Awakening

The deep and luscious green trees rustled as a soothing zephyr glided through their leaves. A calm brook ran nearby, bubbling cheerfully as it weaved through the forest. Birds chirped cheerfully in the trees, enjoying the fine day.

Shaun stirred, his eyes blinking as they took in the bright sunlight. He felt tired and achey, but he wasn’t sure why. His mind was a haze, and he slowly realized he couldn’t remember much of anything at all.

Only his name, the fact that he was human, and a dim memory of falling, enveloped in brilliant light.

As Shaun attempted to get up, though, the ‘human’ memory became confused as his current body did not match what little it remembered.He stood up on four legs, feeling dizzy. He looked around, and sighed as it failed to jog his memory. He then heard the brook, and realized how thirsty he was.

Plus, it would allow him to get a look at his reflection.

Slowly he crawled his way out of the small crater he’d woken up in, his ears twitching as they tried to pinpoint the creek’s location. His mind grumbled that this feeling was unfamiliar, but he didn’t pay it much attention. He shortly reached the creek, lapping up some water before realizing that that was also weird. Looking down, he saw his reflection gazing back up at him.He appeared to be some sort of black fox/cat thing, with strange blue rings on his forehead, ears, and limbs. His eyes were a soft and glowing red, and an old pair of glasses sat crooked upon his muzzle. He reached up with a paw and straightened them.He knew that this was not a human body, but he didn’t particularly mind. He couldn’t remember what it was like to have one, so it didn’t particularly bother him that he was a…Hmm, what was he? He wasn’t quite sure. Dimly, his mind said Umbreon, but he had no idea what that actually was.

He shrugged to himself and looked up, right as someone yelped and fell out of a bush. She was a white cat of some sort, with dark blue paws and mane. Her ears were tightly folded, and she seemed to have two tails. A red scarf was tied around her neck, and she carefully adjusted it to make it slightly less disheveled. She stumbled to her feet, looking rather embarrassed.

“Stupid root…”, she muttered, before looking up and seeing Shaun.

“Aaaa!!!”, she yelped, leaping back, “Don’t come any closer! I can fight!”

Shaun tilted his head. “I don’t want to fight.”, he replied.

The cat calmed down quickly. “Oh good, you’re not a feral. I was terrified for a moment – I’ve never seen a feral before.”

She frowned. “Where are you from, anyway? We almost never see anyone else out here – we’re pretty far out of the way.”

Shaun replied, “I don’t know. I can’t remember anything.”

“Really?”, asked the cat, “Nothing at all?”

Shaun shook his head. “Nothing but my name.”

He didn’t add the human part. Something told him that it was best to keep that secret for now.

“Huh…I’ve never heard of anyone just losing their memory like that.”, the cat replied, “That must feel awful.”

Shaun shrugged. “I guess.”

The cat looked around nervously. “Well, I suppose it wouldn’t be very nice of me to leave you here. And if you can’t remember anything that means you PROBABLY won’t be a threat to the village. So, I guess I could take you there while you figure things out?”

Shaun smiled. “That would be great!”

The cat smiled too. “Okay, let’s go then! I’m sure the others won’t mind too much…”

She started walking back into the trees, and Shaun followed, springing over the creek and trotting after her on silent paws. They weaved through the branches and bushes, until finally reaching a considerably larger clearing.

Ahead of them was a small, cheerful-looking town. There were a few small wooden huts along a worn dirt road, and in the center of town were several kiosks selling assorted goods, along with a large overgrown well. Around the town were clusters of berry trees, assorted scents wafting from their fruit. Shaun took a deep breath and sighed happily.

Waiting outside the town was a large, old leaf-covered goat, who trotted over as soon as he saw the cat.

“Matilda!”, he croaked, “Where have you been!?”

“Exploring.”, Matilda answered, crossing her arms, “You saw the stars that fell last night. I wanted to see if I could find one!”

The goat growled, “And when did you plan on letting me know where you went!? I’ve been worried sick!”

Then he spotted Shaun.”And who is this?”, he demanded, pointing a hoof at Shaun.

Matilda replied, “His name is…uh…uh…”

“Did you seriously not even get the name of this stranger before leading him to our village?”, grumbled the goat, “You are far too trusting!”

Matilda looked ashamed.

Shaun stepped up. “My name is Shaun. I lost my memory and I have no idea where I am or what I was doing. I would like to stay in the village until I can regain my bearings and figure out where to go.”

The goat stared at him silently for a few moments, and Shaun felt rather nervous.

“Hmph. I suppose there’s a spare bed in our cottage. But you better not cause any trouble, you hear?”, the goat declared, “And if you lay one paw on Matilda I will trample you into the ground and hang your pelt up as a trophy!”

Shaun shivered. “Warning taken.”

The goat looked back at Matilda. “While I’m not gonna stop you, you need to let me know when you go off exploring in the future. This old heart of mine can’t handle panicking every time you disappear without a note.”

“Sorry, granddad. I’ll let you know next time.”, Matilda replied softly.

The goat nodded. “Thank you. Now if you’ll excuse me I need to go check on the berries.”He galloped off, and Shaun turned towards Matilda.

“Who was that guy?”, he asked.

“Old Tucker. He’s my granddad.”, Matilda answered, “He’s been taking care of me since my parents went off to the war and my sister to the Guild Academy. He can be scary but he’s really just a big softie.”

“Uh-huh.”, replied Shaun, “Okay.”

“Since you’ll probably be staying a while, I should give you the grand tour!”, Matilda declared, “Oh, it’s been so long since I’ve gotten to meet a new Pokemon! I’ve gotta show you everything!”

Shaun followed after her as she raced into town, stopping by the first of the shops – a large bakery.

Baskets of berries sat around it, and bundles of pink flowers had been draped around the doorframe. Mouthwateringly delicious scents wafted from the windows, of fresh pastries and breads and more. Quite a few Pokemon were gathered around it, all waiting eagerly for their turn to get some of the goods.

“Come along to the back! Shirley always sneaks a few things to me, and she’d love to meet you!”, Matilda chirped, dashing around the building. Shaun quietly followed along.

At the back of the building were several berry trees, mostly picked clean of fruit. There were also two wooden chairs, with holes in the back for tails. They were also long and low to the ground, allowing any Pokemon to rest on them, bipedal or quadrupedal.

Matilda walked up the quaint old door and knocked. “Hey, Shirley, it’s me!”, she called, “I brought a friend!”

There was some rustling, and then a strange white Pokemon appeared. Their fur was sticky and curled in tight threads, and they hopped along on small paws.

“Hi Matilda!”, chirped the odd Pokemon, and Shaun guessed this was Shirley, “There’s plenty of jelly donuts this time!”

Shirley pushed open the door, carrying a small tray of donuts on her head. She carefully hopped over to the chairs and put the plate down, before spotting Shaun.

She gasped. “A boy! Wow! Wow wow wow! So handsome, too! That black fur, and those beautiful blue rings, and the shy adorable eyes…”

Shaun blushed. Matilda rolled her eyes. “Yes, a boy. His name is Shaun and he lost his memory. I’m showing him around town.”, she said.

“Aw, the poor thing! Maybe giving him a few donuts will help!”, Shirley cried. She immediately grabbed a donut and shoved it in Shaun’s mouth.

“Mmrf?!”, he choked.The donut was delicious, but he was also too startled to chew it. So he just stood there like an idiot with it shoved halfway in his mouth.

Matilda chuckled. “Don’t worry Shaun. Shirley’s always like that. Every new boy who comes along is subjected to this.”

“Don’t tell him that! He could finally be the one!”, Shirley wailed.

“Somehow I doubt that.”, Matilda replied, crossing her arms.

Shirley gave an exaggerated sigh. Shaun managed to gulp down the donut.

“Oh, you ready for another one!?”, chirped Shirley.

Shaun’s eyes widened. “Wait, no, I’m -“

Too late. Another donut in his mouth already.

As he worked on chewing this one, Shirley looked to Matilda. “You saw the falling stars last night, right!?”, she squeaked.

Matilda nodded. “Of course! One landed near here – I was trying to find it, but I found Shaun instead.”

Shirley looked amazed. “So cool! I could never go out exploring like you though…the outside world is so scary.”

Matilda smiled. “That’s okay! I’ll keep you safe. One day I’m gonna be a heroic adventurer!”

Shirley nodded. “That will be exciting to see! I know you’ll wreck all the bad guys’ faces!”

Shaun gulped down the second donut. “Huh.”, he commented.

Matilda grabbed a donut and gobbled it down. “Anyways, Shirley, got to go! Whole town to show off and all.”

“Aw man…I wanted to hang out with Shaun more.”, Shirley pouted.

Matilda replied, “Well he’s gonna be here a while, so I’m sure you’ll have more time to get to know him later!”

Shirley huffed. “Fine. But you always have all the fun. I guess I get to stay here and bake more.”

Matilda gave her a reassuring pat. “You’ll be alright. I’ll try not to take too long.”

Then she set off again, Shaun following close behind.

Once they were out of earshot, Matilda sighed. “Man…Shirley is my best friend, but she really can be tiring sometimes. Especially when she’s fawning over some random boy because he’s new.”

Shaun nodded. “Yeah…I can see why.”

“Anyways, let’s go! Herbie’s place is nearby!”, Matilda declared, skipping over the topic and dashing towards another one of the shops. This one was large and filled with lots of mismatched goods. There were dishes and scarves and furniture and random knickknacks and even a couple weapons thrown all over the place, and there seemed to be no chance of it getting organized anytime soon.

In the middle of the chaos was an old yellow lizard, with a large black frill and a tired expression. A pair of spectacles sat tilted haphazardly on his muzzle.

“Oh hello. What can I do for you?”, he asked, looking lazily towards them.

“Hi Herbie! This is Shaun! He’s new to the village and also an amnesiac.”, Matilda declared.

“Oh ho! How interesting.”, Herbie replied, leaning forward and adjusting his glasses, tilting them over on the other side of his face and doing nothing to properly straighten them.

“Yup!”, Matilda nodded.

“I must say that I am surprised to see an amnesiac all the way out here.”, Herbie commented, “We’re rather far out from other villages. Perhaps he was spirited here by magical means, or mayhaps he is a feral that somehow regained sentience, or maybe something even stranger…”

Herbie shrugged. “But what do I know? I’m just an old shopkeeper. I’d recommend keeping an eye on him, though, Matilda. Something tells me he’s gonna cause some change around here.”

Matilda tilted her head. “Huh? Okay…”

Herbie smiled knowingly and sat back in his stall, opening his frill and basking in the sun’s rays. “Time for my nap.”, he said, “Go find someone else to bother for the next hour or so.” His tone was good-natured though.

Matilda and Shaun walked away. “Herbie’s a nice old guy.”, Matilda explained, “He used to be a traveling merchant before the wars started, so he’s seen a lot of stuff. It takes forever to coax any stories out of him though. He’s kinda slow these days.”

Shaun looked back to the snoozing lizard and his merchandise. “Isn’t he afraid someone might steal something while he’s asleep?”

Matilda scoffed. “Who would steal from him? I know everyone in the village. There are no thieves here.”

Shaun shrugged his shoulders. “Fair enough. It still worries me though.”

Matilda nodded. “I guess that’s valid. There are some not-so-nice mons out there. My sister tells me about them all the time…”

She smiled. “I know! Let me show you the person who protects us from those bad guys!”

She ran out of the town and headed over to a small wooden tower on the outskirts of the clearing. Shaun trotted after her, trying to keep up. Man she was fast!

The two quickly reached the tower, where a strange, multicolored muscled bird Pokemon sat, feathers drooping with age. She was staring off into the sunlight and did not seem to notice the two teenagers approaching her.

“Hey, Luris! I brought a friend!”, Matilda called.

The bird shifted, and looked down. “Oh, Matilda! Are you doing well?”

Matilda nodded. “Yup! Especially with all that training you gave me.”

“And who is this?”, Luris asked, looking at Shaun, “It’s been a very long time since I’ve seen his species.”

“This is Shaun! I found him in the forest today. He says he lost all his memories.”, Matilda explained.

Luris nodded. “I see..”

She stood up and stretched. “You know, this reminds me of something but I can’t remember what. How about you and Shaun here stop by my cottage tonight? I might have remembered by then, and something tells me that it will be important.”

“Oooh…I love your stories. We’ll be there!”, Matilda chirped.

Luris nodded. “Of course. But for right now I am a bit busy. I saw a feral nearby approximately twelve minutes ago and I have to make sure it doesn’t come closer.”

“Yikes!”, squeaked Matilda, “Um, we’ll go then. I don’t think I’m ready to fight one yet…”

Luris nodded. “Stay safe kiddos.”

Matilda and Shaun headed back to the village. As they walked, Shaun finally dropped one of the many questions bouncing around in his head.

“What even is a feral?”, he asked.

Matilda shivered. “Basically, they’re Pokemon, but wild and lacking intelligent thought. They also hate sapient Pokemon and attack us if they even catch a whiff of our presence. It’s why travel is so dangerous, and why granddad doesn’t like me going off without warning.”

Shaun nodded. “Huh…sounds scary. I wonder why they hate sapient Pokemon though.”

Matilda shrugged. “Luris claims that it was because of some great calamity five thousand years ago. But really, how would we know? There’s no ruins that old.”

Shaun nodded. “I guess that’s something we’ll never know. Interesting to think about though.”

“Oh, definitely!”, Matilda agreed, “I’ve always been fascinated with ancient secrets. One of the reasons I want to be an adventurer!”

She sighed. “Of course granddad doesn’t want me going anywhere. Everyone else has gone away…”

Shaun replied, “Yeah, I can see why. Hopefully one day you can follow your dream.”

“One day.”, Matilda whispered.

Shaun noticed they were approaching a house, also surrounded in berry trees. There was a large pelican Pokemon sitting in a tree, who squawked for their attention as they approached.

Matilda gasped. “That must be another letter from my sister! Wow, she never writes this early!”

She hurried over to the Pelipper, Shaun dashing behind her. As she reached the bird, it tossed down a white letter and squawked, “Thank Arceus! Now I’m out of here!”, before flapping off into the sky with a hurry.

“He didn’t have to wait so long did he…”, murmured Matilda sympathetically, before she spotted a stamp on the letter.

“Oh no.”, she whispered.

“What? What is it?”, asked Shaun.

Matilda showed him.

It was a red symbol, displaying the image of a strange bird.

“My sister showed me some of the symbols used by the Guild Academy.”, Matilda whispered, “That one means danger. Something is happening.”

Shaun felt alarmed. “Do you think she’s alright?”

“Only one way to find out.”, Matilda replied, tearing open the letter. Blue energy wrapped around it and held it up so she could read it, and Shaun’s jaw dropped. He hadn’t seen any powers like that before!

Her eyes scanned down it for a moment, and she sighed in relief. “Oh good, she’s safe right now.”, Matilda said.

“Why was that symbol on it, though?”, asked Shaun.

Matilda looked glum. “Because she might not be safe for long.”

She sat down on the porch of her house, continuing, “The falling stars have caused uproar over all Archaia. The kingdoms are mobilizing, seeing it as an omen of what is to come. Dozens of people are searching for the stars, many for nefarious purposes. Worst of all, the ferals are suddenly launching attacks all over the place. The stars seem to have sparked them into a frenzy. Something big is happening. Something that will change the world forever.”

Shaun frowned. “Well, that sounds…troubling.”

Matilda scoffed. “No kidding! And of course I’m gonna be stuck here even longer. Once granddad hears of the sudden feral attacks, he probably won’t even let me leave the village!”

Shaun asked, “Is that such a bad thing?”

Matilda replied, “Well, obviously! Nothing ever happens here! There’s a whole world out there that I want to see, but I can’t go anywhere!”

Shaun shrugged. “The outside world sounds terrifying though. Wouldn’t it be better to stay here in this village, where It’s safe?”

Matilda groaned. “Ugh, you sound just like granddad…”

She closed her eyes. “Look, no one became a hero by staying safe in one place. Heroes are the ones who venture out, even when they’re aware of the danger, and fight through it and triumph.”

She opened her eyes, her face set in defiance. “I will be one of those heroes. I won’t be content just sitting here forever. I’m gonna change the world, just you wait.”

Shaun nodded. “Alright then…”

Matilda looked back towards the house. “Anyways, we should probably get you settled in. I imagine you’ll be here a bit longer than intended.” (-o-)