Following a long, cold, and then hot shower, Jason emerged from the bathroom in a pair of fresh black briefs and a dark grey tank top.
'I overdid it...' thought Jason, plopping face down atop his bed to keep his arms straight. The pain wasn't that intolerable just yet, but he could feel it gradually building, particularly near the interior of his elbows and near the front of his pits. If he fell asleep with his arms bent or hugging a pillow as he commonly did, he got the impression he wouldn't be able to straighten them out when he next awoke.
'At least I earned an additional five thousand AP...' mused Jason, closing his eyes and exhaling from his nose. He was hoping to complete at least one more circuit before the twenty-four hours allotted by his Quest, but it would depend on the amount of pain he was in.
In the hope of increasing the effectiveness of his workout and recovery rate, Jason had invested all of his current AP into eleven Free Attributes points. Those then went into Strength and Vitality, increasing both to ten.
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[Status]
Name: Jason Springfield
Title: [The Man Who Traded His Life for a Fish's]
Age: 19
Height: 178cm Weight: 71.2->70.8kg B/W/H: 92/80/82
Rank: 0-Star
[Physique: 13->24]
Strength: 5->10[+]
Vitality: 4->10[+]
Dexterity: 4[+]
[Cognition: 3]
Intelligence: 1[+]
Perception: 1[+]
Guts: 1[+]
[Spirituality: 3]
Spirit: 1[+]
Mind: 1[+]
Faith: 1[+]
Free Attributes: 0[+]
AP: 0
[Skills]
[Empathy: E], [Media Manipulation: E], [Artistry: F], [Landscaping: F], [Gardening: F], [Cooking: F]
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With Strength influencing his overall power and Vitality affecting both his resilience and the amount of stamina he had, Jason was banking on them being useful in the completion of future training-oriented Quests. It took much more than a day to lay a foundation, as his current Quest's title and description alluded, so if his suspicions were correct, he would receive a follow-up Quest the moment the current one was completed.
'I can't sleep...' noted Jason, cracking his eyes to see that the clock on his nightstand displayed 11:48 PM. It was normal for him to fall asleep much later, typically around 2-3 AM, but with the amount of exertion he had put his body through, he expected to succumb quickly. Instead, his mind was fully awake, his imagination running wild as he thought about the fates of Amanda, the orphanage's staff, and the children in their care.
'I need to find a way back...' reaffirmed Jason, hugging one of the many pillows lining the head of the bed despite knowing it was going to make his arms unusable the following morning. He couldn't stand not knowing what happened to the few people he cared about, but since Quests only seemed to reward AP, he wasn't sure how he could acquire the means to return to his world. It most likely had something to do with his Subspace, but as that was an assumption, he needed to think of alternative courses of action.
Though it had been a few years since he last played a Pokémon game, Jason recalled the existence of Palkia, Dialga, and Arceus. The first two governed Space and Time, and the latter was, at least according to the games and anime, the literal God of the Pokémon world. If he were able to find and plead his case to them, they were far more likely to be able to return him to his world than the League.
With such thoughts in mind, Jason began to construct a plan. First and foremost, he needed to ask Korrina if she had ever met a boy by the name of Ash Ketchum, the main character of the anime for twenty-five years. If the latter existed, Jason felt he was the most likely to be able to put him in contact with powerful and Legendary Pokémon like Arceus. If he didn't, then the world he was in was most likely based on the handheld games or the infamously darker manga.
Recalling that the meals provided to him had meat, Jason began to feel a little nauseous. Pokémon were intelligent creatures, bordering on sapient. Korrina's Lucario was even able to speak telepathically, so while he would do what he must to survive, his stomach churned at the mental image of a Pikachu being callously skinned and butchered like a rabbit...
...
..
.
doo-doh-dah
Hearing his doorbell ring, Jason's eyes shot open as he forced himself to rise to a seated position. As expected, pain radiated through his arms, but he forced them to straighten, donned the pair of shorts he had set aside the previous night, and checked the bedside clock to see that it was 8:14 AM. He wasn't sure when he had fallen asleep, but as his mind felt sharp, he presumed he had gotten at least four to five hours of rest.
Marginally more decent with a pair of shorts covering him, Jason made his way to the entrance of his borrowed room and opened the door to find a man in his mid to late thirties standing outside with a weary smile but an excited gleam in his steel-blue eyes. His wild and wavy hair was primarily black, but hints of grey had begun to pepper his prominent sideburns. As for his outfit, he was wearing a fitted black dress shirt with a flared collar, a black belt with a gold ring buckle, eggshell-white slacks, brown leather loafers, and a stylish white lab coat that seemed name-brand rather than something more generic.
"You must be Jason Springfield. I'm Professor Augustine Sycamore. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance," expressed the aging but handsome Professor, his smile broadening as he extended his notably ungloved right hand for a handshake.
"Shouldn't you be wearing protective equipment...?" questioned Jason, accepting the slightly taller man's proffered hand with a mix of caution and confusion.
"It would certainly be safer," affirmed Professor Sycamore, nodding. Then, with a disarming, seemingly sincere smile, he stated, "But as we will likely be interacting frequently in the future, I felt that it was important that we got off on the right foot and established a positive rapport early on. I can only imagine the ordeal you're going through right now—having just been expelled from your home. The last thing you need is a group of strangers in full-body protective gear treating you like a biohazard."
"I appreciate the consideration..." expressed Jason, feeling marginally more at ease. He wouldn't have taken it personally if the Professor had arrived in a Level 4 HAZMAT suit. Still, he appreciated that the man was thinking about his mental and emotional state, not just whether he was a threat. Had he been captured by his own government, Jason doubted he would speak to a person face to face for weeks—and that was assuming he wasn't killed and dissected outright...
Retracting his hand after the handshake, Professor Sycamore expressed, "Unfortunately, you're still an unknown threat to our world and us to you. To that end, we'll need to conduct a handful of tests to ensure everyone's safety. Are you fine with accompanying me to my laboratory, or would you prefer us to bring our equipment here?"
"I don't want to inconvenience Gym Leader Korrina, so I will accompany you to your lab with the promise that I'll be able to return here once I'm given a clean bill of health," answered Jason, his brows lightly furrowed in an expression of severity. There was a non-zero chance that he would be taken somewhere secure and locked up, but he refused to be a hindrance to those who were kind to him.
"You have my word," affirmed Professor Sycamore, nodding approvingly before informing Jason they would depart when he was ready. That gave the latter a chance to get dressed and borrow a few extra outfits to keep in his Subspace. When he returned, he was asked to get inside a human-sized, hermetically sealed glass container with a cushioned bottom. This made Jason feel like an animal being transported, but he didn't protest or offer resistance as he was transported to an awaiting trirotor cargo plane reminiscent of an Osprey...
...
..
.
Following a flight that lasted approximately an hour, Jason watched in silence from the interior of his container as he was offloaded by a duo of uncannily human-looking Machokes and ferried to a cargo elevator that took him deep underground. This suggested that he had been taken to a secure, possibly even military facility, but he did his best not to presume the worst even as he was carted into a spacious, cube-shaped concrete room with blast doors for entrances and an observation room overlooking him. Medical staff in protective equipment were ready and waiting for him, but among them was Professor Sycamore, unprotected and smiling as he explained, "This is a League research center located a short distance from Shalour City. I can't reveal its exact location, but it's better that way. Once you leave here, it's best that you forget its existence."
"How long do you plan to keep me here?" asked Jason, doing his best to appear calm and composed even though his hands and feet felt cold and clammy and his heart was racing within his chest.
"Ideally, we'll have you out of here within three to five days. It ultimately depends on the results of your blood screening and the tests we perform in the interim," answered Professor Sycamore, alleviating some of Jason's anxiety as he appended, "But, even if you end up staying here for a while longer, we'll do our best to ensure that you're comfortable, healthy, and well-informed about our world and what you might encounter if given the chance to explore it. All of this is just a temporary precaution."
"I understand and will cooperate to the best of my ability..." responded Jason, offering a slow, affirming nod. At that point, it was much too late for him to flee, so the best option available to him was to cooperate and trust that the ordeal would end sooner if he did. He doubted the coming days would be pleasant, but as an alien entity without an identity, he felt it was natural for the League to do its due diligence before permitting him to wander among its people.
"Excellent. With that kind of mentality, you'll be out of here much quicker," affirmed Professor Sycamore, nodding approvingly. What followed was a comprehensive series of blood tests, marrow extractions, allergen swabs, tissue biopsies, and medical scans. Fortunately for Jason, though he was apprehensive about being put under, most of these occurred while he was under the effects of anesthesia...
...
..
.
[Three Days Later]
"Mmmngh..."
Feeling something soft, warm, and somewhat fleshy touching his chest, Jason awoke to find a pair of large, entirely blue, gem-like eyes staring at him—attached to a round, disarming face covered in short, dense, pastel pink fur on top and creamy beige from the cheeks down, tapering toward its chest. There were some notable differences, the most prominent at a glance being its modest mammaries, but Jason immediately recognized the Pokémon as an Audino, using the soft, coilable feelers attached to its floppy, fluffy ears to check his heartbeat.
Noticing that Jason had awoken, the Audino smiled at him before giving his chest a comforting pat with the fleshy pads of its four-digit, vaguely human left hand. Jason didn't recall Audinos having paw pads, but since he was in a more realistic setting, it made sense that an animal covered in fur would have padding on its hands and feet. More notably, the Audino in front of him was wearing a white lab coat over a pastel pink nurse's outfit, giving the impression it would open its mouth to speak at any moment.
"Awa. Au~" chimed the Audino, giving Jason a bright smile and another comforting pat before it scribbled something onto a chart attached to a clipboard and left his bedside. Jason's gaze was briefly drawn to its large, fluffy, white, rabbit-like tail, but with his body feeling as though all of his blood had been replaced with lead, he soon closed his eyes to try to take stock of his condition. He didn't know how much time had passed, but he felt weak and highly medicated. There was an IV affixed to his left arm, diodes adhered to his chest, the sides of his abdomen, and the interior of his thighs, and, most concerning, a catheter feeding into his urethra. This was normal for a comatose patient, which he presumed he had been, but that didn't make it any less uncomfortable...
...
..
.