Foreword:

It's been well over a year since I finished my last story, Unexpected Explorations, and some who have read my stories might be wondering if I had any more planned in that series. Well, the short answer is I did, but decided to go with a completely new story with a new cast of characters, although it is still in the same 'universe' as my previous stories. Although I started this story over a year ago now, I'm only about three-quarters done with the first draft, thanks to my very slow pace and the fact I keep adding more material than I planned. Even so, I decided to put up this edited first (and now second) chapter as a kind of preview (and to let everyone who likes my stories that yes, I am still alive!) It will be a while until I post any additional chapters, but if completing the first draft takes too long yet, I'll probably post the third chapter early next year.

Please, let me know what you think and as always, thanks for reading my stories!

Chapter I: A Slip of the Universe...

Flash!

I was blinded by brilliant light just before a serious sensation of falling hit, followed by tumbling, disorientation and eventually...darkness.

However later, I regained some minor level of consciousness as my head swam mightily. I was on my back, and there was what sounded like wind rustling through trees around me along with someone approaching at a run, hurrying through fallen leaves. I opened my eyes on a blurry world, feeling half out of it and finding it hard to move, like my entire body was partly paralyzed with severe numbness.

An indistinct face appeared close above, blocking most my view.

"Are you alright?!"

A woman's voice...I thought I could see her mouth move through the blurriness. Obviously I'd collapsed onto my back without any warning; something serious must had just happened to me...a heart attack?!

"Can you hear me? Do you need a Pokécenter?"

One of those words didn't register. Through my slowly clearing vision, I could tell the woman was young and had brown-hair...and was looking worried. I felt instantly thankful someone happened to be around to help. But...I didn't feel any pain, just…really weird. I tried moving my mouth and finding it mostly functional, attempted an answer: "I…don't know." My voice came out with a strange tone that I'd never achieved before… I tried clearing my throat. "What...happened?" Again, what was with my voice?! And my mouth felt different too, like it was shaped differently or something.

The woman gasped, her eyes going wide before jerking back.

My heart started racing as I suddenly felt out of breath. "What?! What's wrong?!" Was I bleeding profusely or what?! With her face no longer blocking most my view and vision continuing to clear, I realized I was under some trees, wind indeed rustling their leaves high overhead. Through a still cloudy mind, it dawned on me the scene wasn't right; I had just been out in the open under bright sun in an open prairie, some considerable distance from the nearest trees…

Had I been mugged, knocked out, and then dragged somewhere?! A heart attack quickly seemed less likely, yet…

Pointing at me, the woman gasped: "You…talked!"

I blanked, unsure how to respond. Was I in such bad shape that I shouldn't be able to?! Preparing myself for some pain, I braced my arms to sit up and get a look at myself. I didn't feel pain with the movement, but...the first indication something indeed was wrong was how moving my arms felt. I mean, I could move them, but they just felt…different. It also felt like I had more strength than usual, in that my muscles lifted my upper body with less effort. The slam-dunk that something was very, very, without any shadow of a doubt wrong, came when I looked down at myself.

I was not...me!

My feet were small and cream-colored, having only three, fat toes. From there, my legs were short and thinner than they used to be, having become covered with a thick green hair. Moving up, that hair spiked up some beyond my waist, but my chest was cream-colored skin like my feet.

...!

In panic, I sat up fully to stare at my arms. Like my legs, they were thinner and shorter and covered in the same hair. Tuffs of white hair covered my shoulders. And to top it all off, from somewhere under my rear appeared a thin whip covered with a shorter green hair, ending in a two-bulbed, thorny…thing as it ran under one leg and off to the side. It twitched as soon as I spotted it.

A...tail?!

Reaching around, I felt it to truly be my tail!

Now I gasped.

No...someone had to be playing a prank on me! They knocked me out, put me in a costume...

Except the costume was too small! Especially since the woman next to me was far larger, and I was a thirty-two year-old guy! Starting to hyperventilate: "What…what…what happened?! What is this..." My new, strange voice now became meek and small. Of course, it wasn't my voice at all; I controlled it, I said the words, but it wasn't my voice! It was much higher pitched...

"Y...you spoke English!" the woman gasped again, still beside me but now squatting further back. "But you're a Pokémon!"

A what?! Focusing on her, I stared for a good moment, not quite catching some of the words. Seriously, my mind was already more than occupied with other things! Feeling all of the sudden sweaty as my heart pounded in my (smaller) chest, I simply tried getting some bearing on what happened to me. But as the seconds thumped past, the realization that my body had…somehow…changed, ever so slowly started sinking in, even though my mind fought the thought mightily. Its resistance was dealt a blow after I gathered up my legs to stand, only to almost to collapse again on my short, unsteady legs; a quick arm from the woman saved me. Once standing, the fact that I was smaller hit with a finality: my head only came up to her stomach, like I was eight-years old again!

Looking down at myself again, the view of my green-haired legs didn't change. I raised a leg up and set it back down. Yes, definitely my leg and foot. I felt faint, and shifted focus to my surroundings. Inside what appeared to be forest, the prairie where I had been hiking was nowhere in sight. And although I knew most areas of the large park I had been in, I did not recognize this particular spot at all. So…not only was my body different, I was some considerable distance from where I had been!

I started panicking, looking this way and that, hoping for any familiar landmark as my tail began swishing of its own accord.

Raising a hand to block my tail, the woman sounded alarmed: "Hey, hey, take it easy! Calm down!"

Not quite calmly: "What happened to me and where am I?!"

She didn't seem able to answer for a moment, her mouth momentarily hanging open. Finally: "You're in Pinwheel Forest."

I stopped to stare, sure I'd never heard of the place. "Where is that?!"

"We're… nearest to Nacrene City…"

Again, no recollection, and I started fearing I was even further away than I originally thought. Just how long had I been unconscious?!

"…in the Unova region?"

Now I really stared. Was I in a different state or country?! Fear started overtaking every other sense I had. Taking a longer look around, I hoped for some familiar landmark I had missed.

"You know, you are one unique simisage, being able to talk! No Pokémon I've ever heard of can do that! But what do you mean, 'what happened?' I was walking along the main path over there, and thought I saw a flash and heard something hit the ground. When I ran over, I found you laying here. You seem fine now, but maybe I should still take you to a Pokécenter. Wait, did you fall out of one of these trees? Did you lose your memory?"

There were still a couple words I didn't understand. "Simisage? Pokécenter?" Waving my arms in all sorts of gestures: "Look, I was just walking in a park, looking for some photos to take, when flash! I was suddenly here…" Remembering I had a bag of camera equipment with me, I looked more carefully over the immediate area, but my bag was nowhere to be found. Which was evidence I might have been mugged, but… "No, I must still be unconscious and I'm dreaming. I mean, look at me! This is impossible!"

"Taking...photos?" The woman sounded confused as her otherwise pretty face contorted. "I've never seen a simisage or any Pokémon use a camera before…but then you can talk. Oh boy, nobody's 'gonna believe me."

Again, that word! "What is a simisage?!" Opening my mouth that far to almost yell, my face as well as my mouth felt especially strange. Slapping hand to cheek, I found it completely unfamiliar. Just like the rest of me. With both hands I explored the remaining unseen portion of my strange new anatomy, finding large ears and some tall, stiff hair on the top of my head. "God, let this be a bad dream," I mumbled, before I felt a larger hand gently taking one of mine.

"You're a wild Pokémon?" the woman asked carefully. "A Pokémon center is a place with nurses that are specially trained to help hurt or injured Pokémon. And I think I should get you to one, because you sound really confused, like you took a bad hit on your head. Something like that can be dangerous or life-threatening if not treated."

Backing away from her to break contact: "I don't know what a simisage or a Pokémon are, but I'm human! This isn't what I look like!"

The woman's brown eyes narrowed. "I'm betting you took a real nasty one on the head. Or did you just evolve? Anyway, I better get you there quickly for your own sake! Talking aside, you're saying a lot of strange things."

Even in my panicked state, the thought of a doctor looking at me didn't sound like a bad idea. And maybe I could find a map. Oh boy…what was I going to tell my family?! Yet…it sounded like things like me were common? I mean, if she said I was such-and-such… Maybe the doctors would know of a way to change me back.

Of course, I had to be dreaming all this! So in a dream, anything goes, right? Oh dear God, let that be so!

The women took a few steps in one direction, holding out her hand. "Come on, I don't mind helping a wild Pokémon. The Pokécenter isn't but a couple hours walk this way."

Surrounded by brown hair, her face looked hopeful and for the first time, noticed her hair was in a pony-tail. That only registered on the lowest level in my scrambled mind, though, as I tried debating whether to follow or not. Finally I just took a few steps, not really seeing any better alternatives. Just so we didn't encounter anyone else along the way. To be seen like I was now, would be incredibly embarrassing! Especially since my clothes, like my camera bag, had disappeared.

Not that anything embarrassing showed anywhere, noting as we moved through the forest. Seems my lower green hair was thick enough to hide everything. In fact, the distribution of hair was reminiscent of pants…

"By the way, my name's Gale," the woman said as we soon reached what looked like a wide, well-worn earth path with sparse grass here and there in patches.

"I'm Alex." I'd just as soon skip my last name under the circumstances. Then again, being a dream…

"You have a human-sounding name. OK then, just how is it that you can talk? I'm really curious, since the only Pokémon known to use human language are a few rare telepathic types, and they never use their mouths."

An annoying fly buzzed my head and I swung at it, instantly hitting the stiff hair on my head. Well, not so stiff, as it did give quite a bit. "What is a Pokémon?" She kept using that word or name; whether a dream could give the answer or not…

"Ah...you are."

"I thought you said I was a...simisage or something." Let's see if this twisted-up dream can use logic.

"You talk like you've been around humans all your life, yet you don't even know the name for what you are? I thought even all wild Pokémon knew that."

I glared, waiting for the answer.

She shook her head, frowning. "Or are you testing me? OK, a Pokémon is a class of special animals, and a simisage is one species of them. You are a simisage. Now I answered your question, so please tell me how you can talk."

Which speaking as a human, was an entirely odd thing to be asked! "How can you?" I countered.

"You observed those around you?" asking as if purely guessing. She cocked her head, staring down oddly. "I thought you were wild… but…do you actually have a trainer? Did he or she somehow manage to teach you how to talk? That would be truly amazing to have a skill like that."

Trainer? As in teacher? "I went to school, if that's what you're asking. Same as you, I assume." Every country on the planet had schools of one sort or another! Wait…were these simisage species not taught in schools? Boy was this dream was strange.

Her young forehead furrowing greatly, "There's a school where they teach Pokémon how to speak?! Why haven't I heard of that? I would think that would be big news."

Alright, so I had the body of some species called a simisage, and apparently they didn't go to schools. Not to mention I still had never heard of such a species or of Pokémon. Alright, so where did my mind come up with all this to produce this dream?

But no dream had ever felt so real. The earth on my bare feet felt cool and moist amid the tall trees on either side of the path, the leaves above rustled under a sky with a few puffy white clouds, and even a bit of breeze made it down. My chest moved as my lungs took in the moist, forest-scented air, and I could feel my heart beat as it slowly calmed. If not for the circumstances, I would call it a really nice day in a nice place.

My illusion of a dream was falling apart bit by bit, though. I guess, even from the beginning, I knew things felt a little too 'real'. Over the next few footfalls, it struck like another hammer blow that this, most likely, was somehow reality. I was in an unknown place and had the body of a strange creature. Once again I felt faint, and before I knew otherwise, the woman was holding me up.

"Whoa! You alright?!"

She gently lowered me to the ground where I stuck my head between my knees for a moment. Gradually the feeling passed. "I think I'm better." Looking up at her seemingly towering height, she looked back down with an alarmed stare from her brown eyes.

"I think I better carry you. The sooner we get to the Pokécenter the better."

Before I could protest that I didn't want to burden her (then again, how much did I weigh now?!), she whipped out what looked like a red and white ball from somewhere under her jacket and shoulder pack. "What is…" I started to ask.

Holding the hand-sized ball out in front of her, she pressed something on it. The ball snapped open and a red luminous beam shot out, hitting the ground a few feet in front of us. Then, before my very eyes, something large…materialized. I had no idea what it was, other than it kind of looked like a large pig standing on its hind legs, except it was like no pig I'd ever seen! Varying in color from orange to red and dark green with various yellow swirls about it, it looked mean and...fiery?!

The whole little scene made my head swim and heart pound from the shock of its strangeness, and my last memory was of the upper canopy coming into view as the world turned dark again.

As my consciousness and senses came back, I found it was almost completely silent save for a quiet muffled hum, and my eyes opened on a white ceiling with recessed florescent lights. Moving my head to have a look around, it was obviously a hospital, having white walls, various "medical" looking equipment and furnishings, and me being in a bed with another empty one close by.

At once I felt relieved! Of course, it had all been a bad dream because something happened to me that put me in the hospital! Not that being in the hospital was really a good thing, but… That relief was short lived as I looked down at myself. I still seemed smaller, and moving aside the white sheet covering me, the same shock as before hit all over again: I still had that strange body! It was a good thing I was laying down, because I likely would've fainted again. Several seconds later my (new) body sent the signal to start breathing again, and I spent some time just staring at myself and trying to comprehend the situation.

Alright, if I was in a hospital, surely someone had noticed along the way that there was some strange creature in it. I wasn't being restrained at all in the bed, but would the Feds or CDC be bursting in any minute? Closing my eyes, I formed the image of being confined to a research center for the rest of my days, being unable to explain how my body changed from an ordinary human to that of a...simisage was it?

Wait, what about that other strange creature I saw…the one the woman let out of a small ball?! The more I played that event in my mind, the more bizarre I found it. I decided it was something I needed to ask her about if I ever saw her again. And then remembering what she had been talking about, wondered if this was that 'Pokécenter' she kept mentioning. If it had doctors and nurses, then it might indeed look like a hospital.

I stayed laying for a while, bringing my cream-colored hands in front of my face more than once. I had four fingers and a thumb on each, at least. And I walked on two legs, even though my feet only had three large toes. So I was still humanoid anyway. Yet I had thick green hair on my lower half and arms, cream colored skin on my bare chest, hands and feet, and a tail. Add to that what felt like large ears...oh Lord, what did my face look like?!

I needed a mirror! Which should be found in any bathroom. Which I suddenly realized I needed for quite a different purpose anyway.

One open door from the room had white tile visible in the darkened interior. Carefully sitting up, I didn't feel any signs of faintness, so I slid off the mattress to drop the foot or so to the floor…with my tail trapped underneath to make the movement uncomfortable. Still feeling fairly steady on my feet, I hurried over as my bladder started complaining now that relief was so close. Fortunately the room was indeed a bathroom.

Or some variety of one. It had a sink. It had a mirror. It had towels. But in the large room on the other side of the expected white porcelain toilet, was what I only could call the largest litter box I'd ever seen! And yes, it had gray litter in it as the lights turned on automatically.

That gave me only slight pause though as I shut the door and went for the "normal" toilet. Being shorter obviously meant I was closer to the target, but something seemed to be missing... Panic started coursing through my veins again; in addition to a new body, did I also have a new gender?! Seconds of 'exploring' through the somewhat thinner hair of my groin eventually revealed I had (some of) the required equipment to answer in the negative, although it was shockingly inside a slit, apparently coming out when needed.

Um…

And there was no sign of two other things generally required to be called male. Were they also inside?!

I wondered what other surprises this body had in store for me as I finished a couple long moments later with a relieved sigh. Fearfully, I looked to the mirror which I had avoided on the way in. Well, it was a little too high above the sink anyway, though there was a convenient stool below. After a flush and a deep breath, I positioned the stool and hesitated before stepping up.

What stared back was...well, I looked like a damned monkey!

Sorta.

Alright, I was no biologist, but I'd watched my share of programs on Animal Planet and thought I knew most monkey species. I did not look like any of them. And if I had ever seen or just glanced at a photo of a monkey that looked even remotely like me, I no doubt would have remembered it! With a...well OK, kind of cute and handsome cream-colored face, I did indeed have large ears, but also large white eyebrows that went up and to the side, and a ridiculously large, stiff green hairdo sticking straight up, like an overgrown Mohawk, but more 'bulby'. A pompadour of hair?!

What in thee hell have I become?!

"Simisage", she had said.

Which didn't help any.

That other 'creature' I saw before passing out, what the hell had that been?! And from where?!

The opening of a door outside made me flinch. Irrationally, I didn't want anyone to see me like this, even though probably the entire hospital had a good look at me already. Yet from how that woman spoke...what was her name...acted like whatever I was, was fairly common.

Thankfully whoever it was didn't stay long, for the door closed only seconds later. I stared at myself a moment longer before deciding I really did need to talk to someone. First thing was I needed a map to find out exactly where this 'Unova region' was. Then I supposed I needed to get back home to Minnesota.

Yeah, sure. "Hi Mom, Hi Dad. Guess what? I somehow got transported to someplace I never heard of before and my body was changed to this! Isn't this neat?! And no, I have no idea how it all happened. So...let's have dinner and I can tell you about it."

Then it struck me: if I had been changed into this (however impossible that was to known science), then logically there had to be a way to change me back! Right? As if on cue, the door in the other room opened again and I hurriedly left the bathroom.

"Oh, good to see you're up and about, simisage. You're looking much better compared to when that lady brought you in this morning."

A nurse was standing in the doorway. With blonde hair, brown eyes and wearing a pinkish uniform that otherwise looked as normal nurse wear, she appeared around forty. Although pretty, she wasn't what made me halt in my tracks. No, it was the creature standing next to and slightly behind her!

"I'm glad you're feeling better too," the bipedal, blue-eyed, pink-and-cream-colored thing said, as it passed a small hand through one of the swirls coming off its lower ears. After straightening it out, it released the swirl which sprung back into position.

Not only was it yet another weird animal I'd never seen, it talked to boot! Abandoning most of my normal politeness: "What is…that!" as I pointed, the sound of my strange higher-pitched voice catching me off-guard again.

The nurse's eyes widened as she froze. "You..." A half-moment later: "That's right! She claimed you could talk...but I didn't believe her!"

"That's amazing!" the pink creature said, mouth hanging open. "How do you do that?!"

I was about to answer the same way it was able to talk...then it dawned on me the creature was speaking differently...way differently. In fact, it sounded like a wildly different language more in common with animal noises. Yet...I understood it as easily as everyone else! I stood dumbfounded. Eventually and directly to the creature: "What are you?"

Cocking it's head: "I'm an audino. You've never seen one? My species is common here."

I found a proper response difficult. "I..." Shaking my head in an attempt to regain some semblance of concentration, "OK, one, where am I? And two, how did this happen to me," waving a hand at myself. "I need it reversed." I could just envision some mad scientist behind it and all the strange creatures I was seeing lately. I was by no means trained in any biological science, being a computer programmer by trade and a budding freelance photographer on the side, but I knew enough about biology to believe such a transformation would be unbelievably difficult. In fact the word impossible was actually at the top of my descriptors. Yet...it sure seemed to have happened! (Was there any chance this was still a dream?!)

"Uh…" The nurse still looked stunned as she looked down to the audino. "Well, you're in the Nacrene City Pokémon Center."

Which I had guessed already, and which again didn't really tell me anything.

"And what happened to you and reverse what?"

"Me being changed into this," again indicating myself. "I used to be human."

Dead silence from both the nurse and the creature. "You…evolved?" the audino finally asked.

"You mean you evolved?" the nurse asked, mirroring the pink creature. "Well, once a Pokémon evolves, there's no way to undo that. But you look great in your new form!"

I didn't know what the heck they were talking about, but it was plain it was something else! "No! I mean I used to be human! I'm Alex Johnson, and I'm from Minnesota, in the United States! I was in a park working this morning when I suddenly woke up here, and like this!" Well, there was that flash…

Nurse and audino glanced at each other, giving each other nods in seemingly thinking the same thing before they started approaching. "Well, good thing you can talk, because something is obviously wrong with you."

I guess I was getting through to them, I thought with some relief.

"You must have taken some kind of blow or else something happened during your evolution. Maybe that's even the reason you can speak."

"Wha…what?" I tried shrugging off the hands that were now gripping my upper arms.

"Calm down simisage. We're just going to do some scans on you to see if there's anything that shows up."

Deciding that might be a good idea, I allowed them to lead me out into the hall and into another nearby room. Several minutes later as I was laying on the bed of what looked like an MRI machine, only seemingly more advanced: "There's nothing wrong with my head. I'm telling the truth." I stopped when the audino gripped my hand as the lighted tube moved over my upper half.

After being distracted briefly by the monitor she was watching: "Well, it's certainly amazing you can talk, but it's just plain impossible for a human to turn into a Pokémon, any Pokémon," the nurse said. "I think you're acting out as your trainer, who is named Alex? The women who brought you in wasn't sure if you were wild or not, but you don't act wild."

Again, what the heck was a trainer? With the tube having finished its path over my head, "Look, I'm pretty sure I don't have whatever a trainer is, otherwise I would know what that is I assume." Which caused the nurse and audino to exchange glances once again. "And I'm absolutely certain of what I used to be! This morning when I woke up and rolled out of bed, I was a human. Same as the last thirty-two years. Now I'm this!" I noted the nurse smile politely but otherwise make no reaction. The audino not quite hid a gesture of a finger circling one side of its head… "Does the scan show anything?" I asked with annoyance as the two seemed fixed on it again.

"You're a perfectly healthy simisage," the nurse replied. "You have a higher density of synaptic connections than normal, suggesting higher intelligence, but otherwise nothing unusual. I conclude you're a pretty smart simisage, if being able to talk doesn't already indicate that."

"Normal? Having a body changed doesn't leave a trace?!" Unless the MRI wasn't able to detect such things. Then again, what did I know?

"You're normal," the nurse repeated, more forcibly as she turned from the display. "Physically."

I gazed down to my green hair-covered legs in moving to sit on the edge of the MRI platform, remembering my tail just in time to avoid another painful pinch. Wiggling my three large toes on each foot, I felt a small amount of hope about returning to my former self leave me. "I was human…" With a sigh, I remembered I still needed to find out where I was. "Is there a map of the area I can look at?"

"Maybe talking ability comes with hallucinations," the nurse whispered to the audino. "Opportunity for study." Louder: "Um, there's maps in the lobby. Can you read too?"

Looking around and seeing some lettering on a red sign, I read it as 'Emergency Stop'. For the equipment, I guessed. "Yes." In addition to the English, there was also what looked like Japanese characters. Those I could not read, as expected, but realized that likely meant I was around Japan or China.

In other words…on the other side of the planet!

"A Pokémon that can talk and read human," the nurse said. "Just incredible!"

"He is very special," the audio added. Quieter: "And crazy."

Similar dual-language signs were out in the hallways as the nurse and audino led me through them and around a couple corners. A window was in one wall , where the inside of the room had a bed surrounded by equipment. On it was yet another odd, though small, creature I'd never seen before. I recalled a phrase I read somewhere: Every morning, I try to think of five impossible things before breakfast. Well so far, I'd actually seen at least that many, and had the feeling it'd just been a warm-up.

The lobby was a large room, bordered on three sides by floor-to-ceiling windows, which were now letting in what I guessed was mid-afternoon sun. Double-doors seemed to act as the main entrance in one side, while benches ran along the other two walls. A front desk, staffed by a brunette-haired young gal, was near where we walked in.

"Oh, is that poor simisage alright?"

Only a few steps into the room, the ponytail woman from before, Gale I finally remembered, was already walking from one of the benches.

"It is," the nurse replied, "I didn't detect any injuries, but it sure is talking odd. But the fact it can talk, is...amazing!"

"So you believe me now, huh?" Gale asked.

"What's that?!" the girl at the desk asked, hurrying around to approach. "This simisage actually can talk?!"

"Yes, it can!" the nurse replied.

Never before had I felt the urge to not talk. Even so: "Hey, I'm a guy, not an 'it'."

The brunette-haired girl gasped, covering her mouth. "My...gosh!"

"See!" Gale said excitedly. To me: "So how are you feeling?"

There were so many ways I could answer that... "Physically I feel fine, aside from the minor fact my body isn't human anymore."

"I think it's somehow acting as its trainer," the nurse said quickly. "Even wants to use his name. I couldn't detect anything wrong, but I would like to keep him overnight for observation. Might have something to do with its evolution..."

Now I was getting angry! Clenching my fists, "Hey! There is nothing wrong with my mind damnit! I used to be a human, a perfectly normal thirty-two year old man! I even have a job as a programmer, which if I don't call my boss to let him know what happened, I'll get fired soon!"

"So his trainer was a computer programmer?" Gale asked the nurse. "But how could he start acting like him and even talk?"

"Botched evolution?" the receptionist suggested. "Maybe during the energy excitement phase, there was contamination with his trainer?"

"That's unheard of, but I read the theory once," the nurse said thoughtfully. "So where is your trainer, simisage?"

I was seething. Crossing my arms, I refused to answer since apparently anything I said wasn't going to be believed. But focusing on the back wall, I realized I was looking at a large flat-panel display...and there was a small diagram in one corner with lettering that said...

A map!

I hurried over and with the lower right corner about even with my head, thought the small window could be resized. Could it be a touch screen? I touched it, and was rewarded with the small corner expanding to fill the impressive eight-foot width. Cool. As the three woman surrounded me again, I studied the unfamiliar city map for a moment before seeing the scale control along the bottom. Sliding a finger produced a much wider view, one where a dozen cities were indicated along with large 'Unova' lettering across the landmass. Again, it was an area I could not recall seeing on any map, even though it was somewhat sizable according to the scale.

"Wow...amazing! This Pokémon knows how to use touch screens and map controls!" the receptionist exclaimed.

Still ignoring them, I expanded the scale further. The 'Unova' landmass shrunk considerably as a large sea come into view. Another landmass appeared to the east, broken up into apparently the different areas of 'Sinnoh', 'Kanto', 'Johto', and a couple others. Seeing the scale of kilometers, I felt confused. This was certainly a large enough area that I should be recognizing some portion of the planet by now. Zooming out more, a large ocean appeared as most cities disappeared. Still more, another landmass to the east. More yet and I slid the view to the east.

North America.

And I stared.

The shape…was wrong. Way wrong. Zooming in, I saw states fill in most of the land…but they were different. Shaped differently…some even named differently. Rotating to the south, South America was missing entire countries, but gaining new ones! Using my whole hand, I slid it across the entire width of the screen to get Europe into view. It was bigger, with twice as many 'regions' then I was familiar with! And most had different names as well…

What in the hell…?!

My hands and feet almost flew as I brought the view of North America back. "Is this a joke?!" I shouted, pointing back at the map.

"That's North America," Gale replied. "What about it?"

"Oh, you said you were from Minnesota," the nurse said. "There it is," as she pointed to the state's outline.

An outline that I knew didn't represent the state in anyone's delirium. Except mine, apparently!

"That's where he said he's from?" Gale asked.

"Could his trainer be there?" the receptionist added. "He's pretty far away then."

With one last zoom out, I finally brought the whole globe into view. And I recognized...nothing. Entire continents were changed, and there were more of them, like a bunch of large islands.

"This is all wrong! Where's the real map?!"

"Huh? That map is real," the nurse countered. Then in a lower voice apparently to the others: "See, something's wrong with him."

I paid her no attention as I fixed on the globe. Slowly, a new frightening chain of thought crept into my mind. Different body…different animals…different area…different…

…planet?!

I panicked, hard. Whipping around, I ran for the doors which slid open for me…where yet another odd creature was just outside with a kid walking beside it!

"Whoa there!" the kid cried as I nearly ran into them.

"What's the hurry?" the blue bi-pedal creature practically trilled.

I panicked further if that were possible, almost jumping in backing up from them as quick as I could. Far down the walk leading to the building, I finally stopped running and looked around. A number of small, two-story brick buildings surrounded the area along with plenty of green areas too. Branching off the main sidewalk near me was a narrower concrete walk, with a small sign reading "Park and sitting area". With no other option and just wanting to go and hide, I ran that way on my shorter legs, my bare three-toed feet slapping almost painfully against the concrete. The path ended up winding back around the large Pokécenter , ending in a small grassy place near the back bordered by high hedges. With several benches around the perimeter, a couple smaller trees and a water fountain, it seemed like a cozy, protected and secluded area. It was also empty.

Picking a bench at the back, I plopped down and was soon laying and staring up at the puffy clouds in a late afternoon sky, my new tail nestled between the bench slats.

I breathed deeply several times, trying to calm my breathing and heart rate. An odd bird passed overhead, looking somewhat like a fat pigeon with multi shades of grey.

Not that I knew all species of pigeon.

Finally sighing, I closed my eyes, trying to shut it all out in order to think.

The only rational explanation I could come up with for everything was this was all simply a dream. But considering how real and detailed everything felt, and how long it had been going on, that explanation didn't seem viable anymore. I opened my eyes again to observe the branches of one of the trees, watching how it moved in the slight breeze. How everything moved, the sound of the rustling, the noise of daily activity from the town all around…how could any dream be this detailed?

Holding my smaller, non-human hands above me, I gazed at them for several minutes before hearing footsteps approaching. Gale appeared at the entrance to the tiny park and looked at me for a few seconds with an undecided, perhaps concerned expression.

"Are you alright?" she finally asked softly. "You really looked scared when you ran out and over here."

Scared? Yes, I was. Scared, confused, disorientated…and no longer human! Getting to the apparent root of my issue: "What planet is this?"

Gale tilted her head. "Humans call it Earth. Do Pokémon have a different name for it?"

"Earth?" The same name, but with almost completely different continents?! "How…this isn't the Earth I know. Everything's different. Even the land masses. The entire configuration is wrong. Not only did my body change, but so did the whole planet!" After some silence, I looked over to the twenty-something women again. She was still expressing concern, but walked over to take the bench nearest my head.

I continued: "Seriously: I used to be a human. I can tell you just about any detail you want to know, including where I was born and raised. But looking at that map, I don't know if that place even exists here."

Gale replied hesitantly, "So…you not only used to be human, but you think…you might be from a different planet, another planet with humans?"

"The first, definitely. The second…I don't know what to think. The planet I know is also called Earth."

More silence. Then: "You are an amazing Pokémon. You're the only one I've ever heard of that can speak human, and its mind-blowing to be having a real two-sided conversation with one. Yet…what you are saying…" Sighing, "It's hard to believe. I mean, people just don't turn into Pokémon or Pokémon into people. I know some movies have that as part of the plot, but in real-life, it isn't possible, even with all our science, not even close. Are you sure your evolution didn't…go wrong and maybe do something to your mind? Nurse Parker said complications are very rare, but not unheard of."

At first, I started to roll to my side, but my tail caught in the bench slats with a sharp pain. Shaking my head instead, "I don't even know what you mean by 'evolution'."

"Seriously?!" Her gaze grew curious. "It's when a Pokémon reaches a high enough energy level to change its form into the next more powerful one in its evolution line. Sometimes it even changes its personality."

That sounded…very weird. Reaching for my head, I scratched around the base of my odd hairdo.

"Um…in your case, you used to be a pansage, but you must have touched a leaf stone, which caused you to transform into a simisage, which is the highest form you can obtain. Hold on…did you touch a leaf stone without knowing it, so your evolution took you completely by surprise?!" Pointing a finger, "I wonder if that has something to do with this!"

I sighed loudly. "I told you, the very first thing I saw here was waking up on the ground where you found me. Before that I was a human! On my own…Earth, I guess." OK, that did sound out-there admittedly, but it was true!

"I think you touched a leaf-stone in a tree, and then fell as you were evolving. That would explain the flash of light I saw through the trees, too!"

I went through the effort of lifting my rear up off the bench so I could free my tail in order to sit up. "A bright flash of light? That's what I saw just before I found myself here!"

"When Pokémon evolve, they give off light. Sometimes it's for a minute or more. Other times, it's just a few seconds. Yours must have been quick, with lots of energy!"

"You don't believe me, do you?" I gave her a stare, which the pretty, brown-haired pony-tail woman returned.

"You do talk like a human," she admitted. Then looking down, "I…don't know."

Just then, a sound erupted from my stomach, indicating its displeasure at being empty. Indeed, until then, I hadn't even noticed. Considering my state of mind, that didn't surprise me.

"Well, it sounds like you're hungry, simisage."

"Name's Alex," I reminded.

"OK, Alex. How about I get you some food here? This Pokécenter is full-service, and they serve food to both trainers and Pokémon. They even have some rooms for traveling trainers and their Pokémon. I was planning on staying the night, so you can stay with me. And I'd love it if you came home with me to Castelia City."

The food sounded like a good idea. The rest… But then, if I was not on Earth, well my Earth, then I needed someplace to stay. Until I got my bearings that was, and figured out what the hell happened to me. Actually, I surprised myself a little at thinking through this logically, proof I was starting to accept things, I guess. Dropping down off the bench to stand on my shorter legs: "You sure are being nice. Thank you."

"No problem. My heart goes out to Pokémon in trouble, which is how I got most my current team." The smirking: "Besides, there's no way I'm letting a beyond-ultra-rare talking Pokémon out of my sight! And if you really don't have a trainer, I want to claim you."

Claim?!

Food was interesting. The cafeteria at first tried to give me what I thought was dog food! Although it actually smelled OK, I wanted the pizza, burgers and salad. Once they got over their shock that I could ask for such things in plain old English, I further amazed Gale by using some honest-to-God silverware. Seems I was supposed to eat with my hands, like all the other strange animals...or Pokémon rather. Alright, she wasn't that surprised, considering how I operated the large touch-screen display in the lobby, but the few other people around were far more amazed by such a simple thing (along with my talking).

At that point, I decided to keep my talking to a minimum. I didn't want the attention, I just needed some alone time to think and figure things out. Way too much weird stuff had happened to me already for me to handle, and that was a serious understatement. Gale seemed to pick up on that as she ate mostly in silence with me, even keeping the handful of other people (politely) away. That had only mixed success with the other creatures…Pokémon in the room. From a small green, snake-like animal with legs to what I could only think of as a meerkat-squirrel hybrid with weird eyes, the dozen or so creatures all seemed to regard me with awe as they talked among themselves. Such was the variety of animals, it was like a menagerie out of a sci-fi movie. Or a cartoon.

It was with relief when after dinner, Gale led me upstairs into a small windowed room containing a couple beds, a chair, table, small television, and nothing else except a picture on the wall.

"Our bare-bones but cheap room for the night," Gale announced. Pointing, "Bathroom's down the hall that way, and it's designed for most Pokémon too."

The image of the huge 'litter-box' came to mind with that. Oddly, I felt myself thankful I could still use a normal human toilet. Plopping down on the one bed proved I wasn't adjusted to my new body yet, the action causing a pain in my new rear appendage. After using a hand to get it laying the right way from under my rear, "There sure are a lot of those odd creatures around." Gale paused in setting down on the table what looked like a belt with six red and white balls attached to it, which I thought I spotted from under her jacket earlier. One of the balls from which the huge red-green pig came from?

"That's an odd thing to call fellow Pokémon. Of course, you sure aren't typical, are you?"

Since I was accepting more and more the possibility that I was on a different planet…

"Nothing like them where I come from."

"You're from another region then…well you did say you're from Minnesota, in the United States. What are the Pokémon there like?"

"There's no such word as 'Pokémon', for starters. The animals there are various birds, geese, loons, deer, moose, rabbits, elk, snakes, coyote, wolves, bears, and even some buffalo."

Gale stripped out of her jacket and pants, revealing her panties before donning some loose shorts. Right in front of me, as if it was nothing. Grabbing the remote before sitting on the bed opposite me, "I've heard of some of those. Those are regular animals. Aren't there any Pokémon there?"

"What's the difference?" Other than these 'Pokémon' just looking strange (and I could understand them!)

After a stare that spoke of surprise: "Um...you guys have special abilities or powers, that's what, not to mention normally being more intelligent!" Cocking her head, "You really are different." As I started to speak: "Yeah, I know: you said you used to be human."

I clammed up. What point would there be in going over that again?

"You know though, I think I'm starting to at least consider you're right."

Which caused me to sit up a little.

"You act so human, it's really weird. But don't think that I don't still want to claim you."

That word again. "What do you mean by 'claim'?" Did she mean as in a pet? Like hell I was going to be someone's pet!

She smirked again, same as before when she mentioned catching. "Catch you or capture in other words."

Huh? I was in a small room with her; I would say she already did…? Or did she mean catch, as in the romantic sense? Looking down at my clearly non-human body though, that didn't seem like…wait, did humans and these creatures…

"Since you seem to know nothing, here, catch."

I looked over to see her reach into her pack beside her bed before tossing something over the six feet between us. A small red and white ball. I caught it with both hands, noticing an additional feature about it: a button staring up at me.

"Darn, the button didn't hit you."

I gazed over at her. What difference did that make?

"It would have activated if it had," she explained as if reading my question, smiling warmly. "If you don't already have a trainer, then you're mine. And since you don't know about Pokéballs, then you have to be wild."

I still didn't get it and said as much. What followed from her was an quizzical explanation of what Pokéballs were, who trainers were, and what 'catching' a Pokémon meant. The last part of course alarmed me greatly!

"You seriously didn't know any of that?"

Of course, what she said about the small red and white ball still in my hand exactly matched what I saw when that large "pig" came out of it! The thought of being absorbed into such a thing suddenly made me queasy as I tossed the ball back. In fact, it felt like the entire day's events was really catching up with me. Dead tired, I manually repositioned my tail and laid down with a hand over my stomach. "All this is just impossible," I sighed.

"You just have to be wild," she replied in more a whisper. "But you don't look so well all of a sudden."

"Upset stomach," I replied. "A hell of a lot has happened to me today." I heard the sound of some rummaging. Within seconds, she was standing over me with what looked like a small bottle of yellowish liquid.

"Have a sip of this, little guy. It'll help calm your stomach. Specially made for Pokémon."

At first the smell of it caused my black-tipped nose to wrinkle up, but I got myself up enough to have a sip. It didn't taste as bad as it smelled, like a semi-sweet soda with some bitter aftertaste that caused me to shudder slightly.

"It'll take a few minutes to work," as she put it back in her pack before pulling the chair over from the table. "Maybe you should go easy on the pizza next time. That Poké food is specially formulated for you, you know."

I supposed it could have been that, but I was more inclined to think it was the near-constant state of shock I'd been in most of the day. As I laid back down, I found her hand over my stomach and giving it a rub over my cream-colored skin. I had a flashback to when I was a child with the stomach flu, and Mom would do the same. It felt…nice. Not sure I liked being treated like a child, but for the moment I didn't care. After some minutes, I actually did start to feel better, at least to the point my stomach settled.

"Better now?" she asked.

I nodded. "But I'm very tired. Changing bodies I guess can take it out of you," I half-way joked.

Her gaze lingered as she got up, as if questioning, before shaking her head slightly. In short order the television was on, and we were watching something involving a human and her orange, black-striped dog partner that could breathe fire (literally), as they tried to solve some case involving another human and his blue and black haired or skinned, long-eared, dog-like creature that walked on two legs…and had small spikes sticking out of its chest and hands. I fell asleep half-way through the surreal weirdness, with barely clinging hope I would wake up with everything normal again.