Chapter Text
Where am I? I see strange colors shifting around me. I try to look around, and I realize I can’t seem to move. I can’t feel my body at all! As I try to make sense of my situation, I hear a voice that feels like it’s coming from inside my head.
“Greetings, Human.”
Who are you? What’s going on? I try to say that, but no sound seems to come out.
“I am Mew, and I need your help to save my world. What is your name?”
Mew? The mythical pokemon? It exists?! And it can talk? It seems like it somehow heard me. My name’s Jamie, I try to say.
“Jamie, I’m sorry for taking you from your home, but I don’t have time to explain. Please, help me! My wo.ld i. .n da.g.....”
The voice fades away, and I start to feel my body again. The glowing colors around me fade to black, and feeling gradually returns to my body. I can’t move, but I can start to feel myself lying on the ground. My body feels strange and unfamiliar; I can't feel my fingers, but I can feel what seem to be new parts in places they shouldn’t be. I can feel my arms and legs, but they seem... different. I start to hear another voice...
“Hey... hey Mudkip, are you alive?” the voice says, and I feel someone poking my head.
I can move again, but it feels wrong. I open my eyes, and I see... a Snivy, looking down at me, and wearing a pink scarf around its neck. I start to look for whoever spoke to me, but before I can, the Snivy opens its mouth.
“Oh, good, you're alive. You know, a dungeon really isn’t the best place to take a nap,” it says with a smirk.
“Huh? You’re... talking!?” I say. Even my voice feels wrong; it sounds smaller and higher than it should. “How are you talking?”
The Snivy stares at me for a few seconds, silent. “...How am I talking?” it repeated, as if the question was stupid. “The same way you’re talking, I think? I’m Snivy, by the way.”
I pause. “...Okay, but, why did you call me Mudkip?”
The Snivy once again stares at me like I’m an idiot. “Because you’re a Mudkip.”
“What?!” I yell, jumping to my feet before losing my balance and falling onto my hands. My... hands. They don’t feel right. I raise my arm in front of my face-
And see a blue, inhuman limb before me.
I look down at my other arm. Blue. I turn to look at my legs, and they look just like my arms. As I look, I see a white fin attached to a blue body. I experimentally move one of the new parts of my body, and I see the fin wiggle.
“I’m... a Mudkip...”
“...Yes,” the Snivy says slowly. “Did you... lose your memory or something?”
Wait, did I..? “No, I remember! I’m a human, and my name is Jamie! I... I must’ve been transformed into a pokemon!”
“...A human? Really? Alright, ‘Jamie’, assuming humans actually exist, do you actually have any proof that you’re a human?”
“Huh? What do you mean? Of course humans exist!”
“Really? The greatest explorers ever, who traveled every corner of the world, never found any trace of humans, but you know humans exist because ‘of course humans exist’?”
I’m stunned. But then I remember that voice. ‘I need your help to save my world.’ ‘I’m sorry for taking you from your home...’ A scary thought creeps into my head. “Hey, this is going to sound weird, but, are we on Earth right now?”
"Earth? Oh, I’ve heard that story! Earth is supposed to be the world where humans live! Wow, you’re really committed to this whole human thing Mudkip!”
“I’m not a Mudkip! My name is Jamie!”
“That’s nice Mudkip.” The Snivy thought to itself for a moment. "Say, you're lost, aren't you?"
I take a look at my surroundings. It looks like I'm in a cave, with rock walls and ceiling surrounding me, and a stream of running water off to the side. There doesn't seem to be any sunlight. Instead, blue crystals in the walls glow bright enough to let me see. I'm definitely lost. "I didn't know what planet I'm on, of course I'm lost."
"Well, you're in a mystery dungeon right now-"
"A what?"
The Snivy sighed. "A mystery dungeon. It's a weird, dangerous place that you don't want to get lost in. Sheesh, you don't have to pretend you don't know, I'm sure there are mystery dungeons on 'Earth' too. Anyway, it's not safe to wander a dungeon unprepared and alone. I can help escort you out."
"Oh really? How kind of you. What's the catch?"
"Well, mystery dungeons are dangerous. It's safer to have a partner with you when exploring, so it would help me to have you tag along. Look, you can either get through here alone, or with help from me. Do you really want to go alone?"
I pause and think about my options, quickly realizing that I have no options. If this Snivy is right, and mystery dungeons really are dangerous, it'd be too unsafe for me to be alone; I'm not used to using this new body, and if I'm attacked, I don't know how to fight at all. The Snivy doesn't seem dangerous; it was trusting enough to walk right up to me. It doesn't seem to have bad intentions. With all that considered...
"Alright then Snivy, get me out of this dungeon."