*Music: Rayman Origins – Sea of Serendipity – The Abyss

There was a rugged cliff petering off into a black abyss nearby. A dark horizon edged itself out over the cliff. The sky was dark, and there wasn’t a single star to be found, though light seemed to emanate from… somewhere, it wasn’t entirely clear.

Enough light for the sole presence to make aware of their own plight.

Sanvu awoke. Although, he definitely was far more lightheaded than he had been recently…

After taking in his surroundings with little proper awareness to be either scared or angry, he couldn’t be entirely sure what had occurred to lead him here. One after another it seemed, though it wasn’t entirely clear if there was even an order.

The cliff was empty asides from him and the unrelenting dark, and while it was a bit creepy, there wasn’t anything off-yet.

He glanced down, only to be met with a rather peculiar sight.

He was still that green creature from before. Though while he was virtually unchanged, his body radiated an odd presence that he somewhat felt, but couldn’t see. What it was, he couldn’t be entirely clear.

But this gave him pause for concern. Why was he this creature even now? Had the prior events been a dream, or even reality? None of these sounded appealing, the realization setting cold in his breath.

A low rumble echoed out, and he wandered forward, as a singular star in the sky started shining. Although, given how plain of stars it was, one would be forgiven for thinking it wasn’t and that it was just a hallucination.

Sanvu stared at it for some time, not entirely conscious; only really being aware of the fact he was still this odd creature. Was he in a dream? A dream within a dream? Now that would be something crazy, perhaps even impossible.

The star started to glow red, and that was last thing he saw before the world started to turn, the singular star seemingly taunting him as it made no noise.

~~

---

His head swirled as he experienced the feeling of awakening. Besides the grogginess of a morning, nothing else was wrong.

His eyes met wood.

A blue glow permeated the walls of the tall house he’d found himself in. Looking down, yep, still a Snivy.

Yesterday he had been going along with the whole ordeal thinking it an odd dream, but as his mind returned to its expected clarity, he now realised that he had just woken up from a dream, and this was reality.

And now those implications of everything he’d experienced were sinking in. His memory was still shattered in its usual places; unable to remember his family, but still fully reminiscent of his name, among some sparse details of his previous life.

He briefly started ramping up the fear before recalling that he was joining that ‘Mindscape’ place to attempt to get to the bottom of this. He would ‘train’ himself before going into the ‘dungeons.’ He still retained the same amount of muscle memory from the previous day, confirming that it had all been real.

He got the feeling that he should be more worried about this, especially since what he could remember from what seemed like the actual dream was cryptic and otherwise bizarre. Right, he had to mention the fact he didn’t remember his own family to Didra again, she could sense Amnesiac energy and if he had lost more than yesterday there was a real concern. It was all a lot to take in.

For about the only time, he was allowed a small reprieve, as the sun began to rise. He wasn’t able to sleep; though his mind very much occupied the time by reassuring himself of what he’d learned and what he was apparently going to do. As long as there was a direction to go in, he was assured in himself.

It also busied himself with that odd dream, and tried to piece things together to no avail.

Pachuku was mostly oblivious, until he also awoke, which started off slow, but then immediately jumped into action, and it startled the otherwise calm Snivy.

“Oh crap I forgot I’m an actual member now and-oh!”

After stumbling out and meeting the stunned Snivy, the previous day seemed to register in his head as well as the events alongside as his face curled into a smile, tail swishing as he spoke.

“Hey! So, uh, remember anything new?”

The reptile thought for a second, but decided against scarring the squirrel for life with that strange vision, especially if it was just an odd once-off.

“…No, but I am upset that whole thing wasn’t just some weird dream.”

Pachuku briefly was taken aback, but then he nodded.

“Yeah, if what you said about this whole thing being abnormal was right I’d get why you’re confused. Heck, I wish I knew, but that’s what you said we’d figure out, right?”

The reminder was nice. “So, are we…”

“Let’s get some grub in us first and then head over. She’s gotta have something for us. I don’t know what the process is but it’s gotta go something like that.”

He immediately went back in the other room as Sanvu hopped out of the bed, ready to face the day.

---

After grabbing a small meal and shedding the last remnants of sleep, the two small Pokemon quickly strolled along the path they’d travelled yesterday. They only passed one other group with two members, both around their size, one a small grey pig-like thing that bounced along on a curled tail that made it look like it was a pogo stick, the other a small pink bird, not making any attempt at communication. Sanvu’s gaze lingered a bit too long on various trees again, unable to describe what inside of him was reacting when he did. Before too long, they were back at Mindscape.

Notey approached them this time upon their entrance.

“If you notice the doors behind me, Didra will be waiting in there for you. She has something for you.”

The entrance behind him was still covered in those glass doors. It looked like a primitive office. The two Pokemon passed through while the Natu resumed his post.

“So, what does he do?” Sanvu looked at Pachuku once they weren’t in earshot.

“I guess he helps out around here. I think he also knows how to look for Amnesiac energy. You can ask Didra.”

Just another thing to add to the neverending questions, as the duo approached a room straight ahead, where Didra was talking with another two Pokemon. One was green; looking surrounded by an odd gel-like liquid, and appeared to float in the air. It was an odd, indescribably round shape. The other was a yellow-and-black striped bipedal creature with a tiger’s tail.

“I trust you can handle this?” Didra asked them.

“Sure!” The green one responded. “Hasn’t stopped us in the past!”

“Hmm, well, let’s get on with it, Derjie,” The other one grunted, turning around to face the two newcomers. “New members?”

At that, they quickly became the centre of attention. “Oh! Pachuku finally found somebody, did he?” And then the creature started cackling, laughter booming loudly for a second. “Ah, well, that’ll be all the laughs we need for this mission. C’mon.”

Then he moved towards them, and they parted, allowing passage. The green one floated behind him, though he was less amused by his partner’s antics as he passed. “S-Sorry, Pachi. He’s really grateful to have you among us finally. I’m Derjie. Well, see you around!” He cheerfully waved as he floated by toward his partner above them.

“We’re gonna get that a lot, aren’t we?” Sanvu noted, noticing Pachuku had shrunk back in a manner similar to yesterday, paws twitching and ears lowered.

“Come over here, you two.”

“Who were they?” Sanvu inquired.

“They’re some of your coworkers, here at Mindscape. Derjie is a Duosion, a Psychic-type Pokemon, and the other one was Tenab, an Electric-type Electabuzz. They make up the Cognition.”

“So, what was that display there for?”

She shrugged. “As I said, many members share frustrations with Pachuku merely due to hearing about his exploits in attempting to join. What they are particularly, though, is not within my realm to share.”

“Before we start though, don’t you want to ask her about what we talked about yesterday, Sanvu?” Pachuku interjected, mentally pushing past that particular conversation.

Sanvu talked about the fact his memory was scattered, and how he speculated it might have to do with a sudden loss in memory, and was concerned if he had suddenly become an Amnesiac. Didra nodded along, though Sanvu didn’t get to continue much more once she raised her hand.

“That is quite alright. As far as I can tell, nothing about you has changed to that resembling an Amnesiac; and the process would be quite a bit more involved than that. I do not know the cause of your missing memories, but if you are human, it may explain the differences in symptoms if your memory loss does somewhat resemble what a typical Amnesiac has lost, to a certain extent.”

“Ah…” Sanvu mused, disappointed.

“But, is this not what you told me yesterday, that you suspected there to be a connection? I suppose I should elaborate, since I was going to talk about this, anyways,” she continued.

“So, I present to you, your membership. Inside are your two badges, a bag and a map.”

She placed in front of them a small case. Any hint of sadness Pachuku had immediately vanished upon seeing it, and he gleefully opened it.

Inside were the aforementioned items. The bag had a clip for tightening and loosening the strap due to the slightly differing sizes of Pokemon that it would be handed to. The two ‘badges’ were circular but slightly flat, with small wings jutting out the sides, and had a rough shiny look to them. They appeared to have something on the back jutting out, although it wasn’t entirely clear how it worked.

“They’ll automatically clip onto any wearable you find, or attach onto your body if you decide to do so.” Didra explained “You’ll need them on you, it is psychic energy that allows them to do this and for you to find Amnesiacs.”

“These things can track ‘em? So what’d you need me for?” Pachuku queried.

“I personally believe you were being foolish and jumping at the opportunity to join just for the sake of it. There’s ways to tell without the badges, and especially given that they aren’t what you’ll be solely using.”

“So, they’re more like, markers for if we’re in the right place?”

“Correct. Missions will be assigned to you that we’re pretty sure will have Amnesiacs associated, and the badges can’t expend all their energy tracking them when you want to be looking in the usual places. “

She began to explain further as the two nodded along. Essentially, the idea was that Amnesiacs were often near or more often, inside dungeons. The badges can pick up if an individual is particularly Amnesiac, but most Pokemon can sense it intuitively due to Pokemon naturally exhibiting energetic tendencies, no matter what type they were. The process for one becoming an Amnesiac was also quite involved, but one not well known.

“So, you think we’d have been able to tell?”

“Most Pokemon these days are being told to look for the signs. But even if you hadn’t known, you would be able to tell.” Didra went on.

“Usually, most report a sinister-feeling similar to Ghost or Dark-type energy, but not quite fully either one of those. Then there’s a pressure feeling associated. Afterwards, we’re not entirely sure what happens, but it’s usually by that point they’ve lost whatever it is that they’ve lost.”

Both were letting this information seep in, neither said a word.

“If someone else is present, and it’s usually not wise to be within the presence of a newly-formed Amnesiac as the energy tends to be felt by any others present and can also seep in and remove more memories of the observers.”

“So that’s why everyone’s making little effort for communication outside…” Sanvu realised.

“Yes, sadly, everyone is making an effort to distance themselves as a result. It’s also not exactly reliable; sometimes it happens and other times it doesn’t. After a while the energy sort of becomes a part of the Pokemon and protection is needed less, but it can be removed, and that’s what we’re here for.” Didra explained.

“That’s also why the badges are important, because not only can they tell if Amnesiac energy is near, but you also need them to protect yourself against not only native dungeon energy, but latent Amnesiac energy lingering in them.”

“So, why not make everyone a member and protect them that way?” Sanvu asked

“Making these badges requires a certain amount of energy, and the materials for such things need to be found and moulded in a specific way. Since they also have the functions of what other types of teams use for your average rescuing, the prospect doesn’t usually appeal to the average citizen in these parts.”

He supposed that made sense, although now he was wondering how something like this gets ‘made’ in a world that seemed as strange as this one. It looked very advanced, though Sanvu couldn’t imagine manufacturing plants out here.

“Your goal will be to bring any Amnesiac you find back here using the badge so that we can help uncover what it is they’re losing so we can attempt to help the Pokemon who was attacked with whatever it is that happened to them. In return, you’ll get some Poke, our currency system, and maybe an item or two for your troubles. But for now, I’d like you two to follow me, if you would turn around, please?”

---

After a short walk down the hall and then turning left when she instructed them to, they entered a peculiar room.

Inside was a large field marked with 4 rectangles, each housing what looked like dummies of various types.

Inside the room were two other individuals, one of whom was a floating squid with blue tentacles. It had four yellow spots on the front of its hat-like mantle, with two dangling limbs. The other was a tall black doll-like woman with a purple face, and various white bows adorning its body. Its legs were crossed.

Didra approached them. “I know you two like to watch over this room, but I’d like to take over for this brief interval.”

The blue squid turned over. “Alright! So you’ll be training these two?” He turned towards the new members. “I’m Kichy, I maintain the dummies here. This here’s Trunie.”

The other one nodded without saying much of a word. “Well we’ll be out of your way then!” And then they quickly moved out of the room and out of sight.

“Huh, I wondered if you had staff here,” Pachuku remarked.

“Yes, well it wasn’t easy finding anyone around here.” She sounded slightly frustrated at that, but Sanvu decided to not press further. “Anyway, before you go into a dungeon, I should assess you for moves.”

“I suppose for now, I’ll have Pachuku demonstrate what I mean. If you would, please, tell Sanvu your moves, types, and briefly demonstrate on one of the dummies.”

They approached a dummy, a shabby thing that looked like a purple doll with a rag on it, and Pachuku turned to Sanvu.

“Okay, so, uh, I only really know two moves. Quick Attack is pretty simple; I can use it a lot without getting tired. It’s a Normal attack that’s really quick. Watch, and don’t blink.”

Pachuku then turned toward the dummy, and got down on all fours, tail raised. Sanvu almost blinked and missed it as Pachuku raced toward the dummy at incredible speed and slammed it enough to make a small mark in the construction. Pachuku bounced back fairly easily. Sanvu almost swore he saw Pachuku glow white for a second.

Didra piped up. “Normal-type energy isn’t particularly effective against any other type, but Quick Attack is particularly useful for a simple attack that can get the job done.” She was directing that at Sanvu, content with what Pachuku knew. “Now for your other move.”

Pachuku tensed for a second, not looking directly at Sanvu as he spoke. “Yeah, it’s not my most proud move, even though it should be.”

Sanvu raised a brow, confused.

“Well, it’s what all us Electric-types do; we gather electricity and zap things with it. But I haven’t been training much, so it comes out like this.”

Pachuku then stood instead the way he usually did, and blue sparks crackled from the yellow cheek marks on his face. Soon, the spikes on his tail also radiated blue sparks, and then two bolts of electricity launched out, one to the dummy, but the other went and scorched a part of the ground. This proceeded for a couple of seconds.

“So… what’s that move called?” Sanvu breathed, taken aback by the sight.

“Normally, if it’s a singular bolt, it would be a ThunderShock or Thunderbolt, depending on the power.” Didra proceeded to explain, “But given it’s more than one bolt, my guess is a weak Discharge attack.”

“That didn’t look weak to me.” Sanvu pointed out.

“I’m not just saying that to be heartless, Discharge in particular is meant to have far more energy behind it, and it tends to flare out in all directions, or so I’m told.” Didra disclosed. “Now I’m no Electric-type expert, but I know that it has its uses in terms of hitting foes, if trained properly. If there isn’t enough energy, you could leave yourself susceptible. I suppose for early missions it won’t matter much, but keep it in mind, Pachuku, you may have to ask other Electric-types to help if you cannot form one any better. I believe Tenab might be able to help you.”

He nodded. Though he wasn’t exactly entertaining the idea of talking to Tenab for some reason; his expression didn’t particularly improve from its slightly panicked state. Didra turned to Sanvu next.

“Now, for you. If you know no other moves, then I suppose the best method of self-defence would be a Tackle.”

“What does that involve?” Sanvu asked.

“It’s like a slower version of Quick Attack,” Pachuku muttered.

“Slower and with more strength. I believe it’s a very basic attack for Snivy.”

“So I just… ram the target?”

“Yes”

His first attempt didn’t go by very well. Besides the fact that learning to run was a bit tricky (though less tricky than Sanvu imagined it would go) the amount of force required was seemingly a bit much. He was surprised by how much damage he was doing to it, given he didn’t remember running much as a human. Although what he remembered was becoming more moot by the second; changing into a Snivy had changed much about him he’d noticed, and not just on the exterior either. It was as if he was just naturally fitter than he ever was as human, the act of running in and of itself seeming less of a chore despite the fact he had to run on nubby legs that he often tripped on.

After some tips and adjusting from Didra, he eventually learned it was less of slamming into it with his whole body and figured it out by making it an odd kind of headbutt instead. Then he was making headway.

Eventually, after some trial and error, he did know Tackle. Summoning the energy to do so hadn’t even been the crazy part. He wasn’t even sure there was energy behind it, although he had been informed that there was especially after seeing the dummy in its state. Although Pachuku outclassed him just a little since he could damage it significantly with just a single blow.

“So, you two should be satisfactory for missions, so I’ll quickly run down Mystery Dungeons. I have mentioned that feral apparitions will try to attack you, your goal is to find an Amnesiac usually at its deepest point, or if you sense oddities within the dungeon itself, an Amnesiac will usually be present. Try to proceed to the dungeon’s deepest point if you cannot find anybody. Then use the badge and try to send them back here using its thought mechanisms. I will demonstrate where and how in a moment. You’re to pack supplies and then once you have completed the dungeon, your work will be done for the day, and further investigation into a particular mission will take place on subsequent days.”

The two were then escorted to an area with a glowing light coming from the floor, and were advised to remember this area, as this was where Amnesiacs were sent back for all who worked at Mindscape. The badges reacted to thought and intent, so as long as they shone it while thinking of the place, they would be sent back. This was also necessary for sending themselves back mid-way through, although instead of the Amnesiac room, it was instead Mindscape’s entrance itself. It seemed simple enough.

Eventually, she took them back to the original room. However, it was less of a walk and more of a teleport, which briefly dazzled the two smaller Pokemon before settling down.

“So, your mission for today. We believe an Amnesiac is present within the forest a short distance to the north-east. It’s rather recent, so you should be prepared to protect yourselves.”

“So, not the forest near here?”  Pachuku mentioned.

“No, it’s a little farther, but not too far. This should be a proper introductory mission.”

She bothered to point them in the direction, and so off they went towards the first mission for Mindscape.