ã€ŠPMD: Family Vacationã€‹


 Road Trip Gone Wrong

    Rain fell as I looked out the window of a still car with my head supported by the palm of my hand, just watching my neighborhood after checking the usual messages.

    ¡°Nathan, are they coming?¡±

    I glanced at my younger sister, seeing the eyes behind her glasses look at me expectantly. I sighed and responded calmly. ¡°As I said before, they will come when they¡¯re ready, understood?¡±

    She pouted a little bit before looking away and continuing to mess with her Rubix cube. ¡°Geez, you¡¯re so cold. Could¡¯ve just told me nicely.¡± She complained.

    I rolled my eyes and continued staring out the window. ¡°And you¡¯re such a light feather, taking anything I say off-tone as either an insult or just being mean.¡±

    With that, we both stayed silent as we focused on our things, Alexa not even trying to reply.

    My sister and I were sitting in the back seats of our parent¡¯s car, waiting for them to arrive. We were about to go on a trip to visit our grandparents, specifically dad¡¯s parents. We would spend the summer break in their house as usual. In my opinion, I always preferred if we spent the vacation in our home or our uncle¡¯s house. Probably because in my grandparents¡¯ house, there¡¯s no internet so I couldn¡¯t talk with my online or IRL friends because it was far away from my town.

    However, since they were the closest to death I might as well visit them a little bit. After all, I actually did quite like them since I had such memories of them when I was a kid.

    I sometimes wished I could go back to that time. My life was much simpler those days and teenage life wasn¡¯t really the best. Well, to some degree at least. It was just more stressful these days.

    As the sights of the neighborhood started to bore me, I subtly looked at my sister for a moment. Alexa Greylocke, or as I¡¯d like to call her secretly, Amazon Alexa was a smart girl. She¡¯s kinda the nerd of the family and is the top student in her class¡­ which is the 6th grade. She had long brown hair with a fringe and gray eyes that matched our dad. Probably the reason they might be a bit alike in personality; AKA, making a fuss about almost anything.

    It seemed she already solved the Rubix cube and was about to solve it again. Seriously, how is she not in high school by this point? Her grades are near perfect.

    Suddenly, the two front doors of the car opened and there entered our mom and our dad, our mom entering the driver¡¯s seat. Our mom, Samantha Greylocke, had black short hair and brown eyes while our dad, Richard Greylocke, had black hair, a beard, and gray eyes.

    Mom looked at us and asked. ¡°So, you both ready for the trip? Brought everything you wanted and went to the bathroom already?¡±

    ¡°Yes, mom!¡± Alexa and I answered, me speaking in a more monotonous tone.

    ¡°Alright, you guys are already familiar with the rules, right?¡± Dad asked as Mom already started turning on the engine. ¡°Or do I need to explain them again?¡±

    I look at my dad with an unamused face. ¡°You don¡¯t need to explain that stuff every time we go on a trip, Dad.¡±

    The middle-aged man sighed and adjusted himself on his seat, slumping his back on it. ¡°What? Can¡¯t I check at least if my kids have good memory sometimes?¡±

    I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms. ¡°I thought that you¡¯d have already grasped by now that we don¡¯t have a memory issue. Like, it¡¯s already getting annoying.¡± My dad had that attitude of everything wanting to go his way. It kinda pissed me off sometimes.

    ¡°You get annoyed fast, Nathan, admit it,¡± Alexa said with a smirk, adjusting her fringe to the side.

    ¡°Shut up, no I don¡¯t.¡± I said while shooting an annoyed glance at my sister.

    ¡°Come on, the car hasn¡¯t even started moving and you¡¯re already bickering.¡± She then pressed the gas pedal and the car started moving. ¡°Well, now it started moving, but still don¡¯t fight each other early or, ya know, at all.¡±

    ¡°Okay, Mom!¡± Alexa responded before putting the cube away. She then pulled out her phone and started messing with it. ¡°With this, it¡¯s 100% sibling-fighting proof, hehehe¡­¡±

    I glanced at her curiously and asked. ¡°What are you gonna do with it? Math equations?¡±

    ¡°Oi, just because I¡¯m a bit smarter than others, doesn¡¯t mean I love math, dummy.¡± She said before opening the TikTok app. ¡°Just gonna watch some stuff on the trip of course.¡±

    I could already see that this was about to be a long trip when the cringe app was opened¡­

    After an hour on the trip, we were already out of the city and on the highway that led to Idaho, where our grandparents lived. Nothing interesting happened in that hour since I had just been listening to music with Bluetooth headphones, just like other times.

    ¡°Nate?¡±

    I pause the song and look at my mom, the only other sounds are from the rain and the videos from Alexa¡¯s phone. ¡°Yeah?¡±

    Without looking at me, my mom spoke as she drove. ¡°Me and your father noticed that you¡¯ve been a bit eh¡­¡±

    My dad just answered for her. ¡°You¡¯ve been avoiding us a lot lately, almost like you¡¯re hiding something from us.¡± He looked back at me. ¡°You got something to say about that?¡±

    I hummed in slight annoyance. ¡°Why do you always think I¡¯m hiding something shady or illegal? I ain¡¯t a thug and you know that full well.¡±

    ¡°Who knows, you could be doing drugs behind our backs.¡± Alexa giggled as she continued watching that annoying-ass video¡­

    I groan in tiredness. My sister always tried to make these jokes, but honestly, they weren¡¯t funny. She might be a nerd but she fuckin¡¯ needs to grow up¡­ ¡°Anyway, I¡¯m fine, it¡¯s just¡­ stress, you know? Social life and school life have been taking a toll on me¡­¡± I told them a half-truth. They didn¡¯t need to know¡­

    ¡°You sure that¡¯s the case? You¡¯re usually more open about your problems with us.¡± Mom said while frowning. ¡°Are there more problems you¡¯re not telling us, Nate?¡±

    My mind thought back on a certain event that happened a few weeks ago¡­ my friends and I going to a shadier place than our usual hangout places because of a dare, us getting ambushed, and then¡­

    ¡°Gabriel!!!¡±

    ¡°Just fucking run guys!!!¡±

    I flinched after those agonizing screams echoed in my head, making me grit my teeth and suppress tears from rolling out from my eyes. To forget about the thought a bit further, I pulled out my handheld Nintendo Switch and turned it on. Video games were always the best medicine to forget things like that¡­ ¡°No¡­ I don¡¯t have any problems, don¡¯t worry.¡± I lied.

    My dad sighed as he relaxed back in his seat. ¡°Just remember to tell us if you have something. Back in my age, my dad used a belt to force my problems out of me.¡±

    I snorted. ¡°Old.¡±

    Even though I couldn¡¯t see his face, I could tell my dad was smirking. ¡°Be glad that I didn¡¯t inherit that trait from your gramps. After all, kids these days have it easy.¡±

    I rolled my eyes as the home screen of the Switch appeared. ¡°I guess¡­¡±

    I booted up Pok¨¦mon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX and started playing it as the trip progressed in silence. Well, for me, that is, since my parents were doing their usual adult talk, their voices being muffled by the music. And so, the trip stayed like this for a while¡­ I thought the trip would be like that until the end, however¡­ something unexpected happened.

    I was playing PMD normally, going through a hard post-game dungeon to get some good gummies before I felt the car make a slight turn left before turning to the same part of the highway. I looked up from my game and put the headphones around my neck, asking my parents. ¡°What was that?¡±

    ¡°Sorry, I was just trying to bypass a car but it kept switching to the same tracks as I did.¡± She sighed before focusing a bit more. She then managed to turn left again and bypass the car. ¡°Finally, took long enough-¡±

    Suddenly, the entire car trembled as I felt something ram into it on the back. It was then that mom lost control of the car as I saw her trying to balance the steering wheel but failing to do so. I could only hear the sounds of screaming and tires screeching as mom tried to hold the brake, however, it only made the situation worsen I saw the world spin.

    The glass shattered and I could feel pain as something sharp pierced my clothes along with my skin from every side, making me scream. However, before I closed my eyes, I thought I saw my family start to glow white as my consciousness started to fade away. And with that¡­ the world became nothing but black¡­

    <hr>

    Pain reverberated through my head like a pinball, bouncing from every edge of my head as it kept getting weaker and weaker. My body felt weak, it felt like every limb I had was not even there. My thoughts were scattered, I couldn¡¯t make sense of anything happening around me.

    My senses slowly returned to me as one single alien thought appeared in my head.

    ¡°Open your eyes.¡±

    Answering the thought, I slowly opened my eyes, feeling all my senses return to my body. As my awareness returned to me, my vision adjusted itself, letting me see rays of sunlight peeking through the foliage of trees. I could hear the chirping of birds as well along with the passage of the wind. I could also feel the touch of something finicky poking back. Well, that at least meant that I didn¡¯t lose my senses, fortunately.

    I looked around, seeing nothing but green everywhere. It seemed like I was in some kind of forest, but¡­ what forest? What was I even doing there? ¡°W-what¡­?¡±

    I tilted my head to the side to get a better angle at exactly where I was but immediately got startled once I saw what was next to me. A dark brown and beige feline, with a red tuft of fur acting like a fringe that covered its left eye, was lying down in a patch of grass and dirt unconscious.

    In reaction to seeing the big cat, I tried standing up to back away from the creature, however, I immediately fell on my back once I was back on two feet. ¡°W-what?¡± I looked down at my body and immediately froze at what I saw. My body was completely different than before. I had blue and black fur while having patches of yellow fur in my forelegs, blue-furred paws, and a black tail that ended with a four-pointed star-shaped tip. ¡°W-what the actual fuck¡­!?¡± I muttered shakily as I inspected my new body.

    Wait a moment¡­ the fur patterns and the body shape¡­ did I¡­?

    ¡°What kind of twisted joke is this?¡± I whispered to myself, trying to keep myself from having a mental breakdown. Rolling onto my belly and feeling the grass poke through my fur, I looked around me once again to get a full view of the situation. My eyes went wide at what I saw also lying on the ground unconsciously. Next to each other, there were realistic-looking female luxray and male pyroar, their gender being distinguished by their manes.

    I couldn¡¯t believe my eyes. Two real Pok¨¦mon were right in front of me! ¡°What¡¯s going on¡­?¡± I then looked at my paws, realizing what I had become. ¡°I turned into a damn shinx¡­ or a luxio? Just what the actual hell, man?¡±

    ¡°Ngh¡­¡±

    This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

    My eyes darted back to the feline with the red tuft of fur, now realizing that it was a litleo, who was slowly but surely opening their eyes. After taking in their surroundings, they spoke with a very familiar female voice. ¡°Where¡­ where am I¡­?¡±

    That voice¡­ was the same voice that I had heard so many times when I was being annoyed, being corrected, and receiving some vague compliments in the form of compliments. There was no doubt that the voice was¡­ ¡°A-Alexa¡­?¡±

    The female litleo looked at me and flinched once her eyes locked with mine. She yelped a bit loudly before trying to take some steps back. ¡°Nathan-!? Ack!¡± She fell on her back before looking at her own body in horror, her eyes widening and her mouth opening wide. ¡°W-what¡¯s¡­ what is this!?¡±

    Noticing my sister¡¯s panic, I get up and try to slowly walk up to her, trying my best not to trip on my own leg and fall on the ground. When I eventually reached up to her, I put a hand- paw¡­ on her torso as I tried my best to calm her down. ¡°Hey, Alexa! Calm down, it¡¯s me, Nathan. You okay¡­?¡±

    The litleo (who for some reason is my fucking sister) looked at me with a scared look in her eyes. ¡°N-Nathan¡­ it¡¯s¡­ it¡¯s really you?¡±

    I nodded. I don¡¯t know if my face was more menacing because of my new body, but I sure hope it wasn¡¯t. ¡°It¡¯s me, don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m here.¡±

    Beneath my paw, I could feel her shaky breaths calm down a little, getting steady as she continued to look at my eyes. It seemed that I was succeeding in soothing her. After some seconds, she finally asked. ¡°What¡¯s¡­ what¡¯s going on? Why are we here?¡± She then looked at her own body. ¡°Why did we turn into¡­ whatever these are?¡±

    ¡°I¡­ don¡¯t know.¡± I looked away with a frown before inspecting my own body, touching my torso with a paw. ¡°From what I saw, these are Pok¨¦mon bodies¡­¡±

    Alexa looked at me in confusion. ¡°Pok¨¦mon¡­? Like, Pok¨¦mon, the anime?¡±

    ¡°I guess you could say that¡­ but uh¡­ it kinda goes more deep than just an anime¡­¡± I said while looking aside. ¡°But I can explain that later, but right now we need to figure out what the hell¡¯s going on.¡± I thought to myself if everything I saw was a dream, but after everything, I felt and saw so far¡­ this was too detailed to be a normal dream, even a lucid one.

    I ignored the urge to hit myself just to be sure.

    Alexa frowned as she sat up, looking around. ¡°Where¡¯s Mom and Dad?¡±

    My eyes lit up in the realization of something that I had forgotten during all of this drug trip of a situation. Before I appeared in this forest, I was in the car along with my family, and the car¡­ did we¡­?

    More grunts made me snap my head to the source of the sounds, my ears twitching along with the noise. I looked at the luxray and pyroar who were waking-... wait a minute. If my sister was there with me, my entire family was in the car before appearing here, and if Alexa and I were Pok¨¦mon of the shinx and litleo line then that meant¡­

    Oh fuck¡­

    The two lion Pok¨¦mon opened their eyes while looking around. Before they looked at me and my sister, I called out to them. ¡°Mom¡­ Dad¡­?¡±

    ¡°Nate? Where are we-¡± The luxray, who had the voice of my mom, looked at me and Alexa and froze in shock.

    The pyroar looked at Mom, tilting his head before his expression turned into a flabbergasted look. He then blurted out with Dad¡¯s voice. ¡°W-WHAT THE FUCK!?¡±

    I could hear the sounds of birds flying away from the trees because of the loud and potent shout. Meanwhile, Mom¡¯s head snapped back at Dad before she screamed in horror, jerking her own body back to get away from the pyroar. ¡°A- A LION!?¡±

    Since I knew things would go to shit quickly, I walked to them a bit faster than before, almost tripping over my legs before shouting. ¡°Wait, Mom, Dad!¡±

    Both fully-evolved feline Pok¨¦mon looked at me, staring in silence with terrified expressions. The pyroar was the first one to break the silence. ¡°That-... that voice¡­ N-Nathan¡­?¡±

    The luxray¡¯s eyes went wide. ¡°Nate¡­? Is¡­ is that you¡­?¡±

    I looked at Mom and Dad before nodding. ¡°Yes, it¡¯s me, guys.¡± I then shook my head before they could ask anything. ¡°And before you ask, no, this is not a dream nor a prank, everything here is real. ¡±

    By their feline expressions, they didn¡¯t want to believe shit, however, from all the evidence around them, they would slowly but surely believe the reality of the situation. After a moment of staring, Dad asked. ¡°W-what the hell happened to you? Why are you this¡­ cat¡­ lion thing?¡±

    Before I could respond, Mom turned to the pyroar. ¡°That voice¡­ R-Richard!?¡±

    Dad turned to the luxray with a shocked expression. ¡°Samantha!? That¡¯s you!?¡±

    They both looked confused before looking down at their bodies, the two lion Pok¨¦mon screaming once again. ¡°US TOO!?¡± Mom was the first one to speak first.

    Alexa, having gotten up, walked to my side and said. ¡°All of us got transformed...¡± Everyone looked at her, the litleo throwing her fringe a bit to the side. ¡°Mom¡­ I¡¯m scared¡­¡±

    The luxray grimaced as she slowly got up. ¡°Oh Alexa, not you too¡­¡±

    Dad groaned (which sounded a bit like a small roar) as he looked around a bit angry. ¡°What¡¯s the damn meaning of this!? Why are we here and why did we become freakin¡¯ weird animals!?¡±

    ¡°Not animals¡­¡± I muttered a bit loudly, making my family¡¯s attention turn to me. As I felt their eyes lock onto me, I felt pressured to explain, so I did. ¡°I know these species¡­ we became Pok¨¦mon¡­¡±

    Everyone stayed silent for a moment, even Alexa who already heard that information, to process what they just heard. Suddenly, a low chuckle could be heard from my dad before that chuckle turned into a full-blown laugh. He looked at me with a furious face. ¡°Is this some kind of twisted joke!?¡± He got up on all fours, managing to stand up straight. ¡°What in the right mind makes you think that we are some kind of magical creatures from a damn company made to entertain children!?¡±

    I could see his mane starting to flare up, sparking a bit of flames. ¡°Uh¡­ Dad-?¡±

    ¡°Nathan, for God¡¯s sake! Are you realizing the shit you¡¯re saying right now!?¡± The flare on his mane only got stronger as he spoke. ¡°Like, do we look that magical to you!? Sure, you and your mom have some weird fur color and weird tails but are you even sure we can do magic!? Can I release some kind of fire magic!?¡±

    ¡°Richard!¡± Mom shouted, making Dad¡¯s attention turn to her. ¡°Y-your hair-I mean, mane! It¡¯s on fire!¡±

    My dad¡¯s rage ceased as he looked at the edges of his vision, seeing a bit of fire around him. ¡°What the!?¡±

    I could feel Alexa hiding behind me as she peeked to take a look at Dad. She said in a rather shaky voice. ¡°A-are you done¡­ shouting?¡±

    Dad stared at Alexa with a grimace before looking aside, the flames around his mane dissipating. ¡°Yes¡­ I¡¯m sorry.¡±

    Mom frowned. ¡°Nate is right¡­ we¡­ we became those¡­ Pok¨¦mon creatures¡­ God, they were actually real all along¡­?¡± She looked a bit ill, judging by her expression.

    I slowly approached her, getting used to being on four legs. I stopped beside her and put a paw on her back. ¡°It¡¯s okay Mom. I know it¡¯s a lot to take in but¡­ we¡¯ll get through it.¡±

    My dad groaned in annoyance as he slumped on the ground. ¡°How though? We¡¯re in the middle of God-knows-where in different bodies with no idea what happened to us!¡±

    My eyes darted to the side, a grimace creeping onto my face. I debated with myself if I should remind them of what happened in the car. I decided not to since everyone here was already stressed enough because of the situation, so it was best to remind them when everyone calmed down. ¡°Well, we should just focus on our survival for now. We¡¯re gonna need to stick together so we have better chances in¡­ wherever we are.¡±

    Alexa tilted her head. ¡°Nathan, aren¡¯t you the Pok¨¦mon nerd here? You should know about what we could do in these bodies, right?¡±

    I stayed silent for a moment before realizing something. I would have to guide them around the way of Pok¨¦mon, didn¡¯t I? Ooh, boy, I had a long way ahead of me before this nightmare ended¡­ ¡°I guess so¡­¡± My family looked at me expectantly and I sighed. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s start with the basics.¡± I sat on the ground and put a paw on my chest. ¡°I¡¯m a-...¡± I ran a paw on the side of my hair, feeling a rather long mane. ¡°Okay. I¡¯m a luxio and¡­¡± I pointed at Mom. ¡°Mom is a luxray. We¡¯re on the same line of species, mom being the evolved form of my form. We can both use electric magic. You guys following?¡±

    Mom admitted with a sigh. ¡°I¡¯m trying so hard to follow while also not having a mental breakdown but¡­ I¡¯m following, Nate.¡±

    The others nodded as well, motioning for me to continue. ¡°Alright then.¡± I turned to my dad and my sister, pointing at the latter. ¡°Alexa is a litleo and¡­¡± I pointed at my dad. ¡°Dad is a pyroar. Both Pok¨¦mon have fire magic since they¡¯re part of the same species.¡±

    My dad tilted his head, being a bit confused. ¡°So¡­ from what I get¡­ we¡¯re basically all lions but Samantha and you control electricity while Alexa and I control fire?¡±

    I shrugged my shoulders as I looked aside. ¡°Pretty much the gist of it.¡±

    The pyroar sighed as he muttered. ¡°I hope I wake up from this crazy nightmare soon¡­¡±

    ¡°Well, could¡¯ve been worse-¡±

    Before I had the chance to hypothesize a worse scenario, our ears twitched when we heard the sound of rustling leaves of bushes. We turned to the source of the noise and saw the foliage shaking a bit violently. Mom tensed as she started backing away. ¡°W-what is that?¡±

    As Alexa went to hide behind Mom, I looked at my dad a bit panicked. ¡°Dad, quick! Get in front of us so they are intimidated by you!¡±

    A little distraught by everything happening at the moment, the pyroar stuttered while he walked in front of the group; ¡°Uh¡­! Al-alright!¡± He almost tripped but managed to stand up straight. Although, in my honest opinion, he didn¡¯t look that mighty since his legs were a bit shaken.

    However, we just had to hope that whatever came out of that bush was sentient and not feral. Wait a minute, if we were Pok¨¦mon¡­ were we in a Pok¨¦mon world with humans? If so¡­ fate had been cruel to us. I then started to hope that whatever came out of that bush was a Pok¨¦mon.

    The universe decided to mock me because, while yes, a Pok¨¦mon did come from the bush, it was a Pok¨¦mon that I was not expecting at all. A damn dragonite came out of the bush in all of its scaly glory. Vibrant orange scales reflected a bit of sunlight because of how polished they were, large claws that could cut trees by themselves, and wings smaller than what their body would suggest they had. Overall an actual IRL dragonite that would be fearsome to look at if it wasn¡¯t for its docile-looking face. However, something I wasn¡¯t expecting was that it was wearing a leather bag wrapped around its shoulder and a blue scarf with a badge around its neck.

    Wait a second¡­ no fucking way-

    ¡°Ah! What the hell is that thing!? A dragon!?¡± My dad shouted, just by his voice, I could tell he was pissing his pants (of course subjectively, not like we had any clothes with us).

    However, to make my family even more confused, the dragon spoke. ¡°Uh¡­ I¡¯m a dragon type? Is that what you meant, sir?¡±

    Mom gasped as she flinched. ¡°Did it just speak English!?¡±

    Alexa analyzed it quickly in distress. ¡°Wait, it¡¯s sentient!? It¡¯s wearing a bag and all that¡­¡±

    The dragonite frowned as it-no, she spoke. ¡°Geez, why are you guys acting like this? Just because I¡¯m a dragon type, doesn¡¯t mean I¡¯m a hot-headed savage¡­¡±

    I spoke while taking a few steps forward. I needed to do something before the first contact went south terribly fast. ¡°I-I apologize for my family¡¯s rudeness! They¡¯re just¡­ uh, not familiar with Pok¨¦mon.¡±

    The orange dragon tilted her head in confusion. ¡°Not familiar with Pok¨¦mon? What does that mean?¡±

    I looked aside while ignoring the stares that my family was giving me. Should I tell her the truth? Was it the smart thing to do in a situation like this? Well¡­ we needed all the help we could get, and this dragonite screamed civilization from the way she acted and from what she wore.

    And if that meant what I thought it meant, then we were lucky¡­

    ¡°So uh¡­ this may sound impossible to believe but¡­ we are- or were, humans.¡± The dragonite¡¯s eyes widened. Bingo. ¡°I suppose¡­ you haven¡¯t heard about that species before?¡±

    My dad turned to me and asked with an angry tone. ¡°Why would you reveal that to it-?¡±

    The female dragonite waved her arms in front of her. ¡°No, no! I heard of your species before! In fact, your species are quite famous around the world.¡± Her eyes widened as a realization seemingly struck her. ¡°Oh my¡­ now I see why would a pyroar react that scared when you saw a dragon type¡­ you¡¯re all humans, aren¡¯t you?¡±

    My family shot confused glances at each other before Mom asked while looking at the dragon. ¡°How¡­ how did you know about humans? And what do you mean we¡¯re famous?¡±

    A smile crept up on the dragonite¡¯s maw. ¡°I suppose I should explain it. Although, not here, who knows if a feral appears out of nowhere. Follow me, I¡¯ll take you guys to a town.¡±

    Alexa walked from behind Mom and asked a question the pyroar was about to ask first, making him look away. ¡°How should we trust you? What if you¡¯re trying to lead us back to your den to eat us?¡±

    The dragonite scowled. ¡°Well, little girl, for starters-¡±

    ¡°Are you guys hearing that?¡± My dad suddenly spoke up, making us turn to him before turning to the direction he was looking at. The tree foliage shook heavily and we could hear the sounds of what seemed to be angry hisses and noises. ¡°Are there monkeys around here?¡±

    The dragonite grimace. ¡°Oh no¡­ those are-!¡±

    From the trees, round cream-colored fur balls with arms, legs, ears, and a tail fell to the ground. I immediately recognized what those were and I couldn¡¯t help but mutter out loud with a sour look. ¡°Mankey¡­¡±

    My family and I took some steps back, the luxray falling to the ground after tripping on her legs. She, along with Dad and Alexa had a terrified look on their faces. I could tell that there were maybe ten of them if not more. However, before they could attack us, the dragonite flew in front of us and lifted an arm to the side as her wings extended. ¡°Stay back! I¡¯ll handle this¡­¡±

    Before the thrill of the situation could get me and I offered to help without knowing how to battle, my dad shouted, his mane sparking a little flame. ¡°Yeah, dragon lady, kick their asses!¡±

    A few mankey tried to pounce at the dragon type, however, she was fast. With a flap of her wings, a strong gust of wind was released and blew the mankey away. Me and my family shielded their eyes from the wind as Alexa shouted. ¡°Guys, come on, let¡¯s run!¡±

    I opened my eyes and objected. ¡°Wait! She can take them all! Dragon types are strong as hell, so she¡¯ll win!¡±

    I was right, since any mankey that got close to the dragonite either got blown away by a gust of wind that knocked them into a tree, slashed in the face by her claws, or blasted away by a beam of draconic energy. Even if they kept coming at her, the explorer (or rescuer) dragonite swatted them away like flies.

    After a while, the mankey stopped coming at her, some of them were knocked out while others retreated, leaving members of their group behind. A moment of silence passed and everyone could hear each other¡¯s breathing. The dragonite sighed before turning to our family with a smile. ¡°See? Told y¡¯all I could handle it.¡±

    Alexa and I had our eyes sparkling with excitement while our parents had a dumbfounded look on their faces. My sister spoke up. ¡°Okay, I gotta admit¡­ that''s kinda cool.¡±

    I nodded. ¡°Finally, something we can both agree on¡­¡±

    As my mom got up, she asked in distraught, her fangs appearing a little as she spoke a bit loudly. ¡°What part of all of that was ¡°kinda cool¡±!?¡±

    ¡°Maybe some of it was¡­¡± My dad agreed in a low voice. However, once he looked at Mom, her luxray glare left him a bit frozen. He then cleared his throat, looking away. ¡°N-not that I¡¯d agree with such a thing, of course. Yeah, none of that was cool.¡±

    The dragonite smirked. ¡°Well, glad you all enjoyed the show.¡± She then started walking, motioning an arm. ¡°Hope that was proof enough that I won¡¯t betray you. So come on before another feral group appears.¡±

    With that, the dragon type started walking away, prompting me and my family to follow. I looked back at them and said. ¡°Come on guys, this might be our only chance of surviving this place until we learn how to protect ourselves.¡±

    ¡°Are you sure about this, Nate? That dragon looked really strong¡­¡± My mom said with a frown.

    I smiled back at her. ¡°Don¡¯t worry mom. I know what I¡¯m doing. I¡¯ll explain everything later once we¡¯re alone.¡±

    ¡°If you say so, kiddo¡­¡± My dad said before we cautiously started to follow the dragonite, walking slowly to get used to our new legs.

 No Dream

    It had only been some minutes since my family and I started following the explorer dragonite that supposedly was leading us to the town. It was very clear from looking at Mom and Alexa that they were still wary of everything; the new environment, the new bodies, and¡­ everything else happening.

    I couldn¡¯t grasp what Dad thought because he was between me and the dragonite, possibly trying to act as a shield if the dragon did something funny. Although¡­ it was a bit uncomfortable for me because every time he took a step I could see his¡­ Blergh, I don¡¯t even want to say it. I kinda now wished we were transformed into something else, preferably bipedal.

    To get out of the uncomfortable situation, I walked a bit faster, getting beside the huge mass of Pyroar that was my dad. To get the memories of Dad¡¯s¡­ things out of my mind, I asked the dragonite. ¡°So¡­ what¡¯s your name, miss?¡±

    The orange dragon perked up and looked at me with a smile. ¡°Oh, the name¡¯s Xenia, nice to meet you all!¡± She said with a single wave. ¡°So, do you have names as well?¡±

    I responded first. ¡°Well, my name¡¯s Nathan.¡±

    Dad sighed before I heard him grumbling to himself. ¡°This isn¡¯t real¡­ just hope I don¡¯t have to deal with this soon¡­¡± He then spoke loudly with a fake enthusiasm present in his voice. ¡°My name is Richard, Nathan¡¯s dad!¡± He looked behind him to Mom and Alexa. ¡°This beautiful lione- erm, I mean, luxray is my wife, Samantha!¡±

    Mom tilted her head. ¡°What¡¯s gotten into-¡±

    ¡°And this pyroar¡­ erm¡­ litleo?¡± He paused for a second. ¡°Yes, this litleo is my daughter Alexa!¡± He then looked back at Xenia. ¡°I apologize for our first impressions, we were just caught by surprise, that¡¯s all.¡±

    The dragonite blinked before she laughed a bit sheepishly. ¡°Nah, don¡¯t worry about it. It¡¯s expected for humans to react that way. I take it that I was your first encounter with a Pok¨¦mon that¡¯s not from your family?¡±

    Ignoring my dad¡¯s sudden change of attitude, I nodded. ¡°Yeah¡­ but¡­ how did you find us in the first place?¡± I asked. I thought that if the dragonite found us that quickly after our appearance in this world, that meant something must¡¯ve alerted not only her but also undesired Pok¨¦mon to our location.

    ¡°Oh, uh¡­ I was just going around doing my usual patrol when I heard a loud roaring. That probably was your father if I¡¯m not mistaken. After all, pyroar have loud roars.¡± Xenia explained with a shrug. ¡°Thank goodness I found you first before those mankey did.¡±

    Alexa rolled her eyes. ¡°Congrats Dad, you almost got us dead because of your temper.¡±

    Mom frowned as she asked. ¡°Is that new body making your temper worse than it already is¡­?¡±

    The pyroar argued back with a stern look, some sparks could be seen coming out of his mane. ¡°I don¡¯t have a temper, alright!?¡±

    Yep, he definitely does, even when he¡¯s trying to fake his attitude.

    Dad was always like this. Once he¡¯s alone with his family, he becomes the stereotypical grumpy middle-aged man who is a bit hard with his sons and daughters but deep inside only wants the best for them. However, once he¡¯s interacting with strangers¡­ holy, does he become a different person. It¡¯s like he¡¯s putting on a friendly mask because he¡¯s afraid of people judging his attitude.

    Oh yeah, did I forget to say he is insecure?

    Ignoring his insecure and blatantly obvious lie, I turned to the dragonite explorer and asked, feeling my tail flicking from side to side (why was it doing that?). ¡°So¡­ are we close to the town?¡±

    Xenia responded while looking forward. ¡°Oh, don¡¯t worry, we¡¯re close. Just a few- oh, we¡¯re already here!¡±

    My family and I looked at the dragonite a bit confused before we looked in the direction where she was looking. My eyes widened a little as I saw the vision before me. We could see a town in the distance. It was as I expected it to be. Like the games, the streets were made of paved dirt, wooden and cobblestone buildings were spaced out from each other, and a river flowed around the town, having a little wooden bridge to cross the river to enter the town. They could also see in the back an elevated part of the town on the edge of a cliff where they could see a lift going up with some boxes and a Pok¨¦mon.

    It had that nice cozy feeling of that small rural town that PMD games¡¯ towns had. Wherever we looked we saw various species of Pok¨¦mon. A vibrava and a pidgeotto flew over some houses to get to the top of the cliff, a marshtomp was carrying a box with a servine helping them carry another box, a riolu with a weird tail ran around the town accompanied by an archen, and a nidoking with a blue scarf looked around the place with a watchful glare; probably a cop.

    It was hard to suppress the urge to jump in excitement for a dream fantasy coming true, but I managed. I looked over to my family and they seemed to take the sights¡­ relatively well. I could see Dad¡¯s eyes twitch a little, probably from the absurdity of everything. Mom looked a bit shocked, but it was expected. Alexa, however, had an excited grin on her face, probably for the same reasons as I would¡¯ve.

    After all, any kid would want a chance to escape the mundane life on Earth to live in a fantasy, even if it was dangerous as hell.

    Xenia looked back at us with a grin on her face, probably a proud one. ¡°Welcome to Mani Town!¡±

    Alexa¡¯s tail shot up from excitement as she spoke. ¡°This place looks awesome! So many Pok¨¦mon too!¡±

    Dad sighed as he looked down. ¡°Of course, it had to be archaic. Literally zero tech¡­¡± He muttered disappointedly.

    ¡°I¡­ wow¡­ I didn¡¯t expect this place to be so¡­ coordinated¡­ or to be an actual town at all¡­¡± Mom admitted as she looked aside. ¡°Sorry if we still sound like we¡¯re saying Pok¨¦mon are savages.¡± She said quickly.

    The dragonite giggled a bit. ¡°It¡¯s alright. After all, your species must be intellectuals to keep getting famous in this world.¡±

    I coughed a little to disguise a snicker as I looked away. ¡°Yeah¡­ intelectuals, sure¡­¡±

    I couldn¡¯t keep a straight face after hearing that. Like seriously, humans in general being intellectuals? If that were the case, dumb wars, internal conflicts, and silly internet drama wouldn¡¯t happen if humans were actually intellectuals.

    ¡°Anyway, I¡¯m sure my boss wouldn¡¯t mind if I took a few minutes off patrol to give a tour.¡± Xenia said before turning around and motioning for us to follow her. ¡°C¡¯mon, I¡¯ll show you around town so that you feel familiar with the place. And hey, maybe that¡¯ll show you we aren¡¯t as savage as you think.¡±

    ¡°Heck yeah! Tour around town! I¡¯ll be in front-¡± Alexa said before interrupting herself when a black paw landed on her head.

    ¡°What she meant to say is¡­ ¡°thank you for the tour, Miss Xenia!¡± Isn¡¯t that right, Alexa?¡± My mom said with a fake smile on her face.

    Mom removed her paw from my sister¡¯s head as she groaned. ¡°Ugh¡­ yes Mom. Thank you for the tour¡­¡±

    The dragonite chuckled before she started walking forward. We began to follow her as Dad turned to look at me and Alexa, whispering to us. ¡°Alright, we¡¯re about to enter a town full of magical talking creatures and I want you two to behave yourselves to not mess this up. And if one of them walks up to us, I do the talking. Is that clear?¡±

    ¡°But Dad, don¡¯t you think I¡¯m more suited to talk to them? I¡¯m the Pok¨¦mon guy after all.¡± I argued.

    ¡°Nate¡¯s right, dear.¡± Mom backed up as she walked up to Dad. ¡°I think we have more chances of staying out of trouble if we let him handle most of the talking, especially when it comes to topics we don¡¯t know.¡±

    ¡°After all, who knows if someone won¡¯t mistake Dad¡¯s loud voice for a threat again?¡± Alexa whispered to my ear before chuckling, making me chuckle a bit as well. Yeah, sometimes my sister can be funny when she¡¯s not having Tiktok brain rot, impressive, I know.

    Dad glared at us, probably hearing my sister¡¯s funny comment. He then sighed before accepting. ¡°Fine¡­ I guess he can. Although, watch your tongue when you speak to others. You don¡¯t wanna make powerful enemies here, alright?¡±

    ¡°Alright, alright, I get it. Geez, put more faith in me, can you?¡± I said before looking forward again.

    Passing the small bridge, we finally entered Mani town, although, not before a Magikarp came out of the river and smacked Dad¡¯s side after jumping. His scowl deepened a little as me and Alexa giggled at the scene, even Mom gave a couple of snickers.

    Xenia showed a couple of important parts around the town, mainly the important shops (and just like the games, there¡¯s a Kecleon shop with the iconic green and purple chameleons), the local guild which actually used metal as the material, the school, and the town hall. During the tour, my parents looked around the town with a tinge of nervousness, seeing the many species of Pok¨¦mon do their shores in harmony. My sister, however, was awed at the Pok¨¦mon she saw, especially going as far as calling a lilligant cute like she didn¡¯t just walk by them.

    Although, something I noticed that was odd about my parents was my father. During the trip, he looked¡­ anxious. It wasn¡¯t just his normal insecurities on display, I knew what it looked like and it definitely wasn¡¯t him having a terrified look plastered on his face. I even noticed some Pok¨¦mon looking at him strangely, which only made his look worsen by the second.

    We got into the wooden lift that was just a platform pulled by a gondola and a rope. There was another rope by the side of the lift that Xenia pulled. My ears flickered as I faintly heard the sound of a bell on top of the cliff before the lift slowly started being pulled upwards. I saw Mom¡¯s claws instinctively going out as she lowered her body a little. Oh boy¡­ I forgot about her fear of heights¡­

    ¡°Is t-this thing safe¡­?¡± The luxray asked a little shaky.

    The dragonite turned to her and waved her claw at my mom reassuringly. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, this lift is safe and can handle Pok¨¦mon of many weights. Well, not all of them of course, but only the five of us isn¡¯t that big of a deal.¡±

    While Xenia was reassuring Mom that she wouldn¡¯t fall, I looked at my dad with a concerned look. As much as I complain a bit about my family, I really care about them, even if they are annoying at times. ¡°Dad, are you alright?¡±

    He slowly looked at me and just stared for a moment. It felt a bit uncomfortable just seeing this lion¡¯s eyes stare into me like that, it was like he was searching for something in my face, like trying to detect a lie from my facial expressions or something. If that was the case, I don¡¯t think my dad is too keen on biology to know every feline¡¯s facial features to detect lies.

    After a moment, I could hear him mutter something to himself that I couldn¡¯t hear well, even with my new augmented ears. He then stuttered something out. ¡°I-it¡¯s fine, Nathan¡­ I¡­¡± He looked away. ¡°Be-better to just speak of this when we¡¯re¡­ alone¡­¡±

    I could tell something was troubling him a lot, and judging from our situation, I knew somewhat what to expect. I sighed and just let it go for now. ¡°Alright then¡­¡±

    It was bound to happen, if my parents didn¡¯t have it once they woke up, they are gonna have it now. After all, it¡¯s been long enough to not consider this entire situation as a dream. You know, I don¡¯t really find this situation as bad as my parents make it out to be for a few reasons. 1: The internet. 2: I got to leave school which was getting more boring than hard. 3: From the looks of things, I get to live a simple life without worrying about college, future life goals, taxes, and a shit healthcare system that I¡¯m already in debt to. And 4: Slight depression. Sure, I was gonna miss some stuff from my old life, especially video games. But thinking about it now¡­ I was kinda living in a video game.

    Alexa would handle it well, she was still a kid so she wouldn¡¯t miss a lot of stuff. Besides, she didn¡¯t have friends at school, only online ones. I guess her only IRL friend was me, and since I¡¯m with her, she doesn''t have a reason to have a breakdown in this world¡­ unless she wants her phone back again to have more Tiktok brain rot which I totally see her missing.

    It didn¡¯t take long for the lift to reach the top of the cliff. I looked back and was mesmerized by the sights. Below us, I could see the bottom half of Mani town, the big buildings being much more visible because of their size. Beyond the town, I could see a partially big forest that expanded around it and had a beach at a certain distance and some mountains far away to my east.

    ¡°Woah¡­¡± I said silently as I felt the wind blowing against my fur.

    I looked over at Mom who quickly stepped out of the lift and trembled a little. ¡°W-well¡­ that was something¡­¡±

    Xenia put her arms on her side and announced while looking at us. ¡°Welp, we¡¯ve reached the residential area of the town!¡± She said before she motioned to the many buildings in front of us. Like other buildings, they were made with wood, stone, and the occasional metal here and there. The houses varied in size and they were spaced out from each other, although not in a linear formation like the shopping district. They were sporadically spread out like the houses you¡¯d see in a village or something similar.

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    If my family and I weren¡¯t that tech-dependent like our grandparents are¡­ we probably wouldn¡¯t have problems with this style of life for now. But uh¡­ we would have some problems later, that¡¯s for sure.

    I looked at the contraption next to the lift. I could see a bell hanging from a wooden post and beside the bell was a machoke who was lowering the lift as we stepped out of it.

    When Alexa stepped out of the makeshift ¡°elevator¡± she throttled to the dragonite with a smile on her face. ¡°Hey Xenia, are you gonna introduce us to a new home!?¡±

    The dragon type chuckled as she looked at my sister. Even if I couldn¡¯t see it, I could feel my father growing stiff a little from the way I felt the temperature rise a little behind me. ¡°Well a lot of Pok¨¦mon had moved out to live in the better towns in the north of the continent so¡­ we have a lot of free space in here.¡± She pointed a bit to the left. ¡°You see that stone-made house right there with the chimney? That one is free if I remember correctly.¡±

    As Mom sat on the ground, she raised a paw. ¡°Um¡­ question, do we have to pay rent? Like¡­ do we gotta pay for the house or¡­¡±

    Xenia waved a claw in reassurance. ¡°Hehehe, nah, that¡¯s something the big cities do. However, for you to live here, you have to do something for the community so we don¡¯t toss you out¡­¡± The dragon then shrugged. ¡°Although, I¡¯ll make sure the town hall knows that you guys are humans so they¡¯ll probably give you a week or two for you guys to adjust.¡±

    A thought crossed my mind, making me want to voice it out. However, my dad spoke before I could. ¡°Question¡­¡± He said before looking at the dragonite, his face having a rather anxious feel to it. ¡°What¡­ sort of activities do you guys mean?¡±

    The dragonite responded. ¡°Oh, activities like guild work, police patrol, agriculture, and food gathering.¡± She then smiled as she put a claw on the side. ¡°You could serve well for the food gathering, Richard. Feral Pok¨¦mon would tremble before you. After all, pyroar are fearsome Pok¨¦mon in the eyes of the small ones.¡±

    I looked at Dad after he stayed silent for a few seconds. He started snickering and chuckling a little bit as I tilted my head in confusion. Mom then asked a bit concernedly. ¡°D-dear¡­?¡±

    He then spoke out while looking at Xenia, his tail swishing from side to side rapidly. ¡°Well that was a good enough tour but I sure am tired!¡± He turned to us with the fakest smile I¡¯ve seen him wear. ¡°Let¡¯s go to our new home because I¡¯m sure you¡¯re all tired, ain¡¯t that right guys?¡±

    Alexa tilted her head. ¡°Wha? But I don¡¯t even feel-¡±

    His expression changed into something more menacing, making it even more horrifying with his lion face. ¡°Right!?¡±

    My sister flinched before nodding annoyedly. Mom didn¡¯t say anything but I could tell she knew something was troubling Dad a lot. I sighed as we started following my dad, however, I looked back and waved a Xenia. ¡°Thanks for everything, see you.¡±

    Xenia waved back and I turned around to follow my family to my new house. However, I could hear the dragon say something unintelligible for me to understand. I just shrugged it off for now and continued on the path to my home. I would ask my questions later, but for now, I had a breakdown to endure¡­

    We¡¯ve arrived at our new temporary (or permanent?) home. The house only had a single floor but it made up for how spacious it looked on the outside. As Xenia had said, the house had a chimney on top of it, meaning there was a fireplace somewhere inside. There were windows around the place and a single door which was spacious enough for all of us to enter inside. Thankfully, we didn¡¯t have a problem opening it since it was a sliding door which surprised us a little bit¡­ except for Dad who had his mind on various other places.

    We entered the house and we saw a quite¡­ eh¡­ empty living room. As I expected, there was a fireplace in the back of the room but besides that and only two empty shelves and unlit candles, there¡¯s nothing more to the living room. The ground itself was also just paved dirt. But well, I just hoped that our rooms would at least have a decent bed¡­ which would probably be made out of hay if the games are any indication.

    As I closed the door behind me, I looked at Dad who walked to the middle of the room in silence. Welp¡­

    Here it comes.

    ¡°... AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHH!!!! ¡± My dad screamed which sounded more like a roar because of his new body. It made all of us flinch a little because of the volume. I just hoped that our new neighbors were really busy to not hear the roar¡­ ¡°Why, why why, fucking WHY!?¡± He asked as his mane flared up.

    Mom shouted, her fur releasing a bit of static. ¡°Richard, calm down alright!?¡±

    The pyroar turned to the luxray with an angry and panicked look on his face. ¡°Calm down!?¡± He giggled a little bit. ¡°How the hell can I calm down in a situation like this!? Didn¡¯t you see out there!? Can¡¯t you see our damn situation!? Look back at yourself, this is not. A. DREAM!!!¡± Mom took a step back as her eyes widened in horror. ¡°You thought too that everything here was your imagination, right? Hahaha¡­ wouldn¡¯t we have woken up moments ago while we were on that stupid tour around town? Wouldn¡¯t everything during that point become blurry memories that we would have once we woke up? Well, guess what!? NOTHING here is from our imagination!¡±

    My mom shook a little scared. Huh, here I thought that she actually accepted it¡­ but I guess it was just coping and now her copium was shattered. ¡°N-no-no! This has to be just a dream, right? I-I mean¡­ there¡¯s no way to¡­ I¡­ well¡­¡± She was getting lost in her words, she even flexed her paws with a terrified expression. ¡°I-it¡¯s a lucid dream!¡±

    Alexa sighed and headbutted Mom softly. The luxray looked at her daughter while blinking rapidly. Alexa then tilted her head. ¡°In lucid dreams, you don¡¯t feel pain, right? Do you even feel the slightest amount of pain from that headbutt?¡±

    Mom backed away onto a wall, tears falling out of her eyes. ¡°No, no, no, no, NO!!! You¡¯re not my daughter, Alexa is human! I¡­¡± She looked at her paws. ¡°I¡¯m human too¡­! I-I¡¯m gonna wake up-¡±

    ¡°Samantha, please, for the love of God! We¡¯re not dreaming!¡± Dad said with flames coming out from the side of his muzzle, the pyroar not noticing. ¡°This IS reality! This is the damn reality! We¡¯ve become animals then appeared in this fantasy load of land without tech and now I¡¯m basically forced to fucking hunt !? What now!? Do we lose our intelligence too to live in the forests!?¡±

    Mom fell on her side and clutched her paws on her head, crying even more as she shouted. ¡°God, please NO!¡±

    Alexa tried to soothe everyone, standing on two legs and extending her forepaws. It was clear that she was not liking our parents losing their shit. ¡°Please guys, calm down! Don¡¯t be so down like that!¡±

    I needed to do something before they went completely insane over the situation. However, if the shouting from Alexa wasn¡¯t working, I needed to do something to call their attention¡­ and I knew what I had to do, I just needed to figure out how to do it.

    After looking back at how my dad activated the fire on his mane, I realized that he probably used a strong emotion to do it, and that emotion was anger. Although, I doubt anger is the only way to will a move out of a Pok¨¦mon¡¯s body, or else everyone in the Pok¨¦mon world would¡¯ve been grumpy.

    After some seconds, a thought crossed my mind after looking back on certain episodes of the Pok¨¦mon anime and some other miscellaneous games and media. I remembered that some moves are not really meant for attacking. So that probably meant¡­ ¡°Intentions¡­¡± I muttered to myself.

    Since my sister was the only one in the house besides me not having a breakdown, she looked at me after hearing me mutter. ¡°Huh-? Woah!¡± She then fell on her back.

    I sighed and took a few steps forward between my old man and Mom. Alexa meanwhile, tilted her head as she looked at me. I took a deep breath as thoughts in my mind started to race. I could feel my body getting a little fuzzy from the inside like something agitated wanted to be released from me. My intentions were simple, just let it out in a manner that would be safe for everyone around me.

    And with that, I closed my eyes¡­ and screamed.

    ¡° Mom, Dad, SHUT UP!!! ¡± With my voice, I could feel electricity that was built inside of me be released around my whole body, even going as far as to lick the roof of the town.

    My parents froze, both looking at me with a look of shock and horror. I opened my eyes and looked at them with a fierce look. ¡°Are we done with this useless breakdown? Having this is NOT gonna help us!¡±

    Mom stuttered out. ¡°N-Nate¡­ wh-what did you just-¡±

    ¡°Let me talk!¡± I said loudly to her. I even looked at my dad before he had the chance to open his mouth. ¡°You too, old man! Hear me out!¡± I plopped my rear on the ground and glanced at both of them. ¡°Okay, sure, this may not be a dream that we¡¯re gonna wake up from, but that doesn¡¯t mean that it¡¯s time to panic and just whine in despair!¡± I motioned a paw. ¡°Stop complaining about what you lost and look back at what you still have! We have ourselves still, we can stick out for each other!¡± I supported myself on my hind legs as I spread my forelegs. It surprised me a bit how much flexibility I had with my new feline body. ¡°Our situation is not a complete lost cause! Remember that old motto back in our world? ¡°Improvise, Adapt, and Overcome?¡± We still have our human minds, our memories, we can still do all of those three things, even with alien bodies like this!¡±

    I sighed again, feeling my mouth a bit dry after all my speech as I put my forepaws on the ground. If they still didn¡¯t see the reason for all my points, I hate to say it but they might be oblivious. ¡°Please, even if you don¡¯t agree with my view on all of this, Alexa needs you, I need you. We both need you guys¡­ so don¡¯t give up hope even in this situation¡­¡±

    If I became a politician back in my world, I think I¡¯d be a good one because I know how to give speeches. In high-stress moments, especially like these, my brain works faster to come up with words.

    I glanced at both of my parents one last time, seeing the stunned expressions on their faces. After a long and silent moment, my father sighed. ¡°I¡­ you¡¯re right, Nathan. Even if I didn¡¯t like you shouting at us like that¡­ we did kinda need it¡­¡± I slightly smiled at him as he looked aside. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for losing my composure like that. It was just the s-¡±

    ¡°Stress from everything¡­?¡± I predicted while interrupting him. ¡°Yeah Dad, I get it. At least you acknowledged it.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m also sorry for that¡­¡± My mom said as we both looked at her. She looked at Alexa who had a little tear leaking from her eye. ¡°I shouldn¡¯t have said that to you, Alexa. I¡¯m so sorry¡­ just because you aren¡¯t human anymore, you are still my daughter.¡± She looked away in shame as her tail flicked to the side. ¡°Can¡­ can you forgive me¡­?¡±

    Alexa slowly got up and smiled after wiping her tears away. ¡°Of course, Mom!¡± She then walked to the luxray and wrapped her forearms around her neck. ¡°You were scared, I get it, but I promise I¡¯m still your favorite angel!¡±

    Okay, no need to lie THAT much Miss Hell Slap. I swear, when she was eight and nine years if she hit you with a slap on the back, that shit would sting for a solid two minutes straight.

    Maybe that¡¯s why she became a litleo¡­

    My dad groaned. ¡°Thanks for the motivational speech Nathan but like¡­ what the heck do we do now? Where do we go from here in these bodies?¡±

    My smile dropped a little as a certain thought finally crossed my mind. Was there a way back home? I mean, there could be thanks to certain legendary Pok¨¦mon existing, but there were two glaring issues that will definitely be a problem if we tried searching for them. The first one is pretty obvious. Our chances of meeting with them are pretty slim, but going by the games¡¯ rules, they are probably hiding in a really difficult dungeon, and if they aren¡¯t, it¡¯s still gonna be a bitch trying to find them. Glaring issue number two: what would happen next? If we do find them and they agree to take us back home, what will happen once we¡¯re back? If I wasn¡¯t tripping and the car crash was real, then we would be considered dead or missing in our world. And then what would happen if magically powered lions appeared on Earth? Either a special zoo for freaks or Area 51 test subjects.

    Then there was the third issue that I was about to ask Xenia before Dad butted in¡­

    But honestly, I decided it was best to keep all this info to myself for now. I wouldn¡¯t want to give them false hope for having a sliver of a chance of leaving this world or another breakdown by telling them we might¡¯ve potentially died. It was better to let them recover a little and then tell the truth.

    I sighed. ¡°I don¡¯t know, Dad¡­¡± I looked back at him with a determined look. ¡°But honestly, whatever we do now, we¡¯re gonna stick together. Sure, we might not have the usual from our old life anymore, but we can work with the stuff we gained as well. For example¡­¡± I felt the fuzzy feeling inside my body building up again. And with the intent of demonstration, I covered my body with electricity again, this time managing to keep my eyes open. Wherever I looked, a bright yellow filled my vision, making me barely recognize the outlines of my family. It felt like I was holding a really agitated dog by the collar with invisible hands I didn¡¯t know I had, however, it didn¡¯t hurt.

    I let go of the electricity and it fizzled out into the air. My eyes hurt a little, but that was to be expected, I was literally staring from inside electricity. I looked at my father who looked a bit stunned before asking. ¡°H-how did you manage to¡­¡±

    I smirked. ¡°It¡¯s intention. I saw the way you raged as your mane flared up. I think your intentions matched up with your emotions those times.¡±

    Alexa tilted her head. ¡°Wait, so I can breathe fire if I intend to? Just like that?¡±

    I turned to her and did the best shrug I could. ¡°Yeah. Although, you have to know your capabilities first before you attempt your abilities. I could do it because I¡¯m familiar with what my species can do.¡±

    Mom sat on the ground and looked away. ¡°So it¡¯s gonna take more time for us to use our own abilities?¡± She sighed. ¡°Well, makes sense, I guess¡­¡±

    Suddenly, there was a knock on the front door and my parents froze, Mom hissed while she jumped away from being startled. Dad¡¯s body stiffened as he asked. ¡°Wha-who is there!?¡±

    An unfamiliar muffled voice from the other side of the door spoke. ¡°Uh¡­ sorry to disturb you and all¡­ but I heard some roars and shouting. Is everything okay in there?¡±

    I responded hastily. ¡°U-uh¡­ yes! Everything is perfectly fine, we just had a¡­ disagreement and got a bit heated, no worries, everything is fine!¡±

    ¡°Alright then. But please, keep it down alright? Some folks here got a bit worried and thought something happened. Stay safe, alright?¡±

    Mom responded a little shakily and nervous. ¡°Y-yes, we¡­ we will¡­!¡±

    I heard footsteps beyond the door getting quieter. From the sound of them, it seemed like the Pok¨¦mon on the other side was a relatively medium-sized Pok¨¦mon. I sighed as I looked back at my dad. ¡°So¡­ you gotta stop with the screaming loudly thing, alright?¡±

    ¡°Yeah Dad, you sound like an actual lion, hahaha!¡± My sister added with a giggle.

    The pyroar sighed. ¡°I¡¯ll work on controlling it¡­¡±

    ¡°Well¡­ now that we got all of our mental frustrations and breakdowns in check¡­ what now?¡± Mom asked while tilting her head. ¡°We¡¯re gonna grow bored eventually if we stay home for the rest of the day. There doesn¡¯t seem to be any TVs or even the internet, obviously.¡±

    I thought about it for a moment and the first setback of getting isekaid to a world like this started settling in my mind. No internet, no video games, no shows or anime to binge, and nothing of that sort. We¡¯re forced to touch grass, and like the introvert that I am, this is actually a huge issue¡­ but one that I¡¯d have to conquer unfortunately. ¡°Well, just like cats, guess we got nothing better to do for now rather than sleeping or exploring around. Besides, we¡¯ve got a week or two before the townsfolk start demanding that we work.¡±

    ¡°Well, I think we should familiarize even more with the area. I wanna meet our neighbors!¡± Alexa suggested, her eyes sparkling in excitement.

    ¡°No!¡± Mom shouted before flinching at her own voice. ¡°I-I mean¡­ no, I¡­ when I thought this was a dream, I thought we were safe. But now, I don¡¯t think it¡¯s safe anymore for you to meet them. Who knows what kind of crazy magic these things could do to you¡­¡±

    I rolled my eyes. ¡°Mom, it¡¯s not as bad as you think. Besides, Pok¨¦mon are sturdier than the common animal. Even if we receive a flamethrower to the face, we would heal and still live.¡±

    ¡°How would you know about that?¡± Dad asked as he tilted his head. I just looked at him with a ¡°Seriously?¡± look before he sighed. ¡°Right, I get it, the Pok¨¦mon expert. But still, this is real life, kid. Who knows what rules from your games have changed or not?¡±

    I raised an eyebrow. ¡°Did you forget that Xenia literally shot laser beams at those mankeys and they still lived to tell the tale?¡±

    ¡°Well uh¡­ I¡­¡± The pyroar sighed. ¡°Sure, I¡¯ll give you that one.¡± He looked at Mom. ¡°Love, you gotta let them go. They¡¯re still young and you know how they act. They¡¯re gonna leave home whether you like it or not, especially with the new bodies.¡±

    ¡°But what if-¡±

    I interrupted Mom as I took a step to her. ¡°If you¡¯re that worried and still scared to go, I¡¯ll go with Alexa to take a walk around town. After all, you¡¯re pretty used to me leaving the house alone, right?¡±

    She stared at me with her piercing red and yellow eyes for a moment before sighing and looking down disappointedly. ¡°Fine, you can go. Just please, be safe you two. And be back before the sun sets because I swear to God if you don¡¯t come back I¡¯ll-¡±

    ¡°Yeah, yeah, give us an earful once you track us down and all that, I got it.¡± I said before turning away. ¡°Let¡¯s go, Alexa.¡±

    ¡°Heck yeah! Hope the neighbors are cool dragons or something similar!¡± She said before starting to follow me.

    As we exited the house, I felt like I was being watched. After turning my head to the side, I only saw pink wisps of dispersing into the air. I tilted my head in confusion before my sister bumped into me while bypassing me. ¡°Ack, hey!¡±

    ¡°Get your furry butt moving, bro! I want to meet everyone I can before it¡¯s too late!¡± She said excitedly.

    ¡°Geez, I don¡¯t remember you being that enthusiastic like that.¡± I said before closing the door. ¡°Did your body change actually affect your personality?¡±

    ¡°Duh, no! Come on already.¡±

    I sighed before starting to walk alongside her.

 Alienation

    I took a deep breath, feeling my lungs a bit more refreshed as I walked. Sometimes I forgot that the air of this world was way cleaner than the air on Earth.

    Alexa and I were walking around aimlessly in the residential area of Mani town. Since our tour got cut short because of a certain fire-breathing lion, we couldn¡¯t see the rest of what this part of the town had to offer. Well, not like we missed much since, from what I¡¯ve noticed walking so far, there¡¯s a lack of Pok¨¦mon around here. Well, Xenia did say that a lot of the Pok¨¦mon moved out to live in the bigger towns so that may be the reason.

    It was practically Alexa who forced me to come with her to explore around because if it was just for me, I would¡¯ve just gone straight to the guild to look for that dragonite. I could find better ways to manage my time in this world, but nope, I¡¯m stuck with my sister doing nothing productive. I could¡¯ve gone around gathering more information about the world itself, about the Pok¨¦mon, or anything useful, but nope, I¡¯m stuck with her because Mom is gonna give me an earful if I don¡¯t.

    I wonder how she would¡¯ve grounded me now¡­ probably the same way in my world if I think about it.

    ¡°Ugh, this sucks! Where are the cool Pok¨¦mon neighbors!?¡± Alexa whined, brushing her fringe away from her eye. ¡°Like, geez, I knew there wouldn¡¯t be that many Pok¨¦mon living here, but we almost found none!¡±

    I rolled my eyes. ¡°Did you forget to account for the possibility that these Pok¨¦mon are either working or doing something else important? Even the kids might be somewhere else, like in class or something similar.¡±

    The litleo grunted in annoyance as she turned to me with an annoyed look. ¡°How can they still have class at this hour!? Look at the sun, it¡¯s obviously past noon!¡±

    I looked at her with a deadpan look as I sat down on my rear. ¡°Did you forget that this an entirely different world? Not everything is the same, dummy.¡±

    Her red fringe started sparking some flames. ¡°Who do you think you¡¯re calling dummy-¡±

    ¡°Yo, are you kids new?¡±

    I looked to the side along with my sis, her red fringe fizzling out. It seemed that the source of the squeaky voice was a male pawmi, however, he was not alone. Accompanying him was a quilava and a purrloin, which looking at certain parts, were obviously male. I tilted my head to the side as I felt my cheeks heat up a little. ¡®I need to get used to the nudity, it¡¯s starting to get uncomfortable¡­¡¯

    However, my sister didn¡¯t seem to care as her eyes glistened. ¡°O. M. G! They look so cute!!!¡±

    The pawmi flushed a little as he looked to the side a bit embarrassed. ¡°Y-you think so¡­?¡±

    I flinched at that. ¡¯Shit! With the ingenuity of my sister, Pok¨¦mon might start to get the wrong idea!¡¯ I panicked a little bit as a thought crossed over my mind. What would happen if words get out of a family of humans living in this town? We had the info that humans are really famous in this world, so if rumors spread about humans being here, the town would flood in a way that would ruin the peaceful lifestyle I was planning on having.

    Not only that, it might bring bad eggs as well¡­

    I put a paw over my sister¡¯s mouth, feeling it heat up a little from the way she looked a bit annoyed. I smiled sheepishly. ¡°W-what she means by that is that she finds all three of you cute in a¡­ pettable way. She never saw Pok¨¦mon like you before since we uh¡­ came from far away.¡±

    The quilava chuckled a bit, putting a paw over his mouth. ¡°Heh, really thought she fell for you?¡±

    ¡°Come on, a ¡®mon can dream!¡± The pawmi said annoyedly at the fire quill Pok¨¦mon as he crossed his arms.

    Alexa swatted my paw away from her mouth before spitting a bit as her tail swayed quickly. ¡°Ugh, your paw was on the ground!¡± She groaned a bit before her expression shifted into a more friendly one, approaching the trio. ¡°So¡­ you¡¯re kids too?¡±

    The purrloin grinned a bit as he crossed his arms. ¡°Eh, I¡¯m a bit older than these two, but depending on what you call a 13-year-old, guess you could say I¡¯m a kid too.¡±

    ¡®So same kind of growing as humans¡­¡¯ I thought. ¡®Wonder if it¡¯s the same for all species, even bug types.¡¯

    Alexa grinned. ¡°Great! Say what-¡±

    I interrupted her before she could say anything further. I needed to clear some stuff before she put my entire game plan for this life at risk. ¡°Hey, Alexa, can I talk to you real quick? It¡¯s uh¡­ important?¡±

    She looked at me with an annoyed expression. ¡°Ugh, what is it? Better be really important if you think you can ruin my fun before it begins.¡±

    I glared at her for a moment before looking at the trio. ¡°Okay, we¡¯re gonna go there real quick, we¡¯ll be back shortly, so uh¡­ don¡¯t worry.¡± The three Pok¨¦mon looked at themselves before I started leading Alexa behind a random home. After looking around for a moment to confirm that we were alone, I sighed and turned to her. ¡°Okay, first of all, don¡¯t do what you just did right now.¡±

    ¡°Did what?¡± The litleo asked while tilting her head.

    ¡°Call them cute. You gotta remember that they are sentient creatures and not pets, despite their appearance. We might look different, but we¡¯re basically the same as them now, so they will take your compliments into something else.¡± I explained.

    She seemed to think about it for a while before her face scrunched up a bit in disgust. ¡°Wait, so that means when I grow up I have to date one of them?¡± She cringed as chills passed through her body. ¡°Ugh, that¡¯s so weird!¡±

    I mutter to the side. ¡°Might be less weird once we see Mom and Dad ¡°kissing¡± in their new bodies¡­¡± Suddenly, an image flashed in my head of a pyroar and a luxray licking each other and rubbing their bodies together, just like felines do. Since their mouths weren¡¯t made for kissing, that was their best alternative. I cringed a bit as I shook my head to get rid of the strange mental image. ¡°A-anyways, that¡¯s not what I wanted to talk about. I wanted to warn you about something.¡±

    ¡°What¡­? Something about my body I should know about?¡± Alexa asked after recovering herself from her displeasing thought. ¡°Should¡¯ve told me earlier if that¡¯s the case.¡±

    ¡°No, it¡¯s not that.¡± I said as I shook my head again in denial. ¡°So¡­ I think it¡¯s best to keep it a secret that we¡¯re humans from other Pok¨¦mon¡­ Xenia hopefully is keeping our secret as well.¡±

    My sister tilted her head. ¡°Why though? I know humans are a bit famous here so¡­¡± She interrupted herself before smirking at me. ¡°What, are you scared of being the center of attention?¡±

    I groaned as my tail lashed out behind me. ¡°Of course not!¡± I sighed as I calmed down a little, looking aside. ¡°You see¡­ in the games I¡¯ve played, there were humans in the same situation as us, you know typical isekai faction, right? But in these Pok¨¦mon worlds, the humans sometimes got exploited for, well, being a human.¡± I looked back at the litleo. ¡°So if we attract a large crowd, we¡¯ll definitely attract some bad Pok¨¦mon as well. You get what I¡¯m saying here, right?¡±

    Alexa rolled her eyes, seeming almost uncaring about the topic we discussed. ¡°Guess so¡­¡± She then started walking back. ¡°Well, if that¡¯s everything, I¡¯m gonna actually know the neighbors, if you excuse me.¡±

    I sighed before following behind her. We saw the trio of kids still there, talking to themselves about something I couldn¡¯t grasp. The quilava noticed us first and turned to us, the others turning along with him. ¡°Oh, you done with your talk?¡±

    ¡°Yep! Although nothing too important!¡± My sister responded with a wave of a paw. ¡°Anyway, as I was trying to say before. What are your names? Curious to meet you all!¡±

    Even in a new world, her style of starting friendships remained the same. I remember when we were in the same school together, two years ago, I remember Alexa trying that same approach when meeting some school colleagues. It worked from what I saw¡­ until I discovered that a friend of hers was actually exploiting her and I exposed her. Alexa was left a bit sad, but since she¡¯s quite forgiving (except for me, she is out for my blood most of the time), she forgave that girl quite quickly. However¡­ they stopped talking to each other and Alexa became a bit more closeted, only talking to online friends.

    Maybe this new world might change her a bit¡­ maybe to something better, or the more likely outcome, she won¡¯t learn her lesson.

    The pawmi cheerfully answered with a smile. ¡°My name is Tami, nice to meet you.¡±

    The quilava rubbed his snout with a smirk. ¡°The name¡¯s Mikama.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m Yugu.¡± The purrloin answered with a lazy wave. ¡°And what are yours?¡±

    ¡°Name¡¯s Alexa! Nice meeting you all!¡± My sister responded with the same amount of enthusiasm as a cringy youtuber making an intro. She then turned to me and extended a limb. ¡°And this is my bro, Nathan!¡±

    Forced into the situation I didn¡¯t want to be in, I just replied normally. ¡°Hi, I guess¡­¡±

    ¡°Oh, the angsty teen type, I see.¡± Mikama replied with a chuckle. ¡°Nice to meet you both.¡±

    Tami tilted his head. ¡°You guys are new here, right? When did you move in?¡±

    ¡°Oh, just a few minutes ago, we¡¯re still getting used to the place. Nice town from what we saw so far!¡± Alexa said with a smile.

    Yugu put his paws on the side and smirked. ¡°It¡¯s a quiet little town. Almost nothing exciting happens and there aren¡¯t any close mystery dungeons around the area for us to have fun.¡±

    I looked aside for a second as I thought about something the purrloin said. ¡®No close mystery dungeons? That¡¯s good, meaning there won¡¯t be any chance of anyone in my family accidentally stumbling into one. And a calm town in general? Oh, this place is perfect for my family to adapt.¡¯

    The pawmi raised a paw into the air. ¡°Although, we have some fun with the few games we play around here to kill boredom. You could join them if you want to in the future!¡±

    I could already see how my sister was gonna react. Without even looking, I knew she had stars in her eyes as she smiled excitedly. ¡°Of course I wanna join later! Might be a good replacement for the loss of my phone!¡±

    I flinched hard once she let out that last word. I saw the three Pok¨¦mon look at my sister in confusion before Mikama asked. ¡°Phone¡­? The heck is that?¡±

    I hastily responded to change the topic. ¡°O-oh wow, I forgot! We gotta go to the guild to find Xenia, right Alexa?¡± I looked at her with a fake smile as I got in front of her.

    My sister looked at me with a look of confusion before sighing. ¡°Ugh, you do hate fun¡­¡± She looked over me and said to the trio. ¡°Sorry guys! It¡¯s important stuff! We¡¯ll see again later right?¡±

    The quilava put a paw on his side. ¡°Well if you live here then ¡®course we will. Let us know once you¡¯re free so you can come play with us some other time, alright?¡±

    Alexa nodded. ¡°Mhm! Will do!¡±

    ¡°Alright, done? Great, come on Alexa.¡± I said hastily as I started walking away from the group towards the elevator, feeling Alexa trail beside me. I sighed before saying. ¡°You almost blew it for us¡­ again.¡±

    My sister growled in annoyance before looking away. ¡°Do I literally gotta watch everything I say? Can¡¯t I even say alien words to them?¡±

    ¡°No, nothing that points us to being human, even the most meaningless out-of-context word.¡± I said as Alexa looked at me with an unamused look. ¡°Don¡¯t give me that look. It¡¯s the best way for us to be safe.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s even your definition of ¡°safe¡± ? Getting the least attention possible? Because, for me, you seem like you just want to be left alone.¡± Alexa inquired with a curious expression.

    ¡°Look, I¡­¡± Words failed to come out of my mind as I questioned myself after hearing about my sister. Was she¡­ right? I was trying to avoid most of the attention recently, even in the human world¡­ although, it wasn¡¯t the time to think about that. ¡°Ugh, let¡¯s just go to the guild, alright?¡±

    I saw Alexa smirking silently before I turned to the machoke handling the lift. He looked at me, still holding the rope. ¡°Going down, little cubs?¡±

    I twitched slightly at that, but it served as a hard reminder of what we were now. ¡°Yes¡­¡±

    My sister and I stepped onto the wooden platform, and slowly but surely it started descending. I took another deep breath, my head starting to ache a little with all these new thoughts and feelings, and the sun¡¯s heat wasn¡¯t really helping. ¡®I hope that at least Mom and Dad are handling it well¡­¡¯

    <hr>

    ¡°You¡¯re shitting me¡­ these are our beds?¡± I asked while looking incredibly in disbelief at two patches of hay on the floor.

    Samantha added with a frown. ¡°Well¡­ at least we ain¡¯t sleeping on the floor¡­ kinda.¡±

    While our son and daughter went outside, Samantha and I decided to explore the rest of our home together. Honestly, this entire situation was taking a toll on my brain. I suddenly appeared in this world with my wife and kids, apparently being transformed into these¡­ Pok¨¦mon creatures in the shape of lions, and now here we are in a town full of them.

    Why couldn¡¯t this be one crazy dream?

    Everything sucked now! I was forced on four legs, I felt exposed from every angle, the world we were in had no kind of modern technology, and everything felt so tribal and ancient! Ugh, I know that I sounded like a kid who¡¯s addicted to tech going to a rural town with no internet whatsoever¡­ because that was exactly how I felt!

    It wouldn¡¯t be that bad if we remained in our human forms, but nope, we had to turn into these feral-looking creatures, hadn¡¯t we!? I¡¯m pretty sure lion balls are visible to anyone who looks behind them!

    Oh God, did my kids see them!?

    ¡°Ugh¡­¡± I groaned (which sounded more like a growl) and slumped on the floor. ¡°This sucks, all of this fucking sucks¡­ why? Why us!?¡± I looked at my paw, seeing something alien instead of the human hand I got so used to seeing. ¡°Is this some sort of punishment from God¡­ or something else?¡±

    I felt something furry slump on my side, seeing my wife as I looked to the side. ¡°Honestly, I dunno, Richard. I rather not think about things like that. Let¡¯s just do what Nate said and focus on the positives. We still at least have each other and the kids.¡±

    I sighed, looking a bit thoughtful. Yes, she was right. There¡¯s just no point reminiscing about the things we lost. As my father would say, ¡°Something unexpected came your way? Toughen up and think of it as an opportunity or a challenge. Doesn¡¯t matter which, use it to your advantage.¡±

    From a man who came from a war, of course, he would have sayings like that. And of course, he was absolutely right.

    ¡°You have a point¡­¡± I looked aside for a moment. ¡°I¡¯m¡­ I¡¯m sorry for shouting at you like that earlier. I was not in the right mind¡­¡±

    The black lioness smiled. ¡°I know you didn¡¯t intend it, you were having a breakdown. I guess I did need to open my eyes to see that this was reality¡­¡±

    I smiled back. Suddenly, an urge came over me as I leaned my head to Samantha. Instead of kissing her like I thought I would, I gave her forehead a lick subconsciously, feeling the taste of her dry fur on my tongue. She looked at me a bit confused and in disbelief before I realized what I had done. ¡°Wh- did¡­ did I just¡­¡±

    My wife looked at me a bit surprised by my action before she snickered a little bit. ¡°Oh my God, Richard.¡± She giggled. ¡°You actually licked me!¡±

    I panicked a little. ¡°D-don¡¯t laugh at it! T-this is serious! Oh God, am I losing my sentience or-¡±

    The luxray shook her head before licking me on the snout. I looked at her speechless as she caressed a paw on my mane. ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s it, or else we would¡¯ve been mewling and growling at each other, wouldn¡¯t we?¡±

    I looked aside for a moment. My head was still the same, my memories were still there and I still had total control over my body¡­ mostly. I guess I was just overreacting¡­ ¡°Yes¡­ we would.¡± I sighed. ¡°This is gonna take a long time to get used to. Are we sure we¡¯re gonna be the same after we get used to it?¡±

    Samantha smiled. ¡°Pretty sure we will. After all, only our bodies had changed with probably our instincts, so¡­ we would need to adapt to those and we will be good to go while remaining the same as usual.¡± She then looked aside with an uncertain look. ¡°Hopefully¡­¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not very reassuring¡­¡±

    ¡°Honestly, I have no way to tell. But I just want to believe that we¡¯re still gonna remain ourselves, alright? After all, positivity and the rest of my family is the only thing making me not have another breakdown right now.¡± Samantha admitted.

    I sighed. ¡°That¡¯s fair¡­¡± I then started to get up, being careful to not let my wife fall on the floor. ¡°You know, I¡¯m gonna check the other rooms. Hopefully, this place has a decent bathroom¡­ if it has any.¡±

    Samantha got up as well. ¡°I¡¯m coming with you. Beats standing around and doing nothing.¡±

    I nodded before we left the bedroom which we decided that it¡¯d be ours. We went to the other door of the house which led to a small room with one door on the left and one door on the front. While walking to the door on the front, Samantha asked something that I was afraid someone was going to ask eventually¡­

    ¡°So, um¡­ about your balls-¡±

    I immediately interrupted her while flushing. ¡°It¡¯s a lion thing which I can¡¯t help it! Pretty sure Nathan is gonna have the same issue in the future!¡±

    Samantha sighed as she grimaced in thought. ¡°Guess you have a point¡­ ugh, we gotta get used to the nudity around here¡­ but it¡¯s so damn weird¡­¡±

    I opened the door by sliding it as a memory came to me. ¡°Wait a minute. Wasn¡¯t that buff Pok¨¦mon holding the lift wearing like¡­ boxers with a belt or something?¡±

    ¡°Well, he looked vaguely humanoid¡­ maybe those feel like they need to hide their intimate parts.¡± My wife deduced with a tilt of the head.

    I frown as I think about it, muttering to myself. ¡°Maybe¡­¡± We entered the door which led to what seemed like a bathroom. There was a hole in the floor which seemed a bit deep, a large plastic bowl that seemed to fit someone of an average size. And besides the hole, there was, surprisingly, a mirror. ¡°Huh, at least there¡¯s a toilet¡­ kinda.¡±

    Samantha sniffed before clenching her snout and putting a paw over it. ¡°Ugh, this place stinks! When was the last time this place was cleaned?¡±

    A scowl appeared on my face as the foul smell assaulted my nostrils. Was there even a way to¡­ you know, clear that hole? ¡°I don¡¯t know, if the previous owners moved a long time ago, this smell should have disappeared, but like I know how Pok¨¦mon shit works¡­¡±

    After some seconds, the smell kinda fizzled out on my nose becoming another common smell somehow. I walked to the mirror and sat in front of it, finally seeing my reflection of how I looked now.

    I had actually become a lion and my mind wasn¡¯t playing tricks on me, no matter how much I blinked. I could see a feline face looking straight back at me, surrounded by a red mane that if looked from afar, would look like a miniature red sun. I lifted my lips a little, seeing large fangs that could potentially tear meat apart easily. I grimaced. ¡°So¡­ I look like this now¡­¡± I looked at Samantha, who walked over to me and stared at herself in the mirror. ¡°Love, I don¡¯t look that intimidating, do I?¡±

    The luxray looked at me before glancing aside. ¡°Eh¡­ compared to me, I think I look worse.¡± She looked at the mirror once again. ¡°Have you seen my eyes? They don¡¯t look normal, in fact, they look like a monster cat¡¯s.¡± Her red and yellow eyes locked onto me again. ¡°I get that Nate might be used to this, but like, how wasn¡¯t Alexa that scared of me? I¡¯m a black lion with creepy eyes and who could shoot out thunderbolts for crying out loud!¡±

    ¡°Well, I can shoot fire and my mane lights up like the sun, so who¡¯s scarier?¡±

    There was a moment of silence from Samantha as she seemed to mull over my question. Now that I think about it, would the smaller Pok¨¦mon be afraid of us? That dragon said that I would put fear in some Pok¨¦mon when I would go out to hunt- ¡­ oh god, I forgot that I could help a group hunt for food¡­

    ¡°Dear? You okay? You look¡­ distressed.¡±

    My wife snapped me from my thoughts. ¡°A-ah, nothing, just thinking about stuff¡­¡± I sighed and started walking out of the bathroom. ¡°I¡¯m starting to get exhausted. My head is feeling really heavy¡­¡±

    ¡°Well, it¡¯s expected.¡± I heard Samantha snort to the side. ¡°Let¡¯s just take a nap. I hope that Nate and Alexa are already here once we wake up.¡±

    After hearing the word nap, I yawn a little, feeling my mouth open all the way. ¡°Yeah, a nap sounds good.¡± As we walked back to our own bedroom, a small hopeful thought appeared in my mind. ¡®Maybe once we wake up, everything is going back to normal¡­ I just hope so¡­¡¯

    <hr>

    Walking around the commercial part of the town without being on a rushed tour of the place felt livelier than I originally expected. While walking around, we saw way more Pok¨¦mon than ever. A ledian, a maractus, an umbreon, an electivire, a haxorous, and so many others.

    This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

    It almost felt like one of those anime isekai scenes where the protagonist saw a lot of different species walking around in harmony, except, in this scenario, every townsfolk was replaced with Pok¨¦mon. It was hard not to smile once everything you thought was fiction turned out to be a real thing all along. Like, how lucky would someone be to have a revelation like that?

    I looked at my sister, seeing her jaw hung open like a toddler¡¯s discovering something amazing and out-of-this-world. I couldn¡¯t blame her, this was amazing and out-of-this-world. She looked at me and commented. ¡°This place seems more awesome than before! So many different Pok¨¦mon!¡±

    I nodded. ¡°Yep, it¡¯s more magical when you take it slow.¡± I looked over to a charmander and a pikachu running around the streets, seemingly having fun playing something. ¡°Gotta admit, even if this place is nothing without the technologies of our world, this town does have its charms.¡±

    I saw Alexa looking at a lopunny and a bunneary, seemingly of the same family. ¡°Gosh, I can¡¯t handle the cuteness of some of these Pok¨¦mon.¡± I could hear her squeal a little bit, her tail raising a little bit. She then looked over at me once her excitement died down. ¡°So¡­ we¡¯re going to find the dragon, Xenia, right?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I need to ask her a question that might decide our fate in the future.¡± I explained before the litleo tilted her head in concern. ¡°Oh, don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s not that kind of fate you¡¯re thinking of. I just need to ask her something about this world¡­¡±

    ¡°Is it that serious for you to interrupt me getting to know the neighbors?¡± She asked with a deadpan look.

    I narrowed my eyes. ¡°It is.¡±

    Alexa sighed and rolled her eyes before continuing to look forward. ¡°If you say so¡­¡±

    We continued walking through the streets, trying to remember where the guild stayed. To be perfectly honest, I kinda zoned out a bit while on the tour since a bajillion thoughts were occurring in my head, thinking about me and my family¡¯s possible futures that will probably put us in danger later on in our lives. Maybe I was overthinking, maybe I wasn¡¯t, who knows? But because of those thoughts, we were a bit lost, only guided by my memory of seeing the bottom half of the town while riding through the lift.

    We didn¡¯t need to ask for directions, after all, the town wasn¡¯t that big so it didn¡¯t take long to find a building more unique-looking than the rest. The guild was a building made of metal, being complimented with a bit of wood making the corners of the building. The front of the building was composed of two large doors, two round windows on the sides of the doors, and a giant emblem that resembled a pink and white egg with white feathery wings on the side. I couldn¡¯t see more of the building from there.

    ¡°Ooh, looks exotic!¡± Alexa commented before tilting her head. ¡°Although uh¡­ why an egg in the front?¡±

    I shrugged by just raising my shoulders. ¡°Dunno, could be related to the Pok¨¦mon who runs the place or something else about their culture we¡¯re not familiar with.¡±

    She looked at me with an eyebrow raised. ¡°Do you even know if Xenia¡¯s here?¡±

    ¡°If she¡¯s not here, then someone here might know where she is.¡± I said before walking inside. ¡°Come on, let¡¯s get this over with, maybe you could have some time later to play with some of the neighbors.¡±

    Alexa grinned before following me. ¡°Hell yes!¡±

    Inside the building, it was more of the same. Metal covered the walls and ceiling while some parts had wood like the floor. On the walls, there were some paintings of beautiful scenery and some Pok¨¦mon as well while on the back wall, there was a smaller version of the same emblem in the front of the guild.

    The building wasn¡¯t empty, of course. Pok¨¦mon of all shapes and sizes were walking around the main room from what I could see. Some were looking at a bulletin board, explorers talked to each other about certain missions, and some more bruised Pok¨¦mon were being escorted to a room that was probably the infirmary.

    However, no sign of Xenia.

    I looked around before finding a Pok¨¦mon that wasn¡¯t occupied, however, one that my sister wouldn¡¯t like to talk with. They were an alolan (actually, how would regional variants be called here?) muk who was just idling around, looking like they were waiting for someone. There was a scarf with a badge that was just swirling around their body since they had no neck or solid part besides their teeth. It wouldn¡¯t be an issue sitting close to them since this one didn¡¯t have the awful smell that kantonian muk has.

    They look a bit more terrifying in real life than what the media portrayed them¡­

    I pointed at the colorful sludge Pok¨¦mon. ¡°Hey, maybe that guy knows where Xenia is.¡±

    Alexa¡¯s face clenched a little. ¡°Are you sure? They¡­ uh¡­¡±

    I sighed as I looked at the litleo. ¡°Just admit that you¡¯re scared of talking to them. They look a bit scary, don¡¯t they?¡±

    My sister¡¯s tail lowered as she looked away. ¡°I¡­ yeah, I guess.¡±

    I put a paw on her head. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, you¡¯ll be okay, I¡¯ll be there with you.¡± ¡®Would¡¯ve been anyways because of Mom¡­¡¯

    Alexa smiled at me. ¡°Thanks.¡±

    I nodded with my own smile before walking towards the muk, Alexa walking beside me. The blob of sludge took notice of us and spoke with a deep female voice. ¡°Want something, kids?¡±

    I nodded. ¡°Yes, you know about Xenia, the dragonite?¡±

    ¡°Yes, I know of her, the most popular explorer around the guild. Why do you ask?¡± She asked with a tilt of her¡­ head?

    My sister spoke for me. ¡°We¡¯re looking for her. Do you know where she is right now?¡±

    The muk hummed in thought, crossing her dripping arms together. ¡°Well¡­ normally she¡¯s out and about patrolling around the town, if not, she¡¯s on a rescue or exploration mission.¡± I looked away disappointedly before she added. ¡°Or the more likely case¡­ she¡¯s pretending to work while filling her belly with booze. Ya know, the usual stuff for dragons.¡±

    I tilted my head. ¡°Would you know where she usually goes for drinks like that? We would normally wait for her, but our mom wants us back before the sun goes down.¡±

    ¡°Ah, well¡­¡± The blob¡¯s arms disappeared inside their body. ¡°There¡¯s only one tavern in this town and that¡¯s Keith¡¯s. He¡¯s a meowscarada and you¡¯ll know it¡¯s his tavern once you see green paint and lots of plants covering the place.¡±

    I smiled. ¡°Thanks for the info miss, we appreciate it.¡± I then looked at my sis who had a sheepish look on her face.

    ¡°Y-yep! Thanks for helping us!¡± She looked around desperately before stammering. ¡°Uh¡­ you¡¯re¡­ beautiful by the way!¡± The litleo said nervously.

    The muk put a hand below her mouth, seemingly smirking. ¡°Oh, really? That¡¯s a first. Are you sure you really mean it?¡± She leaned in playfully.

    I sighed hopelessly before motioning to my sister to follow me. ¡°Come on sis, stop trying to please her.¡±

    As I walked away, my sister hastily turned and walked towards me. ¡°C-coming!¡±

    While leaving the scene, I barely hear the muk chuckling to herself. ¡®Well, at least she didn¡¯t take it personally.¡¯

    As we left the guild, I realized a problem. We didn¡¯t know where this tavern stayed. However, I had vague memories of seeing that place during the tour, or maybe my mind was gaslighting me just so I could be a bit hopeful. It did that sometimes and I honestly thought it was annoying.

    Alexa sighed and groaned simultaneously before saying. ¡°¡®Kay, we got the place, now where the hell is it?¡±

    I glanced at her while walking. ¡°My thoughts exactly. Maybe we need to actually get directions this time, even if the place sounds like it¡¯d stand out from other buildings in the town.¡±

    The litleo¡¯s tail lowered. ¡°Please, don¡¯t try to ask scary-looking Pok¨¦mon again. Sounds a bit racist but they¡­ uh¡­¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I know. But honestly, can¡¯t promise that. Beggars can¡¯t be choosers, after all, and we¡¯re on limited time.¡± I explained, which made Alexa groan and slump a little. Sorry Sis, but it¡¯s the truth, you just gotta get used to it.

    With that, we started our search for Keith¡¯s tavern. It seemed like an easy task to do since the place seemed to have a very unique exterior than most buildings in the town. However, I later realized that it wouldn¡¯t be that easy. Firstly, we decided to search around for the place without any help, but that quickly proved useless since we didn¡¯t find it anywhere close to the guild. So we decided to ask for the first Pok¨¦mon we found, and fortunately for Alexa, the Pok¨¦mon was a floatzel.

    Luckily, the floatzel knew where it was and he pointed us in its direction. But we had another issue¡­ we got lost. Yeah, even in a small town like Mani, we pretty much got lost because we literally were in this town for only a few hours and had a rushed tour of the place. It was at this point that we slowed down because of one thing.

    ¡°I¡¯m thirsty¡­¡± Alexa said before she licked her lips.

    Yep, even in this heat, a fire type can get thirsty quickly. I swear that it was December before we got sent to this world. Was there a switcheroo on the seasons?

    I stopped and looked at my sister. ¡°Can¡¯t continue?¡± She shook her head and looked away ashamed. I sighed. ¡°Well, let¡¯s go get some water. Pretty sure the river on the edge of the town is drinkable and mostly the source of water in this place. At least I remember where that is.¡±

    So yes, we took a small detour, but one that probably wouldn¡¯t take too much of our time because at least I knew where the river stayed. After all, I could just look at the cliff where the residential area stayed and know where the river is since it¡¯s basically a straight line from the lift and the entrance of the town.

    We got there pretty quickly, and from there, I took an analytical glance at the river. Unlike most riverbanks from back home, this one was pure . The water was crystalline blue, with no sort of trash or litter plaguing it. While I did know that this river had some fish on it, thanks to that one magikarp who bumped into Dad, it didn¡¯t stop us from drinking there.

    On the edges of the river, we also saw some other Pok¨¦mon drinking there, although, mostly four-legged ones. Alexa and I approached the edge, me looking at the water. It was the first time I saw my face, seeing what I currently looked like. I had red irises which made me a bit confused. I was pretty sure luxio normally has yellow irises and not red ones.

    Eh, but whatever, it was probably just a slight difference in genetics. Not every Pok¨¦mon needs to be exactly the media on Earth, the purple kecleon is the perfect example of that.

    I looked at my sis who was already taking gulps of the clean water just like how an animal would. It seemed that she was so thirsty that she¡¯d let her instincts control her for a bit. Well, makes sense, after all, how would we be able to drink water in this body?

    I crouched down and started drinking a bit of water myself. After a few gulps, I noticed something about the water. It felt¡­ more refreshing than the water in our world. Sure, I may have never drunk water from a clean riverbank before but I¡¯m pretty sure they weren¡¯t this refreshing to the point of me gaining more energy than before. It was like I was completely revitalized. ¡®Interesting¡­ I feel like all my energy has been replenished.¡¯

    I looked away from the water and towards the sun. It was a bit close to touching a few of the mountains, meaning we needed to hurry up. I looked at Alexa. ¡°Hey, are you done?¡±

    She looked at me after licking her lips. ¡°Yep. I feel more energized than before. Pretty sure the water back in our world didn¡¯t do that though¡­¡±

    ¡°Yeah, here must be different.¡± I said before turning to the town. ¡°Anyways, we need to go, hopefully, this time we have more luck in finding the place.¡±

    Alexa nodded before we started walking away from the river.

    After some minutes, a miracle happened. We finally found the place, even if I had faintly forgotten the floatzel¡¯s directions. I sighed in relief as I took a look at the building. The sign above the place read ¡°Masked Wonders¡± with plants shaped into a specific shape on the side, resembling a meowscarada¡¯s mask. It was a wooden building with green paint and lots of potted plants and vines surrounding the building. One would think that this is a gardening house, but if what the muk said was true, then this place does a wonderful job of subverting expectations.

    ¡°Thank God, we finally found it¡­¡± I said groaning in tiredness.

    ¡°You know¡­ wouldn¡¯t be really it funny if we came all the way here just for Xenia not to be here?¡± Alexa commented.

    I looked at her with a deadpan face. ¡°Don¡¯t jynx it.¡±

    She snickered before starting to walk inside, me following right beside her. Upon entering the tavern the smell of beer and musk immediately assaulted our snouts, making us clench our faces a little. I looked around and saw a lot of Pok¨¦mon sitting at tables, mostly fully evolved ones like inteleon, weavile, golem, orbeetle, and others. The floor was an absolute mess, but thankfully a female indeedee was cleaning up the place, holding the broom with telekinesis. The tables were on the side of the place so it was a straight line to the counter, the bartender being a Meowscarada, supposedly named Keith.

    From all sides was loud chatter and laughs, ranging from a variety of different topics. Ranging from telling about dungeon adventures, funny moments that happened recently, and¡­ some mon¡¯s sex life.

    Maybe it wasn¡¯t a good idea to bring my sister to this place¡­

    Alexa suddenly stated, snapping out of my thoughts. ¡°I see her!¡±

    I looked over in the direction where she was looking, seeing the orange dragon sitting on a stool while drinking some heavy-looking beer from a wooden mug. She sat across a goodra who was speaking something with her that was too covered by other loud talks for me to hear. We slowly approached Xenia, the smell of drunk breaths from Pok¨¦mon getting stronger as we headed deeper into the tavern.

    I called her out while tapping on her tail, feeling tense scales on my paw pads. ¡°Miss Xenia?¡±

    The dragonite perked up and turned to me, looking surprised when she saw us. ¡°N-Nathan? Alexa? What are you doing here?¡± She looked to the sides before glancing back at us. ¡°This place isn¡¯t for cubs like you.¡±

    ¡°For Alexa, you might be right.¡± I ignored the ¡°Hey!¡± coming from the litleo beside me. ¡°But that¡¯s beside the point. I need to ask you something really important.¡± I took a glance at the other tables in the place, seeing some Pok¨¦mon already starting to look at us. ¡°In private¡­¡±

    The goodra tilted his head and asked in a soothing male voice. ¡°Xenia, who are these kids?¡±

    The orange dragon looked at the slimy one sheepishly. ¡°Oh, I¡¯ve met them today, along with their parents. They¡¯re uh¡­ new in town, and I showed them around.¡± From the way that Xenia paused and didn¡¯t mention our true origins, she knows that mentioning our humanity is a bad idea, which confirms that I was right in keeping it a secret from other Pok¨¦mon. ¡°Anyway, could you excuse us for a moment?¡±

    The goodra smiled and waved a slimy limb in dismissal. ¡°Oh, you can go. I can wait.¡±

    The dragonite smiled. ¡°Thanks, Fenil.¡± Xenia grabbed a paper bag that I couldn¡¯t see before as she got up from her stool. ¡°Come on guys, let¡¯s talk outside.¡±

    My sister and I nodded and we began to walk out of the establishment. During our walk, my nostrils got assaulted with another smell, one that stood out from the sweaty and alcoholic smells. It came from Xenia¡¯s paper bag. Something inside it smelled so good, so damn good , that it made me subconsciously drool a bit. It was almost intoxicating like it was almost hypnotizing me whenever I smelled only a sliver of its scent. Just what was in that bag?

    Without me noticing, we were already outside the tavern, seemingly on the back of it. I really wasn¡¯t paying attention to where we were walking, only paying attention to that smell¡­ ¡°What¡­?¡± I mutter to myself before looking at my sister, who also seemed a bit dazed before snapping back to reality.

    She looked around before tilting her head. ¡°Since when¡­?¡±

    Xenia turned to us and asked. ¡°Okay, so¡­ what did you want to speak about?¡±

    I focus on the bag for a little before facing the dragonite. ¡°So¡­ I don¡¯t know if this has to do with us or not but¡­¡± I sighed. ¡°Is the world in any danger? Like¡­ at all?¡±

    The dragon tilted her head a bit confused along with Alexa. ¡°What do you mean by that¡­?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, what are you implying?¡±

    I looked away a bit in nervousness. ¡°Tell me, Xenia. What are the humans in this world even famous for?¡±

    The dragon put a claw on her chin as she hummed. ¡°Well¡­ they¡¯re famous for a lot of stuff. Helping out Pok¨¦mon in need, saving a certain city or continent, and heck, even saving the world from a calamity.¡±

    I gritted my teeth a little bit. ¡®I knew it¡­¡¯

    My sister tilted her head. ¡°Bro, do you know something?¡±

    I mouthed it silently to her. ¡°I¡¯ll talk to you and our parents later about this.¡± I then turned back to Xenia. ¡°So¡­ I¡¯ve heard from some Pok¨¦mon that every time the world is in danger¡­ a human is summoned to help it. So that¡¯s why I ask¡­ is the world in danger now?¡±

    The dragonite frowned. ¡°So you found out, huh?¡± She sighed. ¡°I was hoping I wouldn¡¯t have to tell you about humans saving the world so you guys wouldn¡¯t freak out.¡± I tilted my head in confusion. ¡°Look, the reason why I told you guys nothing about that is because¡­ well¡­ the world really isn¡¯t in any danger.¡±

    My eyes widened a little bit in surprise. Questions started assaulting my mind as I lowered my head a little. There¡¯s nothing to save? Everything is fine? Were we summoned here without reason or by mistake? Are we stuck here?

    Alexa looked at me worriedly before asking. ¡°Nathan¡­ are you okay?¡±

    After taking a deep breath and recomposing myself, I looked at my sister, blinking a little bit before answering. ¡°I¡¯m¡­ fine. Just something I thought about for a moment.¡± I sighed before looking at Xenia. ¡°That¡¯s everything I needed to know. Thanks for answering.¡±

    ¡°Well, if you say so¡­¡± The dragonite perked up a little. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s good that you¡¯re here. I was about to give your family this after I was done with my¡­ off hours.¡± She said before extending the claw holding the paper bag to us. ¡°Since I know that humans don¡¯t have the same diet as Pok¨¦mon in their original bodies, I bought this so that it¡¯d make it easier for you to figure out your new diet.¡±

    Wait a minute¡­ if that¡¯s food¡­ and the way it made me drool from just smelling the scent of it¡­ ¡®Oh God¡­ they¡¯re not gonna like this¡­¡¯

    She handed me the bag and I grabbed it from the top with my mouth since I couldn¡¯t hold stuff with my limbs anymore. The smell was stronger than ever before and I had to fight my instincts to tear the bag open and eat the food inside it like a wild animal- or Pok¨¦mon for that matter. ¡°T-twanks¡­¡± I said a bit muffled before turning to Alexa. ¡°Wet¡¯s go.¡±

    I noticed my sister looking at me with that same dazed look from before, I even noticed she was salivating a little bit. With a bit of intent, I focused and sent a little spark of electricity at her, snapping her back to the real world. ¡°W-wah!?¡±

    ¡°Wet¡¯s go, Awexa.¡± I repeated.

    She nodded a bit startled and confused. ¡°U-um¡­ alright.¡± We said our goodbyes to Xenia, the dragonite waving back as we walked away. While we walked, my ears twitched as I heard Alexa muttering to herself. ¡°Is¡­ something happening to me¡­?¡±

    It pained me a little bit to see her doubting herself if she was in complete control or not. But I just couldn¡¯t say anything, fearing that I would scare her if I said we had some feral instincts, even with our brains intact.

    As we walked to the elevator, the sun was beginning to set, making the sky have an orange color rather than the normal blue. I forgot how pretty the sunsets were since we couldn¡¯t see many back in our city. After all, too many buildings blocked the sun.

    ¡°Hey.¡± My sister called to me after we got onto the lift and I rang the bell. ¡°What are you hiding? Like, that was super sussy the way you acted there with Xenia. And how the hell did you know about all of that world-ending nonsense without speaking to any Pok¨¦mon about it?¡±

    I dropped the bag on the floor, hearing a small and wet PLOFT sound coming from it. I then looked at her. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m gonna explain everything soon once we¡¯re back in the house. I just needed to confirm with Xenia if this world follows the games¡¯ rules.¡± She tilted her head in confusion. ¡°Like I said, I¡¯m gonna explain everything, just chill for now, alright?¡±

    She rolled her eyes. ¡°Sure, I guess.¡±

    Once we got to the top of the cliff, I grabbed the bag with my mouth again and silently thanked the machoke as we got out of the lift. Thankfully, our new house was easy to find since it¡¯s on the first row of unevenly placed houses and stood out because it was one of the few buildings in the residential part of the town with a chimney.

    We entered our home and I dropped the bag on the floor of the living room. Looking around, we saw no sign of our parents, so I called. ¡°We¡¯re home!¡±

    There was a moment of silence and I thought that our parents were probably asleep. They were big cats after all.

    I took the opportunity and opened the bag, revealing the contents inside of it. Just as I expected, there were pieces of raw meat inside, the smell immediately invading my nostrils again as my stomach rumbled a little. I tore the rest of the bag open as the pile of meat was spread out on what was left of the bag and on the floor.

    ¡°Is¡­ is that¡­?¡± I could hear my sister say. ¡°Why¡­ why does it smell so¡­ so good?¡±

    I gave her a side-eye. ¡°We¡¯re carnivores now, this is what we will usually eat from now on.¡± I looked back at the pieces of meat, noticing there were only four. The smell of iron infiltrated my lungs, although, instead of being repulsed by it, it felt like the source was calling to me, luring me in with promises of my stomach being filled. During that state, I managed to say. ¡°Only eat one piece, okay?¡±

    ¡°Wh-what!? No! I¡¯m not¡­¡± I heard footsteps getting closer. ¡°I¡¯m not¡­ eating that¡­¡±

    I started to ignore her as I began devouring my food, only being driven by the instinctual impulses of my hunger. So far, I hadn¡¯t realized how hungry I was until I first smelled the meat. The texture was a bit hard, but that didn¡¯t matter to me as my fangs tore through the flesh easily. I didn¡¯t know why, but the taste was divine, probably because of my new tastebuds. I could feel my lips getting dirty with a bit of blood, painting my blue fur with a tinge of red.

    Once I was finished with my piece, I licked my lips in satisfaction, clearing the blood away from my face. I felt like a wild predator, my hunger only being satisfied with the meat of a dead being. Not like that wasn¡¯t what humans already did normally back in my world, but eating the meat raw¡­ felt like a different experience altogether.

    I could hear the sounds of loud munching coming from beside me. I looked at my sister who was devouring her own piece of meat, munching it quickly with her mouth open. It felt ironic, that someone who hated hearing other people munch close to them was a hypocrite and doing it herself.

    After she finished, she licked her lips to clean it. However, it seemed that she had snapped from whatever hypnotizing spell she was in since her eyes widened as she took some steps back. ¡°What did I just¡­¡± Her voice trembled a little. ¡°Did I actually¡­¡±

    ¡°Sis¡­¡± I turned to her and sat on the ground. ¡°It¡¯s okay, don¡¯t worry. This food is normal, and you were just hungry.¡±

    She looked at me with an angry face, her red fringe sparking a little. ¡°The fuck you mean this is normal!? I just ate raw fucking meat and you think that¡¯s normal!?¡±

    Suddenly, one of the doors opened, making our attention turn to it. From the door, came Mom and Dad, seemingly a bit startled. ¡°Hey, what¡¯s all this shouting about?!¡± Mom asked a bit concerned. ¡°And why is there meat on the floor?¡±

    ¡°Yeah what¡¯s-¡± I saw my dad sniff the air a bit, and just like that, another one was hypnotized, the pyroar slowly approaching the meat.

    I calmly stated. ¡°Our dinner. We already ate ours so these two are for you.¡±

    Alexa shook her head as she denied it. ¡°Nuh-uh! That shit is gross, we¡¯re gonna get sick if we eat it-¡± She interrupted herself when she saw Dad take a massive bite of his piece of meat while Mom slowly approached to get hers. ¡°What the hell are you guys doing!? D-don¡¯t-¡±

    As Mom began devouring her share, Alexa groaned and turned away in disgust. Honestly, I don¡¯t blame her, even if I think she¡¯s bitching a bit more than she should, I understand why she¡¯s acting this way. Alexa was always a picky eater, not enjoying many foods that Mom sometimes put on our table, so her plate was always the same thing most of the time, not having a fleshed-out diet. So this would probably be too much for her.

    Dad finished first before realizing what he had just done. His eyes widened in disbelief as he asked himself. ¡°Did I just¡­¡±

    I looked at him with an unamused face. ¡°Dad, you¡¯re a lion now, you should¡¯ve expected this.¡±

    He grimaced a little as he turned his head away. ¡°This¡­ this doesn¡¯t feel right¡­ but why does it taste so good¡­?¡±

    Mom snapped out of her trance after finishing hers and before realizing what she had done. ¡°Oh God, I-I just¡­ I actually just ate raw meat like it was nothing. Am¡­ am I-¡±

    I sighed and interrupted Mom. ¡°No Mom, the same thing happened to me and Alexa once we both ate it. As I said before, we will answer to instinctual urges while still retaining our conscience. We¡¯re not becoming feral animals, this is just our new way of eating and¡­ our new kind of food.¡±

    My Mom took a deep breath as she looked down. ¡°I¡­ I guess you¡¯re right¡­ we¡¯re carnivores now.¡± Her face scrunched up as she gulped dry. ¡°This is gonna take a long time to get used to¡­¡±

    After taking a deep breath, Alexa turned to our parents and asked. ¡°You guys done?¡±

    My dad nodded. ¡°Yeah, we¡¯re done, Alexa.¡± He then turned to me. ¡°By the way¡­ where did you get all of this meat? I don¡¯t think you have money from this world to buy this sort of stuff-¡± He paused, a thought seemingly striking him. ¡°You didn¡¯t, like¡­¡±

    I immediately denied it, already knowing what he was gonna ask. ¡°No, of course not! Alexa and I just went to see Xenia so I could ask something and she gave me that food saying that it¡¯d help us get used to our new diet.¡± I sighed, noticing that everyone was there.

    It was time to tell them.

    ¡°Okay guys, so you noticed from some of my actions that I looked like I knew more stuff than I was letting on, right?¡± I asked, getting confused glances from my family.

    ¡°Well¡­ from the way you trusted a literal dragon to lead us¡­¡± Mom said while looking aside.

    ¡°And the fact that you lied to said dragon that you got some info from another Pok¨¦mon, info you already KNEW beforehand¡­¡± Alexa added.

    My dad tilted his head. ¡°Hold on, what? What do you mean by that?¡±

    Alexa blew her fringe away. ¡°Yeah, he asked Xenia if the world was ending or some weird stuff like that. And then he lied that he got the info of humans getting sent into this world to save it. Speaking of which¡­¡± She turned to me. ¡°Where did you even get the idea of the world ending anyway?¡±

    I groaned. ¡°I¡¯m getting to that.¡± I sat on the floor and took a deep breath. ¡°Alright, so first things first. Just like the rest of the Pok¨¦mon, I know these things because this world resembles a certain series of Pok¨¦mon games called Pok¨¦mon Mystery Dungeon.¡± My eyes darted to my parents. ¡°In the stories of these games, a human is summoned to a world with only Pok¨¦mon with almost no technology.¡±

    ¡°Just like our situation¡­¡± Mom mused.

    ¡°And here was the catch.¡± I continued. ¡°The human wasn¡¯t summoned to have a peaceful life in another world, no. He was summoned there to stop worldwide calamities from happening.¡± My family¡¯s eyes widened in surprise. I expected they¡¯d react like that¡­

    ¡°Excuse me, WHAT!?¡± Alexa blurted out.

    Mom gasped a bit. ¡°D-does that mean-¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m not sure we¡¯re in the same situation. After all, I asked Xenia and she said that the world wasn¡¯t completely in danger.¡± My family relaxed a little. ¡°Although, we have to stay on our guard. Who knows if things might change while we are here.¡±

    Dad groaned as his tail wagged. ¡°Just what I needed¡­ what¡¯s next? A big meteor comes to this planet and kills all the Pok¨¦mon?¡±

    ¡°That happened in one of the games but they stopped the meteor with the help of a strong Pok¨¦mon in this world. So no, it¡¯s not gonna be that easy to kill all the Pok¨¦mon.¡± I replied with a bit of a knowing tone.

    My sister groaned. ¡°Ugh, I¡¯m tired, all of this is happening too fast.¡± She looked at Mom. ¡°Mom, do we have a room for ourselves?¡±

    The luxray looked aside. ¡°Uh¡­ you do, but you¡¯ll have to share a bed with your brother.¡±

    Dad rolled his eyes. ¡°If you can even call that pile of hay a bed¡­¡±

    Mom smirked as she looked at the pyroar. ¡°I mean, when you lied on it, you fell asleep pretty easy.¡± He avoided the black and blue-furred feline¡¯s gaze as she turned to us. ¡°That bed we found is too small for me and your father, but it might be big enough for you two.¡±

    Alexa groaned. ¡°Of course¡­¡± She began walking to one of the doors before speaking. ¡°Goodnight Mom, goodnight Dad.¡±

    The pyroar frowned as he spoke. ¡°Goodnight Alexa¡­¡± He sighed after the litleo went through the door. He then looked at me. ¡°As for you¡­ since your mom and I confirmed that we won¡¯t get back to our world while sleeping, we need to figure out something to do for tomorrow. After all, we need to get some money for the food¡­¡±

    I wanted to make a slight joke, but I held it off for now. ¡°You¡¯re not planning for me to go get a job, right?¡±

    Dad shook his head. ¡°No, Nathan.¡± He muttered to the side. ¡°Even though it¡¯d be appreciated¡­¡± He looked back at me. ¡°I want to go out with you tomorrow as I go hunt for a job. And with you by my side, I won¡¯t have trouble speaking with some Pok¨¦mon.¡±

    ¡°Sure Dad, I could do that.¡± I said before I yawn with my mouth opening wide. ¡°Anyways, I¡¯m gonna go sleep as well. This day was super tiring for me¡­¡±

    Mom nodded. ¡°It¡¯s understandable Nate. You¡¯ve been helping us deal with all of this the entire day.¡± She walked towards me and put a paw on my head. ¡°You don¡¯t understand how proud you¡¯re making us be.¡±

    I looked away in embarrassment. ¡°T-thanks Mom¡­¡± I started walking away. ¡°Night guys.¡±

    ¡°Goodnight Nate.¡± I heard my mom say before I walked into the same door that Alexa walked. I entered my room and looked at how empty it looked beside the single stack of hay in the middle of the room, the open window, and the cabinet in the walls of the room. On the stack of hay, I saw Alexa with her eyes closed, seemingly trying to find the perfect position for her to sleep in.

    I walked to her and lay beside her, curling my body just like a normal cat would. As I closed my eyes, I felt something furry and soft hug me from my back. I open my eyes again and try to look at the source. ¡°Alexa?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re my pillow now. You¡¯re too fluffy¡­¡± She said, burying her head on my back.

    I sighed before saying. ¡°Suit yourself, I guess.¡±

    With that, I closed my eyes and sleep came swiftly onto me.

    <hr>

    While the Greylocke siblings slept, a figure obscured by the shadows of the evening watched the two. The figure smiled before floating away. ¡°I did the right thing.¡± They said before disappearing in the blink of an eye.

 Job Hunting

    On TV, a commercial displayed a random product before cutting back right to a female spokesperson sitting on a desk, a screen showing a city in the background as usual. The woman looked up from her desk, directly at the camera. ¡°Good evening.¡±

    The news headline on the screen read ¡°CAR CRASHES ON ROUTE 84, WHOLE FAMILY MISSING¡± . With that, the woman continued speaking. ¡°At this morning, at 7 in the morning, there was a crash involving two vehicles. In one of the cars, there was a man who was confirmed to be drunk by the authorities, while in the other car, there was supposedly a family of four.¡±

    An image was shown on the screen of an upside-down and broken car at the road''s edge. ¡°While the man, who wanted to keep his identity hidden, came out of the crash with only a couple of bruises, the family consisting of Samantha Greylocke, Richard Greylocke, and their two kids, Nathan Greylocke, and Alexa Greylocke, all mysteriously disappeared.¡± There was a close-up of the car while the woman continued speaking. ¡°The local police investigated the car thoroughly and found no traces of the whereabouts of the Greylocke family, however, it seemed some of them were gravely injured by the amount of blood found inside the car, but only the inside of the car. More updates regarding their disappearance once the authorities find another clue.¡±

    She looked at another camera as the headline and the picture disappeared. ¡°Now, moving on to our next headline¡­¡±

    <hr>

    Peace, tranquility, comfort, and warmth.

    I could feel these four words surrounding my entire body, embracing me as awareness slowly returned to my body. My eyes stirred, feeling myself wake up from the slumber that I was in. I opened my eyes, blinking a few times as the perception of my surroundings started making themselves clear.

    From just the touch, I felt something prickly and fuzzy underneath me while something fluffy was around me, embracing me¡­

    I could hear the noises of a river flowing nearby and birds tweeting in the background, and then, my eyes started to adjust. It slowly became clear that I was not in a familiar environment, being surrounded by rocky walls and ceilings and a dirt floor. I took a look at my own body, slowly taking in what was in front of me before flinching slightly at what I saw. Blue, black, and yellow fur, paws, and a tail were the things I saw that were NOT my human body. Not only that, pale-brown paws were wrapped around my torso. ¡®What?¡¯

    Memories from yesterday¡¯s events then flashed on the front of my mind, reminding me of the current situation. My heart calmed down a little and I looked aside with a grimace, sighing. ¡®Oh yeah¡­ this is our current life for now¡­¡¯

    ¡°Mnph¡­¡± I heard a grunt coming from behind me as I felt the paws around me loosen their hold. Even though they were fluffy and comfortable, I reminded myself who they belonged to so I got out of their grip. I rolled to the other side, letting me get a clear view of the hay bed I was on and of my litleo sister who slowly opened her eyes.

    I got a little curious about her reaction to waking up like this.

    ¡°Yo sis, welcome to the waking world.¡± I said with a slight smirk. It didn¡¯t bother me that much waking up to not being a human, I¡¯m usually the kind of guy that goes with the flow. And I must admit, the old life on Earth was getting boring and repetitive. It''s a good thing the internet prepared me for an event such as this, as unlikely as those events sounded.

    Alexa slowly looked at her surroundings before focusing on me, blinking in disbelief and confusion. ¡°Nathan¡­? It¡¯s¡­¡± She then at her own body before her eyes widened a bit more. ¡°It wasn¡¯t just a one-day thing!?¡±

    ¡°Why would you think we would go back home after spending only one day in this world?¡± I asked while tilting my head.

    The litleo stuttered, trying to come up with something but clearly failing to do so. ¡°Like¡­ I-I was thinking it¡¯d be like¡­ like¡­ I dunno, those one-day experiences like in one of those movies! Why aren¡¯t we back!?¡±

    ¡°Did you forget what I told you yesterday?¡±

    ¡°Did you expect I actually took that ¡°saving the world¡± or ¡°being stuck here forever¡± bullshit seriously!? I can¡¯t stay forever like this! What about my phone!? I can¡¯t stay in this world for long without at least watching my favorite Tiktoker!¡±

    I shook my head with a sigh. ¡°Maybe this experience might help you get the brain cells you lost from Tiktok back¡­¡±

    Alexa growled, her red fringe of fur sparking in flames. ¡°You fucking-!¡± She suddenly pounced at me, catching me by surprise as we rolled a few feet back. She stood on top of me, fangs bared and claws poking at my skin as she hissed. ¡°You know something else right!? There¡¯s a way back that¡¯s not saving the world, isn¡¯t there!?¡±

    I hissed back, small electrical currents running through my fur as I struggled against Alexa¡¯s hold. ¡°Goddammit Alexa, if I knew about something else, I¡¯d say it, not keep it hidden from you guys!¡± Because I was stronger and bigger than her, I managed to get out of her grip and jerk away, immediately getting up. ¡°Geez, is this all because of your stupid phone?¡±

    ¡°Of course not, you dumbass!¡± She shouted before the sparks of flame disappeared from her fringe and she looked down. Her voice seemed to falter a little. ¡°My-... my entire life and future is just gone¡­¡±

    The electricity around my body died down as I dropped my defensive stance. I frowned as I muttered. ¡°Alexa¡­¡± I sighed, scooting up to her as she sat on the ground. ¡°You gotta accept the situation you¡¯re in. Look, it isn¡¯t as bad as you think it is.¡±

    ¡°It is.¡± She quickly replied as she looked away from me.

    I looked aside, trying to think of something that might soothe her, at least a little bit. ¡°Listen¡­¡± I put a paw on her back. ¡°As I said, there might be a chance to go back. I¡¯m not saying that¡¯s 100% guaranteed, but we have to be hopeful that we¡¯ll get that chance in some way.¡± I avoided talking about the other possibility.

    The litleo grimaced. ¡°But what if we don¡¯t¡­?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll stick together so we can live a happy life in this world.¡± I took my paw off her. ¡°It might not be exactly the same as before, given no tech at all. But still, it¡¯s at least better than just living full-on wild, right?¡±

    Alexa sighed before saying unamused. ¡°I hate it when you¡¯re the right one sometimes¡­¡±

    I smiled a bit. ¡°Don¡¯t worry sis, we are still here to support you in case you need it.¡± ¡®And with that, she¡¯s the last one to have a breakdown¡­ hopefully.¡¯

    Alexa looked at me in confusion. ¡°Seriously though, how the hell are you so calm about all of this? Sure like, you¡¯re the nerd now about all of this, but aren¡¯t you at least a little freaked out about all of this?¡±

    ¡°If you¡¯re on some corners of the internet and depressed for a bit of time and acting like you don¡¯t care about anything that happens to you¡­¡± I said with a bit of truth in it¡­ or literally my entire situation. ¡°Yeah, you kinda don¡¯t mind it.¡±

    My sister¡¯s tail dropped. ¡°Oh¡­ you¡¯re not like¡­ ya know¡­¡±

    ¡°Eh, don¡¯t worry about it. I¡¯m not in those levels of depression.¡± I assured with a wave of my paw. I then started walking to the door while looking at Alexa. ¡°C¡¯mon, let¡¯s see if Mom and Dad are awake yet.¡±

    Alexa nodded and started following me out of the room. While we were walking to the living room, she suddenly asked. ¡°Do you think Mom and Dad are gonna wake up without issues or not?¡±

    ¡°Well¡­ I expect a minor scare, but since they already took a nap yesterday, I don¡¯t expect a major scare.¡± I looked away with an uncertain look. ¡°Hopefully¡­¡±

    When we arrived at the living room, I was surprised to see Mom and Dad chilling in the middle of the living room, my mom lying on Dad¡¯s side. I tilted my head as Alexa and I walked to them. ¡°Didn¡¯t expect you guys to be awake already.¡±

    ¡°Morning Mom, Morning Dad.¡± Alexa said with less enthusiasm than she normally does. That is understandable, she is a little bummed about her situation.

    Mom smiled at us as best a feline could. ¡°Good morning children. I hope you two slept well.¡±

    Dad responded. ¡°Your mother and I woke up early in the morning as usual because we¡¯re already used to it. We were just waiting for you two to get up, especially you Nathan. Remember our talk yesterday?¡±

    Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

    I sat on the ground and sighed. ¡°Now that you said it¡­ I remember now.¡± Ah yes, before I went to bed, Dad said he wanted to go job hunting with me so I had that to deal with¡­

    A thought occurred to me, making me realize that this might be a bit harder than expected. Dad¡¯s gonna have to do some shit to at least find a job in this world. Either he forms an exploration team with me since I know Mom and Alexa wouldn¡¯t want to be in this sort of thing, or we do something more serene and less adventurous but that¡¯d require heavy lifting. The major example is hunting because of course, the villagers here would want a very fearsome duo of carnivores to gather meat for the village.

    Shit, would I actually have to hunt for food as well¡­?

    Alexa tilted her head in confusion but didn¡¯t question it. Instead, she questioned something else. ¡°Mom, if this is our lives for now, does that mean we have to go to the school of this world as well?¡±

    The luxray sighed and replied. ¡°Look, we¡¯re still getting things sorted out here. Once we¡¯re done, your father and I will decide if it¡¯s good or not to make you go to school in this world.¡±

    Dad scratched his head a little. ¡°Honestly, I don¡¯t think it¡¯s a good idea. They might be intelligent, sure, but look at the way their buildings are made of for Christ¡¯s sake¡­¡± He then motioned with his paw to the rock walls of the house. ¡°You guys wouldn¡¯t learn anything good from these guys.¡±

    I shrugged while looking away. ¡°Honestly, there are things we could learn with them that¡¯d be useful for us. Like, we could learn more about how this world works, or about the various Pok¨¦mon species out in the world.¡± I leaned into Dad a little. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say to us that knowledge distances yourself from the weight of manual labor?¡±

    ¡°I did say that¡­¡± I heard him mutter to the side before raising his voice again. ¡°Whatever, that¡¯s a topic for another time.¡± He got up slowly, making sure Mom wouldn¡¯t fall on the floor. When he was fully up, he flicked his tail to the side and stood tall with all of his pyroar might. I hate admitting it, but when I looked at him, an instinctual feeling came over me, telling me to straight up act as his servant since he was the ¡°leader of the pack¡± per se. ¡°Come on, Nathan, let¡¯s go find the job and possibly more food.¡±

    I nodded and started following my dad out of the house, waving goodbye to Mom and Alexa. It¡¯s a bit surprising that Alexa didn¡¯t want to come with us, but maybe she was feeling the same thing as Mom was and still feels the same since yesterday. Can¡¯t blame her, now she has to gain the courage to get out of home.

    As we walked to the elevator, seeing the various Pok¨¦mon talking and exiting their homes to do their daily tasks, my dad asked as we waited in the small line for the elevator. ¡°So uh¡­ do you remember the layout of this town? I wasn¡¯t¡­ paying attention to the tour.¡± He whispered to me.

    ¡°Figured this would be the case¡­¡± I muttered to myself before nodding. ¡°Yeah, I do remember. Although I wasn¡¯t paying attention when Xenia also, I got used to it later when I was searching for her.¡±

    ¡°Good enough. I just hope I find a place that¡¯s hiring so I don¡¯t have to resort to the hunting¡­¡± Dad said, visibly getting chills from thinking about that outcome.

    ¡°You know, we could just ask Xenia if there are any other jobs you could take.¡± I suggested, which seemed to calm Dad down a little.

    ¡°Well, hopefully, she knows of a place or two¡­¡±

    After waiting a bit, we finally stepped on the elevator and descended to the lower part of the town. When we stepped out of it, we started walking aimlessly around town, or, Dad started walking aimlessly around town because I was just accompanying him. I could tell he was slightly nervous about being close to other Pok¨¦mon from the way he was staring at them. It was a bit funny to think that a mighty and noble Pok¨¦mon like a pyroar was afraid of other Pok¨¦mon.

    While walking around, I saw some Pok¨¦mon I hadn¡¯t seen before, such as a swalot, a persian, and a¡­ ¡°Huh? What¡¯s a zeraora doing here?¡± I muttered to myself as I continued staring at the bipedal electric feline. They seemed to have a watchful gaze over the streets of the town and wore the same badge as the other officers of the village.

    Their stare then shifted to us and I felt the weight of a thousand chains wrapping around my soul. Their presence exerted an aura that demonstrated that they were the alpha and that they had the power here. Something I could also feel was that the electricity coursing throughout my body was being attracted to them like they wanted to connect to the stronger current.

    Then they started walking straight to us.

    ¡°Hey, you two.¡± She said in a smooth but powerful voice, forcing me and my dad to stop in place.

    Dad looked at her and froze when he looked at the badge. It seemed that he noticed that she had authority around the place, something that he wasn¡¯t prepared to deal with at the moment. He stuttered a little bit. ¡°O-oh, erm, how¡­ how can we help you?¡±

    The zeraora stopped in front of us and crossed her arms. ¡°I¡¯ve never seen you two around here. Are you new villagers?¡±

    ¡°Yeah¡­ we are.¡± I hate admitting it, but I was a little nervous. Who wouldn¡¯t be? This was a damn mythical Pok¨¦mon who was in front of me and was intimidating as hell. Of course, I¡¯d be nervous as shit for just being in front of it¡­ or she.

    Wait, mythical Pok¨¦mon can have genders? Well¡­ kinda makes sense now that I think about it¡­ but I was definitely not gonna look to confirm my theory.

    ¡°I see. Moved in recently?¡± She asked and both me and Dad responded with a nod. ¡°Alright then¡­¡± She looked at Dad. ¡°You seem like the father¡­ have you found something to do that¡¯d help the village yet?¡±

    Dad flinched when all the attention was directed to him, however managed to calm down. ¡°Um¡­ we moved here yesterday so I¡¯m trying to find a job around here.¡±

    ¡°Hm¡­¡± The zeraora then circled around Dad, inspecting him from every angle before hovering a paw close to his mane. She nodded while humming again, being in front of us. ¡°You¡¯re a very fit and healthy pyroar¡­¡± She put her paw on her side as her tail swished to the side. ¡°Say, how about you join the task force? There are only three acting officers in this village, one more could significantly make our work a lot easier, and you could get the job before getting kicked out of the village. What do you say?¡±

    Damn, what a coincidental opportunity. Honestly, I was expecting this job hunting to take hours, but I had forgotten that this village lost a lot of its population because they didn¡¯t find this place enjoyable to live in, so there were bound to be a lot of job opportunities in this place. However, this opportunity didn¡¯t mean that their job hunt was over. Would Dad even take the deal?

    I looked at my dad expectingly, wondering what would his reaction be. Knowing my dad, he was probably weighing the pros and cons of taking the offer. If he was thinking correctly, it was very obvious what the correct- ¡°S-sure¡­ why not?¡±

    Huh¡­ wasn¡¯t expecting that outcome. Did he even think about it?

    The zeraora smiled, her intimidating gaze dropping a little and making us more at ease. ¡°Thank you for taking my offer. How about I take you to the chief right now so we can discuss the details with him?¡±

    The pyroar nervous expression seemed to dissipate as his stuttering stopped. ¡°Well¡­ I¡¯d love to, but I can¡¯t right now. I¡¯m looking for food for my family. Do you know where I could find it?¡±

    The bipedal feline hummed before turning her head to the side. She then pointed in the direction of one of the commercial streets. ¡°You¡¯ll find the meat storage that the hunters gather at that location. Just tell the butcher the number of pieces you want accounting for the same number of family members and he¡¯ll give it to you for free. Just don¡¯t go getting more than-¡±

    My dad interrupted the zeraora. ¡°Wait, wait, wait. For¡­ for free?¡±

    A thoughtful hum escaped the zeraora¡¯s lips before they morphed into a smirk. ¡°I see you came from the big city. Here¡¯s a lesson, old ¡®mon.¡± She crossed her arms. ¡°One thing this village hates the most is greedy and scammy systems that disrupt the flow of a peaceful and balanced style of life.¡±

    Dad was trying to process what he had just heard. I then leaned close to his ear and whispered. ¡°She means that this village doesn¡¯t like capitalism.¡±

    A flash of realization passed through Dad¡¯s face as he made a silent ¡°Oooooooh¡­¡± sound. I backed away as Dad focused on the zeraora officer again. ¡°Well¡­ yes, miss, we did come from, er, the big city, so I was a bit thrown off by your methods.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s understandable. It¡¯s a bit hard to adapt to new environments so quickly. But don¡¯t worry, you¡¯ll get used to it in no time.¡± She reassured before starting to walk away. ¡°Well, once you¡¯re ready to apply, just go to Ollivine¡¯s office once you¡¯re able to go there. Just close by the river.¡±

    With that, the zeraora walked away with a single salute of her paws. Dad sighed in relief before commenting. ¡°Huh¡­ she was¡­ nicer than expected.¡±

    ¡°Yeah¡­ she was¡­¡± I agreed before pawing Dad on his leg. ¡°So¡­ what now? You found your job so¡­¡±

    ¡°Well¡­ we do need to get the food so¡­ let¡¯s go there next, alright?¡± He then paused, his expression shifting to a thoughtful one. ¡°Hm¡­ where do you drink water in here?¡±

    I nonchalantly replied. ¡°The river.¡±

    ¡°Wait, really¡­? Is it¡­ hygienical enough for that-¡±

    I interrupted him by stating my points. ¡°Firstly, we¡¯re Pok¨¦mon felines, like our immune system cares about a couple of bacteria in the water. Secondly, this is not our world. I drank water there yesterday with my sister and it was crystal clear. Thirdly, that¡¯s our only water source around here.¡±

    My dad sighed and rolled his eyes. ¡°Alright, I get it¡­ beggars can¡¯t be choosers, yada yada yada¡­¡±

    We then started walking to the shoreline of the river, taking our time with this as the sun warmed our bodies. After all, I was starting to get thirsty myself. As we walked, I turned to Dad and asked him. ¡°Dad¡­ I gotta ask¡­ when that officer offered you the job, did you even think about it before accepting it? You just took the offer so quickly¡­¡±

    He responded with a huff. ¡°Yes, I did.¡± He turned his head to me. ¡°When thinking about it, I thought: If this job makes the village AND my family safer, then it¡¯s worth taking. And so¡­ I just accepted it.¡±

    I tilted my head. ¡°Did you even think about the other stuff that comes when taking a job like this? Like, you literally gotta fight intruders and criminals which, let me remind you, are super-powered animals. You don¡¯t even know how to use your moves.¡±

    An expression of surprise flashed briefly in his face before he looked away with a bit of regret. ¡°I¡­ I haven¡¯t thought¡­ about that¡­¡±

    I sighed while shaking my head. ¡®Dad¡­ why?¡¯ It was clear that if he goes on the first day on the job and his coworkers know he won¡¯t know how to fight at all¡­ they¡¯ll discover his true identity.

    After all, was there even a pyroar who didn¡¯t know how to use fire moves?

    ¡°Okay¡­ there¡¯s a way out of this. Remember that Xenia said that she¡¯ll help us by having us stay for two weeks here to settle in without getting evicted? We can use this time for training so you¡¯ll get used to your moves.¡± I said, putting some hope back into the pyroar. However, it seemed that he was still skeptical.

    ¡°Can we even learn how to do our abilities in this short amount of time?¡± He asked.

    I smirk at him with confidence. ¡°Pok¨¦mon that are born in the wilds need to learn how to do their moves in less than a day just to survive. Don¡¯t worry, we¡¯ll learn how to do them properly in no time. Remember, the secret to doing them is intent, alright?¡±

    Dad sighed, turning his head away from me. ¡°Hopefully, you are right about this, Nathan¡­¡±

    With that, we continued walking to the riverbank without any further conversation. I was thinking to myself¡­ what if Dad just wasn¡¯t able to do it in time? No¡­ we needed to do this, lest we want our secret to be exposed¡­

 Out of Place

    Would you look at that, a wave of boredom, my favorite¡­

    It had been two minutes since Nathan and Dad left the house for the job hunt and it didn¡¯t take that long until I became bored. Seriously, there was nothing to do in this dumb and ancient hut! My phone wasn¡¯t with me so I couldn¡¯t even kill boredom since YouTube or games aren¡¯t available. What was worse was that there were no toys in this house to even do something!

    I debated if I should ask Mom about letting me out, but knowing her fear of the outside ever since learning that what we were going through was not a dream, I doubted she¡¯d let me step outside for even a millisecond. Sure, she ain¡¯t the kind of over-protective mom, but like¡­ I could feel she was not going to let me even if I pleaded.

    But even so¡­ I don¡¯t wanna spend the entire day locked in this house, melting with nothing better to do! Sure, it might be hot outside, but I¡¯m not affected by it, strangely enough. But that was not the point! I was not about to be stuck in this smelly, dirty rut for the rest of my life. If worse comes to worst, I¡¯ll sneak out the window in mine and Nathan¡¯s bedroom so I could be a free bird! ¡­ Oor a free cub, I guess.

    I remembered about the three Pok¨¦mon I met yesterday with Nathan. Those three seemed to know how to have fun in this world without any electronics. What were the names again? ¡­ eh, I¡¯ll remember in time, maybe.

    I got up from the floor and started walking towards the black lion that was my mom, sitting on the ground looking like she was still analyzing her body, specifically her tail. It was still weird looking at her in that form. She looked imposing and intimidating, and her eyes were scary as hell, but deep inside, I felt warm and comfortable around her, like an invisible voice told me she was a haven of protection and love.

    I just hoped that I wasn¡¯t going crazy and I was hallucinating things.

    ¡°Mom?¡± I called out to her.

    Mom looked at me, cringing a little before blinking a little bit. ¡°Ah, uh¡­ hey Alexa. What¡­ is it?¡±

    I realized she seemed a bit shaken from something, but I ignored it for now and went right to the important question. ¡°So¡­ can you let me go outside?¡±

    Mom¡¯s eyes widened as she shouted. ¡°What!? Are you crazy!?¡±

    ¡°But Mom, listen to me! I have nothing to do in this house besides just sitting all day waiting for time to pass by. It¡¯s not bad out there in the village, I saw it myself with Nathan yesterday!¡± I argued, trying to convince her. At this point, Mom was just becoming a big scaredy cat, quite literally.

    ¡°Sure, there might be some inoffensive and small Pok¨¦mon, but what about the dangerous ones that lurk around? You should have someone to watch you!¡±

    I deadpanned, looking at her unamused. ¡°If you say so, you could just come with me to watch me.¡±

    Mom opened her mouth to answer but visibly hesitated. ¡°I¡­ like¡­¡± She then groaned, flicking her tail to the side in annoyance. ¡°If you really want to go out, then do it! You¡¯re not the little baby that you once were so I don¡¯t need to keep watch on you at all times!¡± She then grimaced as she muttered looking to the side. ¡°Just make sure not to go far away from the house alright? Don¡¯t go to the bottom floor of the village, alright?¡±

    Wow, that was¡­ way easier than expected. I was pretty sure it would take some convincing to get the point across but apparently, that wasn¡¯t even needed. It felt weird seeing Mom give in so easily, she usually fought more to get her point across. Maybe we did change a little because of our new bodies, Mom seemed more focused on keeping on her pride like lions do¡­

    I just remembered¡­ cat lick their asses when they are bathing themselves. Did we have to do that too!?

    I shivered at the thought, cringing at the prospect of bathing myself the gross way. Mom caught me cringing and tilted her head silently. I looked at her and responded. ¡°Ah, nothing, Mom. I just thought of some gross stuff. Anyways, thanks, imma go now.¡± I said hastily before leaving the house, feeling Mom¡¯s gaze on my back.

    Outside, I felt a small breeze brush past me, cooling me a bit on this hot day. As I closed the door, I tried to filter my mind to another thought but the damn thought kept coming back no matter what I did!

    I pawed my head. ¡®Shut up brain, go think of something else!¡¯

    I sighed before looking around, seeing the neighborhood around our home. It was much more lively than it was yesterday. It was filled with strange Pok¨¦mon I knew nothing about. Some animal-like and some¡­ uh¡­ whatever it was the floating black thing with eyes on all sides of its head. I made a mental note to stay away from whatever that thing was¡­

    I started walking around, feeling the heat of the sun send its rays against my body. I still didn¡¯t know why, but for some reason, the sunrays felt like a massage to my body, mostly mental but a massage nonetheless. I felt so relaxed that I couldn¡¯t help but stretch a little bit, raising my hips a little to stretch my back instinctively.

    It felt weird to be doing some shit on instinct. It was like I was a puppet on a string for something greater controlling me, that¡¯s what it felt to me when I fucking ate raw meat for the first time in my life. I may not had nightmares that night but I¡¯m definitely sure I¡¯m gonna have them some later nights of me eating living animals off-

    No! Stop thinking about that shit!

    I sighed before starting to walk around the residential area of the village, thinking to myself as some Pok¨¦mon eyed me for a second. ¡®Seriously, how the fuck Nathan goes along with this shit so easily? He¡¯s bound to be freaked out by SOMETHING, right?¡¯

    As I continued walking a bit further, I noticed three familiar figures in the distance. They were those kids from yesterday, the orange mouse, the purple cat, and the bluish cat-like Pok¨¦mon. What were their names again¡­? Uh¡­ Tami, Yuku, and¡­ wait, was the mouse named Yuku¡­? Eh, I¡¯d cross that bridge when I get to it.

    I approached the trio who seemed to be idling around, talking to themselves, the purple cat leaning on the wall of a wood-made house and licking his forepaws. It only reminded me of my current condition if I decide to bathe, let alone, be controlled by instinct when I bathe.

    I shook my head as I reached them, the trio of Pok¨¦mon looking at me. The mouse¡¯s eyes glistened a little once he saw me, unlike the others, for some strange reason. ¡°Oh, you¡¯re here!¡± The mouse said, waddling up to me with his little arms and hands. ¡°So you want to play with us!?¡± He asked with a gleeful grin on his face.

    I nodded in confirmation. ¡°Yeah, I decided ¡°why not¡±, you know?¡±

    The purple cat got away from the wall, smirking at me as he crossed his arms in a very human-like way¡­ ¡°So, boredom got you it seems like.¡± He said, which made me widen my eyes a little. ¡°Don¡¯t look at me like that. It¡¯s written all over your face. As I said yesterday, this town is small, nothing exciting happens so Pok¨¦mon are bound to get bored.¡±

    I sheepishly smiled, getting a little embarrassed for getting called out like that. ¡°I guess so.¡±

    The other cat¡­ badger Pok¨¦mon put a paw on his side and said. ¡°Good timing for you to be here. It¡¯s the day off from school and we were about to play our favorite game.¡±

    I tilted my head. ¡°And that game is¡­?¡±

    ¡°Seek Hit ¡®n Miss!¡± The rodent said while lifting a paw. ¡°Think of Hide and Seek but with a few extra steps!¡±

    The purple cat¡­ wait, Yugu, yeah, Yugu, added with a motion of his paws. ¡°See, the game is simple, you just hide until the guy who finds you catches you. You can attempt to run, but here¡¯s the second part of the game. Let¡¯s say, if I catch you, we¡¯ll be forced into a one-on-one. If you hit me with one of your moves first, you escape and I can¡¯t catch you anymore. But if I hit you, I win and you are caught.¡±

    I blinked a little before a wave of nervousness came crashing down on me. If I wasn¡¯t a fire cub right now, I¡¯d definitely be sweating. Why? Simple. Me getting hit and trying to use powers that I don¡¯t even know how to use!

    This was the worst outcome ever! If I needed to hide my true identity, I needed to behave and act like a Pok¨¦mon in front of others, which meant using my magic powers like a normal lit¡­ litleo, right? But unfortunately, I¡¯m not a normal litleo and I literally just appeared in this world yesterday!

    Honestly, why couldn¡¯t they have a game about hunting small critters and-... honestly no, I was not gonna put other living beings in my mouth, especially things like bugs, hell no.

    The cat badger tilted his head as he looked back at me. ¡°Alexa, you alright? You look unsure of something¡­¡±

    I blinked as my attention focused back on them. I sheepishly laughed before responding. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s nothing. I¡¯m just thinking about what the best hiding spots should be around here!¡± It was a simple lie, but one that would suffice. ¡°So¡­ I guess the area of the game is just within the residential of the village, right?¡±

    Yugu flicked his fingers to me. ¡°Spot on. And not entering other houses as well to hide.¡± He then shrugged with his paws. Damn, why do the bipedal ones remind me of humans¡­? ¡°After all, I¡¯m pretty sure your parents also prohibited you from exiting the town to go into the forest, right?¡±

    ¡°Yep, exactly.¡± I replied with a sigh. Not like I was particularly sad about this outcome, but like, it invoked a feeling inside of me, like I was trapped. What are these feelings and why do I keep developing them!? ¡°But well, anyways, who¡¯s gonna be the seeker?¡±

    The mouse¡­ uh¡­ Tami raised a paw. ¡°Well, it¡¯s my turn! Mikama was the seeker last time!¡±

    Mikama (I guess, the badger cat) shook his head. ¡°Nah, I think it¡¯s fair to let Alexa be the seeker. After all, she¡¯s the new one to this.¡± He then started looking at me, one of his ears flickering. ¡°Well, that is if she wants to.¡±

    The trio looked at me expectantly. I resisted taking a step back from the pressure of their expectations as I took a moment to evaluate my options. I could just turn down the offer of playing with them and just continue hiding my identity. But of course, the only con in that is the boredom I¡¯ll get for doing absolutely nothing.

    Speaking of boredom, how the hell is Mom not feeling bored out of her mind right now just being cooped up in that house with nothing better to do?

    Whatever, that just left me with the other option and that is to play their game and figure shit out as I went. If I remember, Nathan already figured out how to use SOME magic, meaning that I could just follow what he knows and pull something outta my ass. What was that he said to pull out that lighting bolt? Intent¡­? Yeah, I think that was it.

    I would be fine¡­ right?

    ¡°Sure¡­ I can be the seeker. I just hope my ele- I mean, flames aren¡¯t that hot for you guys!¡± I said with a small stutter and a wink. Hopefully, they didn¡¯t catch my mistake. I was a fire lion, not an electric one like Nathan and Mom were!

    ¡°Well, if you say so.¡± Yugu stretched before getting into a running position. ¡°You can close your eyes and start counting to ten¡­¡± The other three did the same, it even seemed like some were ready to pounce at something. ¡°Now!¡±

    With that, the three Pok¨¦mon started running in random directions as I closed my eyes. I started counting slowly out loud. While I counted, I started to think about how would I find them in a big place like this. If they could always find each other in here, then that meant they were using some sort of animal tracking instinct or- ¡­ of course, the smell.

    Shit, I wasn¡¯t paying attention to how they smell!

    Okay, I couldn¡¯t panic. I didn¡¯t have time to do that! I¡¯m still a human deep inside, I should improvise, adapt, and overcome the situation. I needed to think of a way to find them as soon as possible. But how¡­?

    Wait a second, the mouse, he was the one closest to me. Now that I thought about it¡­ he did have a unique smell¡­ ugh, what was it? I couldn¡¯t remember it!

    ¡°10!¡±

    I shouted the last number a bit out loud as I opened my eyes, looking around the place and noticing they were nowhere to be seen. The hunt finally began, and I had no idea how to start.

    ¡°Wait a second.¡± I looked down and prayed to whatever god there was in this magic land there would be some. Oh lucky me, I found just what I wanted. Squinting my eyes, I saw a little bit of orange fur on the ground, gathering a bit of dust. Maybe, just maybe, the mouse¡¯s scent was still there. ¡°I might not be a dog, but I just hope it¡¯s enough.¡± I smirked. ¡°Gonna be like a cat and mouse chase for now.¡±

    This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

    I lowered my head and sniffed the small bits of orange fur. I didn¡¯t know if it was the dust or the fur itself but it had a sweet but musky scent like some of it had been dipped in various places and hadn¡¯t washed in a week or so. Now that I thought about it, every time I got close to a Pok¨¦mon that wasn¡¯t from my family, their smell was either musky if they had fur, or neutral if they had scales. I just hope I didn¡¯t find any aquatic Pok¨¦mon or something because I fucking hate fish smell¡­

    ¡°Alright time to start searching.¡±

    So, I began my search, aimlessly walking around and sniffing the air along the way trying to find three cute pet-like Pok¨¦mon hiding around the place. I shifted my fringe to the side to see a little better. It also helped me not to get strands of fur sucked into my nostrils as well since I noticed I shed a lot of fur, more than the others. I hope that didn¡¯t mean anything bad¡­

    After a small I realized, sniffing led to nowhere. Ugh, that was a waste of time. I didn¡¯t know how to separate smells since I was new to this body. What made it worse was that other different kinds of smells and scents appeared out of nowhere, making me forget the fur¡¯s scent immediately. Wait, was someone cooking eggs?

    It was just hopeless at this point. I should just stop looking like an idiot and just look around. Maybe I could find them that way. If I could spot something about them like that orange ear and cream-colored tail poking out behind a house, it could give me some hope. Honestly, it would just be better to aimlessly walk and- wait a minute¡­

    I stopped and looked back where I saw a glimpse of those body parts. I knew I saw those before, they belonged to the mouse. I grinned as I started sprinting behind the house, skidding to a stop once I saw the orange mouse gasp in surprise from being found. I grinned and said. ¡°Found ya!¡±

    Now all I needed to do was just tag him and- wait, what was he doing?

    The mouse suddenly got up in his hind legs and started rubbing his cheeks rapidly, and for some reason, they were releasing sparks of electricity. His rubbing got to a point where his entire body was covered with electricity, but less bright than what Nathan did.

    I then remembered one crucial thing about this game¡­ this wasn¡¯t the normal Hide & Seek.

    Even with that realization, I was too slow. The mouse launched a small thunderbolt at me, shocking my entire body. I screamed as electricity coursed through my body, leaving my fur standing up straight from the static. The pain¡­ was something I never experienced before. Sure, I got some small shocks from some exposed wires and finicky outlets, but holy shit, never something to this degree. It felt like outlet shocks but multiplied by a hundred¡­

    After the shock was gone, only static electricity lingered around the air and my body. I dropped to the ground, feeling the strength of my legs fade. I honestly thought I was gonna die, but just as much as that pain came, it went away, like it had just drained a bit of my stamina. I opened my eyes slowly and saw the mouse coming directly at me. ¡°What¡­?¡±

    The orange rodent stopped in front of me with a panicked look on his face. ¡°Alexa! Are you okay!? I didn¡¯t mean for the attack to be that strong!¡± He then put one of his forepaws on my forehead, probably checking for any damage. Instead of him smelling sweet and musky at the same time, he smelled kinda funky, like someone who bathed themselves in some kind of strange sauce and then washed themselves. ¡°Please tell me you¡¯re not that hurt-¡±

    I brushed the paw off my head softly. ¡°I¡¯m¡­ fine¡­¡± The strength in my legs slowly returned as I started to stand up again. ¡°Ugh¡­ that was painful¡­¡±

    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you dodge?¡± The mouse- wait, now I remembered, Tami, asked with a tilt of his head. ¡°I know electricity is fast but Thunder Shock is one of my slower electric moves.¡±

    I looked away in embarrassment. ¡°I uh¡­ forgot about the ¡°Hit ¡®n Miss¡± part of the game¡­ so I was caught off guard.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s alright, I take it it¡¯s the first time you¡¯re playing with us so you could¡¯ve forgotten easily. I¡¯m just worried I hurt you.¡± Tami said as he got in his hind legs for a moment again and fiddled with his small fingers in shame.

    ¡°As I said, I¡¯m fine.¡± I then looked away and muttered to myself. ¡°For some reason, this body takes electrical shocks like it¡¯s nothing¡­¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    I looked back at the mouse with a surprised and nervous look as I quickly said sheepishly. ¡°N-nothing!¡± I started to walk away a bit hastily, just trying to get away ASAP before the rodent decided to question me further. ¡°Anyways, since you¡¯re free from me, I¡¯m gonna look for the others, see ya later!¡±

    ¡°Uh, okay, I¡¯ll wait for you at the counting spot!¡± Tami said as he rushed to supposedly the place I was counting at (and the place I forgot where it was).

    I sighed and started the search again, however, with a lot of other things in mind. ¡®Are Pok¨¦mon just that much more resistant? I¡¯m pretty sure if I received a shock like that as a human, I would straight up be in a hospital or worse¡­¡¯ It just felt so wrong to receive an electrical shock like that and just be walking like nothing happened at all. I¡¯m pretty sure a normal cat my size would just die if they received that like I did.

    You know, as weird as it is, I don¡¯t think being that resistant to other magic is a bad thing. Sure, it still hurts like hell, but after receiving an attack like that, I realized that we are way more resistant than normal animals. And hey, I have power over fire so I might be even more resistant to that!

    I continued walking around, trying to spot any trace of the two other boys. Instead of having an idea of where they could be, I didn¡¯t have any clue to help me in their search. No scent to follow, no noise they could make, and of course, they wouldn¡¯t be hiding in plain sight. A part of my mind wanted me to give up and just surrender, but like, what if they called me out for that? What if they say something, like, ¡°Oh why aren¡¯t you using your feline senses or something? I¡¯m pretty sure you could easily spot us if you used that!¡± And then I had to make some sort of excuse to not get found out that I¡¯m a human.

    Maybe I was overthinking things and my brother is probably passing his overthinker virus onto me. At least I¡¯m not an angsty bitch like he is!

    I turned my head around, feeling my ears flicker as the sound of chatter entered my ears. The voices weren¡¯t from any of the boys. ¡°Ugh, just where are they? It¡¯s been two whole minutes already¡­¡± This was leading me nowhere, I couldn¡¯t spot them anywhere, and I was making sure to check every house as well. Not the inside of course, but just around it. And yet, despite the town (more like a village) being small, there were so many houses and some empty ones! ¡°Dammit, at this rate I¡¯m never gonna find them¡­¡±

    I sighed before saying, ¡°If I could see through walls, this would¡¯ve been way fucking easier¡­¡± I blinked while groaning.

    However, as I opened my eyes, I doubled back and flinched at what I saw, screaming a little bit. It¡¯s just like what I wished came true and I could see through fucking walls and objects. Nothing was filtered through me, when I said could see through anything, I meant it. I even could see the inside of one of the villagers, seeing their inner organs and dog-like skeleton. That scared the shit out of me.

    I blinked again and, just like that, the weird vision was gone. I took quick breaths, trying to recover myself from that scare. I even saw some of the villagers looking at me in confusion. I tried to regain my composure as I quickly muttered. ¡°What the fuck was that¡­?¡±

    ¡°Hey, kid.¡±

    I jumped, startled by the sudden male voice before turning around to face the source of it. The Pok¨¦mon was some sort of red and white mushroom with a strange but familiar emblem for a cap at the top of his head and at the tip of his limbs. That emblem¡­ I¡¯ve seen it somewhere before¡­ like, it¡¯s at the tip of my tongue. ¡°Are you alright? You seemed¡­ a bit startled by something. Is everything okay?¡± He asked with his weird (and kind of disgusting) round lips.

    I stood a bit quiet, trying to come up with an excuse that would get me out of this situation. The stress was finally catching up to me so I stuttered a lot. ¡°I-I¡­ um¡­ s-sorry, I thought I s-saw¡­ something¡­¡± I started taking a couple of steps back before running away. ¡°Gotta go!!!¡±

    During my run, I was not looking at where I was going so I bumped into something- actually someone, hearing an ¡°Oof¡± from the person (or Pok¨¦mon rather). I sat on the ground and rubbed my head. ¡°Sorry, I wasn¡¯t looking where I was¡­ going?¡± I opened my eyes and saw Mikama, the badger cat, sitting on the ground as well, rubbing his chest. ¡°Oh¡­ hi Mikama.¡±

    ¡°Geez girl, you got a tough skull.¡± The badger cat (I was probably butchering what animal he resembled) said as he got up and dusted himself, putting a paw on his side. ¡°But well, congrats on finding me. It took longer than expected but alright. Have you found the others yet?¡±

    ¡°Well¡­ I¡­ I found Ta¡­ was it Taro? No wait, Tami. I found Tami already and¡­ lost to him. But I still need to find Yugu.¡± I admitted, feeling a bit ashamed of myself.

    ¡°Huh, weird. Yugu is always the first one to be found since his hiding spots are lazy.¡± Mikama shrugged. ¡°Ah well, you¡¯ll find him later, no worries. But anyways¡­¡± He got into a fighting position before fire fucking quills suddenly came out of his head and back all sizzling and sparking. ¡°You ready for the Hit ¡®n Miss?¡±

    I got a bit nervous about it since I didn¡¯t know what he could do with fire. But since I was of fire as well, it put me a little bit at ease about this. Although, it¡¯s impressive that I didn¡¯t chicken out from this game yet after I knew its dangers and all the stress I¡¯ve been through.

    Wait a second, WHY I didn¡¯t stop playing yet? I still need to figure out what the hell was that x-ray vision shit that I did!

    I wanted to just say a hard no to Mikama and just go back home to my mom so we could figure out all this mess together. But¡­ for some damn reason, I wanted to continue this game until the end. I don¡¯t know if it was the overthinking virus of my brother or this body making me think differently than usual, but for some reason, I wanted to go complete. But still¡­ why?

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯m ready.¡± I said as I got into a pouncing stance like cats do. I just hoped that I would be able to figure out how to do any fire because, if not, I just hope my claws did something useful.

    ¡­ I would fail again, wouldn¡¯t I?

    The ¡°battle¡± started with Mikama shooting a small fireball from his mouth. Thankfully the adrenaline kicked in at the same time when my brain made a simple connection of: ¡°Fireball = danger. FUCKING DODGE!!!¡± Answering the demands of my brain, I jumped out of the way of the fireball, feeling the heat brush through the fur of my tail. That was close, I almost couldn¡¯t jump out of the way in time.

    Wait, I remembered, now it was my chance to do something!

    I stomped on the ground and mustered all the intent I wanted to conjure a fireball. I could feel my entire body increase in temperature, but instead of feeling sick over this, it felt warm and comfortable. This was it, I was ready to release my first fireball!

    I opened my mouth and I could feel all the heat my body built up travel all the way to the tip of my mouth and, for some reason, the red fur of my fringe as it lit up. With one mighty blow, I sent a- ¡­ a small ember that just dissipated in the air after two seconds.

    The badger cat and I stood silent, the fire in my fringe disappearing quickly as we just stared at each other for a bit. ¡°Uh¡­¡± He started, scratching the side of his head with a paw. ¡°What was that¡­?¡±

    ¡°... I-¡± ¡®Oh for fuck¡¯s sake! I¡¯m so dumb! Why did I agree to this stupid game without knowing how to do jackshit with flames!? Now he¡¯s gonna get suspicious of me!!!¡¯ ¡°-Don¡¯t know¡­¡± I rubbed the back of my head (somehow¡­?) and looked aside. ¡°I¡­ uh¡­ to be honest, I never trained with my uh¡­ flames.¡±

    The fire quill Pok¨¦mon took a step back, flinching in surprise. ¡°WHAT!? Why!? Every fire-type Pok¨¦mon knows that their flames are important!¡±

    ¡°I- I know that and all but uh¡­¡± I stayed silent, thinking of an answer. ¡°I find my claws and teeth more reliable. Y-yep.¡±

    Ugh, if only I was a master liar like Nathan was¡­ I knew this was gonna bite me later in the ass¡­

    Mikama frowned, crossing his forearms and flattening his ears. ¡°Well, if you say so¡­ but why did you try to use your fire if you didn¡¯t train it?¡±

    I looked away again, faking embarrassment. ¡°I just didn¡¯t want to seem like a weirdo of a Pok¨¦mon for you three.¡± Technically the truth. Sure, my case was much deeper than that but it was kinda the same, right?

    The fire badger cat sighed and smiled. ¡°No need to feel nervous about us. We¡¯re a chill group and we don¡¯t judge other Pok¨¦mon based on their defects.¡± He then looked aside and mouthed something in a low voice that I wasn¡¯t able to hear correctly, only hearing the words ¡°unlike¡± and ¡°group¡±. He clenched his paws and put his arms forward again, getting into a fighting stance. ¡°Wanna keep going then¡­?¡±

    I internally sigh before getting into stance again. ¡°Yeah.¡± This time, my strategy would change to a simple: Get close and swipe. Seems easy enough, right? Right?

    I charged first, trying to get close once again. However, that was my fatal mistake as when I got a bit close, Mikama shot an almost point-blank fireball at my face, obscuring my vision in flames and forcing me to close my eyes. The sting of pain came back at full force but at the same time¡­ I almost didn¡¯t feel agony afterwards? It was a really strange sensation, smoke entered my nostrils and I could feel the smell of burning fur (somewhat), and yet, it didn¡¯t hurt that much. I opened my eyes and noticed that the flames were gone, although, I did cough a bit probably because of the smoke.

    Well, that plan certainly worked as I intended! This game was going nowhere.

    Mikama approached me, his sizzling flame quills disappearing. ¡°Hey, are you hurt?¡±

    I looked away, feeling a bit disappointed and ashamed. ¡°N-no¡­ not really¡­ not by that much, honestly.¡±

    ¡°Well, if you say so¡­¡± The badger cat looked aside and crossed his arms. ¡°Honestly, no hard feelings, but you would probably have better chances at winning battles if you trained your fire more. Like, you might be part normal, but fire is also a part of you.¡±

    I sighed and looked back at him. If only he knew the full picture¡­ ¡°Yes, I understand¡­ it¡¯s just so hard for me¡­¡±

    Mikama tilted his head. ¡°Why so¡­?¡±

    Honestly, if it was just for me, I would¡¯ve told him already. But nope, apparently I need to please Nathan¡¯s paranoia (because he also passed it on to me). Instead of coming up with an elaborate lie, I just simply replied while looking down. ¡°You wouldn¡¯t understand¡­¡±

    The badger cat Pok¨¦mon sighed. ¡°Well, it¡¯s fine if you don¡¯t wanna tell.¡± He then started walking away. ¡°Anyway, I¡¯m gonna go back to the initial spot. Hope you can find Yugu.¡± That was the last thing he said before disappearing from my sight.

    I sighed and blew my fringe away from my eyes. ¡°I hate this feeling¡­¡± I started walking again in a random direction. There was one last member of the trio to find and it was the purple cat. Mikama said that Yugu¡¯s hiding spots were lazy, but like¡­ were they, really? Maybe it was lazy for him since he knew Yugu or because he had some sort of tracking instinct or something. Unfortunately for me, I didn¡¯t know how to cat!

    I continued walking aimlessly before a recognizable lax voice could be heard at my side.

    ¡°Hey.¡±

    I looked at the source of the voice and saw Yugu standing next to me, his arms crossed while he had the same feline smirk on his face as he did our last few encounters. I flinched a little. ¡°Yugu!? Why did you reveal yourself to me?¡±

    ¡°Long story short: I got bored and went searching for you.¡± He then put one of his paws on his side. ¡°You see, I¡¯m more into the Hit ¡®n Miss part than the ¡°seek¡± part of the game if you get what I mean.¡±

    My tail lowered as I looked a bit down. ¡°You didn¡¯t come looking for me because I took too long, did I?¡±

    Yugu shrugged with a grin. ¡°Girl, I would¡¯ve come looking for you regardless if you took long or not. I do that whenever Mikama or Tami are the seekers.¡±

    ¡°Oh, I see¡­¡±

    The purple cat smirked. ¡°Anyways¡­¡± He unsheathed his claws while putting one paw on his side. ¡°Ready for our dance?¡±

    I looked at Yugu with a grimace. My brain was heavily debating if I should do this or not. One last try in proving myself that I can be a Pok¨¦mon. But another part of it was heavily deciding the opposite, saying that I should just go back home and get my bearings together because all of this was becoming too much for a single human-turned-Pok¨¦mon to endure. And eventually, I reached a decision¡­

    ¡°... no.¡±

    Yugu¡¯s smirk disappeared and was slowly replaced with a frown. ¡°What¡­?¡±

    I started taking some steps back, slowly distancing myself from Yugu, not being able to face him anymore. I felt like a coward. ¡°I¡­ I¡¯m sorry¡­ I just¡­¡± I turned away from the purple cat, starting to walk away. ¡°I just¡­ I can¡¯t do it.¡±

    ¡°Wait, Alexa, what¡¯s wrong?¡±

    I heard Yugu call for me, but I ignored him and started walking away from him. I couldn¡¯t do it. I couldn¡¯t bear to face him. I knew that if I did continue lying, I would eventually crack and tell the truth. It was always like that with my parents and my old friends¡­

    I didn¡¯t go back to the counting spot, but instead, I walked back home. However, on the way back, I saw Dad and Nathan walking out of the lift that led to the residential street, carrying some paper bags in their mouths. From the smell alone, I could already tell it was more delicious meat- ugh! No, I wouldn¡¯t let my instincts think for me!

    I groaned and walked straight towards our house. Not even acknowledging their presence when they saw me. I needed some time alone¡­

 Friends and Rivals

    I stared at my sister while she walked straight home, not even pausing to wave at us or acknowledge us. I don¡¯t know what it was, but I could tell she was frustrated at something or someone by that attitude. I sure hoped it wasn¡¯t the latter or else that would be the start of some bad words about us spreading around town.

    ¡°Wasn¡¯t thwat Awexa?¡± Dad asked muffled, trying to maintain the paper bag between his teeth as he spoke. From my angle, it looked a bit goofy. ¡°Dwidn¡¯t she see us?¡±

    ¡°Pwretty swure she dwid.¡± I respond with my voice a bit muffled as well by my own bag. ¡°She mwust be win thwat state again¡­¡±

    The pyroar sighed before walking towards our house as I followed him. While we walked to our home, I couldn¡¯t stop thinking about my sister, specifically what had gotten her to be frustrated to the point of ignoring us. If she was outside the house, that meant something happened outside, rather with herself only or involving another Pok¨¦mon. If it was the latter, I could hazard a guess on who could they be judging from yesterday¡­

    We both entered our home and dropped the bags next to the wall. Dad and I decided that those pieces of meat would be for both lunch and dinner since food is scarce and there would be no food left for breakfast until the next day (judging by the portion on how lions eat normally). It might¡¯ve been a good thing that a lot of the previous villagers left, or else having a family of four hungry lions suddenly entering the village and not working for the sake of it in less than two weeks would¡¯ve taken a toll on their food storage while also making it seem to them that we were freeloaders.

    ¡°Oh, you two are back¡­!¡±

    I looked at the source of the voice, seeing my mom approaching while her tail slowly swung behind her. She looked at us with a nervous look plastered on her face, it seemed like she saw something too embarrassing to tell or something very worrisome. ¡°So¡­ how was job hunting?¡±

    ¡°Dad messed up, and now he has to train up real hard in less than two weeks, or else he¡¯ll expose our true identities because of a single job offering he accepted.¡± I immediately stated monotonously, knowing it was better to let the cat out of the bag rather than hide the truth completely so it completely backfires on our asses later.

    Mom¡¯s eyes widened as a bit of static electricity ran through her mane. ¡°WHAT!?¡±

    Dad growled at me with a low voice. ¡°Nathan!¡± He immediately sighed before facing Mom. ¡°Look dear, I¡¯m sorry, it was a decision made out of desperation. I just thought that becoming an officer would make this place for us and the kids¡­¡±

    ¡°Yeah, sure, but like, do you KNOW how to fend off literal animals with magic at their disposal!? Do you?¡± My mom asked, the second time a bit more calm.

    Before the fire lion could respond I stepped between them and answered for Dad. ¡°Don¡¯t worry Mom, I know of a way we can get out of this situation.¡± I sat on the ground and motioned with a paw. ¡°So, remember we have less than two weeks until we find a job or get evicted from this place and forced to live in the wilds.¡±

    The luxray gulped and looked away, her tail swishing from one side to another. ¡°You don¡¯t have to tell me that twice¡­¡±

    I sighed before continuing my explanation. ¡°So here¡¯s what I¡¯ll do. After figuring out all I can on how to use our magic completely, I¡¯m going to teach Dad the strongest moves I remember that a pyroar can learn. So, when he¡¯s fully capable of joining the police, it¡¯ll be long enough before our deadline ends.¡±

    Mom stared at me for a solid second before grimacing, concern flashing on her face. ¡°Nate¡­ I know¡­ you¡¯ve been helping us A LOT getting used to this life and everything else about this insane world, but¡­ are you sure you can handle this?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, pretty sure I can.¡± I close my eyes and focus a bit of intent around my forepaw. A tingling feeling made itself present around that area, and when I opened my eyes, I saw electricity surrounding my paw. I could tell that my parents were a bit shocked judging from their reactions.

    ¡­ Sometimes I hate myself a lot.

    I raised my paw and swung it a little bit in the air, intending for the electricity to move along with it. ¡°All he needs to do is learn how to control his intent to get a hold of his moves. And like¡­¡± I put my paw on the ground again, my electricity dissipating into the air as I lose the focus of my intent. ¡°It¡¯s really easy, honestly, I managed to figure it out in less than a minute.¡±

    ¡°Well, what if it isn¡¯t easy for us?¡± Dad asked with a worried scowl on his face, his tail swaying behind him. ¡°Sure, fire accidentally appears around my mane so I can probably learn how to use it like an attack¡­ but what if it takes more than two weeks to figure out how to use my powers consistently?¡±

    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, expect us to be evicted from the village or we become pestered and used by some Pok¨¦mon because we are humans and they are famous in this world.¡± I said while looking at Dad with a serious look. ¡°Worst-case scenario is that we get kidnapped by some evil Pok¨¦mon who wants human knowledge or something like that.¡±

    The pyroar stared at me unamused. ¡°You¡¯ve been using the internet a little too much¡­¡±

    I sighed and motioned with a paw to the ceiling. ¡°Did you forget that we¡¯re in a world filled with creatures thought to be fictional? Literally, a situation like that could happen and I sure hope it doesn¡¯t.¡±

    Dad groaned softly and brushed his face with a paw. ¡°Sometimes I hate that in this situation my son is more right than me¡­¡± He murmured to himself, but because of my sharp feline hearing, I caught wind of what he said. I said nothing, only smirking subtly. ¡°So anyways, we¡¯ll start our training tomorrow, we still need to adjust to our new schedule. I hope you know how to teach me¡­¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I know what I¡¯m doing. I¡¯ll also use that opportunity to teach myself a bit more on how to control my own intent.¡± I replied while nodding slowly.

    Dad nodded back and looked at Mom. ¡°Love, I¡¯d like to speak to you a bit¡­¡±

    The luxray tilted her head. ¡°Huh? About what?¡±

    ¡°About a few things I¡¯ve decided about this new life of ours and for our future.¡± Mom nodded as the pyroar started to walk to their room, a thoughtful look in Dad¡¯s eyes.

    Mom started to follow him before she perked up and looked at me. ¡°Hey, Nate, could you check on Alexa for me? She just¡­ walked past me without saying anything. Could you talk to her to see what¡¯s wrong?¡±

    I was going to do that anyway so that wasn¡¯t a problem.

    ¡°I will, Mom.¡± With that, we both walked to our respective rooms. I expected Alexa to be in our room, but when I arrived, I saw no one there. I then looked at the other door in the corridor and approached it, but when I got close to it, I could hear some sounds akin to sobbing on the side. ¡°Hm¡­?¡± I leaned my head close to the door and pressed one of my large ears against it.

    ¡°Why¡­?¡± I heard a sniffle. ¡°I can¡¯t fit in¡­ why I can¡¯t fit in?¡±

    And with that, more sobbing could be heard afterwards. I tilted my head before calling out. ¡°Alexa? Are you in there?¡± I tried my best to not make her realize that I heard her crying.

    The sobbing then stopped and a single sniffle came out a bit afterwards. I distanced my head a bit from the door and waited a bit to open. After ten seconds or so, the door opened as the litleo dropped on all fours simultaneously. Even if the fury obscured the tears¡¯ trail, I could tell a bit by her eyes that she was crying a lot in there. ¡°Hey, Nathan¡­ you¡¯re here to use the bathroom?¡±

    ¡°No, I came here looking for you.¡± I leaned to her a bit, looking a little worried. ¡°You were crying, weren¡¯t you?¡±

    She scoffed and looked aside. ¡°Why do you suddenly care? That¡¯s not like you¡­¡±

    Suddenly, an alien urge took over my body, my next actions being purely out of instinct and I didn¡¯t even realize it. I leaned close to my sister¡¯s face and gave her a lick on her cheek. I then leaned back and smiled. ¡°I may seem like an ass most of the time, but I do care about you. You¡¯re my lil¡¯ sis after all.¡±

    Alexa stared blankly at me for a moment, blinking a bit shocked. I tilted my head before she suddenly spoke. ¡°Did you¡­ did you just fucking lick me?¡±

    I blinked before finally realizing what I had done. My eyes widened as my ears flattened in embarrassment, and my tail started to sway slightly. I looked away. ¡°I-I didn¡¯t, what are you talking about¡­?¡±

    The silence was all that was left for a small moment before a snicker came out of Alexa¡¯s mouth. She tried holding the laughter in, but more snickers kept escaping her mouth before she finally erupted into a big laugh, even falling on her side as she kept laughing. I blushed behind my fur as I said in response. ¡°This ain¡¯t funny¡­!¡±

    Her laughter died down a bit, saying between guffaws. ¡°What¡¯s wrong little kitty? Hahaha! Want a small tuna can or something, know your kind love those! Hihihi! Or do you want some chin scratches?¡± She then continued laughing even more.

    I growled a bit in annoyance as I looked at Alexa, baring my fangs unintentionally. ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to lick you, it just came out of nowhere! Seriously, I try to help you and this is how you react!?¡± Seriously, I tried my best to talk with her about what was bothering her and she just laughed at my face? Even transformed, she was still a pain¡­

    I groaned before beginning to turn away. However, before I could, I felt a paw tug at my tail, a bizarre sensation going through my spine. I looked back and saw my sister smile at me, the laughter fully absent from her body. I could tell that it wasn¡¯t a smug and sarcastic smile, it was genuine.

    ¡°Honestly bro¡­ thanks. I¡­ really needed that laugh.¡± She said as she let go of my tail. I turned to her and tilted my head in confusion. She sighed and looked aside. ¡°Right, you came because you were worried. I¡¯ll give you an explanation.¡± She flicked her head, throwing her red fringe to the side. ¡°So¡­ you remember the trio we met yesterday? The rodent, the cat, and the cat badger guy?¡±

    I nodded. I don¡¯t really remember their names correctly, just that one of them was called Yugu or something close to that. Or¡­ was it Yugi? Like I said, I barely remember their names correctly. ¡°Yeah, I remember them. Are they the reason why Dad and I saw you enter home without even wanting to wave at us?¡±

    Alexa rubbed the back of her head with a paw. ¡°Um¡­ not really. It was more like¡­ a realization that I had while playing with them.¡± I tilted my head at that, the litleo noticing my confusion. ¡°So¡­ they kinda invited me to play a game with them, and I accepted it.¡± She started frowning. ¡°But¡­ the more I played with them, the more I realized that I was just not good enough at the game and not good enough at pretending to be a Pok¨¦mon to have friends like them. And then there was that weird¡­¡± She trailed off, suddenly pausing to think about her words. ¡°N-nevermind.¡± She then buried her mouth in her paws. ¡°I was just overwhelmed with frustration that I kinda just¡­ ran away from them without giving them a proper explanation¡­¡± Alexa¡¯s eyes darted back to me. ¡°I just really wished I could¡¯ve told them the truth¡­¡±

    I paused to analyze her words for a moment, humming in thought. It seemed she really wasn¡¯t taking her new life well¡­ I should¡¯ve realized sooner because of that outburst she had earlier this morning. I would¡¯ve stuck with her if Dad wasn¡¯t so adamant about making him help me find a job around this village.

    I sighed and approached Alexa, putting a paw on her back as I sat on the ground. ¡°Look sis, I¡¯m sorry you had to go through that. I would let you tell them, but we really can¡¯t trust anyone with our secret, or at least¡­ not right now.¡± I started to brush her fur a little. ¡°We need to wait a little bit to see if we can trust them or not, alright?¡±

    My sister sighed and nodded. ¡°Yeah, I get it¡­¡±

    I took my paw off her back and walked a bit away from her. ¡°Anyways, I¡¯ve decided what we should do after lunch.¡± I looked back at her with a smile. ¡°Let¡¯s go to those three so you can properly apologize and we can talk things out, together, alright?¡±

    Alexa perked up as she got up. ¡°Really? You¡¯re gonna be with me so we can talk to them?¡±

    I nodded. ¡°Yeah, like I have anything better to do in the afternoon. Besides, better have some friends rather than none, right?¡±

    Suddenly, Alexa wrapped her forelegs around my neck, trying her best to hug me. ¡°Thank you, ya big kitty bro!¡±

    I smirked a bit as I replied. ¡°Don¡¯t forget you¡¯re a small kitten too.¡±

    ¡°At least I don¡¯t have the urge to lick others like you do, heh!¡± The litleo replied back, releasing me from the hug and grinning.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, you¡¯ll get that instinct sometime too.¡± I said before starting to walk to the living room. ¡°Let¡¯s go eat now, shall we? I¡¯m starting to get hungry.¡±

    Alexa deflated instantly, a grimace flashing on her face as she started walking. ¡°Ugh, I don¡¯t wanna eat raw fucking meat again¡­¡±

    You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

    I looked back at her and asked. ¡°Is it the taste of it that you don¡¯t like or¡­¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s the concept! Like, we¡¯re eating raw meat freshly skinned from some kind of Pok¨¦mon we don¡¯t know of and we don¡¯t get sick? And then there¡¯s blood all over it and like¡­ ugh, it¡¯s so disgusting!¡± Alexa complained cringing just by speaking about the meat.

    As we got to the living room, I said trying to gather a bit more info on her thoughts. ¡°Describe the taste and then tell me if it¡¯s good or not.¡±

    As I went to grab the bags, the litleo began. ¡°Well, it¡¯s obviously¡­ um¡­¡± She looked down and thought about it more. ¡°It¡¯s¡­ soft and tender like I¡¯m biting down into a more sugary bread with a¡­ tasty juice inside of it¡­¡± She groaned. ¡°I don¡¯t get it! I¡¯m supposed to be absolutely disgusted by just thinking about it, this body is influencing my brain even more!¡± As grabbed one of the bags, she asked me. ¡°Are you really sure we aren¡¯t changing slowly over time and turning even more feral? You did just lick me after all¡­¡±

    I dropped the bags in front of her and sighed. ¡°No Alexa, we aren¡¯t.¡± I sat on the ground and a certain itch appeared on one of my ears, prompting one of my forepaws to brush it. ¡°I told you, different bodies, different instincts, urges, and small thoughts. We¡¯re not gonna turn into feral savage beasts. If that was the case, every Pok¨¦mon here would be one and there¡¯d be no village or a town.¡±

    ¡°It honestly feels like you¡¯re sugarcoating things just to not scare me¡­¡± Alexa said with an annoyed frown.

    ¡°Please, you know that between the four of us, I¡¯m the one that¡¯s always honest, no matter how dark shit gets.¡± I said before tearing the bag and letting the pieces of meat fall onto each other, their attractive and delicious smell prompting me to lunge forward and devour them. However, I resisted the temptation. ¡°One piece is big enough to satisfy the both of us for lunch.¡±

    The litleo nodded slowly, a bit of drool being seen coming out of her mouth as she inhaled the smell. ¡°Mhm¡­¡±

    We then chowed down on our pieces, just letting instinct control our bodies as we ate flesh and blood like actual lions would, not even chewing with our mouths closed. I got what Alexa was trying to say and why it was concerning to her, it would¡¯ve concerned me as well if I didn¡¯t know the nature of intelligent Pok¨¦mon with the PMD games¡¯ knowledge.

    After finishing our meal, I licked my own lips, feeling the taste of blood along with my fur. I could see that Alexa was also doing the same with her bloodied lips. At this point, I could feel that the blood didn¡¯t disgust her as much as it did yesterday, but I could still see a small grimace and cringe after eating the meat.

    ¡°Blergh, I¡¯m never gonna get used to this shit¡­¡± Alexa said after she got out of her trance, wiping the remains of blood off her face.

    ¡°You will at some point after you get used to it.¡± I said before getting my attention diverted to the sound of a door opening and seeing Mom and Dad step out of their room. I turned to them and spoke, wanting to get out of the house as soon as possible so we could solve Alexa¡¯s friend issue ASAP. ¡°We already ate our fill, we¡¯re going out now.¡±

    Mom tilted her head inquisitively and bit confused. ¡°What? Why?¡±

    ¡°Um¡­ we¡¯re just gonna fix some stuff with our new acquaintances, it won¡¯t take too long.¡± Alexa responded, a little nervous about our parents not letting us go.

    The pyroar sighed as he approached the two remaining pieces of meat on the floor. ¡°Alright, just don¡¯t stay out until night or stray out of the village. You know how your mother worries a lot for you kids, even a bit too much at times.¡±

    Mom turned to Dad annoyedly. ¡°What!? No, I don¡¯t! After all, I let Nate hang out with his friends every day!¡±

    Alexa smirked. ¡°Mom, remember the cake incident on my tenth birthday?¡±

    The luxray looked away a bit in embarrassment. Ah, the cake incident, the day that Mom drove all the way to the bakery to grab Alexa¡¯s surprise birthday cake herself because she thought that the bakery had forgotten to deliver it since the pastry was taking a bit too long to arrive. But of course, when Mom got there, the baker said that the cake had already been delivered. What actually happened was that the guy delivering the cake got caught in a traffic jam caused by an accident on the streets.

    The reason why I knew all of that was because she forced me to come with her to hold the cake when we took it. So basically, all of that trip happened because she worried too much.

    ¡°You¡¯re never letting that go, aren¡¯t you?¡± Mom asked Alexa.

    ¡°Why should I? It was really funny when Nathan told me!¡± She responded with a grin.

    I rolled my eyes. ¡°It was more of a hassle for me, but whatever.¡± I said before starting to walk towards the door. ¡°Let¡¯s go, Alexa, we can¡¯t keep them waiting forever.¡±

    ¡°Coming!¡± I heard her say as I opened the door and walked past it, hearing my sister¡¯s footsteps behind me and Dad munching loudly on his food.

    <hr>

    My tongue smacked against my lips, hydrating them a little since I felt them get a bit dry. The heat wasn¡¯t really helping¡­

    Alexa and I were on the search for the trio composed of a hamster, a cat, and a badger cat¡­ thing? Honestly, to this day I still don¡¯t know what animal the cyndaquill line is based on. I just know that cyndaquill is an echidna of sorts, but everything else is just a bust.

    It has been a hot minute since we started looking for them, but even if Alexa pointed out places she thought they could be after their play session, we weren¡¯t able to spot them in the residential area. I then suggested looking in the commercial area since we couldn¡¯t find them in the residential area.

    This was then that I realized that this was either going to be a long search or a useless one because they might¡¯ve gone to their home just to eat lunch or something. After all, from what I could¡¯ve seen, the sun just moved slightly from its peak, meaning that it was still midday.

    The commercial area was still full of Pok¨¦mon in terms of a small village. Sure, they say that they lost a lot of citizens because most of them moved out to live in the city, but still, there was still a lot of Pok¨¦mon, from gumshoos to a metagross even. That got a slight reaction out of me.

    I¡¯ve decided to make a stop in the search to drink some water from the river, my sister following me in my steps. Once she gulped down her fill, Alexa asked with a sigh, her tail moving a little out of annoyance. ¡°Where could they have gone to? I didn¡¯t take that long to come back for them, did I?¡±

    I gulped down the last sip I¡¯d taken and responded. ¡°Not really. Judging from when I saw you go back home for us to be leaving, that was probably in under an hour. If they stopped to eat lunch or a snack, they would¡¯ve eaten lunch and gone back to playing, unless they eat at a different time.¡±

    ¡°Still, something just doesn¡¯t feel right to me¡­ I can¡¯t explain but it¡¯s like¡­ I dunno, feline-related feeling maybe?¡± Alexa asked with a tilt of her head.

    ¡°That could be it-¡± As I glanced to the side, I saw a familiar purple-furred figure along with two other familiar figures beside them, all of them standing on the other side of the river next to the bridge. As I squinted my eyes, I noticed the purple figure was a purrloin and the two other figures beside them were a quilava and a pawmi. I tilted my head and asked out loud. ¡°Isn¡¯t that them?¡±

    Alexa looked in the same direction, her eyes widening a little bit. ¡°It is!¡±

    The litleo then ran off to the bridge, apparently already having full control over her new legs. ¡°Hey! Wait up!¡± I shouted as I followed her, trying to keep the same pace as her. We both crossed the bridge and stopped right behind the trio. I panted a bit, looking at Alexa a bit annoyedly. ¡°Don¡¯t go¡­ running off like that, okay!?¡±

    She rolled her eyes. ¡°Sorry.¡± She then looked back at the trio in front of us, all three Pok¨¦mon having their attention turned to us. For some reason, they had a frown on their faces, the purrloin having his arms crossed as his tail wagged. ¡°Hey guys, sorry I ran off like that!¡± Alexa said apologetically.

    Yugu, if I¡¯m remembering correctly, looked aside a bit awkwardly. ¡°Uh¡­ if you came here to apologize for that, you kinda came at a not-so-great time¡­¡±

    I tilted my head in confusion. ¡°Why¡­?¡±

    The pawmi glanced away. ¡°Well¡­¡±

    ¡°What unexpected guests we have here¡­¡±

    A sudden female voice made all of us turn to the source of it. Past Yugu and the others, another trio was standing there, looking at us like they owned the place from how sassy their vibes and looks were. Their group was composed of a floragato, a snivy, and a nidorina, all of them being female. The reason I could tell the floragato and the snivy¡¯s gender was because I realized that my mom and Alexa had this sort of smell in them, that distinguishes them from male Pok¨¦mon.

    I just hoped that smell wasn¡¯t what I was thinking of¡­

    The floragato took a step forward, giving a scanning glance at me and Alexa. From the color of their eyes, fur, and natural weapon, I could tell that she was a shiny. ¡°And who might you two be?¡±

    I was already having bad vibes coming from her, from her sassy disposition and tone of voice. Yeah, she felt like those kinds of people. ¡°The name¡¯s Nathan and this is Alexa, my sister.¡±

    Alexa tilted her head. ¡°Uh¡­ hi?¡±

    She looked at us both up and down again before huffing. ¡°Hmph, can tell from the smell alone you¡¯re outsiders. Weak outsiders.¡±

    The nidorina chuckled a little. ¡°You guys have the look of wild ¡®mons but probably deep inside you both can¡¯t do any moves.¡±

    The snivy smirked smugly as she put both grassy hands on her side. ¡°Your parents must be sooo disappointed in both of you, just like these three dumb weaklings.¡±

    Tami and Mikama looked aside in shame while Yugu just kept his arm crossed, his frown not leaving his face. Yep, not even a minute had passed since I saw them and I already hated all three of them. ¡°If you excuse me, can I ask why the hell being weak is an insult to you three?¡±

    ¡°Hmph.¡± The grass cat crossed her arms and spoke. ¡°If you haven¡¯t understood now, you¡¯re far too naive. This is a world where the strong thrive and crush the weak Pok¨¦mon beneath them. If you¡¯re weak, the strong will eat you alive and you have no chance of fighting back.¡± Her ears suddenly flickered and she looked aside at a rustling bush. I looked at it too, seeing something move between the leaves. The floragato sniffed a bit and grabbed her flower yoyo. ¡°For example¡­¡±

    Suddenly, she launched her yoyo towards the bush, startling my sis a little and making her jump back a bit from the sudden movement. After the string from the yoyo suddenly stopped enlarging, she pulled the string and her natural weapon came back with a Pok¨¦mon wrapped around the wire. It was a pachirisu, however, from its disheveled fur and the empty look in its eyes just like the mankey from before, I could tell that this Pok¨¦mon was a wild one. ¡°That¡¯s a¡­¡±

    The floragato continued as she held the struggling electric squirrel in her paw. The pachirisu tried shocking her, but all his electricity did was just make her fur stand up a little, not even making her flinch. ¡°As you can see, this pachirisu here is trying his best to get out of my claw. Clawing, shocking, anything to keep itself out of danger and alive. However¡­ there¡¯s one thing holding it back¡­ it¡¯s weak. ¡± She leaned her head closer to the pachirisu. ¡°And what does nature do to weaklings?¡±

    My eyes widened a bit at the scene. ¡®Don¡¯t tell me she¡¯s about to-¡¯

    Before I could even finish my thoughts, the floragato bit down on the pachirisu¡¯s torso and ripped out its guts, killing the electric squirrel almost instantly. I could hear my sister gasp beside me and noticed a bit of reaction from Yugu and his friends, hell even my stomach clenched a little from that scene. I was a bit disgusted, only a bit because I knew this was how things worked back in my world as well. A cat eating a rodent was nothing new to me, but a sentient cat doing that? Yeah, that was pushing it a little, even for me as well.

    The floragato distanced her head from the pachirisu, her mouth occupied holding the bloodied entrails of the rodent, her muzzle now stained red. Instead of eating it, she spat it to the side, still holding the bleeding Pok¨¦mon on her paw. That wasn¡¯t even her meal¡­ it was just a demonstration. ¡°Now you know why weak Pok¨¦mon are only used as tools and food for strong Pok¨¦mon.¡±

    Before I could say anything in response, I heard my sister gagging on something. I turned to her before I saw her literally vomit in disgust, throwing up all of her lunch mixed with water. Great, now I had to endure a greater stench because of my improved nose¡­

    After she was done, she muttered, looking a little light-headed. ¡°Urgh, fuck me¡­¡±

    ¡°Alexa!¡± Tami shouted in concern while I went I started to check on her, and the pawmi doing the same. It seemed that he cared a bit about her¡­

    Yugu tilted his head in confusion. ¡°Did she-¡±

    ¡°Did she really just vomit just because you ripped the guts of a pachirisu off?¡± I turn to the other trio and see the snivy talking with a smirk on her face. ¡°Wow, for a litleo, she might be the weakest out there.¡±

    The floragato sighed as she threw the corpse of the pachirisu away. ¡°Another one that¡¯ll succumb to be a tool for the strong to toy with.¡±

    Mikama crossed his arms and glared at the floragato, his head fire quills flaring up a little. ¡°Okay Zamia, you¡¯re going a little too far now.¡±

    The floragato, now named Zamia, looked at the quilava and put her paw on her side. ¡°What? Are you feeling pity for ferals now? Tsk, typical weakling behavior¡­ but anyways, down to business.¡± She then looked at the purrloin. ¡°So, have you and your team trained for the Mystery Dungeon, Mr. Slacker?¡±

    Yugu smiled a bit nervously, his tail swaying a little. ¡°Yep¡­ we¡¯ve been training alright, we¡¯re gonna prove to you that we¡¯re not the weaklings you and your friends claim us to be, alright?¡±

    Zamia crossed her arms. ¡°Hmph, good. Remember, you have until next week to prepare for the day. If you fail and the dungeon teleports you out of it with all of you three defeated, you will be considered weak in our eyes and will be our new tools.¡± She motioned for the snivy and the nidorina to follow her, saying their names respectively. ¡°Hermas, Sidra, let¡¯s go.¡± As they walked past me, I glared at them while the floragato glared back at me. And just for one last fuck you, she said. ¡°Keep your sister under control next time. I don¡¯t want her vomiting all over me.¡±

    They sassily walked away, leaving all five of us staring at them. ¡®Welp, now I know on who to discount my anger if they mess with me or Alexa.¡¯

    Suddenly, the purrloin sighed. ¡°Not even two weeks of being in this village and of course you meet her of all ¡®mons¡­¡±

    Tami fiddled with his paws. ¡°I¡¯m sorry you had to go through that, we didn¡¯t want to drag you to this mess¡­¡± He then grimaced. ¡°Now they see you as new targets¡­¡±

    Alexa coughed a bit before wiping her mouth with a paw, responding afterwards. ¡°It¡¯s fine¡­ we¡¯re used to pieces of shit like that in our wor- I mean, from our old town. We¡¯ll survive her, not like we¡¯re in the same school as her.¡±

    Mikama put a paw on his chin, stroking it a bit. ¡°By the way¡­ why did you vomit out of nowhere? It was almost like you were disgusted by the way Zamia killed that pachirisu.¡±

    The pawmi looked at the puddle of puke. tilted his head. ¡°I thought you¡¯d be used to seeing organs and raw meat by now.¡±

    I tensed up a little, realizing they could potentially discover our identities by that moment. Before my sister could respond, I spoke for her. ¡°Sorry about that. She¡¯s, um, sick. Yeah, she¡¯s sick.¡± I looked at her. ¡°And I fear that¡¯s only getting worse if she keeps going out¡­¡±

    Alexa, thankfully, got the hint and continued our lie. ¡°Y-yeah! I need to get better soon so maybe I should stay home for a bit¡­!¡± I could hear some leftover bitterness in her voice.

    Yugu crossed his arms. ¡°If you got poisoned on the way here¡­ don¡¯t you have pecha berries at home?¡±

    I shook my head. ¡°Nope, we¡­ we ran out of them.¡± It was getting a bit more difficult to lie this consistently so I decided to change the subject. ¡°A-anyways¡­ what was that about that Zamia girl saying about a Mystery Dungeon?¡±

    The purrloin sighed and started explaining. ¡°So, we and Zamia go a bit back. She wasn¡¯t usually like this, she was mostly pretty chill, although a bit quiet. But¡­ after she evolved¡­ she suddenly changed for the worst.¡±

    Mikama put a paw on his side and looked away. ¡°Yeah. She suddenly became obsessed with being strong. It got to a point where most of her free time was just training, and because of that, she became the strongest in our school.¡±

    A bit of static was released from Tami¡¯s cheeks. ¡°Not only that but she got surrounded by those other two, training with her to become even more strong!¡±

    ¡°And the way that ties back into us three is that she recently decided to put us through a test to decide if we are weak or not. And that challenge was to beat one of the nearest Mystery Dungeons.¡± Yugu finished with a sigh.

    ¡°So basically, she wants to test you, and if she decides you three are weak, you become bully targets for her?¡± I asked and received a nod in confirmation. ¡°Yeah, heard about similar shit back where we come from.¡±

    The pawmi turned to the purple cat and asked. ¡°Yugu, should we actually train instead of playing all day? I don¡¯t feel ready to tackle a mystery dungeon yet¡­¡±

    The purrloin waved it off with a paw. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we should be able to do it. The dungeon is known for having mostly bug and grass types so Mikama can take out most of them.¡±

    ¡°I dunno if just having a fire type is enough, what if they overwhelm us in numbers?¡± Tami asked a bit concerned.

    I started thinking for a moment¡­ should I help them out or not? Well, I knew that when they wandered into the dungeon, I¡¯d either be training with Dad or be bored with nothing else to do. However, something clicked in my head. First: now it¡¯s confirmed that Mystery Dungeons exist in this world. Second: I¡¯d be entering one for the first time to help them out.

    However, if I don¡¯t go, a bad possible timeline could happen that they fail and become Zamia¡¯s new targets. And since they are acquainted with Alexa, she could also become her target and she wouldn¡¯t be able to fight back¡­

    With a heavy sigh, I took a step forward and spoke. ¡°I¡¯ll help you in the dungeon.¡±