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‘We have a problem, we can all agree. These 'Ultra Wormholes' deposit 'Fallers' into the world and now every decade we get some nincompoop thinking he can capture a legendary Pokémon. I think we should just imprison them all and be done with it. NO MORE FALLERS! In order to help you stop Faller menaces, drink Charjabug Energy. Try code DEBMASTER for 30% off your first purchase.’
- An unaired episode of REAL PokéTALKS with Debate Type Master Carl
“The Faller phenomenon isn’t the most well known and that is for a good reason. We can’t have ordinary folks considering the possibility of even interacting with legendary Pokémon and for good reason! Remember the Azelf incident of ‘09 or the Cresselia Sleep Phenomena just a few years after that. We do not want people bothering local deities and getting themselves, their Pokémon and a town or two erased from the map or worse.” The man presenting was taller than most. He was bald, took excellent care of his scalp and wore extremely well tailored suits. He was a professional. Specifically, a professional of the regional security kind.
“We are just lucky that she realized what she was doing and reversed all the damage or half of Camelia Town might still be asleep,” chimed in his coworker. She had a more relaxed style of dress, her clothes not nearly as ironed, but she was a veteran and that gave her some leeway. Her Medicham stood behind her, eyes closed and demeanor calm.
“We have another Faller then?” asked a woman sitting at the head of the table. She was tall, blonde, and the champion of the region. As the Champion of Sinnoh she was somewhat responsible for their regional security, at least on the ground, and as such held a seat at these meetings.
The well dressed man nodded gravely. “Special Agent Looker is interviewing them at the Jubilife Pokémon Center. Despite my protests, the IP has jurisdiction in these cases.”
“Relax Joe, four times out of five we get someone with no ‘game knowledge’ and if we do they usually help us at least a little before going crazy. You know we wouldn’t have gotten such a head start on Galactic without them. Getting one incident every decade or so isn’t that bad,” said another man slouching in his chair. He was younger than most in the room, in his mid twenties. The fact that he still had a chair at the table meant he deserved to be there.
“I will remind you that our literal job is to stop these incidents from happening. We don’t want any incidents,” replied Joe. His tone was terse and uncompromising. This was a debate they had been having for the better part of six months.
“Regardless, we will have to wait and see what the report from Looker is like. Ultra Wormhole travel takes a lot out of a person, they won’t be leaving that bed for a day at least,” Cynthia commented before standing up. There wouldn’t be anything productive to discuss until Looker finished his report and she had more important things to be doing. She heard a new ruin had been uncovered southwest of Veilstone.
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Looker straightened his tie, brushed the shoulders of his overcoat and opened the door. This wouldn’t be the first interview he had taken and he wasn’t sure whether to hope it wouldn’t be his last. The person in the bed was pale, but not unhealthily so. They were young, probably about journeying age if the pattern held and their most defining feature was their long curly brown hair.
They looked comfortable but curious about the medical equipment surrounding them. Perhaps they were used to hospitals but not familiar with the technology of this world or time.
This Faller was pretty lucky by all accounts. Usually a Faller would be comatose for a day or two and wake up to a Bug type spinning them into a cocoon somewhere off route or a Frosslass ready to turn them into a popsicle. A Pokémon Center was practically heaven compared to that.
“Hello there. My name is Special Agent Looker from the International Police, He and Him.” The person looked surprised at the introduction. He couldn’t pinpoint when exactly the surprise came in though. Maybe they recognized his name, as a previous Faller had admitted, or maybe the mention of the IP was what did it. He’d have to investigate further.
“Hello. My name is lost to amnesia I’m realizing but my pronouns are She and Her. It is nice to meet you and hopefully I haven’t committed any crimes.” Their voice was, Looker would have to pick Alto for the pitch. She was seemingly surprised by her voice, but not existentially so. She most likely noticed that her body was unfamiliar earlier. He had mixed feelings on the subject. On the one hand she probably had a mind older than what her body shows which is good because being a Faller is never easy and he wouldn’t wish it on a child. On the other hand they were now stuck in a child’s body, forced to grow up once again and he wouldn’t wish going through teenage years again on anybody either.
“No need to worry about any crimes, the IP are simply responsible for all Faller incidents. Tell me, do you recognize my partner here?” Looker took a pokéball off his belt and tossed it up, releasing Mimi, his Espurr partner Pokémon.
A range of emotions ran across her face. Joy, fear, excitement, sadness. But Looker could see recognition among them.
“An Espurr? Ah!” She snapped her fingers, seeming to come to a realization. “Fallers, Pokémon!” She exclaimed. Looker hid his slight grimace.
This one had ‘game knowledge.’
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She watched the man’s face go blank. This man was Looker of the International Police, THE Looker. This had just gotten a lot more complicated. Her theory of Pataphysics had proven somewhat true, fiction was in fact a look into alternate realities and now she was in one of those realities. The silence had gotten a little awkward. Clearly Looker was trying to find the best words for the situation.
“So…”
“Right, apologies and you of course are correct, this here is my partner Mimi.” The little Espurr waved her fluffy arm slowly before sitting on the ground, looking concentrated. “I imagine you have some questions,” he said. He was, of course, right. She did have many questions.
“How often do you get Fallers?” He looked a little surprised at the question.
“The phenomena has picked up over the last twenty or so years with one every few years. Historically this was a phenomena in the Hisuian Era before falling off after that.” Looker clearly knew his stuff.
“Are they like me?” she asked.
“If by like you, you mean young bodied and not remembering their name then yes. If by like you, you mean have knowledge of Pokémon from another universe where they are fictional then no. That is rarer.” He definitely knew his stuff.
“But not unheard of.” He nodded.
“What happens now?”
“Now we have a talk,” he said.
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Looker sat on a chair that was placed next to the Center bed and sighed before starting the mandated speech. He luckily had it memorized, reading from a script was so much more awkward.
“You must understand that while yes, Pokémon are now ‘real’ they are not to be messed with, treated like they aren’t ‘real,’ used for nefarious purposes, and any other such crimes and misbehaviors towards or using Pokémon are prohibited. You must also understand that your actions have consequences, you must follow all relevant regional laws and international laws, and you cannot use ‘the power of friendship’ instead of relevant catching and journeying laws. Please do not, under any circumstances, mess with Legendary Pokémon in any way, shape or form. Do not try to contact or meet with Legendary Pokémon in any way, shape or form. Do not try and battle a Legendary Pokémon in any way, shape or form. If a Legendary Pokémon approaches you, you must act with decorum and respect or risk life in prison if you are not erased from this world by said Pokémon. And DO NOT under ANY circumstances, try to capture a Legendary Pokémon. You are hereby warned.”
He didn’t like that speech much. It was a lot of threats that in his experience didn’t tend to work if the Faller already had their heart set on some sort of crazy scheme. The girl in the bed kept a straight face before losing her composure and laughing uproariously. Looker wasn’t sure what to make of it. She stopped to breathe in, chuckled a little more, and then spoke.
“Sorry for laughing sir. It is just I can already imagine all the stupid, crazy crap people have tried to pull.” She wasn’t disappointed, which pointed to a good sign that hopefully he wouldn’t have to arrest this one in a month for throwing a Pokéball at a Moltress.
“Can I get verbal agreement for the terms? Keep in mind that it is a legally binding verbal contract.”
“Of course, yes I understand and am prepared to comply with all relevant local and international laws,” she said seriously. She then chuckled slightly and said softly to herself, “Real,” before chuckling again.
“Hm?” He inquired.
“Sorry it is just… just how arrogant were the previous Fallers? What exactly do they think, that they are from some real world and this one is fictional?” He wasn’t sure where she was going with this, but figured further investigation could prove fruitful.
“Yes, pretty much. They are from the ‘real’ world and have been transported to a fictional one. That is the predominant mindset in most if not all Fallers with ‘Game Knowledge.’”
“Ah, of course they would think that. But wouldn’t they now be fictional too then?” she asked. He felt as though he had found an interesting angle to fully examine her psyche. The further he pulled on this thread, the further she would reveal just how well she fit into the world she found herself in.
“How do you figure?” he asked.
“Tell me, this reality seems to be a place where it might develop. Do you have a concept of Pataphysics?” she asked. He shook his head.
“Well it deals with the concept of the imaginary and the fictional. If reality is fictional, it proposes, how do I break the fourth wall? Without a long-winded explanation, my point is this. I agree this is fictional.” She wasn’t off to a great start, of that he was sure.
“But isn’t it just as if not even more likely that the reality I came from is also fictional?” She paused, most likely considering her words.
“Why would my reality be the real one? That would be arrogant beyond the extreme. No. It is much more likely that we are both fictional and we have fallers too from a reality where gravity is fictional and they are sentient gas clouds or something and they read stories about gravity and play games featuring it. They’d call it Graviton Planet or something!” She laughed. Looker smiled.
This one would fit right into the wonderful world of Pokémon.