Chapter Text
It was as humid of a day as it could ever be in the coastal biome as Kieran fumbled endlessly with the device in his hands, not able to get it running. He should have expected this, it was a rickety prototype after all, or at least according to that lady in the central plaza. A Synchro Machine, she had called it. The initial test had been a wonderful experience that made him much closer to his Pokémon (literally) and much easier to train them, but so far it had not worked again outside of that instance once it was handed over to him. He was never the best with intricate technology such as this, groaning frustratedly as it threw another error code that he couldn’t understand up on the screen.
“Sorry, Furret. I’m not havin’ any luck with this thing."
Kieran stumbled with the buttons a few more times as he said this, noticing a small spark erupting from underneath the left shoulder button. He must have thoroughly broken it now. Maybe paying another visit to that lady wouldn’t be such a bad idea as he couldn’t make heads or tails of what was causing it to malfunction. His partner looked at him with a slightly sullen expression, having been the one it was used on the first time and enjoying the experience. It was bummed out, for sure, as he could tell the disappointment was palpable from both of them.
Giving up, Kieran placed the device into his bag with the plan to forget about it until later. Training would just have to be done the old-fashioned way, he supposed, if he wanted to eventually shed his title as ex-champion. That whole experience still weighed heavy on his mind, the ways in which he had so terribly treated his best friend. They made amends after their trek down to Area Zero in Paldea, sure, but it was one of those things that he just looks back to and cringes at. Vowing to make his comeback much more of a playful rivalry in order to defeat Julianna, the girl had smiled in a way that made his heart flutter with joy.
Commanding his Furret effortlessly as it attacked a group of Exeggutor, their long necks writing at the brutal attacks, he could see the Pokémon’s strength steadily increasing. After a long while, the artificial sun of the terrarium dipped lower and lower into the sky, the shadows stretching to engulf the ground in its abyss. Training would conclude for the night, with Kieran electing to set up camp instead of heading back to his dorm room to continue bright and early in the morning.
As he opened up the tent, however, he could feel a strange vibration from within his bag, like the Synchro Machine was lurching to escape through any means necessary. As he retrieved it, he could feel the heat radiating from it, like it was on the verge of exploding with how bloated the rear panel was and overheating. He began to panic, startling his partner Pokémon from its comfortable spot on the picnic blanket when he unceremoniously threw it to the ground between the two of them.
This action would set off a terrible storm.
Electricity rumbled through the ground, surging quickly enough towards the trainer and his Pokémon that neither had time to react properly. It started in their feet, then crawled up their legs, torso, and neck, culminating in a whirlwind of confusion as it rattled their brains and stunned any movement or thought. In one moment the world had made sense, then in the next it switched off into darkness as fast as the light could travel.
His existence was plagued into silence.
—
The pain in his head was the first thing that he could focus on as his awareness came to on the beach. Or, at least he assumed it was the beach based on the sounds of the waves crashing on the shoreline and the smell of salt water clearing his senses. He hadn’t actually decided to open his eyes yet, letting the warm sand envelop his fur.
Wait.
Fur?
His eyes swung open wildly, trying to get his bearings as he moved unsteadily in this new form. When he tried to look at his hands, all that greeted him were a fluffy pair of paws with tan hair. This wasn’t right and he knew that, causing the fear to rise in him even further. He was supposed to be a human, right?
…He was having some trouble recalling any specific memory that would lead him to the answer. In fact, he couldn’t recall any memories. All he knew was that, deep down, this wasn’t who he was supposed to be. No name, no recollection, no idea of any friends or even family.
Who was he?
Slowly getting acclimated, he was able to successfully crawl around on all fours, the stance extremely foreign to him. It was doable, though, and he glanced cautiously at the wild Pokémon around him. Was he in danger here? Should he try to find humans? Somehow, he could tell that he was more-than-averagely strong, so that first question worried him progressively less. He could hear the joyful cheers of people, too, so at least he wouldn’t have to hobble too far as he still figured out how quadrupedal walking worked.
So he trekked on, shaking the sand fully from his fur as he started to become uncomfortable with how it rubbed against the skin underneath. One set of feet at a time, he moved closer and closer to where the sound was coming from. He hoped that it was just one person instead of a whole group, but he might take anything at this point. There was also this delicious smell, and he couldn’t ignore how his stomach growled, considering that he most likely hadn’t eaten for a bit.
Over a small hill, he spotted a female trainer and her Pokémon gathered around a small fire and a beautiful picnic setup. He was a little confused why there would be a fire in such a humid place as this, until he saw her place a pot over it to toast the undersides of some bread. His mouth watered, motivating him to push through this awkward walking to reach her. He felt drawn to her somehow, though he couldn’t recall the reason. Finally, within her sight, he could see her eyebrows raise in curiosity.
“Hm? The terrarium isn’t supposed to have any Furrets.”
She moved closer to him and squatted down to his level as he wasn’t sure of his ability to stand on his hind legs just yet. Her eyes were captivating, he had never seen so many different colors being expressed in brown before. They were like dark honey with a pound of glitter dumped into them, and sparkled with such deep kindness that it made him shiver.
“Did you lose your trainer? I could help you look for them.”
All he could do was shake his head. He didn’t have a trainer, he thinks. He was supposed to be a person. Humans don’t have trainers. Maybe he was just reassuring himself with that train of thought, but he felt a tinge of embarrassment as the girl’s eyebrows furrowed into a look of confusion.
“No? You don’t have a trainer? Well, how did you get here, then? It’s not like you could have hopped on a plane yourself.”
That slight snappiness to her tone startled him, and he started to back away slowly. She threw out her hands and shook them rapidly as an apology.
“Oh, sorry, I didn’t mean it like that. I’m just confused as to how…”
Her statement trailed off as she looked deep in thought for a moment. He tried to look anywhere else but those compelling eyes, but his gaze kept shifting back. As she formed her thoughts, he could see her come to a conclusion by her face dropping to a concerned frown.
“Were you… left behind?”
He decided to nod. That was as good of a story as he could get, he thought. Maybe it would make her stop asking. Well, that was rude, but he really wasn’t sure how else to express that he just couldn’t remember. He could see a solitary tear form in the corner of her eye with her head hanging low, and he almost regretted agreeing to her question. As an attempt to comfort her, he shuffled a bit closer and placed one of his paws on her knee. She startled, at first, and he drew his paw back cautiously. But that smile of hers returned, and he felt safe putting it back.
“Would you like to come with me?”
The question seemingly came out of nowhere, but those eyes of hers were making him consider it closely. In all likelihood, it would be statistically impossible for this girl to know who he was, right? He wasn’t quite sure where they were located, but he could deduce some kind of school based on the uniforms that everyone was wearing. He was sure that the two of them would probably run in different circles anyways, assuming that he was a student, and not someone just passing through. How old was he? He wasn’t sure.
Oh, he was thinking for too long. She kept staring at him expectantly, the awkwardness and anxiety rising with every passing second. He nodded, not knowing what else to do. It was his best shot so far to figuring out who he was, and he wasn’t going to pass this by. He could feel her happiness emanating from his answer, reaching into her bag and pulling out a Pokéball decorated with luxurious colors of gold and white surrounding a black base. He was nervous, actually. What would the inside of a Pokéball even feel like? Would he be squished? Have plenty of space? His thoughts couldn’t race for much longer though, as she touched the ball to the top of his head.
All at once, it was like being spaghettified through a black hole, yet not as painful as he assumed. His biometrics were implemented into a single line of code, nothing more than ones and zeros as he was converted for the first time. He couldn’t see anything at first, but slowly the world formed back around him. What he saw was a comfortable-looking luxury apartment, outfitted with furniture and entertainment that would be appropriate for a Pokémon of his species. Was this a simulation, running based on his inferred likes as he still existed in the current moment as a compilation of data? The interesting part was that he could still hear outside, the girl’s sugary sweet voice seeping in through the walls.
“Just a second, okay, Furret? You stay while I go ask some questions.”
He sighed, relaxing on the extra-long couch made with Furret height in mind. Maybe this is just his life now.