Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia, Pokémon, or any of the characters present. Hetalia belongs to Hidekaz Himaruya. Pokémon belongs to Nintendo and Satoshi Tajiri.

"Well then, shall we begin the meeting?" Germany was certainly not looking forward to the unproductiveness of this week's world gathering.

"Two minutes," he heard France smugly whisper to Russia. The larger man chuckled.

"Less than that," was his reply. Germany cast them a glare.

Nein, he thought to himself, It's probably best I don't know what they're up to. "Right, so today's meeting, like last year's, will pertain to the issue regarding global—"

"Say, Russia, why do you keep taking out your watch?" Italy interrupted.

"Oh, this?" Russia said innocently, looking as if he just noticed what he was doing, "France and I are playing a little game. We're making a bet to see how long it takes before we get off the topic of our meeting."

"Ve~! Can I play your game too?"

"Italy! Stay focused! We're holding a meeting right now!" barked Germany.

"Whoa, dudes, you're playing a game?" America shouted, "I wanna' play!"

"Sure, why don't we all play!" Italy beamed.

"Italy!"

"Forty seconds– looks like I win," smiled Russia.

"You can't do that! That was cheating!" cried France. England, who was sitting across from the Frenchman, snickered.

"Don't act all surprised that you lost, frog-face."

"Honestly, you Westerners lose focus over the stupidest things," muttered China as France got up to choke the living daylights out of England.

"Dummkopfs! This is why nothing ever gets settled between us!" yelled the German.

"Please calm down, Germany," Japan said to his friend, "There's still plenty of time left in the meeting. Why don't we try talking about another—"

"Yo, Japan," America ran over to the man, "All this talk about playing reminded me to thank you for those new games you exported to me. They're a blast, man!" The sudden compliment caused Japan to fluster.

"Oh, I-I'm glad you liked them, America. The rest of the series is still under development, but I'm sure they will be made available worldwide in a few months."

"Great! They're really popular back at my place," the American said happily.

"Is that so, aru? Hey Japan, how about you let me mass-produce those games for you? Of course, I'll just change the title, and probably the characters too, and call them an original."

"China, we've gone through this before—"

"Oh, Japan's got a game now for us to play?" Italy couldn't help overhearing.

"I can't take this anymore," groaned Germany as he slumped into his seat, "And you two– you're not at war, so stop trying to kill each other."

"He started it," France and England answered at the same time, though they did let go of each other's neck. Now Russia went over to hear about Japan's game, knowing that there was nothing better to do until France paid up.

"So, what is this game of yours about?" he asked Japan.

"Well, you are familiar with the Pokémon franchise, correct?" Everyone around him nodded.

"Honestly, I can't think of anyone who isn't," replied England, "Your games are being well received by my people back home."

"Same here," admitted Germany, "Though I've never gotten around to playing any of them myself."

"Oh, they're nothing too special. The games are sort of like an RPG. You take the role of a human who has turned into a pokémon because of an evil spell, and you must find a way to break that spell and return to normal. The games are called Pokémon: Unexplored Worlds, or UW for short."

"Or as I sometimes like to call them Pokémon: Triple U," America interjected. England sighed.

"America, there is something seriously wrong with your addition…and your manner of thinking in general." But the younger nation didn't hear as he was too busy searching through his pockets to find the handheld to pass around.

"Hahahaha! You guys can totally try it out. The eight of us can take turns playing."

"Eight? But there are nine people in the room," Japan corrected his friend. The others paused and did a headcount.

"You're right," said Italy.

"Who are we forgetting?" China wondered.

"I'm right here," a soft-spoken voice called out.

"Gah! Who said that?" cried France.

"My guess it was him," Russia answered, pointing to America's brother sitting at the very end of the table. Canada waved shyly.

"Oh, there you are…uh…" Germany didn't want to admit he forgot the guy's name.

"I'm Canada."

"Right, sorry about that Canada." But his apology was interrupted when he heard a fist bang the table and America's laughter coming from England's side of the room.

"Dare to repeat that, you wanker?" England barked at France.

"You heard me: you can't do anything right. I mean, come now, only you could fail a personality test that has over six hundred possible outcomes."

"Urgh, the game's just bugged, that's all." England grabbed the handheld from America. "Here, I'll fix it with one of my magic charms."

"I don't think that's a good idea!" Japan hurried over to stop England from messing with his game.

"Once you fix it, can I have a go?" Italy came over as well.

"No, it'll be my turn. I wonder what my character would be," mused Russia. Canada came over as well, more for wanting to be noticed by the group than interested in what was going on. China got up and made his way to the door.

"I'm going home. It's clear nothing's going to get solved today."

"No, you're staying here." Germany grabbed him by the sleeve, pulling him back to his seat.

"Hey, let go! This is fine silk!"

"No one's leaving until we can settle at least one problem on the list."

"Dude, England, I think you just busted it even more," America laughed as the handheld starting making a strange whirring noise after England cast a charm on it.

"See, I told you he couldn't do anything," taunted France, trying to snatch the device back.

"Okay, Francey-pants, how's this for something. Velox Config—waah! Careful you gi—!" But he didn't finish his insult to France as the device suddenly flashed violently, blinding everyone in the room.

"Aaah! Germanyyyy!"

The scent of sweet, springtime grass filled his nose and woke him from his slumber. Birds chirped merrily in the distance. The serene calmness of the neighboring forest was a complete contrast to the chaos happening inside the conference room, which was ever so welcoming. He could just stay here forever, he mused, enjoying the delightful comfort of the sun's warmth and the blanket of colorful wildflowers surrounding him.

Wait a minute…how did I end up outside? Germany's thought suddenly brought him back to reality. "Italy? Japan?" he cried out to his friends. But no one was around. "Where did they go? And more importantly, where am I?" the German wondered as he stood up. "Strange, the ground seems to be of higher elevation here."

The best course of action would be to question the inhabitants of this area of his location. Since there appeared to be mountains to the east (…which were never there before he entered the building…huh…) and more empty grassland to the west and north, perhaps he should first explore the forest to the south. Maybe there was a town on the other side.

Germany entered the woods, a little surprised by how much larger-than-normal the foliage was. One giant bush was almost as tall as he was. "Italyyy! Japaaan!" Still no response, though Germany could have sworn he heard whispering from the trees above him. But there was no one above him save for some bizarre looking birds eyeing him nervously. They were sky blue in color and had what looked like wings made of white cotton.

Germany had no interest in the oddities and continued his search. "Verdammt, answer me guys! Where are you? Ita—?" What sounded like giggling floated from behind some nearby bushes. Pushing through, he found himself at the bank of a tiny pond. In front of him, completely engrossed in his reflection, was a small and brown fox-like animal, though it had long ears like a rabbit. But what made it truly extraordinary was that this creature was talking.

"Oh, wow, I look completely different. I wonder what happened to me. But I do look kind of adorable. Hey, I got a tail, what do you know! Aha, I bet Germany would be surprised to see me now. Say, I wonder where my—"

That voice– it couldn't be? "Italy?" Germany stepped forward.

The fox turned around and screamed. "Waaah! Please don't hurt me! I'm too young to die! I didn't mean to trespass in your area, I just thought this place looked nice and I wanted to rest! I don't mean to upset you. Please, I'll do anything, just don't eat meeee!"

"Italy, it's me, Germany!"

"Germany?" the fox looked at him, "Wow, you sure fooled me! You look pretty scary. I thought you were a monster coming to eat me."

"Huh?" Germany had no idea what Italy (at least, he was pretty sure that was him) was talking about.

"Come see," Italy beckoned toward the water. Curious, Germany followed.

"HOLY FÜH—! WHAT THE HECK HAPPENED TO ME!"

"I don't know, but your face is very terrifying. You know, you kind of remind me of Blackie a little." Indeed, Germany's reflection showed him as a large black dog with flaming orange markings. A whip-like tail hovered above him, ending in a triangular point. Claws lined his now paws and two horns protruded from his head. In fact, one of the only few resemblances to his former appearance were his blue eyes.

"This is bad," growled Germany, "Somehow England was able to teleport us away from the meeting center and turn us into strange-looking animals. Come on, let's find Japan before going to look for the others."

"No need, I am right here." The two paused as another canid creature walked into the clearing. It had silky white fur that was contrasted by its dark face and claws. A sickle-shaped extension protruded from the right side of its head, and it had a tail shaped like a kunai. "I heard you screaming all the way from where I woke up."

"Whoa, Japan is that you? You look pretty scary too, though not as much as Germany."

"Japan, how do you suppose we got here, and what kind of animals do you reckon England turned us into?" Germany questioned as Japan walked over to examine himself in the pond.

"…Just as I feared," muttered Japan, "I don't think we're on Earth anymore."

"Not on Earth? What do you mean?" For some reason that claim sounded too strange for Germany to believe even though, thinking back, there was plenty of evidence to support it. Why hadn't he realized it before?

"We've somehow ended up in the game. And now that we've become players, I fear we won't be able to leave so easily."

"So then, we're stuck here?" Germany paled.

"Not entirely. I bet if we win the game we'll be able to go home."

"V-very well, then that shall be our objective."

"Say, Japan," Italy spoke out, clearly not quite as bothered about their situation, "Since you were the one who created this game can you tell us what we are?"

"Oh, well, if I remember correctly you, Italy, are an Eevee– a curious pokémon that specializes in speedy getaways."

"Ooh, I like that!" beamed Italy.

"Ja, but totally useless in battle," grumbled Germany. "I look pretty powerful. What kind of, er, animal am I?"

"You're a Houndoom, a fire manipulator able to deal great damage with your sharp claws and fangs. As for me, I believe I am an Absol."

"What's your special ability?"

"Reading the atmosphere."

Not much of an ability, thought Germany.

"So where to now?" Italy asked. Germany glanced around. They could continue searching the woods for any kind of civilization, but what use would that be if no one could understand them?

"Excuse me," a tiny voice called out, "But are you three lost?"

This ends the first chapter. Wow, looking back, I feel I made this chapter overwhelming comical. Don't worry, the plot will become much more serious after this point. I've decided to use this space to provide side notes and trivia.

Pokémon: Unexplored Worlds– The Hetalia universe's equivalent to the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon series and is almost identical in gameplay. However, unlike Mystery Dungeon, Unexplored Worlds doesn't focus on building a rescue or exploration team. Instead, a group of 2 – 4 players just try to reach the end of the dungeon without dying.

"Spotlight: Italy/Eevee"– To be quite honest, Italy was the second hardest character to pick a pokémon for (the first being Canada, whom you'll see later). I considered going with the commonly paired pokémon people tend to give Italy (i.e. Pikachu and Plusle/Minun) but since I made many of the other characters the pokémon fans often associate them with, I wanted to make him something he's not always paired with. I eventually chose Eevee for a number of reasons. Firstly, in the original Mystery Dungeon games, Eevee is considered to have a naïve personality (granted, the option is only available for girls, but still); and, well, Italy's…not exactly the brightest character in the series. But he's cute, sweet, loyal, and affectionate– just like an Eevee. Secondly, he has great potential, just as Eevee has the potential to become one of seven (now eight, possibly more) different evolutions. Lastly, Eevee has the ability Run Away, which, quite frankly, nails Italy perfectly.