankfully, the stitches in my abdomen don't come back until I hop down. Landing perfectly on the ground, which felt a bit grainy and cold to my feet.
That's when the burning feeling creeps in again, and I find myself doubled over on the ground against the door, almost to the verge of tears from what feels like a fire that's been lit in my stomach.
I skipped over to the door that held me in the room. Only to realise that I was far too short to reach the doorknob. That, and the fact that I had no arms.
Yup, as it would seem, I was still a tiny Bounsweet. It wasn't all just a realistic nightmare - it was the real deal.
Still quite mindful of my injuries, I hobbled over to the toy box. Noting how even the most diminutive toy of the bunch, a rubbery sphere designed in the shape of a PokéBall, was larger than me. It didn't help my ego feel any better.
I hate being so small, I can't do half the things I could do on a normal basis when I'd been human.
I angrily threw myself towards the rubbery ball, sending it into a wall, before it rebounded and smacked me, sending me crashing into a mirror. It caused me to whine out pathetically as my inflamed abdomen grew redder with another round of discomfort. Ah… that smarts.
In my haste, it would appear I also forgot that even the slightest breeze could blow me away, how silly I am, I remarked sarcastically to no one in particular.
Suppressing the urge to swear, I forced myself back up. Staring into the mirror I had just crashed into. It was, obviously, still me - A lime-coloured calyx complimented nicely with a pinkish-purple that shaded darker closer to my legs. Pupiless yellow eyes blinked dully without a sign of the intelligent life hiding within, I looked as pathetic as they come.
Though I never got a really good look at myself until now. The water in the jungle had not been clear enough, nor had there been enough time before that Toucannon attacked and threatened to eat me.
Scratch that, he didn't threaten to eat me, he DID try to eat me. And he almost got away with it, too…
My whimpering gasps from trying to gulp in too much air at once to quell the hoarseness in my breathing turned into frightened shouts as
I suddenly found myself overwhelmed with a vivid, flashing trauma from my encounter with that Toucannon.
The uncontrollable quivering that arrested my whole body to the spot intensified tenfold when I imagined how I squirmed in his beak, his terrifying squawking ringing around my ears; and the silhouette of his open wings - each somewhere in the ballpark of three to five times my own height - chasing after me throughout the jungle.
My breathing is starting to become so hoarse a bystander probably would have figured that I was on the verge of death, the flurry to tormenting thoughts didn't cease. It was as if I'd been paused in a time capsule - forced to view what would've… what probably should've been my demise - My life could have ended right then and there.
The door suddenly opened, leading me to jolt with animalistic instinct. Personally speaking, I didn't like being caught off-guard - it wasn't my style, but I was more than grateful for the interval to wrench me from my own torturous mind. A round, pink Pokémon with a fluffy white coat and an egg in its pouch walked in. It was a Blissey, I had seen plenty of them running around in Pokémon Centres when I had been human. They weren't usually as big as they were wide, I was easily taller than the average Blissey when I was a human. But now? It's an entirely different story, the matronly nurse's shadow totally enveloped me under the flickering light. One misstep and she could turn me into a puddle. I gulped at the thought.
"Oh, please get back onto the bed, you're still recovering, so try not to move around too much!"
I stare at the Blissey, who smiles tenderly towards me.
I blink, my panic melting away as I suddenly realise something dearly important.
I could understand her.
Thinking back, I could understand the Toucannon as well.
I could understand and talk to Pokémon! I-I mean, it should've been obvious, I was a Pokémon, how could I not understand them? I suppose maybe the fear of imminent death caused it to slip my mind, my bad.
Clearing my throat of bile, and releasing the choked noise stuck within, I looked at the Blissey, "H-hello!"
"Hello." She nodded, packing away the plastic rubber ball which I had knocked to the ground. "You're in a Pokémon Centre now, which is a location funded by the League where we take in sick or injured Pokémon and allow them to stay until they recover. It will be perfectly safe here, my dear." Her voice was reminiscent of a mother cooing to her babe - I despised the way it downsized me, but I had no choice other than to comply. Reluctantly, I allowed her to redirect me back onto the bed, "How are you feeling, do you need help with something? I heard a bit of fumbling from your room earlier so I came in to check."
I felt like I was about to cough out half a lung, my insides felt as if they were ablaze but that's neither here nor there, "Tch… to say I need help right now, would be quite the understatement. You wouldn't happen to have free therapy along with free healthcare… right?" I tried my hand at a joke, but given the prickling feeling in my throat, I barely had enough energy to even get the sentence out cohesively.
"Oh, you poor Bounsweet, that battle must have taken a lot out of you. But it's alright, you've been very brave, and you're much safer here than you were before."
I manage a service smile, however, it's more taxing to my body than I'd thought. "I-I hope so," I faux cough, trying to keep my quivering voice steady. Come on, be strong, although I doubted she wanted to eat me, I didn't dare show weakness. "Urgh… when can I get out?"
"Not a chance!" The firm answer catches me off-guard, causing me to flinch under the blanket. "Ah… Sorry. I didn't mean to raise my voice there. But although you managed to escape the Toucannon with nothing more than a few bruises and a small fever, I'd recommend keeping you bedridden for at least a week. Even if you are strong enough to walk around, I would highly advise against leaving." Something in her tone tells me if I tried to run, the Blissey wouldn't just 'advise' me not to leave. Not that I wanted to - it was cosy; and I still had the slightest twinge of an extremely piercing headache.
Trying to change the topic, I cleared my throat. "Okay, then. I was wondering… Do you know where I am right now?" I figure I know, vaguely, where I am in the grand scheme, but a bit of confirmation wouldn't be too bad, right?
"Of course! You're in Route 8's Pokémon Centre. Connected next to the Lush Jungle."
"Oh… right. What I meant was that I was asking what region I'm currently in right now…?"
The Blissey tilted her head. "Hm, that's an odd question, if you're a Wild Pokemon, it doesn't really matter, does it? Well, regardless, you're currently on the Akala island, in Alola."
Phew. So I'm still in the same region. Alright, that's definitely a relief.
"How long have I been asleep?"
"Please don't be too surprised when I say this, but you've been asleep for the better part of the last two days." She stared at the clock on the wall, it read eight-fifty - Nearly nine o'clock in the evening already!
My stomach suddenly grumbled. Courtly reminding me, along with the other person… I meant Pokémon in this room, of my hunger. I blushed in embarrassment.
"Are you hungry? Please come with me. I can get you something to eat, if you'd like."
"Yes!" I shouted, before awkwardly shaking, "Th-that would be nice, thank you. A-And I'm parched, too. You wouldn't happen to have some water?"
"Of course, helping others is what a nurse is supposed to do! Now please get on." The Blissey bent down, pulling her nurse hat down from her head and presenting it towards me.
"What?" I tilted my head, "Do you want me to get in it?"
"Yes, dear." She smiled. "You're still hurt, so there's no way I'm letting you walk all the way to the storage room to get food!"
Come on, where's my independence?! Damn her for looking out for me and being so reasonable! I kept my mouth shut, however, biting the hand that feeds you? Not exactly the smartest idea.
I tried my best not to frown while riding in the Blissey's nurse hat. Ugh… At least my grumbling stomach will finally have some decent human food to satisfy it.
That was what I thought, before Normal type opened the storage doors. Once again, I'd clearly set the bar too high - I was a Pokémon, so I couldn't even eat normal, human food. Instead, I had to make do with dry, possibly flavourless bits of brown kibble reserved for primitives.
The Blissey gestured to the rows of packets which lined the storage containers. "Do you have a berry preference, or a flavour preference?"
"I'm fine with anything, really."
"Alright, if you say so."
The Blissey poured the packet of its contents into a small plastic feeding bowl, which looked like it was for wild Pokémon.
Great, being treated like an animal, that's even worse than being treated like a kid!
With a bowl of kibble sitting in front of me, I ate silently on the floor, hunched over - crumbs running down my face as if I was nothing better than a feral 'mon. Maybe I could've complained about it, but in a sense I welcomed this treatment, it was as easy as pie for them to cut me off from food and water; kick me right back to the curb where I'd be left to fend for myself against all the birds and monkeys and whatever primordial horrors laid in that forsaken jungle.
Besides, the more things I could complain about, the more it took my mind off of other things I'd rather not be thinking about. The Blissey sat nearby and watched me attempt to pick food into my mouth without the help of arms, one sad brown cube at a time. After a few seconds of watching my plaintive display, she walked away to do something else, what exactly, I didn't really pay much attention to. It gave me the perfect time to let out the slightly choked sound in my throat which I had been withholding.
And there goes my dignity. God, you really tend to feel awfully incompetent when you can barely hold a piece of food to your own mouth without dropping it on the floor, hm?
Halfway through my meal, she returned with a spoon and a glass flask filled with an amber syrup, "Here. This'll make things easier."
"You're… not gonna feed me with that, are you?"
"That's precisely what I'm going to do - You're quite perceptive." She scooped up a spoonful of the kibble, mixing some of the liquid with it.
"What, no way! What even is that stuff you're adding in?" I spun my sepals feebly, trying to smack the Blissey's hand away.
"It's just medicine, it shouldn't have much of a taste. Please cooperate, sweetie. You haven't eaten a bite in over the two days you've spent here, and I don't know how much longer since you last ate before you came here. Your body needs this."
I opened my mouth to whine, but only ended up getting a teaspoon of pet food and medication shoved into my mouth. I chewed, it had the texture of dried kipper, just without that smoky taste… or any taste at all. Maybe there was a faintly sweet and sour note in there somewhere, but it was buried too deeply for me to notice. The texture was also sloppy, the melt-in-your-mouth kind, even if its outward appearance didn't look like it at all… What wouldn't I give to sink my teeth into a cheeseburger. Regardless, my stomach still faltered to this culinary atrocity and the allure of more food. In my rather weak defence, I was simply too famished for my own good; and it was just so much more efficient allowing her to feed me…
Swallowing my food (and my pride), I quietly grovelled in the taste. Even bland blocks of kibble tasted good when you were on the brink of starvation.
After the rather dehumanising dinner, the Blissey gave me a quick bath, which was made extra awkward by the fact that I couldn't scrub, wash or even get myself out of the bathtub. Causing the Blissey having to hover around me to help me do so. I hate this so, so much.
"Wait a second, you!" I said, muffled due to the fact I had a small, brown brush in my mouth.
"You're hurt, it wouldn't be wise to strain yours-"
"I can do this myself!" Twisting about in obvious discomfort, I managed to bring the brush to touch my back, I grunted in exertion. The brush was only able to scrub my backside for a few seconds before I dropped it into the soapy water. I sighed in frustration; The Blissey next to me eyed me curiously.
"What exactly are you trying to prove here?"
I grimaced, the water dripping down into my eyes, "I don't know, maybe that I'm trying to be independent?"
"Curious," The Blissey remarked, "Most Bounsweet usually stay in groups to increase their odds of survival. Could it be th-"
"No," I responded simply, before a thought clicked in my head. I had to make up some sort of alibi for myself. Considering that I didn't really have much of a backstory as to how I became a Bounsweet that I could tell these Pokémon without arousing suspicion. "I mean, 'yes'. Whatever you were gonna say." I quickly corrected myself, only half-heartedly paying attention. "I was separated from my group, but honestly, I never believed much in strength in numbers or any sort of bullcrap like that." I affirmed my shitty beliefs with a gruff hum, though considering I was staring back up at the Blissey while bobbing in the water like a capsized boat, it wasn't particularly convincing. And I could tell she knew it too, but chose not to press me any further.
The Blissey frowned, before reaching down and plucking the brush from the bathtub. Using her other hand to hold me down, she began scrubbing. "I'll try to be gentle, alright?"
"Hey! Hey! What's the big idea? Put me down!"
One disorderly bathing session later, the Blissey brings me back to my temporary room. Opening the door, she walked up towards my bed, allowing me to hop in from atop her head. She does a bit of a checkup on me, mostly checking my temperature and replacing a few bandages. Turns out my fever had already receded, I guess the one thing this body has over my old one is how quickly it heals injuries, at least I still have something going for me.
"Thank you for all of your cooperation during the activities we partook in tonight. After having to wrangle so many disobedient and injured Pokémon, you've really made my life a lot easier." She tugged on my sheets, dragging them up to my level as I averted my gaze. Ugh… I was just fatigued, I'm still feeling sick, and it's been a bit of a long night. That's all. "You know, you're quite smart for a Bounsweet. Not that I mean to be rude to your species or anything, it's just that…"
"Yeah, I know. We aren't exactly the smartest Pokémon out there. What with constantly getting eaten by other Pokémon and all… though, I really wouldn't consider the way I'd acted during that bath as 'cooperative', but if you say so."
"Trust me, I've seen a lot worse. You would not believe how chaotic trying to wash a Fire type can get."
I gave the Blissey a look of… Well, I wasn't sure what I was aiming to convey, it kinda fell somewhere between extreme exhaustion, unspoken sadness, and complete misery.
She returned it with something that resembled sympathy, or maybe it was simply my tired brain trying to scrape together something nice in this forsaken nightmare.
"Sleep tight, I'll check up on you tomorrow."
"T-Thank you." I forced out, sighing in relief as she turned the light to my room off. "Hey, wait a second. What's your name?"
"Oh, my name?" Blissey paused for a moment, "It's Cheryl, may I inquire as to your name?"
"My name…" I paused suddenly, wait, what was my name?!
When I was a human my name was… Alex? Charlie? Or was it Bailey?
My blood ran cold, causing a shiver to run through the tip of my stem down to my tiny legs, "My name…" I repeated dumbly, as if scrabbling at false hope for some shred of definitive proof that my name wasn't lost to time. Aw hell, for the love of Arceus… Why can't you let me have just one?!
Seeing my unintentional reluctance, the silence between us grew.
"It's alright if you don't want to tell." Cheryl nodded. I exhaled a shaky breath from my mouth, and she closed the door softly. "Good night, tomorrow will be better, trust me."
My name… I-It's literally my identity, everything about me came after my name, HOW could I forget it?!
There's something at play, not that getting turned into a Pokémon wasn't already enough confirmation, but it looks as if not all of my memories made it through as well…
I wanted to give the subject more thought, but the dulled headache returned with a righteous fury; and I felt myself drift off into a necessitated nap. Looks like my body just couldn't handle any more pressure.
"This kindhearted Pokémon nurses sick Pokémon to health. It senses feelings of sadness." (Blissey's Diamond entry)