Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

A sudden shout from outside wakes me up. I don't know what time it is, but it's earlier than I usually wake up, and I'm still exhausted from yesterday. From outside, I hear Mew's voice.

"Ah, I'm sorry for startling you, Snivy."

"O-oh, it's fine! I'm just pretty surprised to, you know, see the Guardian of the world."

"Right. Anyway, is Jamie here? I need to talk to them."

"Huh? Um, yeah, Mudkip's in the tent, but they're probably still asleep."

Something about the conversation gives me a weird feeling, but I'm too tired to think about that. Anyway, I was never one to fall asleep again after waking up, and Mew wants to talk to me, so I wiggle out of my sleeping bag and walk out of the tent, wiping the sleep from my eyes; the sun isn't even rising yet. "Did someone say my names?"

"Oh, Jamie, good!" Mew says. "I wanted to tell you that I'm ready to take you back now."

I suddenly get that weird feeling again. More importantly, I'm not sure if it's because I'm still three quarters asleep, but I don't understand what Mew means. "Take me... back? Back where?"

Mew raises an eyebrow. "Um, back home? To your world?"

"... Oh." I fall silent. I'd completely forgotten about that. The thing I've been chasing all this time. The whole reason I went on this adventure.

"So, are you ready to go?"

"Uh, yeah. How do we..."

"Just come over here, I've got everything all set up." I follow Mew to a circle of metal wire on the ground, formed into complex shapes. Mew grabs a small remote from the ground. "Just stand in this circle and think about your home, and it'll take you there."

"Um, okay..." I hesitate. I'm... finally leaving. I'm really going home. But I'm standing still. I don't know why; I'm too tired to think straight.

"Um..."

I turn behind me to see Snivy standing a few feet away, looking... uncertain. "What's up?" I ask.

"I... I'm..." Snivy pauses before letting out a small sigh and smiling at me. "I had a lot of fun on our adventures together. I'm really glad I met you, Jamie, and I'm glad you finally get to go back home. So... Goodbye, Jamie."

"Um, yeah, goodbye." I want to say more, but I can't think of much; I'm tired, half-asleep, and I'm getting that weird feeling again. "Uh, good luck becoming a famous explorer."

"Thanks. Good luck in the human world."

I turn back to Mew. "So do I just..." I cautiously step onto the wire circle.

"Yep," Mew says. "The process is powered by your desires. Just think about your home and tell me when your ready."

I'm tired, and it's been a while since I was home, but I can recall my home. My street, my school, my room... "Alright, I'm ready."

Mew presses a button on their remote, and a bright light surrounds me. Before I understand what's happening, I see the ground start falling, getting further away! After a moment, I realize I'm in a bubble of light, lifting me up into the air.

"Hey, you alright in there?" Mew asks, floating into the air alongside me.

"Um, yeah. Did you make this?"

"No, this is one of former Guardian Jirachi's inventions. It's been tested over thousands of years, so I can guarantee its safety."

"Oh. Good."

I try to keep focus and think about my home like Mew said, but I'm distracted by the sights that I start to see; as I'm lifted into the air, I look out across the land as it's bathed in the light of the rising sun. Pretty soon, I'm rising above Volomans, looking down on it from above. Turning around, I see Maceria Town in the distance, along with the Rainbow Rainforest to the west of it. Squinting to see farther, I see the forest that contains Amari Village, and behind that, I see the beach. I've had quite the journey here...

"Hmm, that's odd," Mew says as I stare at the beach. "We're moving slower than expected."

"Huh? Oh, sorry; I got distracted by the view up here."

"Well, a simple distraction shouldn't be causing any problems now that we've started rising. It might be an issue with your desires; after spending so long here, you're probably going to miss this place."

I... would. I would miss this place. I didn't notice at first, but I feel sad to be leaving. But still, I have my life back on Earth to get back to! Compared to that, all I have here is...

'Alright Mudkip, from this day forth, we shall be partners!'

That beach... It's where Marine Cavern is. Where I first met Snivy. They were such a jerk back then. And then after that...

'Just jump down! I'll catch you, I promise!'

'Thanks for saving me back there, partner.'

'C'mon, it's a mystery dungeon! Don't you want to have fun?'

'The world isn't as dangerous as you seem to think, and we'll never get anything done without taking at least some risks.'

'I got a little carried away back there, but you're right; we take risks as a team.'

'C'mon, lay down and look at the stars with me!'

'I just... I'm glad I'm not alone out here anymore.'

'I'm glad I get to hang out with you again.'

'I missed you so much, Mudkip...'

I'm shaken out of my memories when I hear Mew's voice beside me. "That's weird; the bubble stopped moving... Hmm? Jamie, why are you crying?"

I pause. I notice that, yes, I am crying. But more importantly, I notice that I just had that weird feeling again. "... Could you say that again, Mew?"

"Huh? Um, the bubble stopped moving, Jamie, why are you crying?"

Finally, I'm fully awake, and I realize everything about this is wrong! I haven't been thinking at all this morning, I've just been going along with what I thought I wanted. Now, I realize exactly what I want. More immediately, though, I finally realize what that weird feeling has been.

"That's not my name."

"Huh?" Mew says. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, my name's not Jamie! My name is-"

Suddenly, the bubble of light around me shatters, and I start to fall! Mew cries out in shock above me. They try to fly down and catch me, but they're too slow. The last thing I hear before I hit the ground is someone below me shouting a single word.

I groan as I open my eyes; if I wasn't already sore from yesterday, I definitely am now, but I'm much less injured that I should be. I start to stand, and when I hear a small 'ow' in response, I realize I'm laying on something soft. Someone soft.

I roll off of Snivy, provoking more grunts of pain. I lay on the ground for a few seconds. Soon, Mew finally reaches the ground.

"Oh my gosh, are you alright?" Mew says. "I'm so sorry, I have no idea why that happened!"

Beside me, Snivy finally stands. "Mu- Jamie, what happened?! Is anything broken? Are you okay?"

I stand and turn to Snivy. "Ugh, yeah, just pain..." I giggle, thinking back on our adventures. "That makes this the 10th time you've saved me."

Snivy sighs with relief. "Seriously Jamie, why did you suddenly fall from the sky? Did that thing Mew did not work or something?"

"... Why have you been calling me 'Jamie' today?"

Snivy's expression shifts from concern to sadness. "Huh? Well, you're... your name is Jamie. I figured since you're leaving, it's not really right to call you Mudkip anymore..."

"That's silly. Jamie is a human name; I'm a pokemon."

"What? What are you... saying..?"

"I'm saying I'm not going home."

Snivy's eyes widen. "... what?" they whisper in disbelief.

"I don't want to go home, I want to stay here! I want to explore with you and have exciting battles! I want to discover the beautiful sights and magical things in dungeons! I want to camp out and sleep under the stars! I want to play with you in the forest without a care in the world! I want to stay with you, Snivy! I want to stay here, with my best friend..."

As I trail off, I finally notice Snivy's expression; tears are leaking from their eyes, and their mouth is hanging open. "Um, Snivy? Are you oka-"

"MUDKIP!!" Snivy lunges forward and embraces me, holding me so tight it almost hurts. "I was so scared I was gonna be alone again!" they say, bawling.

"Y-you were? But earlier you were so calm..."

"I didn't want you to feel bad," they say, continuing to cry. "If I was sad, you might have given up going home, even though you wanted to! I-I didn't want to guilt you into staying stuck here, or make you feel bad for leaving, I wanted you to be happy!"

"... You've changed so much, Snivy," I say as I return their embrace. Tears start to fall from my eyes as I realize what I nearly did. "I... I can't believe that I almost left you behind, that I never would've seen you again... I'm so sorry Snivy. I'm staying right here; this is my home now, and I'm not leaving. I promise."

"... Thank you, Mudkip. Thank you for everything..."

We stay there for a while; it could have been a few minutes, or an hour, neither of us wanting to let go. Finally, we're snapped out of the moment by the loud growl of Snivy's stomach.

"Um... you wanna have some breakfast?" Snivy suggests.

I giggle. "Yeah, let's do that."

Suddenly, Mew clears their throat. "Well, I think my job here is done then. I just need to make sure; Jami- I mean, Mudkip, are you sure you don't want to return to your world?"

I think about my life back on Earth. It's not a bad life, certainly, but I could never give up my life here. My bond with Snivy is stronger than anything I have in that world, and I've grown to love being an explorer. "I'm sure. Um, I'm allowed to stay here, right?"

"Yes, your presence here shouldn't cause any problems, but... Well, I'll check in on you in a few years just in case you change your mind. Anyways, I've got quite the mess to clean up; there are still plenty of pokemon running around with the Wildfire and spreading it to others. I'll see if I can make a cure, or a vaccine, or- Uh, I should get going though; I'm not supposed to be hanging around mortals. Goodbye, and thank you both for your help!"

With that, Mew disappears in a flash of light, leaving only me and Snivy. Exhausted, we sit down and eat breakfast in silence. Once finished, we pack up our tent and other stuff into our bags.

"So," I say, "what do we do now?"

"Well, I think we should head back to Maceria Town and visit Mightyena and the others."

"Oh, and we also promised Machop we'd go back and see them again."

"Right! And after that, you should take me to the Rainbow Rainforest; I want to try those fruits!"

"Yeah!.. But, what do we do after that?"

"Isn't it obvious? We'll wander! We'll travel the land in search of our next adventure! We'll see new sights and explore new dungeons! Are you ready?"

"Yeah!"

"Then come on, Mudkip; adventure awaits!"