Chapter Text
“Seek out all Pokémon, and thou shalt find me once more.”
Dawn was in a void.
She tried to scramble upright, but no matter how much she spun nothing felt right. She felt her phone slip out of her pocket, and it floated forwards weightlessly. Dawn reached for it wildly, kicking her legs. It felt like trying to balance in thick water, and she tired after a moment longer of writhing.
Brightness bursted through closed eyelids, and Dawn surged forward with an airless gasp. Flashes of light whisked around her, and her phone drifted in front of it. A familiar creature, blinding and warm and holy cradled her in private space away from time.
“Thou’s story has reached its annex, Akari.”
And slowly, everything faded to darkness.
Somewhere, in another world or perhaps the same, a mother cries.
-
The first thing that the girl knew is that she was cold.
That was partially wrong, as time passed. She knew that snow was building on her clothes and skin, and dusting her hair. She knew she was shaking– she had a body, and that sparked something else. She was a girl. A human. She picked that up easily over the lancing shocks in her skull.
One more thing she could easily note: she was not home.
When Akari – that was her name, that’s important – finally stumbled to shaky feet, she gazed around the environment. It was practically a wasteland; sparse trees and shrubbery, cliffsides of unclimbable slabs and cliffs of rock stretching to the sky. In what seemed to be the middle of it all rested massive blocks of ice, wedged into the ground. Snow lazily drifted down, the wind scarce but forewarning. In the distance, there was a large waterfall cascading down from the top of the crest into a large river.
Hm. She could remember her name, but she couldn’t recognize anything around her. Maybe she was just in an unfamiliar area. Maybe she could find her way back.
Akari reluctantly began to search. The first thing she noticed was that there was definitely still life around her besides the occasional plant. Creatures of varying shape and size scurried around her, hunting and grazing, playing and fighting. Pokémon, she thought. She just. . . knew. It was more of a fact than a thought. Some she didn’t know, but most sparked recognition in her hollow mind.
Akari wandered for hours. The day dragged on, and it felt it took far too long for the sun to sluggishly fall from its spot in a pale gray-blue sky. The cold stopped biting as she shivered through her journey. Pausing in the middle of the walk, she stared with wide eyes. Were those tents off in the distance? A settlement meant people and that, in turn, meant safety. Using the last scraps of energy and ignoring the heaviness in her limbs, she approached.
They weren’t a trick of desperation. The space between them was wide, but the area was still a clear place of settlement. The tents were light pink in color, trees and rocks laid scattered near them. Humans were scurrying between, youth and elders talking to each other gleefully despite the cold. One, however, finally noticed her. She was a pretty young adult, choppy blonde hair framing a thin face. She looked angry.
She tried to step up to the woman, hunching over a little in fear. What if they rejected her? They wouldn’t, would they? A glint of silver caught on a falling sun, making Akari wince with the sudden light in her eyes. A knife, she realized. The girl’s voice rang out across the camp, harsh and warning. “Leave, Zoroark. We want no trouble; go peacefully or we will fight back.”
Fight back against what? Akari was clearly a kid, first off; why the hell are they pulling a knife on her? One more thing. Zoroark? She clearly wasn’t a Pokémon. She was a person, nothing different from whoever this woman was. Akari tried to speak, voice breaking from dehydration. She looked down at her shaky hands, noticing the scratches and nicks already marking her pale skin from the rough exploration. The woman glowers down and takes a step forward. A threat.
In a moment of terror, Akari backpedals, clutching goosefleshed arms. She staggered away, not daring to look back. What does she do? Where should she go anymore? She swallowed deeply, looking around for any place she could go. A cleft in a large mountain was close, and she took her best chance.
When she arrived at the base of the cliffs, a small cave awaited her. A stream trickled inside of it, yet no Pokémon or humans are in the safe haven. She gathered the longer grass she could find peeking from the snow, resting it down in the corner and curling up. It’s uncomfortable and a little claustrophobic after being in nothing but a frosted plain since she woke up, but it protects her from the cold.
Despite her attempts, Akari doesn’t find herself sleeping long that night. Nor the other.
It’s the third day of being in what had been deemed as Hell frozen over. Akari was tired and bored. Her stomach ached with dull hunger pains. She’d scoured around for plenty of berries, but was well aware it couldn’t sustain her fully. She needed meat. She let out a husky grunt, cupping her hands as she dipped them into the small pool in the- her cave. Begrudgingly, Akari began to cleanse her own minor scratches in the water. She winced at the chill, hands jerking out on reflex, but forced herself to douse in it again.
Once her arms dried (she learned her lesson on going out with wet skin for long periods of time), Akari trotted to the river outside of her cave. Crouching down in the snow with a soft crunch, she leaned her body over the water. A shadow flitted just beneath the surface, a single golden fin breaking the peaceful waters. She moved her body just an inch forward, eyes narrowing in focus. Patience– now.
Akari jerked forward, pushing her body off the ground entirely with outstretched hands. She gripped the sharp fin, hissing as the spikes dug into her hands. The fish, a Magikarp, flopped on the snow desperately, eyes wide as it tried to writhe its way back into the water. She pinned its flailing body down with another hand, placing pressure on its middle to ensure it didn’t squirm away. She burrowed her nails into the scales, feeling blood sluggishly drain from the Magikarp. She pinned its thrashing tail down with a foot, and eventually, it ceased its frantic movements, succumbing to the catch.
The girl felt terrible about the kill. All of it. She knew that it was just how this world was, that only the strongest could survive, especially here. Maybe there were safer, less mortal meals elsewhere. She’d just gotten a bit unlucky with her starting point.
That was another thing she’d wondered about her few experiences here so far. Where was she from? It was obviously not here, considering she didn’t recognize the area in the slightest even after her “extensive” explorations. If her mind tried to reach back before now, it was eerily blank. An odd void with slight pain instead of memories. She didn’t know the Pokémon around here, the people. . . she was lost. Lost in a way that she couldn’t even find out how to find herself.
Akari wondered if anyone was looking for her. Anyone besides the disgusting woman.
-
Irida was looking for the Zoroark, despite her fear. Naturally; it was her job to ensure the Pearl Clan was as safe as they could be in the unforgiving Alabaster Icelands. She knew that Zoroark were ruthless, unforgiving. They were known across Hisui as the creature of cruelty. Maybe the one driven away a few weeks prior had reunited with its kin and sought out vengeance on their Clan for driving it away from their pack’s next meals.
However, rarely had she seen a Zoroark act as an unfamiliar human, let alone a child. It was a bit jarring, seeing a random teenager staggering through Avalugg’s Legacy as if truly burdened. Irida supposed she shouldn’t be surprised. Reputations in Hisui usually weren’t built on lies, and she’d seen it personally.
She’d done a pretty wide sweep so far. Evening was quickly falling, and the sky was painted a vibrant gold and lilac. Her and Gaeric had been to most areas near their home on their routines, besides Avalanche Slopes (too many Alphas to be safe) and Glacier Terrace.
“Irida! Look, on the ridge.”
The warden next to her raised a large hand, one finger outstretched at a shape on the mountain. That same Zoroark, medium-length hair blowing out behind her in the wind. It already looked a bit frailer than the last time they spotted her near the settlement. There’s a new rip in the illusioned white shirt it wore on their first meeting, as well. It would have been pretty impressive, if not for how terrifying it was. How good was a Zoroark’s memory, to even put injuries and correct wind into its appearance?
“What do we do about it, then?” Gaeric’s voice brought Irida back from her stupor, and she jumped a little. “I could probably knock it out myself; I don’t have Froslass or Glalie with me, but I’m just as good, ‘eh?” He flexed his muscles, as if he genuinely considered tackling something as dangerous as a Zoroark.
Irida scoffed, shaking her head. “No. It’s not. . . it’s not causing any trouble, at least not now. It’s too risky to fight it now. Who knows how many others are nearby?” He reluctantly nodded, eyes narrowing in acceptance as the shape got more and more distant, until it was nothing but a blur of tan against white.
-
Akari’s head was buzzing, and the sensation was becoming rapidly familiar. There was something overwhelmingly weird about the lake at the upper part of the wasteland (iceland? Whatever it was), something she couldn’t quite place even though she knew she should be able to.
Water lapped at a small island in the middle of the lake, which cascaded down steadily into the stream near her own new home. The island, however, had a small cave directly in the middle. A carved entrance beckoned her, and she felt herself oddly drawn to it. Has she seen this before? No, that’s physically impossible. She’d never climbed here–
Singe let out a screech, the Infernape baring his teeth at the Skuntank opposing him. The Galactic Commander hissed in frustration, calling out Night Slash. Singe dodges, glancing back with searing blue eyes, squinting with excitement. Dawn smiles, opening her mouth as she glares down Jupiter, and-
Akari threw herself to the ground, twisting into herself with a strangled shout. Her hands dug into her head, fingers burrowing through her hair as she kicked at the snow around her. Her head felt like it’s on fire, as if she was struck by lightning. She knew she’d never really known what that would feel like. It couldn’t be much worse than this. Her vision blurred, and she bit her lip so hard that she tasted iron on her tongue.
It took an excruciating amount of minutes, but eventually, she calmed back down again. The girl huffed, shaking out the frost from her shirt and hair. That was nothing but a waste. There were too many Pokémon here, and strong ones at that. Even getting up was a struggle, and having to sneak back what she thinks is called a Chimecho, was even worse. She wondered what upper deities found this fun. How much did they like to torture others? She could never understand.
She went home.