Alain
Pain shoots through my body the moment I hit the ground. The impact knocks the breath out of me and I lie still for a second, staring at a blur of green beneath my cheek. Definitely not where I was a moment ago.
One second, Charizard and I were training under the warm Kalos sun. Mairin was cheering us on with Chespin bouncing beside her. Then a strange ring formed above us. Before I could react, it swallowed both me and Charizard whole.
I push myself up with a grunt, brushing dirt and crushed leaves from my clothes.
A groan rumbles to my right. Charizard lifts his head, shaking off debris as he stretches his wings wide with a low growl. He snorts out a puff of hot air as he looks around, eyes sharp. He is confused. I can tell because his tail flame flickers unevenly.
"Easy, boy," I murmur, stepping toward him.
He lowers his wings but keeps staring at the unfamiliar surroundings. Tall trees border the clearing we landed in, and the air smells different. I take a slow breath. My heart racing.
Where are we?
Charizard turns to me as if asking the same question.
"I know," I whisper as I rest a hand on his neck, touching the gauntlet carrying the mega stone. "I don't get it either." I call Charizard back to his pokeball the moment voices reach my ears from somewhere beyond the trees. His form disappears into red light, and I secure the ball at my hip with a quiet click. Until I understand what happened, it is better if he rests.
I take one last look around the clearing. Nothing but trees and the faint imprint of where we landed. Wherever this place is, we are definitely not in Kalos anymore.
I push through the thick brush, moving branches aside as sunlight filters through the canopy in broken streaks. The forest grows thinner with every step until the trees finally part. I stop in my tracks.
A wide muddy path stretches out before me, framed on both sides by towering trees that sway gently in the breeze. Trainers walk with their Pokémon at their side, some deep in conversation, others already engaged in friendly battles that draw small crowds. Yet something else catches my eye.
Everywhere I look, each person is wearing a stone fixed to a phone, which somewhat looks like a Pokedex. The stones glow faintly, shimmering in shifting hues of the rainbow. Definitely not Mega Stones.
Focus, Alain. Ask someone. Figure out what is going on.
I approach a nearby trainer who looks like they are a ranger. She notices me and offers a friendly smile.
"Hello there. You look troubled, having problems adjusting to life in Pasio?"
"Pasio?" I repeat, raising a brow.
"You must be new," the woman says as she rummages through her bag and pulls out a long sheet of paper. "This is Pasio Island. Trainers from all over the world come here for the Pokémon Master League. If you are lost, use this map to find your way" She hands me the map.
Pasio Island. Pokémon Master League. None of this makes sense.
"Yes. I am lost," I admit. "How do I get to…the main city?"
"Centra City? Just follow this road until you see the stadium. Hard to miss it," She replies
I thank her before heading down the path. The map crinkles softly in my hand as I unfold it, tracing the route with my thumb. My eyes stay on the road ahead, but my ears pick up every conversation drifting through the crowd.
"Have you heard this island was made by humans?"
"An artificial island?"
"Yeah! But you wouldn't believe it with the seas and the volcanoes. It looks real!"
Their voices fade behind me, but the words stay. This island called Pasio…how did I even end up here?
The white pillar of the stadium rises in the distance. I pause, reaching to my belt. My fingers curl around a pokeball, and with a click, it bursts open.
Unfezant emerges in a flash of light, wings spreading wide before he settles in front of me. His feathers shimmer as he tilts his head, waiting for a command.
"Unfezant, fly around the area," I say, raising my hand toward the sky. "If anything catches your eye, come back and lead me to it."
He chirps once, before pushing off the ground. His wings beat the air, lifting him higher and higher until he disappears among the clouds.
I look around this place called Centra City. It is full of trainers and their Pokémon, some wandering from shop to shop, others locked in battles on the street. I slow my pace when a match catches my attention. At first, I thought it was a simple one-on-one, but after a moment I realised it is a coordinated team of three. Each trainer uses only one Pokémon and that strange rainbow stone hanging from their gauntlets. Whatever system this island uses, it is nothing like Kalos.
A sudden ruckus breaks through the noise of the crowd. I turn to see a group of three harassing another group of trainers. My body shifts forward on instinct, when someone else moves faster. A boy, maybe younger than me, walks toward the confrontation with a steady stride with a man and woman walking beside him. Pikachu rests neatly on his shoulder, ears twitching. The sight of that familiar shape tugs at a memory of my rival back in Kalos, and for a moment I stay where I am, watching the scene unfold from a distance. I cannot hear what they are saying, but the tension is clear.
A sharp flutter interrupts my focus. Unfezant swoops down in front of me, chirping urgently before pointing his beak toward a narrow alleyway. I follow him until he lands on the ground ahead of me. Something glints near his talons.
I crouch beside him, brushing stray dirt aside. A ring lies on the ground, gold and smooth. When I pick it up, it feels heavier than I expected. I turn it over a few times in my hand.
"Do you think this is what brought us here, Unfezant?" I ask quietly, lifting it closer to my eye.
Before I can tuck it into my pocket, the ring vanishes. It slips out of existence as if it had never touched my skin at all.
"Wait…" The word leaves me helplessly, but the ring is gone as I clench my fist around empty air.
A long breath escapes my lips. I drag a hand through my hair, pushing it back as I try to steady my thoughts. This place, this island, this mystery…nothing is adding up.
"Come back, Unfezant." I hold up his pokeball and the light pulls him inside. The alley falls silent again.
It is better to find a Pokémon Center, secure a room, and regroup. Until I understand this place and the people running it, I need to stay alert. Someone brought me here, and I intend to figure out who…and why.