The air in the Sinnoh Region didn't just smell like oxygen; it smelled like adventure, damp earth, and—if you were standing in the wrong part of Eterna Forest—vaguely like wet Bug-type Pokémon.
In the heart of this emerald labyrinth, where the trees grew so thick they seemed to be whispering secrets to one another, the reality of space-time decided to take a very sudden, very violent nap.
A jagged rift, glowing with a hue that defied the natural spectrum, tore open in mid-air. The local Kricketot stopped their rhythmic chirping. A group of Starly took one look at the shimmering tear in reality and collectively decided that today was a fantastic day to migrate elsewhere.
Then, with a sound like a wet sponge being stepped on, a boy tumbled out of the rift. He hit the mossy ground with a dull thud, groaning as the rift snapped shut behind him, leaving nothing but a few swirling leaves and a very confused Burmy hanging from a nearby branch.
Julian Reed—formerly of a quiet suburban neighborhood with a functioning Wi-Fi connection and zero wild monsters—lay facedown in the dew.
"Ugh... did anyone catch the license plate on that truck?" Julian mumbled into the dirt.
His head felt like a Magikarp was using his brain for Splash practice. He pushed himself up, blinking against the dappled sunlight filtering through the massive canopy. The scent hit him first—the overwhelming, crisp fragrance of a world that didn't have a single smog-spewing factory within a hundred miles.
"Am I dreaming?" he whispered, patting his pockets. He was still in his comfortable hoodies and cargo pants. "I was literally just watching a rerun of the Indigo League. I remember Ash was losing... again... and I drifted off."
He pinched his arm. Hard.
"Ow! Mother of Arceus!" He hissed, rubbing the red mark. "Okay. Not a dream. Either I've had a very specific mental breakdown, or I've just been 'Isekai'd' into a lawsuit-protected fantasy world."
He stood up, shaking the leaves off his jacket, and immediately locked eyes with something dangling from a silk thread three feet away. It was a bundle of green leaves with a pair of vacant, yellow eyes staring directly into his soul.
"Is that... a Burmy?"
The Pokémon just swayed slightly in the breeze. Stare.
"Right. Okay. Julian, stay calm. You are in the Pokémon world. This is every kid's dream. Except those kids usually have a backpack, a map, and a Professor giving them a fire-breathing lizard. I have... a headache and a very judgmental bag of leaves."
Julian realized with a jolt of anxiety that the "real" Pokémon world wasn't a 2D sprite game. Those trees were massive. Those shadows were deep. And he didn't have the "Super-Human" physique of the anime protagonists who could survive being struck by lightning or charred by a Charizard. If a Beedrill decided his face looked like a target, it was game over.
"Move quiet, Julian. Move smart," he muttered to himself, channel-hopping his inner survivalist. "Find a road. Find a town. Avoid anything with 'Rage' or 'Hyper Beam' in its move set."
He began to trek through the underbrush, trying his best to look like a bush himself. Every crack of a twig made him jump three feet into the air. He was about forty minutes into his "masterful" stealth mission when he heard it.
"Pei... Pei..."
Julian froze. He ducked behind a massive cedar tree, his heart hammering against his ribs like a Hitmonchan. "Please don't be a Pinsir, please don't be a Pinsir," he prayed.
He peeked around the bark. There, lying in a patch of dirt, was a tiny, white creature. It had a small, yellow ring on its head, but something was wrong. It looked pathetic—shriveled and exhausted, like a battery at 1%.
"A Flabébé?" Julian whispered.
His brain searched through years of Poké-nerd trivia. Flabébé were Fairy-types. They were supposed to be attached to a flower. Without one, they lost their vitality. This one was "naked," so to speak. It was dying.
Julian's fear of being eaten was suddenly overridden by his soft spot for anything that looked like a damp marshmallow. He stepped out from behind the tree.
"Hey there, little one," he said, using the same voice he used to talk to his neighbor's Golden Retriever. "Easy now. I'm a friend. Well, I'm a confused tourist, but I'm a nice one."
The Flabébé looked up. Its tiny eyes went wide. Suddenly, it gathered every ounce of its remaining strength and launched itself at Julian's face like a tiny, heat-seeking missile.
"Whoa! Tactical nuke!" Julian yelped, stumbling back.
The Flabébé missed, tumbling into the grass with a weak thump. It looked at Julian with a mixture of suspicion and desperate longing, pointing a tiny finger at his head.
"My head? What? Is there a Spinarak on me?" Julian panicked, frantically clawing at his hair. His fingers brushed against something soft and velvety. He pulled it away.
In his hand was a brilliant, sapphire-blue flower. It must have fallen from a tree or through the rift when he landed, catching in his messy hair.
"Wait... you want this?"
The Flabébé's eyes lit up. It was practically vibrating.
"Oh! This is your flower! Or at least, a flower you can bond with. Here, sorry for the accidental theft." Julian knelt down and held out the blue bloom on his palm.
The tiny Pokémon didn't hesitate. It dove into the petals, clutching the yellow ring to the flower's center. A soft, pinkish glow radiated from its body. Its shriveled form filled out, its colors brightened, and it did a joyful loop-de-loop in the air.
"Pei-Pei! Flabé!"
"You're welcome," Julian laughed, feeling a genuine surge of relief. "You're a lot cuter when you aren't dying. Anyway, I've got to find civilization. Do you know where the nearest town is? Somewhere with a burger place and a bed?"
The Flabébé tilted its head and blinked. It shook its head.
"Great. Water? Berries? A map?"
Again, the Flabébé shook its head, looking entirely too happy for someone who was lost in a death-forest.
"You're a local! How do you not know where the snacks are?" Julian sighed, rubbing his temples. "Whatever. I'll just keep walking in this direction. I've seen enough movies to know that if you walk in a straight line, you eventually hit a road or a sequel."
He turned to leave, but felt a tiny weight land on top of his head. The Flabébé had tucked its flower right back into Julian's hair, settling in like it had just found a first-class seat.
"Oh, so we're a team now?" Julian asked, a grin tugging at his lips. "I'm Julian. And since you're hanging out on my head, I guess you're my navigator. Just... don't use me as a bathroom, okay?"
"Pei!"
An hour later, Julian's "straight line" had led him through three thorn bushes and one very muddy stream. His legs were screaming.
"I take it back," Julian gasped, leaning against a mossy rock. "The Pokémon world is a scam. It's 90% walking and 10% trying not to die. Where are the flying taxis when you need one?"
The Flabébé on his head suddenly perked up. It flew down, pointing its tiny flower toward a dense thicket of brambles.
"You found something? Is it a Starbucks?"
He pushed through the leaves and stopped dead. It wasn't a coffee shop, but it was beautiful. Before him lay a hidden meadow, a sea of wildflowers in every color imaginable. Butterfree danced in the air, their wings scattering shimmering scales. A group of Oddish were buried up to their leaves, soaking in the sun, while a Mothim fluttered lazily between blossoms.
"Whoa..." Julian breathed. "Okay. TV didn't do this justice. This is... incredible."
The scent was intoxicating—sweet, fresh, and calming. On the edge of the field stood a small, gnarled tree heavy with round, blue fruit.
"Oran Berries!" Julian cheered. He scrambled over, plucking two of the citrus-like fruits. He handed one to his tiny companion. "Here, feast like a king... or a queen? Whatever you are."
The Flabébé didn't wait. It buried its face in the berry, juice spraying everywhere.
"Hey! Watch the jacket! This is my only one!" Julian laughed, wiping a blue smudge off his cheek. "You're a total glutton, you know that? I bet you just followed the smell of the flowers and I was just the taxi service."
The Flabébé ignored him, too busy vibrating with sugary joy.
Julian took a bite of his own berry. It was tart, cool, and instantly made his tired muscles feel a bit better. For a moment, it was peaceful. He was in a beautiful meadow with a new friend, eating magical fruit.
Then, the world decided to remind him that Eterna Forest was a dangerous place.
ROAR.
The sound wasn't a chirp or a buzz. It was a guttural, vibrating bass that shook the very ground Julian was sitting on.
A flock of Starly exploded from the trees in a panicked cloud. The Oddish uprooted themselves and waddled away at record speeds. The Butterfree vanished into the canopy.
"That... that sounded like something with a lot of teeth," Julian whispered, his blood turning to ice.
He didn't wait to see what it was. He scooped the half-eaten Oran Berry and the startled Flabébé into his arms and bolted toward the treeline. But he was too slow.
The bushes at the edge of the meadow shattered like glass as a massive silhouette burst through. It was easily six feet tall, covered in a rocky, slate-gray hide. Two massive, wickedly sharp horns protruded from its snout, and its eyes were glowing with a primal, territorial rage.
Julian skidded to a halt, his sneakers kicking up dirt.
"You've got to be kidding me," Julian choked out, his eyes wide. "A Rhydon? Here? In the middle of a flower field?!"
The Rhydon lowered its head, its heavy tail smashing a nearby rock into pebbles. It let out another deafening roar, its gaze locking onto the "intruder" holding a very bright, very visible blue flower.
Julian looked at the beast, then at the tiny, shivering Flabébé in his hands.
"Okay, Flabébé," Julian whispered, his legs trembling. "If you know any 'once-in-a-lifetime' legendary moves... now would be a really great time to use them."
The Rhydon charged.