Chapter 1 – Day 1, Part 1: Rough Start

Chapter 1 – Day 1, Part 1: Rough Start

It was hard for Dahlia to deny the pleasant feeling she felt as she soared through the sky that day.

The sun warmed her feathers and the slight breeze kept her afloat. Summer was coming to an end, and the leaves of the trees were fading to pleasant oranges and warm brown again. With Autumn being her favorite season, Dahlia was comfortable for once. Everything about her situation just seemed to click together. She had a stable job at the castle guild, taking simple daily tasks to keep her team fed and to keep herself occupied as the days carried on.

Speaking of, Dahlia looked down at the duo of pokemon between the treeline. The Murkrow could barely hear the conversation of the Houndoom and Monferno as they walked below her. Dahlia could’ve easily flown ahead and left these pokemon at any moment, but she didn’t. She’s enjoyed their company for the past few years now, and she wouldn’t give them up for anything.

Even if they were a bit loud sometimes.

Her strong and dependable leader, Holly the Houndoom, led the charge. The fire type’s deathly serious glare was fresh in her mind, alongside the many, many scars that littered the hound’s body. She was definitely the strongest of the three of them, that much was obvious. So much so that she frequently scared their clients with her threatening appearance. But that wasn’t important. Right now, Holly was marching forward with her snout in the air, ignoring the pokemon walking close beside her.

It was another fire type—a Monferno named Pink. Unlike Holly, Pink was talking her throat out, going off about her last date at the cafe or some jerk that had the gall to tell her that she was more a shade of red or something like that. Dahlia couldn’t really hear her all that well, but judging by the way Pink was shadowing-boxing the air she figured that something had set her off. Nothing new there.

Both were quite strong by Dahlia’s own metric. Meanwhile, Dahlia herself was hardly a fighter. While not completely helpless, she worked best as the lookout or the messenger. It helped that she was also keen to pick up a lot of incriminating information. Not that there was anything wrong with that! She was just that kind of Murkrow! Same as every other bird pokemon in Kebia, really!

They weren’t the most esteemed team in the guild, Dahlia figured, but they were getting there. Someday, they might even get that promotion…

The Murkrow tore her eyes away from her teammates and looked ahead of her. It was about midday when the three of them were headed for a cave not far from Kebia town. What cave? She didn’t know. Nor did she necessarily care. She did know that they were searching for a Persian with a round, ugly face. Apparently, the cat just stole a few knickknacks. Dahlia was confident that Pink would punch his lights out and take back what he stole. They would get paid, and the cat would spend a week or two in the castle dungeon.

Nothing new. Nothing crazy. Same old, same old.

Dahlia looked down at her teammates again as they raised their voices. Now Pink and Holly were arguing about something. Pink was throwing her arms up in the air, more than likely just complaining, while Holly didn’t appear the least bit interested in humoring her. Her eyes were set straight ahead, almost as if she wasn’t hearing the Monferno screaming in her ear. Dahlia wasn’t envious in the slightest. In fact, she wasn’t really interested in hearing it right now. She left the two of them unattended and flew closer to their destination.

Not too far up ahead was a field of flowers, past the treeline and out of sight from the two land-locked pokemon. The pinks of the tulips and the reds of the roses were a nice contrast to the dull oranges and browns of the trees. Distant mountains pierced the skyline with their white tips surrounded by big, fluffy clouds. The field itself was situated on a cliff overlooking Kebia town to the east. The sun was high in the sky, illuminating Castle Kebia and its stone ramparts in a bright shimmer. Dahlia tilted her head to keep the sun out of her eyes.

This field in particular was what the locals called “Fairy Fields.” Mostly because it was never officially given a name. When Dahlia flew closer, she could see the town of Watmel in the distance. She had been there once or twice for a mission similar to this one and it was a nice experience for the crow. But it wasn’t much more than a home for flowers and Flabébé, hence why she couldn’t stay for long. She needed drama. Excitement.

And not the kind Pink was engrossed in. Bar fights weren’t juicy enough.

As Dahlia flew, she scanned the flowers for anything of interest. There were, in fact, flowers. And more flowers. It was about what she was expecting: nothing. Sighing, she turned, ready to meet back up with Pink and Holly and end her short scout ahead.

Before that however, she noticed something amiss. A hint of blue amongst the pinks and reds. She hovered in place and squinted her eyes. Is it a water type? she wondered. What would a water type be doing here?

Well, she certainly wouldn’t let something this exciting go! Let alone wait for the others. Curious as always, the Murkrow flew closer to the blue pokemon.

---

Oo-oO

I had no idea where I was or where I was last, but I can say for certain that it was DEFINITELY not here.

I didn’t remember falling asleep outside, especially in the middle of a field. The sky was blue. At least that was normal. But…why did I feel so strange? I searched my memories for anything and nothing came up. I couldn’t even remember my name.

No, wait, scratch that, I did remember my name. Oswald. My name is Oswald.

Well at least I’m not completely hopeless, I thought, audibly groaning. My body ached and my head hurt like hell. Did I drink too much or something? Do I even drink?

This is too much. The ground was relaxing to lie in at least. And I wasn’t in any immediate danger as far as I could tell either, so that was good.

My next course of action was to close my eyes. Maybe I’m dreaming. If I wake up, I’ll probably end up back at home.

…Wherever home is.

My mind raced with more questions as I tried to ignore the pain coursing through my body. I waited for some time, and eventually, the aching slowly subsided. But the headache only seemed to be getting worse. Once again I groaned, and opened my eyes.

This is getting me nowhere. If I’m not dreaming then I’m just wasting time sitting here. I sat up slowly. The aches never truly went away and I swore I heard a few pops coming from my sore limbs.

Jeez, did I age a decade or something?

…

…How old am I even? Ugh.

Right after I sat up I heard a sound to my right. Not far from me was some kind of black bird. It had a long, yellow beak and lethargic, red eyes, as well as a red piece of cloth wrapped around one of their legs. I recognized this bird from somewhere…a pokemon…a Murkrow. I blinked. Why is it so close?

“Yo.”

And now it’s talking. Great.

It, or she I suppose, kept talking. “You okay?” she asked, her beak clicking together in between each word. “What’s a water type like you doing in Fairy Fields?”

Fairy Fields? Is that where I am? Why was I passed out in a place called Fairy Fields?

…

And why is this Murkrow talking? This isn’t right. Pokemon don’t talk, right?

I gave the pokemon a look of disbelief and rubbed the back of my head, only to stop once I realized just how…strange it felt. The way my hand functioned and how the skin almost seemed to drag along with my movements was not normal. I didn’t remember much, but I was sure that skin wasn’t supposed to be this plush.

I looked at my hand as I brought it back down to the front of my face and my eyes widened. My hand was covered in black fur and I had less digits than I should have. In fact, my whole body was covered in fur. My arms were a light blue and my pelvis was covered in a darker blue…skirt or something. Both of my hips held an odd looking shell each.

What the? Am I losing my mind or…no it can’t be…

“Everything alright there, guy? You look worried.”

I had almost forgotten I was in the company of another pokemon.

Another.

That didn’t sound right. I’m a human. Or at least I was. Am I a pokemon now? I think I remember this one too. It’s a… Dewott. But why?

“Hello?” the Murkrow crooned, tilting her head in concern. The soft clicking of the Murkrow’s beak caused me to nearly jump out of my skin. I should really stop spacing out and say something.

“H-hey, what’s up?” I said in a voice that wasn’t my own. Even my mouth and voice weren’t right.

The Murkrow sighed. “Well, at least you can talk. I’ll go ahead and ask again: are you alright? What are you doing here? You’re not a feral from what I can tell.”

I stared at the bird for a few seconds, pondering what to say. Do I say that I’m human? What if she hates humans? Is this a trap? Could she…help me?

I scratched one of my arms, sending a shock up my spine. These new…claws were sharper than I was expecting. And now with the added pain of nearly cutting myself, I basically had confirmation that this was all real. I didn’t like the implications of that.

So now, I had to come to terms with the fact that I was in a place I’ve never been to before and I had a whole new body to boot. Just the thought of that was enough to make the fur on the back of my neck stand up. And my anxiety only got worse because that was a feeling I’ve never experienced either.

I was freaking out. Bad. But I needed to act normal. If I didn’t, things could go horribly wrong really fast. I needed to…figure things out.

Okay…start by talking…go from there…

“Um,” I mumbled, “I’m fine. A little sore, but I can deal with it.” I looked around me for a second. I was surrounded by flowers and nothing but flowers. “As for why I’m here…” I shrugged. “…No idea. I just woke up.”

Was being honest the best course of action here? I had no idea. It wasn’t like I had a good cover story anyways.

A frown appeared on the Murkrow’s beak. “You don’t know?” she said questioningly. “Are you saying that you just woke up here with no idea of how you got here?”

I nodded.

“Hm.” The Murkrow hopped closer. “Do you have a name?”

I nodded again. Slower this time. “…Oswald.”

She raised an eyebrow. “Oswald. Strange name. Never heard of it, or any name like it. Hm.” The Murkrow turned her head away in thought. “And I know a lot of names…”

Crap. Way to go Oswald. Less than five minutes in and you’re already screwing this up. Next thing I know I’ll be carted off to some dungeon and tortured to learn my secrets. Great. I really should have come up with a fake name.

After a few seconds of thinking, the Murkrow shook her head and turned back to me. “Must be foreign. Whatever. It’s probably not important. Anyways,” she tipped her…hat…with a wing, “I’m Dahlia. Renowned scout and designated flying type of Team Phlox at Castle Kebia.”

“Nice to meet you, Dahlia,” I muttered, holding up a…paw. This is really happening, huh?

She nodded wordlessly before looking around the area we were in. I looked around as well. Fairy Fields was a very apt title for the place. The pastel pinks of the flowers definitely gave off that sort of “fairy” vibe. Looking down, I noticed that I was actually lying in the flowers themselves. Almost like I was dropped here.

Is that why I feel so awful? Did I piss somebody off?

The Murkrow beside me looked back at me before speaking. “So, Oswald, where are you headed next?” she wondered.

I considered the question for a bit because I admittedly had no idea what to do. I could’ve just gone with the flow, nothing wrong with that. Dahlia seemed hospitable at least. And she mentioned a castle too so this place wasn’t just fields.

Civilization existed. Cool. I thought about visiting the castle and starting from there. Might be a good place to find a lead.

As I sat there in my thoughts, though, I noticed a face emerge from the flowers behind Dahlia.

When they peaked through, the roundness of the grey cat’s face was the first thing I noticed. And what an ugly face it was. The peculiar Persian looked surprised, and almost horrified. They were also looking directly at me. I pointed at the creature. “Um, is he with you?”

Dahlia shot me a strange look before turning around to face the Persian. I couldn’t see her face, but the fact that she suddenly became tense told me everything I needed to know. The Persian never took their eyes off of me.

“Nope. Not with me,” Dahlia stated. “But I was looking for him.” She chuckled sadistically. “Keep back, Oswald. This could get ugl-“

Dahlia didn’t get to finish before the Persian suddenly spun around and ran in the other direction. “Oh no you don’t!” yelled Dahlia. She lifted off the ground and sped after the cat quicker than I could follow.

I didn’t understand what was happening. I was still getting used to the idea of being not a human and then that happened. I briefly considered following Dahlia’s advice and staying put, but then I remembered the look on that Persian’s face. It bothered me. They hadn’t even said anything, but the way they focused on me was unsettling. Did they know something about me? Why was Dahlia looking for them?

I shakily stood up, wobbling to my feet as I tried to get to grips with how short I was. I needed answers and following that Persian seemed like a good start. So, I started towards the direction where the Persian and Dahlia fled to and nearly tripped. This body I was controlling somehow hit an uncanny valley where it felt vaguely similar to my last body but also drastically different in more ways than I could comprehend. My arms were really short. My legs were also short. I was short. Not only that, but I felt something drag behind me as I tried to walk. I looked back and saw that I had a tail shaped like a paddle.

Everything was wrong.

Eventually, I managed to move my legs in a pattern one could reasonably recognize as running. My tail lazily dragged across the dirt as I went, inciting me to grimace with every step. My limbs still ached as well, but I persevered.

It wasn’t difficult to keep track of Dahlia and the Persian what with the sound of two pokemon fighting being the only notable sounds I could hear at that moment. Eventually, I caught up with them in a clearing of the flowers.

Dahlia was swooping down and pecking the Persian as the cat tried its hardest to swipe the Murkrow out of the sky. Apparently, they stopped trying to escape. Dahlia hit the cat with a wing, causing them to tumble backwards and yowl loudly. They stood back up and gathered dark energy in their mouth before sending a black, spiraling aura through the air in an attempt to hit Dahlia. The Murkrow narrowly dodged the dark pulse, flying back around and once again hitting the Persian with a wing.

All the while, I stood there watching the two pokemon battle, unsure if I should have intervened. I wasn’t sure if I could intervene. I was a water type, I figured, but how did that work?

Do I just…think about expelling water and it happens? I followed the Persian and Dahlia with my eyes as they fought and concentrated on hitting the gray feline with a water attack.

Water gun…water gun…water gun…WATER GUN!

I opened my mouth. Nothing happened. I tried a few more times. Still nothing. All it did was make my headache worse. My frustrations distracted me so much that I didn’t notice that the Persian finally saw me. They gave up on fighting Dahlia and rushed towards me, a look of desperation in their eyes.

My stomach dropped. Guess this is it, I thought. I’m already dead. Don’t even know what’s going on and I’m already dead. I closed my eyes and covered my face with my arms. I only hoped it would be over quickly…

…

…except…I never felt pain. Instead, I heard a loud thwack and the deafening yowl of a familiar sounding cat pokemon.

I slowly opened my eyes. The first thing I saw was a red monkey—looking pokemon with a red piece of cloth around their tail and a bag hanging from their shoulder. They looked content with themselves.

The second thing I noticed was what the Monferno was looking at. The Persian was spread out on the grass not too far away. I could see scorch marks on its flat face from where I was standing.

I immediately put two and two together. But now I was even more confused. Before I had any time to think however, the Monferno started talking. “Got you, you ugly creep!” she declared in a clearly feminine sounding voice. “You’re making this too easy! I thought I’d have to explore a dungeon today!”

She then turned to look at me with an intense gaze. I was even more afraid than before now. “And who are you supposed to be, bluey?” she asked threateningly.

I stuttered and took a step back. “U-um-“

“Pink!” A voice rang out from behind the Monferno. The Murkrow from before flew closer and hovered above her. “Did you get him?” Dahlia asked.

“Yeah, I got ’em,” the Monferno responded. The monkey pokemon then pointed a digit at me. “Don’t know who this is though. The report didn’t mention a Dewott.” The Monferno cracked her knuckles and smirked at me on the last word.

I took another step back.

Dahlia shook her head while she hovered above. “That’s what I thought, but I found him in the fields. We were looking for the Persian in a cave, remember? Oswald here isn’t related as far as I can tell.”

The Monferno turned around and looked up at Dahlia. “Well then what’s the ugly bastard doing in the fields? Rindo Cave is like another couple miles from here!”

“Pink! Where are y-oh.” A rough sounding voice called out shortly after. “There you are.” Another pokemon then appeared from the flowers near the Monferno. A very threatening looking Houndoom with a piece of red cloth around one foreleg. “What’s the deal, Pink?” the Houndoom asked. “I stop to rest for a second and you go off without me. Next time you do that I’m docking your pay.”

Pink—the Monferno I assumed—scoffed and waved away her threat. “Whatever. I got the outlaw. Crumpled under my flaming fist as easily as I thought he would.” Pink stretched her arms behind her head and yawned. “Pretty easy today, huh?” she asked no one in particular.

“Wait. The Persian?” the Houndoom questioned. “That really him?” She pointed her snout at the Persian lying on their side not too far away. “What’s he doing here?”

Dahlia flew past Pink and landed on top of the Houndoom’s left horn. The right horn was missing about half of its usual length, I noticed. Her face was covered in scars.

“No idea,” answered Dahlia. “But yeah, that’s him. Made sure of it.”

The Houndoom then turned to face me. Her blood red eyes pierced my very soul. “And who’s this? Another outlaw?” The Houndoom eyed me up and down before approaching me slowly. I felt genuine fear as she got closer and closer, causing me to backpedal before I tripped on my own feet, landing on my back. I shook in horror. This pokemon is gonna kill me!

“U-u-uh,” was all I managed to croak out.

“Not an outlaw,” Dahlia abruptly squawked, leaning down to make eye contact with the Houndoom. “Just a pokemon I found here. A little skittish, though. That’s probably you causing that at the moment, Holly.”

“You know him?” wondered Holly, meeting Dahlia’s gaze.

“Enough to know that these two are unrelated.” Dahlia pointed at the Persian with a wing. “He said he doesn’t remember how he got here.”

The Houndoom knelt down and sniffed me. It took everything in me not to scream.

“Give him some room to breathe, Holly,” Pink called sarcastically. “Can’t you see you’re scaring him?”

The Houndoom stared into my eyes. At this point, I was thoroughly convinced that I was dead right then and there. Thankfully, the Houndoom then snorted and lifted her head back up after a few moments.

Holly cocked her head towards where the Persian was lying. “You know him, Dewott?”

I was afraid to answer. I mean, I definitely didn’t know him, but did he know me? From what I could tell, he wasn’t supposed to be here…and neither was I. Saying no would probably be the best course of action regardless. I shook my head frantically. “N-no! I d-don’t. I-“

“Eugh…”

Every pokemon here including me turned to face the sound coming from the previously unconscious Persian. The cat slowly began to sit up, taking in their surroundings momentarily before finally seeing all of us. Their eyes became incredibly wide. Without a moment’s hesitation, the Persian frantically stood on all fours and ran in the opposite direction.

“Don’t run! It’ll only hurt more!” Holly the Houndoom yelled, dashing forward. Holly pounced and caught the Persian by the scruff of its neck before Dahlia had the chance to realize that she was still attached to the Houndoom’s horn. The Persian wailed as its neck fur glowed a fiery red. Holly’s fangs gripped the cat’s neck and ignited, sending it back into unconsciousness. Holly dropped the Persian triumphantly and licked her lips.

My body trembled in fear. That could be me if I screw this up…crap…

Holly and Pink exchanged glances. “Pfft. Guess he wasn’t completely out cold,” Pink said, crossing her arms. “Not my fault.”

“Now as I was saying,” Holly started, “what’s your deal, Dewo-“

“I don’t know!” I yelled. “I have no idea who that guy is! I have no idea who you are! I have no idea who I am! I don’t even know what’s going on! Just don’t kill me please!”

Smooth.

The trembling only got worse. Seeing that Houndoom roast that Persian really broke something in me. If I wasn’t careful, I could’ve very easily ended up like him.

“Whoa, okay,” Dahlia interrupted. She flew up to me until she was on the ground in front of me. She hopped up to me slowly and looked me in the eyes. “Calm down. None of us are going to hurt you.” She shot a glance at the Houndoom behind her.

Holly only frowned in response.

“You said you don’t know who you are,” Dahlia asked softly. “Is it amnesia do you think?”

Lowering my head, I couldn’t deny the truth right in front of me. I remembered my name and the fact that I was a human once, but that’s it. I looked into Dahlia’s eyes, trying to find any source of solace. I couldn’t tell if she was lying, she looked genuine enough. That was all I really wanted.

This Murkrow has done nothing but try and help me this whole time. Maybe I can trust her…

I nodded.

“Hm. Okay.” The Murkrow rubbed her chin with a wing. “The only thing I can think of is to bring you back to base and see what Anemone has to say,” Dahlia muttered. She contemplated something for a few seconds before Pink spoke up.

“Wait. We’re bringing him with us?” Pink said in disbelief.

I’m going with them?

“If we don’t, then he’ll just be left out here all on his own,” The Murkrow answered.

Oh yeah. Forgot.

The Monferno raised an eyebrow. “Dahlia. Really, come on.”

“I’m serious, Pink,” Dahlia replied firmly. She didn’t sound concerned as much as she sounded annoyed. Almost as if she was trying to convince the two of them to prove a point.

Pink glanced at Holly. Neither of them seemed all too thrilled with the idea. Holly the Houndoom stared at me for a few more seconds, filling my heart with fear all over again.

Eventually, she spoke. “As long as he doesn’t cause any trouble then I’m fine with it.”

The Monferno’s eyes grew wide and she looked back and forth at Holly and I. She groaned, “Ugh. Whatever. The sooner we leave, the better.”

Pink promptly picked up the unconscious Persian with ease and slung them over her shoulder. She and Holly turned back the way they came and started to walk away.

Dahlia sighed. “Sorry about them. They both have their issues, but they’re nice pokemon, believe me.” Dahlia then flapped her wings and swiftly landed on top of my head. Her talons held on firmly, but not in a way that hurt.

I let out a sigh of relief. “Thanks, Dahlia. I was worried there for a second.”

She shifted slightly atop my head. “No problem, friend. Now get a move on. Kebia’s not far.”

I didn’t question it anymore. This was what I had to deal with now.

Guess I’ll just have to figure things out as I go…