Growing Up in a New World

Day three

I was running through a forest, but I wasn’t a Sceptile this time. I was a Treecko, but still surprisingly fast, and Jasper was following me. The forest in my dream began to look more and more like the aspen forest… until eventually, one tree turned red, then another, then another… and I lost Jasper...

Trees were collapsing behind me as I ran and ran and ran, until…

I screamed as I woke up. I was lying near the roots of an oak tree, facing towards the charred remains of the aspen forest. I then suddenly remembered the previous day…

“Are you alright?” the Staraptor asked.

“No…” I muttered weakly. I was trapped under a branch, so burned it was almost like charcoal. My hand was almost in reach of the thunder stone.

The Staraptor carefully lifted up the branch.

“Hold on!” he exclaimed, as he prepared to lift me up in his talons.

“But what about…”

“You’ll have to leave the stone behind.”

I hoped that stone was fireproof… but that wasn’t what was important. What was important was that I was being saved.

From the air, the burnt forest looked almost unrecognisable. The air was so thick with ash that I could barely make anything out, even when my eyes were covered by… what were they called again? Oh, yeah, nictitating membranes.

“Thank you…” I whispered.

…It was hard to think about. If I could cry, I would’ve cried tears of joy when I was reunited with Jasper. But I couldn’t.

“Bandit, are you okay?” asked Jasper. He seemed surprisingly calm about the whole situation – maybe it was his optimism? Or maybe it was because he helped saved the forest.

“Oh, I was just thinking about yesterday,” I said.

Whatever the reason, I couldn’t help but admire Jasper’s organisation skills. I heard that he, with the help of that Azumarill, helped organise the search-and-rescue yesterday. If it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t be here now.

Humans were amazing. They taught Pokémon of different species to work together. They had built things that a Pokémon could only dream of. I’ve heard of some things called “video games” – just imagine, a story that you control yourself!

So why were there no humans here?

There were more important things than the lack of humans, though, like the vast field of charcoal that was once the aspen forest. A few trees were still standing, and Jasper almost fell asleep under one, but I told him not to, just in case they collapsed.

If I was a Sceptile, I could help replant this forest, but I wasn’t a Sceptile, and I’m still not. I considered talking to some other Grass-types later.

“Bandit,” said Jasper. “I was just thinking… I saw someone I recognised the other day, or at least I think I did.”

“Who?” I asked.

“I was just about to say!” he snapped. “It was Coco, a Skitty I know. At least, I think it is…”

“And?”

“I’d like to go look for her.”

“Go ahead.”

Jasper and I stared at each other for a moment.

“What, were you expecting me to come with you?” I asked.

“Yes, actually,” he replied.

I followed Jasper around the tree city, looking for this Skitty. I would have liked to climb the trees, but they were spaced too far apart for me to jump between them. While we still got a few odd looks, the locals seemed not nearly as wary of Pokémon as they were before. Eventually, we came across a Deerling, who looked like she was pacing nervously.

“H-hello,” she said, quietly, to Jasper. “You must b-be the one who organised the forest rescue…”

“True,” replied Jasper, “but I couldn’t have done it without everyone else. Also, I think whoever was giving the speech mentioned you…”

“Ilex,” the Deerling said. “His n-name is Ilex, and he’s my friend…”

“Oh, okay, that’s nice to know,” said Jasper. “Anyway, we’re looking for a Skitty – seen any around here?”

“Y-yes…” said the Deerling. “Just outside that tree… Ilex lives there.” She pointed, then started talking quieter. “He said he was going to school today, but I thought school was a human thing… though I don’t know much about humans.”

Jasper thanked the Deerling, then headed towards the tree she pointed to. The tree in question was hollow, and I saw a few windows in it. Strange.

We looked around the roots of the tree, in opposite directions. I didn’t find anything on my side, besides a stick I decided to keep, but I heard Jasper gasp.

“Coco? Is that you?” he exclaimed. I went to see what had happened, and I noticed that Jasper had found that Skitty he was talking about, and a Pichu.

“Should I recognise you?” the Skitty, whose name was apparently Coco, mumbled, boredly. Jasper then spend a good minute or so trying to prove his identity, before the Pichu interrupted him.

“Jasper!” the Pichu exclaimed. “Is that really you?”

“Of course it’s me!” Jasper replied. “On this night, a star shines bright, a great legend is made…”

“…As long as you remember her, she’ll never truly fade,” replied the Pichu. Apparently, these two had some shared interest in poetry.

“So it really is you, Tyler!” exclaimed Jasper. He was about to introduce me to Coco and Tyler, when we were interrupted by a voice from nowhere.

“Greetings citizens of Equus, both old and new.”

We all looked around, trying to see where it came from, before we realised that the voice was telepathic.

”I am Lord Arceus, creator of the creatures that you have seen over the past few days. You have no reason to fear me for I come in peace. I am the one who brought the creatures you see to this world, they are known as Pokémon.”

I held the stick in both of my hands, instead of just one.

“I have my reasons for bringing them here, I will be holding a summit with the world's leaders so that they can help inform their citizens the best. For now I issue a warning; Even if some do not appear as such, the Pokémon are just as intelligent as any other creature that calls this world home. Since they are MY subjects I will not tolerate their mistreatment or abuse. Treat them as you would your own neighbour.”

I started bending the stick. Why didn’t this “Arceus” person tell everyone that in the first place?

“Pokemon who have awoken in this new world, do not seek to harm the natives of this world. To the Pokémon that experienced certain... Changes... when you arrived; you are the ones who proved that not all of your kind deserved vengeful retribution, consider this your reward. To live new lives, free of the burdens of the old world, a chance to start anew. As sentient beings of varying intelligence, the laws of the respective countries you now reside in apply to you, and only those laws.”

I snapped the stick in half, then threw it on the ground. Separating families and changing their appearances so they won’t recognise each other counts as a “reward” now? And worse still, ARCEUS did this? Why?

Humans were amazing. They taught Pokémon of different species to work together, they built things a Pokémon could only dream of… why would anyone want to take that all away?
“That is all for now, the Pokémon are not to be harmed simply out of spite. If you have any qualms with what I have done, I reside in a temple located within the Everfree Forest and welcome all who would like to speak, or a pocket dimension outside of the space time continuum, so if any of you wish to face the sheer power of a god, feel free to come by.”

“That’s it,” I snapped. “Does anyone know where this Everfree Forest place is? Anyone at all?”

Jasper put a hand on my shoulder. “Bandit,” he said, “I don’t think trying to confront Arceus is a good idea. And besides… that Everfree place could be dangerous.”

I remembered hearing someone mention the “Everfree Forest” the other day, which was apparently full of monsters.

But still… I had to do something about this!