Chapter Text
He awoke to the sounds of machines softly beeping, voices speaking in low murmurs from somewhere just outside the room, and the shuffle of someone’s footsteps as they moved around him. For a moment, all he could do was lie there and listen. He tried to move, but his entire body felt like it was made out of lead; even his fingers were too heavy to lift. But he forced his eyes open, struggling against his exhaustion, to blink up at a plain white ceiling.
“Oh!” A soft voice exclaimed from right beside him. He slowly turned his head, searching for the source, when a figure leaned into his line of vision. His eyesight was blurry, but he could see that it was a woman wearing brightly patterned scrubs. A nurse?
“Well, well, Mr. John Deerling,” the woman said slowly, her tone gentle but pleased. “Welcome back to the land of the living. You’ve been out for quite some time.”
John Deerling? That couldn’t be his name, right? No; he was pretty sure that was the name they gave to people whose identities were unknown. His name was definitely something else, but at the moment he just couldn’t seem to recall what it was. Worse, the more he tried to remember it, the more he realized he couldn’t remember much at all. What was going on?!
“… w-where …” he wheezed, struggling to ask a question through a parched throat. The nurse immediately placed a hand on his shoulder, stopping him, and reached over to his bedside table to grab a cup of water with a straw. She raised the bed enough so that he could take a sip without choking, holding the cup steady for him with her free hand.
“You’re in the Garrison City Hospital,” she explained as he drank. “You were found lying in a ditch on the outskirts of town about two weeks ago, horribly beaten and unconscious. Someone thankfully found you and brought you to us to be patched up, but you’ve been in a coma ever since. Unfortunately that’s all we know; you weren’t exactly carrying ID,” she finished with a shrug. Then, satisfied that he’d had enough, she took the cup away and placed it back on the bedside table. “I’m sure the doctor will be in to see you in a moment, of course. She’ll be able to explain a bit more.”
She could explain a bit more, it turned out, but not much. The doctor told him about how his recovery was going, that now that he was awake they expected he’d be able to leave in a few days with some rehab training to get his muscles up and running again after weeks of not moving. But they didn’t know his name, they didn’t know where he’d come from, and they had no idea why he’d been attacked and apparently left for dead. It left him quite frustrated, even though he knew it wasn’t the staff’s fault. He just really wanted his name at least. He was tired of responding to “John”.
But by the end of the week, nothing else had come back to him, and he’d gotten used to the name for now, though it still grated on him. Then, one bright sunny morning, “John” looked up when the doctor walked into the room with a grimace on her face, a clipboard in her hand, and a fluffy pink creature trailing along behind her. “John” blinked at the creature in confusion for a moment before he realized it was a Pokemon. A…Wigglytuff?
“Good morning, doctor,” he greeted the pair carefully, pushing his breakfast tray aside and sitting up in bed to face them.
“Good morning, John,” the doctor said in return. She walked fully into the room and came to a stop at his bedside. Behind her, the Wigglytuff shut the door for privacy. “Sorry to bother you so early in the morning.”
“It’s alright,” he quickly reassured her. “I’ve been up for a while now. What’s up?”
“Well,” the doctor began with a small smile. “I have good news and bad news. The good news is that your recovery has gone better than any of us have expected. Your last CT scan came back completely normal, and your physical therapist says that you’re pretty much back in shape. We really have no more reason to keep you in the hospital.”
“John’s” eyes widened in surprise. He’d known that he was doing well, all of the nurses had been telling him so, but he hadn’t realized he was that far along. “So what’s the bad news?” he prompted.
“We have no more reason to keep you in the hospital,” she repeated, but much more bluntly. “And unfortunately, we need the bed. We’re going to discharge you today.”
“W-what?” he squawked, completely blindsided. “B-but I still have no idea who I am or what happened to me! I have nowhere to go!” They couldn’t just toss him out on the street, could they?
“We know,” she quickly reassured him, even going so far as to rest a comforting hand on his shoulder. In the corner of the room, the Wigglytuff started letting out soothing noises, almost like a lullaby, and “John” felt himself instinctively calming down as a result. “We know, and of course we aren’t going to just cut you loose without anywhere to go. My team has been talking, and we’ve created a plan for you, if you’re willing to try it.” She waited for him to reluctantly nod in agreement before she continued. “Now, it’s a little unorthodox for someone your age to be starting a Pokemon journey, but we think it’s best if we set you up as a Pokemon trainer here in the Altea Region.”
“A…Pokemon trainer?” he repeated slowly, turning the idea over in his mind. While at first he wanted to balk at the idea, he had to admit that it made sense the more he thought about it. Most people went on their Pokemon journeys right after finishing High School; they’d travel their home region for a few years, learn about their world and pick up a few Pokemon companions, and then generally they’d settle into a profession. Most didn’t have the temperament to become professional trainers, as it was a dangerous job that involved a lot of travelling, camping out, and physical activity. But for those that could stomach it, there was good money in Pokemon battles, you could gain a lot of prestige if you took on the Gym challenges and the Pokemon League, and there were resources in place to support you, such as Pokemon Centers. And for “John”, who didn’t seem to have any training or life skills that he could remember, it would be a good job for him while he tried to figure himself out, even if he would be a little bit older than the usual starting trainer.
More importantly, something inside him told him that this was right . He was meant to be a Pokemon Trainer.
The doctor seemed to be waiting patiently – and perhaps nervously – for him to speak, so he looked up at her and smiled. “Actually, that sounds like a great idea.”
She visibly slumped in relief. “Good. We thought so too. Here, I’ll get you to sign these forms for now. Officer Jenny will be along soon to take you to the Trainer Registration Center to get you set up with your Altea Region Trainer’s License.”
He took the clipboard and a pen from her, and started working his way through the sheets. There were several places where it asked for him to fill out his name, but he left those blank. It wasn’t like “John Deerling” was his actual name, so it was probably okay to leave them.
“Also,” the doctor continued as he flipped through the papers. “We looked into getting you a starter Pokemon. Unfortunately we weren’t able to get a hold of Professor Pine in time, but we have an alternative which we think would be better for you anyways.”
With that, the Wigglytuff who had been patiently standing at the back of the room stepped forward, a big smile on its face. “Wiggly!” it cried, bowing.
“This Wigglytuff has been trained in first aid,” the doctor explained, patting the Wigglytuff on the head. “More importantly, it’s been trained in helping with PTSD symptoms.”
“John” winced at the reminder. The psychiatrist that had come in for a consult had diagnosed him with PTSD pretty quickly after the third night in a row he’d woken up screaming from nightmares he couldn’t remember. He’d been wondering how he would deal with that once he left the hospital. As embarrassing as it was to need help with handling his emotions, he couldn’t help but feel slightly relieved as well.
“Hello, Wigglytuff, it’s nice to meet you,” he nodded to the Pokemon. But then he frowned, confused. “But can I really just take Wigglytuff on a Pokemon Journey? Don’t you need it here, if it has medical training?”
Both the doctor and Wigglytuff’s faces fell. “Well, see…that’s the thing,” the doctor slowly told him. “Wigglytuff has been trained, yes, but unfortunately it was unable to pass the exam to become an official nurse Pokemon.”
The Wigglytuff let out a sad trill, its long ears drooping.
“Wigglytuff has worked very hard, but it’s very difficult to become a nurse Pokemon. This way, it will still get to use its training to help people, even if it’s not here at this hospital,” the doctor explained. “So really, you’ll both be helping each other out.”
“John” looked at the sad Wigglytuff and immediately felt his heart go out to the poor thing. How could he possibly say no? “Well when you put it like that,” he said with a smile. Immediately Wigglytuff’s entire demeanour changed, its ears perking up and its eyes sparkling with joy. “I’m looking forward to working with you, Wigglytuff.”
The Wigglytuff bounced with glee.
The doctor sighed with relief. “Well, now that that’s all settled, here,” she handed him another form. “That’s the paperwork to register Wigglytuff as your Pokemon. You can bring it with you to the Registration Center, and they’ll help you fill it out. And here,” she placed a shiny red Pokeball onto the bedside table, “is Wigglytuff’s Pokeball. Take care of it.”
He reached over, picking up the ball and cradling it in his hands. It was so shiny and smooth he could see his reflection in it; a young man with short dark hair and fluffy white bangs stared back at him. He wasn’t sure if his hair was naturally like that or if it was dyed, but the nurses had insisted he had no roots showing, and surely they would have grown out in the period of time he’d been stuck in the hospital. There was also a bandage across his nose, covering a long cut that they had told him would probably scar. The fact that it seemed to be the only serious mark he’d keep after the beating he’d received was nothing short of a miracle, they’d told him.
“I will,” he promised them both, holding the Pokeball close to his chest. Whatever had happened to him before, whatever life he’d led that had resulted in him getting beaten and left for dead, it was probably not a good one, and he swore he’d never go back to it. This was his chance to be a new person. His chance to be better .
“I will,” he promised himself.
The morning had started off bright and sunny, but by the time “John” followed Officer Jenny out through the front doors of the hospital, clouds had rolled in, the winds had picked up, and it was starting to feel like rain was coming. Officer Jenny squinted up at the dark sky.
“Hmm, those will probably hold out until we get to the squad car. Unfortunately I don’t have an umbrella with me,” she told him. Her Growlithe glared up at the clouds as if they had personally offended it. Wigglytuff however just concentrated on supporting “John’s” arm in case he had a sudden dizzy spell, which was kind of annoyingly overprotective but somehow nice all the same.
“This way,” Officer Jenny gestured, and then started heading towards the parking lot. “John” trailed after her, but as they moved away from the hospital, the hairs on the back of his neck stood up and he suddenly felt like he was being watched. He stiffened and turned to look back. What he saw made him gasp.
“What? Oh.” Officer Jenny turned at the sound, and she caught sight of what had startled him. “Don’t mind them, they’re all over every hospital in the region,” she sighed, as if it was no big deal that there was a huge swarm of Lampent hovering around the hospital. “It’s a normal sight. People die in hospitals all the time, so Lampent are drawn to the area. Don’t worry about them, though. They’re not interested in healthy people like you and me. Just ignore them.”
“John” tried to take her advice, following after her with his gaze focused on the ground, but he couldn’t seem to shake the chills that kept running down his spine, even as they made their way to Officer Jenny’s car and the hospital eventually slid out of view in the rearview mirror. And he still felt like he was being watched.
High above them, floating unseen, a single Lampent trailed after the car, its yellow eyes fixed firmly on the passenger seat.
“And here we are!” Officer Jenny announced proudly as she threw open the doors of the Registration Center. She led him into the well-lit lobby, her Growlithe walking faithfully at her side. “John” took a moment to look around the room as he followed her towards the front desk. There were rows and rows of booths where office workers were talking to applicants, filing paperwork, taking ID photos, and talking amongst themselves. A pair of Pidove darted above everyone’s heads, carrying folders and documents from one side of the room to another, while a Machop walked behind an office worker with a tall stack of boxes in its arms. There were groups of benches along the edges of the room filled with people waiting to be called up to a booth. Most of them looked to be young adults waiting to get their first trainers license, but there were a few older people sitting as well, so “John” didn’t feel too out of place.
His attention, as well as everyone else’s from the way everyone looked over, was suddenly drawn towards a young person standing at one of the booths in the far corner. They seemed to be having an argument with the clerk, and their voice grew louder the more upset they became.
“You don’t understand, I need to have a licence already!” the person shouted, slamming their palm onto the lip of the desk in fury.
“I don’t care,” the clerk said with the air of someone who had been repeating themselves for a while. His voice was just as loud and annoyed as the young person. He held up a card between his fingers and gave them a flat look. “This is clearly not your trainer card from Kanto – either you faked it or you stole it – but either way the law in this region is clear. You can’t get your Pokemon Trainer’s License until you’re fifteen. You’re too young, kid, go home.”
“But – ”
“No buts,” the man cut the person off. “You’re too young to get a license here. End of story.”
The person wilted, clearly recognizing that they weren’t going to sway the clerk, no matter how much they shouted. “Isn’t there anything I can do?”
“You can get a permit, that’s it,” the clerk sighed grudgingly, clearly fed up. “But for that, you’d need an adult trainer, someone over the age of 21, to be travelling with you, and to co-sign the paperwork. Do you know anyone…?”
The person let out a dejected groan, and turned away from the booth, defeated. Around the room everyone started to turn back to what they had been doing, recognizing that the show was over, but “John” had frozen in place. The person had turned around, turned towards him, and he knew that face.
“Matt?” he called out without hesitation, even though he hadn’t known that name a moment before. The person’s head whipped up, staring at him with wide eyes from behind an oversized pair of glasses. “Wait…” he trailed off as he realized that while the face looked familiar, it wasn’t quite what he had remembered. This person wasn’t Matt, whoever Matt was to him. He didn’t actually recognize them.
But the person seemed to recognize him , because they goggled at him in shock, jaw hanging open. “Oh my god, Shiro ?!” they gasped.
It was like a switch had been flipped in his head. Hearing that name suddenly brought a whole flood of memories rushing back. Shiro , Shiro , that was him! He was Takashi Shirogane of the Kanto Region, born and raised there, and he’d been on his Pokemon journey along with his best friend Matt. They’d set off together, leaving behind Matt’s younger sister Katie, planning to take on the Gym Challenge together. Flashes of memories raced through his mind, everything from his childhood to school to camping out with Matt under the stars. It wasn’t everything, no, but it was something . More importantly, he remembered his name .
When he came back to reality, he found himself sitting on one of the benches, with Wigglytuff standing in front of him making soothing noises while Officer Jenny sat beside him and rubbed circles into his back. He hadn’t even realized he’d let Wigglytuff out of its pokeball. He lifted his head and blinked at the small crowd that seemed to have formed around him.
“I’m okay,” he choked out hoarsely. “I’m okay.”
“What just happened?” Officer Jenny asked him sternly, though her hand never left his back. “You suddenly collapsed. Your doctors never mentioned that could happen to me.”
“Sorry, I just…I just remembered something. A lot of somethings,” he added ruefully. “I promise I’m okay now.”
“Shiro?” a quiet voice piped up, and he whipped his head up to see the young person from before standing in front of him, looking worried and sullen. Now that he was looking at her up close, he could recognize Katie, despite the new haircut, boyish clothes, and glasses. He smiled at her.
“Hey, Katie,” he said. “It’s good to see you.”
“You know each other?” Officer Jenny prodded, her eyes darting between them.
“Yeah,” Shiro nodded. “We grew up in the same town back in Kanto. Her older brother and I went on our journey together. I’ve known her since she was a baby.”
Officer Jenny’s eyebrows rose towards her hairline. “I thought you couldn’t remember anything . A lot of somethings, indeed,” she scoffed. “Well, did you get a name along with those memories? It’ll make the paperwork a lot easier.”
“Takashi Shirogane,” he told her firmly, proudly. God it felt good to have a real name. “But you can call me Shiro if you’d like.”
“Well, alright then, Shiro. If you feel okay to walk, let’s get your license ready,” she said, standing and offering him a hand up.
“ Our licenses,” Shiro corrected her, even as he took her hand and stood.
She raised an eyebrow again. “ Our ? What do you mean, our ?”
Shiro clamped his free hand down on Katie’s shoulder and gave it a little squeeze. “The man said she could have a license if an adult trainer travelled with her and co-signed her paperwork, right? Well, I’m an adult. I’ll do it.”
“R-really?” Katie gaped. “B-but, Shiro!”
“Are you sure?” Officer Jenny asked at the same time. “It’s a lot of hard work, mentoring a young trainer. You’ve already got your own health problems, are you sure you can handle it on top of everything else?”
“I can handle it,” Shiro insisted. I hope , he didn’t say out loud.
His confidence grew a little when Wigglytuff squeaked, flexing its arms as if to say ‘ yeah, we got this!’ It was nice to see his new partner so ready to support him, even though they had barely gotten to know each other. He gave Wigglytuff a grateful smile.
“Okay then,” Officer Jenny said with a shrug. “Come with me, we’ll get you both sorted out.”
She walked back towards the front desk. Shiro started to follow her when he realized that Katie wasn’t moving, stuck frozen staring up at him. He looked back at her and gave her a confused frown.
“Katie?” he called.
“We thought you were dead,” she murmured. As Shiro watched, tears started gathering in the corners of her eyes. “Everyone said you were dead. But you’re not. You’re okay. And if you’re okay, then…” She suddenly shuddered, sniffing loudly, and then Shiro found himself holding an armful of crying teenager. He wheezed from the impact of her slamming into him a little too hard, but he still instinctively brought his arms up in a protective hug. Wigglytuff covered her other side, patting her back consolingly.
“It’s okay,” Shiro whispered to her, though he had no idea why she was upset. “It’s going to be okay.”
She just cried and clutched him tighter.
“Man, Vaporeon, I can’t wait until we make it to the next town,” Lance groaned, hitching his backpack a little more firmly on his back. “Next time, remind me to spring for the coach bus. I know I want to save up for a new costume, but there’s no way in hell this walk is worth it.”
Vaporeon just let out a sad moan in agreement, its tail dragging gloomily along in the dirt. The dusty road leading through the countryside and on to the next city seemed to stretch out forever in front of them, with no end in sight and nothing to break up the monotony but patches of woodland or the occasional random large rock.
But just then a tree next to them suddenly seemed to explode into a cloud of bark and splinters. The pair both yelped and jumped back in fear, wincing as they were peppered with splinters of wood. “Hey! What the heck?!” Lance shouted as soon as the dust cleared, furiously rubbing at his face to clear his vision.
“Shoot, are you okay?” A young man appeared ahead of them out of the small thicket next to the road, a concerned expression on his face. He was covered in dirt and his clothes were patchy and roughed up, and a Skarmory hovered sheepishly at his shoulder.
“Dude, what the hell are you doing?” Lance snapped, trying to hide the way his heart was still pounding and his hands were shaking with adrenaline. “You could have hurt someone!”
“Sorry, I didn’t realize there was a path back here,” the man tried to explain. “Skarmory and I were just working on aiming, and it’s…not going well.”
“No kidding! You could have killed me and Vaporeon,” Lance growled. “What is wrong with you?”
Immediately the man’s face twisted from concerned to annoyed. “Hey, I said I was sorry! It was an accident!”
“No, it was stupid ,” Lance shot back. “What kind of idiot doesn’t check for pedestrians before attacking trees? Also, look at the damage you did to the tree! That’s just reckless. And not very environmentally friendly.”
The man flushed bright red, going from annoyed to furious in about two seconds flat. “What the hell is your problem? I didn’t ask you for advice! Besides, what the hell would you know, that Vaporeon of yours looks like it couldn’t pop a bubble!”
“You take that back!” Lance snarled. “Vaporeon could kick your stupid Skarmory’s ass in under a minute!”
“Prove it,” the man hissed, and just like that the gauntlet had been thrown. Even though Lance was a Coordinator, not a Trainer by any stretch of the imagination, he still knew his way around a Pokemon Battle, and he was determined to make this stuck-up asshole regret ever running into them. The two of them moved further away from the path, searching for a wide-open space to have their match. The moment they found a good spot, they turned and faced each other.
“One Pokemon each, first to knock out their opponent wins?” Lance asked, using the most basic rules of a Pokemon Battle that he knew.
“Sounds fair to me,” the man grunted.
They didn’t have a referee to count down the match start, so Lance just pointed towards the opponent. “Vaporeon, go! Hit it with an Ice Beam!”
Vaporeon yipped in agreement, already charging up. But when it fired the beam, the Skarmory beat its powerful wings, rising into the air and out of the range of the beam’s path.
“Again!” Lance ordered, undeterred.
“Skarmory, use Sand Attack and then Steel Wing. Hit it right between the eyes!” the man ordered. The Skarmory screeched a battle cry and dived, swerving from side to side to avoid Vaporeon’s blasts. At the last second before it could crash into the ground it levelled out, zooming past Vaporeon and dragging a large cloud of dust in its wake. Vaporeon cried out as it was suddenly blinded by the attack.
“Now, Skarmory,” the man said, and the Skarmory’s wings began to glow.
“Look out, Vaporeon!” Lance screamed, but it was too late. The Skarmory collided with Vaporeon, slapping it across the face with its glowing wings, and Vaporeon fell back with a pained yelp. When the dust settled, Vaporeon was lying on its back in a daze, and Skarmory was soaring overhead, screeching in victory.
Lance cursed and ran to his Pokemon’s side. “Vee, are you okay?” he crooned, gathering Vaporeon into his arms. “Come on, Vee, talk to me!”
“Veeee,” Vaporeon groaned, snuggling against him. “Vee, vee.”
Even though Vaporeon sounded exhausted, Lance still slumped in relief. His Vaporeon would be okay. Satisfied that it just needed a rest and a visit to the Pokemon Center, he whirled on the Trainer.
He was ready to give the guy a piece of his mind, but when he turned around, the Trainer was already there, holding out a Super Potion with a worried expression back on his face. “Is it okay?” he asked. “I’m sorry, I know Skarmory can hit pretty hard.”
“Yeah, well,” Lance huffed, snatching the spray bottle out of the Trainer’s hands and starting to apply the medicine to Vaporeon’s scrapes. “Next time will be different. You’ll see.”
The Trainer’s expression soured, but at least he didn’t argue, instead stepping back to give Lance room.
After Lance had finished patching up as much of Vaporeon as he could, he returned it to its Pokeball and stood. Only then did he glance back towards the path nervously. If he remembered correctly, he still had about an hour’s walk to go before he reached town, and he’d have to travel through forest the whole way.
“Ah man, what the heck am I going to do now?” he groaned, inwardly cursing himself. He should have known better than to challenge a random Trainer and let Vaporeon get injured. Now what would he do if he got attacked by wild Pokemon? He didn’t exactly carry around Repells.
“What’s wrong?” the Trainer asked. “Don’t tell me that was your only Pokemon.”
“No, no, I have a few others,” Lance quickly snapped, defensive. But then he let his shoulders slump. “Only, they’re all trained for Contests, not battling. I don’t know how strong the Pokemon in the forest are.”
“Wait, you’re a Coordinator?” the trainer asked, sounding surprised. “No wonder you were so bad.”
“Hey!” Lance yelled. “Excuse me, at least I know how to aim an attack at a Pokemon instead of people!”
The Trainer visibly tensed, ready to fight again, before suddenly letting out a frustrated sigh and rubbing at the bridge of his nose. “Look, you lost, get over it,” he said simply, making Lance bristle. “I’m sorry I beat up your one battling Pokemon, but you can’t go through those woods without protection. There are Snorlax in there, and it’s getting close to mating season. If one of those things finds you, you’ll be torn apart in seconds.”
“Well what the heck am I supposed to do, then?” Lance grunted. “Stay here?”
“I’ll walk you to town,” the Trainer said with a roll of his eyes. “It’s not that far, and I need to pick up some more supplies anyways.”
“I’m not going anywhere with you ,” Lance growled without even thinking about it.
The Trainer simply raised an eyebrow. “You’d rather stay here and get eaten by a Snorlax? Be my guest.” Then the jerk had the audacity to watch Lance squirm for a minute, trying to come up with some other solution.
“…fine,” Lance eventually grumbled when he realized he had no other choice. “But the second we get back to town, we part ways and never speak again, agreed?”
“Deal,” the trainer smirked, holding out his hand. “I’m Keith, by the way,” he added as Lance gave his hand a shake. “Considering we’re going to be stuck together for the next hour or so.”
“Lance,” Lance responded bluntly, refusing to say more than he needed to.
“Lance, huh,” Keith repeated consideringly. “Well I suppose it’s better than whiny kid.” He started walking, ignoring the way Lance spluttered and swore. “Come on, we should get moving. The sooner we get to town the sooner we can never see each other again.”
“Well when you put it like that ,” Lance muttered, reluctantly trudging after Keith.
Deep in the forest, just out of sight of the path, a pair of glowing eyes like swirling nebulae watched the two boys as they began their trek through the trees. The eyes fixated on the tanned boy in the back, and the body hidden in shadows wiggled in anticipation and glee.
I found one! I found one!
It did a quick victory dance, and then with barely a rustle of leaves, it vanished into the trees, leaving no trace that it had ever been there.