A Ribombee’s Arrival

A Clover Guild Story
By Ribombee-anon

Chapter 1: Transformed

Unfamiliar birdsong woke me. I groggily opened my eyes, wondering what weird new avian menace decided to perch outside my bedroom and annoy me. However, all bird-related thoughts vanished in an instant as I realized I wasn’t looking up at my bedroom ceiling. I was looking at the sky.

My body froze up in shock, but I managed to frantically glance left and right with my eyes. Although I’d fallen asleep in my bed like usual, I was now in a forest under an empty blue sky. Even stranger, the trees seemed abnormally huge, as if they were all massive redwoods, and the occasional leaf drifting down seemed to be almost as big as my entire body. As my drowsiness quickly left me, I also realized my body felt inexplicably strange.

I slowly sat upright and glanced down at myself. I nearly fainted at the sight of a body that wasn’t my own. My arms and legs were now insectoid: thin, segmented, and armored with smooth black chitin. My hands and feet were rounded and fingerless. My torso was covered in soft yellow fuzz. A big fluffy patch of brown fur grew around my neck, and extended out into one pointed protrusion over my chest, as well as two long tails like the ends of a scarf behind me. I looked over my shoulder and saw a pair of large gossamer wings, then checked my head and felt a pair of antennae.

I didn’t need to view my reflection in a convenient pool of water to tell what happened. I recognized these features. It seemed impossible, but I’d transformed into a Pokemon. I was a little Ribombee now.

I immediately assumed this was all a dream, and tried to pinch myself. Then I remembered I had no fingers. I awkwardly took both hands and tried to squeeze my fuzzy cheek in between them, but I found no skin to pinch—just a hard exoskeleton below a layer of fuzz. So I did the next best thing, which was to pull some of that fuzz. I yanked out a few strands, and winced in pain.

This wasn’t a dream.

I let my arms fall to my sides, then flopped onto my back and stared up at the bright sky. My body shuddered with anxiety, while my mind raced with confusion.

“How did this happen?” I muttered. I cringed at the sound of my voice. It was a lot thinner, softer, and higher-pitched than it used to be. It almost sounded like a girl’s voice, though I inherently knew I was still male, despite my new body.

I said nothing else, unwilling to hear more of my new voice. Instead, I just thought and thought some more. How did I turn into a fictional creature? Out of all the Pokemon out there, why a Ribombee? Was I even on Earth anymore, or had I warped into the Pokemon world and become yet another addition to the long list of isekai protagonists out there? And for that matter, if I was in the Pokemon world, was it the “main” Pokemon world from the games and anime, or the Mystery Dungeon world with civilized Pokemon and no humans?

I lay there in the dirt for a while, lost in thought, with only the sound of birdsong to accompany me. At first, I was worried one of those birds might attack me; given my unfamiliar new body and size, I wouldn’t stand a chance against them. Luckily, I never saw any birds, or any humans or Pokemon either. The forest seemed oddly tranquil, which helped me calm down.

As the shock of my transformation began to wear off, I tried to clear my mind and think logically about what to do next. The first step would be to get accustomed to this new body. It was still humanoid, but the similarities stopped there. For instance, my hands and feet had no digits anymore. I felt like I was wearing tight mittens and socks that let me curl my hands and feet, but stopped me from moving my fingers or toes independently.

I also noticed I’d lost my nose. My sense of smell now seemed to be tied to my antennae, which automatically moved around in response to the various wafting scents of the forest, sending tingles into my head each time. And whenever I inhaled or exhaled, I faintly felt rushing wind at various points on my torso. It was unsettling and confusing at first, until I remembered that Ribombee was a Bug-type Pokemon. If it was anything like real-world bugs, it had a different way of breathing compared to other animals. I’d read that bugs had no lungs, and couldn’t breath in through their mouths. Instead, they used many little holes called spiracles along the length of their bodies. But even though I understood what was going on, it didn’t feel any less uncomfortable. The sensation of air rushing in and out of my torso, as if I had stab wounds all over me, made me shudder.

To take my mind off it, I tried walking around using my new legs and feet. It was somewhat awkward, since my legs were weak and my feet were rounded on the bottom, but my new wings helped me balance myself. As I slowly got used to walking about, I glanced back at my wings and considered how to move them. They began to twitch, and I yelped as a tingling sensation spread all through my body. I took a deep breath—grimacing as I felt the air flowing through my spiracles—and refocused on the wings. I concentrated on the feeling of those new things coming out of my back, imagined every inch of them, and tried to make them move. And as I watched, they actually began to flutter around, obeying my thoughts.

It felt so bizarre to have extra body parts, and even stranger to make them move by simply thinking about it. And yet, it also felt instinctive and familiar, as if I’d always had wings. After a few minutes of playing with them, I started to get used to the tingly feeling. I was still flightless, but hopefully, I’d be able to work on that soon.

I was so focused on my wings that it took me a while to notice the birdsong had stopped. When I realized it, I froze in place. Something must have made them go quiet.

Something was wrong.

Chapter 2: Sneasel

While I stood in the middle of the clearing, looking around frantically for any sign of danger, an odd sensation struck my mind. I’d already been inundated in “odd sensations” ever since obtaining this new body, but this one stood out as something special. It seemed like a vague and indescribable emotion, and yet, it wasn’t my own. I thought back on what I remembered about Pokemon to try to figure out what this feeling was. I recalled reading that some Pokemon could sense the “Aura” of all living things. I guessed Ribombee was one of those Aura-sensitive Pokemon, because I certainly sensed something emanating from the left.

My gaze snapped over there in time to see a Gloom come running into the clearing from a shadowy path. I stared at the sight of a real, live Pokemon. This proved I was no longer in the human world.

I barely had time to register this before I spotted movement in the trees beside the path. I looked up to see a dark shape with glowing red eyes and gleaming white claws among the branches. The claws swiftly darted around and flung shards of ice into the Gloom’s back. The plant Pokemon groaned, staggered, and fell over, before fading into a puff of smoke.

I shuddered as I watched the Pokemon disappear without a trace. Then I slowly looked back up at the thing that destroyed it. The shadow was still there, and I felt its blood-red gaze on me. Then it clambered down the trunk, leaped to the ground, and rushed at me. For a brief instant as it entered the light, I saw it clearly: a female Sneasel with a triangular notch in the outer edge of her ear, and wearing a belt with a pouch on either hip.

The next instant, she was on me. The giant Pokemon pounced and slammed one of her hands down on top of my body, pinning me to the ground. Her claws dug into the dirt on either side of my head, and she raised her other hand high, claws gleaming in the sun.

I could do nothing except scream for help.

And then the Sneasel stopped. A change came over her, and she no longer looked like a bloodthirsty predator. Her eyes went wide, and she slowly lowered her arm. Then she spoke, in a somewhat raspy, tomboyish kind of voice.

“Wait, you can talk?” she asked.

I stuttered, unable to say anything. But she could tell I was trying to speak, and that seemed to be good enough for her.

“Sorry,” she said. “Thought you were another feral.”

The dark Pokemon lifted her heavy paw off me, and I lay there motionless. My heart was racing a mile a minute, and my breathing was ragged. I’d never been that close to death before.

“Hey, relax,” the Sneasel said, sitting down nearby. “You’re fine. And I said I’m sorry.”

I tried to slow my breathing down to normal, then looked up at the feline. She was gazing down at me, head slightly tilted to the side.

“You’re a Ribombee, right?” she asked.

I had no choice but to nod and stammer, “Y-yes.” For the time being, as strange as it was, I was indeed a Ribombee.

“Never seen one of you before. I’ve heard of you guys, though—and you’re even smaller than I thought,“ she added with a chuckle. “Anyway, how’d you end up in this deep in a dungeon? Did you get lost? Waiting for someone to come save you?”

Her mention of a dungeon threw me off. So this was actually the PMD world after all. That surprise, combined with the fear that still lingered in me, prevented me from saying much. All I could manage was a faint, “I... I dunno. I dunno how I got here...”

Sneasel’s notched ear flicked. “Speak up,” she said. “I can barely hear you.”

I repeated more loudly, “I dunno how I got here. I just w-woke up here.”

“Really? Did you lose your memories? Maybe you made a psychic angry?”

“I r-really don’t know. I remember stuff, but... how I got here is just a blur. And I don’t know why I’m a...”

I stopped myself before I could complete the sentence with the word “Ribombee”. Would it be a good idea to reveal that I was a transformed human? What if this Sneasel knew about humans, and hated them for some reason? Would it would be better to let her believe I was a normal Ribombee until I learned more about her?

“What?” Sneasel asked, annoyed at my unfinished sentence. “What were you saying?”

“Nothing,” I said. I looked down and sighed. “Sorry. I’m just rambling. I’m confused. I don’t know why I’m here, and I just wish I could get home. Back to my life, back to my family...”

I trailed off and looked back up at Sneasel. I thought I saw her expression change ever so slightly. At the same time, I sensed some new emotion from her. I couldn’t tell what it was exactly. The only word I could use to describe it was “soft”.

The sensation soon faded as Sneasel stood up and crossed her arms. She said, “Alright, I don’t really get what’s going on with you, but I guess it’s wrong to just leave you here. I’ll help you get outta here and lead you to the town, cuz I was about to head back there myself. But after we make it there, you’re on your own.”

My eyes went wide, and I scrambled to my feet. I tried to thank the Pokemon for her kindness and generosity, but I just stammered until finally forcing out the word, “Thanks!”

“Don’t mention it,” Sneasel said. “Alright. Follow me.”

She began to go, and I went after her as fast as I could. It soon became obvious that she was much faster than me. Although she had rather stubby legs, they were still longer than the ones my new form had—in fact, they were about as long as my entire body. I soon fell behind, and called out to her, asking her to stop.

She turned and frowned as she saw me running after her. “What are you doing?” she asked. “C’mon—fly!”

“I can’t,” I said.

Sneasel took a step back. “What? Why not? You’re a Ribombee. I heard you guys are good at flying.”

“Uh... well, I’m not,” I said with a shrug, hoping she wouldn’t pursue the issue any further. If she did, I’d need to admit that my flightlessness was due to only having wings for a few minutes, and that would ruin my plan to keep my true identity secret.

Sneasel furrowed her brow, and I sensed yet another emotion from her, but I couldn’t pin it down. I wondered if she was getting suspicious—or worse, thinking of abandoning me. Luckily, she didn’t seem annoyed enough to go that far. In the end, she simply let out a long and exaggerated sigh, then lowered an upturned hand to the ground.

“Hop on,” she said.

Hesitantly, I walked over and climbed onto her palm. Once I was kneeling on it, Sneasel suddenly lifted it all the way up to her head. I gasped and hugged one of her claws as I saw the ground rapidly receding below me. Sneasel laughed.

“Hey, calm down,” she said. “I’m not gonna drop you. Now, get on my head. I’ll let you sit up there. We’ll go faster that way.”

I let go of her claw and carefully moved from her palm to the top of her head. I sat there, looking down at the distant ground. I quickly regretted it as a wave of vertigo washed over me. I felt faint and dizzy, and grabbed onto the short dark fur of Sneasel’s head. It was a loose grip, but it gave me some assurance that I wouldn’t fall off her head so easily.

Meanwhile, Sneasel was oblivious to my fear—or if she noticed, she ignored it. As soon as I was in place, she dropped her arm and began to walk again, taking me farther into the forest.

Chapter 3: Weakling

The mystery dungeon looked a lot like I expected it to, having been through many of them in video games before. We passed through unnaturally-shaped room-like clearings and hallway-like paths, all lined by impassable foliage. Trees loomed above us everywhere, many of them bearing large blue berries, and red mushrooms dotted the ground in great abundance. A gentle breeze blew this way and that, and the clear blue sky still shined up above.

As Sneasel carried me along, I grew accustomed to the motion of her head bobbing around, and I soon let go of her fur and sat more casually on my perch. I also built up the courage to try asking her some questions. She answered them, though she was rather curt. I learned we were in the mystery dungeon called Oran Forest on the Grass Continent, at the eastern border of the Capim Region. The closest town was the aptly named Capim Town to the west. As for why Sneasel was here, she told me she was training against the feral Pokemon in this dungeon.

“I’m all about getting stronger,” she said. “I train a little every day. And the ferals in these dungeons are a good way to test myself.”

As she spoke, we turned a corner in the path and saw a Dustox coming towards us.

“Perfect timing,” Sneasel said. She cupped her hands to her mouth and yelled, “Hey, ugly! Come get me!”

The Dustox fluttered its wings, scattering scales all over, and charged at Sneasel. I grabbed on to her fur again, worried about the impending battle. Sneasel laughed and flexed her fingers, and the air around them turned misty. Blade-like chunks of ice formed around them, and with a flick of her wrists, she sent them flying at the enemy Pokemon. It chittered and hissed angrily as the ice stabbed into it, but it kept coming. Sneasel started moving back, flinging ice shard after ice shard, and the Pokemon eventually cried out and disappeared in a puff of smoke.

“And that’s how it’s done,” Sneasel said. I couldn’t see her face, but I could tell she was smirking.

She continued on her way, passing through various corridors and rooms, fighting feral Pokemon as she went. She was clearly a formidable fighter, though she seemed to focus only on attacking, spamming her ice shards with little strategy. On the bright side, she was smart enough to always keep her distance from her enemies. I assumed she was worried about getting hit, which made sense—Sneasel was a fragile Pokemon species, despite its high speed and strong attacks. Plus, she had a passenger, so I appreciated her caution. I was constantly anxious about being hurt by a stray attack, but she seemed careful enough that I could relax a little.

At one point, while we were going along another corridor, a glob of webbing flew out of nowhere and splatted onto Sneasel’s foot, sticking her in place. She quickly slashed the webbing apart to free herself, then raised her claws and scanned the area.

“Where’d that come from?” she growled. “Ribombee, see anything?”

“N-no,” I replied. “M-maybe we should ignore it? We can just keep walking, and—”

“Found you!” Sneasel interrupted me. She launched a single ice shard into the canopy behind us. I saw a Caterpie tumble out of a branch hidden in the shadows. It disintegrated before hitting the ground.

“Nobody attacks me and gets away with it,” she said as she resumed walking. “I’ll beat anything that picks a fight with me. That’s what it means to be strong, right?”

I said nothing. This Sneasel was nice enough, since she was willing to help me, but I was starting to see her vicious side.

Even so, I couldn’t help but admire her skills. I clung to her fur and intently watched her fight from my front-row seat on her head, impressed by how she moved and attacked so fluidly. She formed ice shards and tossed them with great speed and accuracy, and she nimbly backpedaled or sidestepped whenever a feral Pokemon came too close.

And yet, watching her also made me feel disappointed in myself. The ease with which she moved and fought emphasized how weak I was by comparison. I couldn’t support her at all. I was confident that I could have helped her somehow if I were still a human. But in this new form, I was useless.

As those dark thoughts festered in my mind, we eventually came across another Dustox. This one proved more resilient to Sneasel’s ice shards, and closed the distance more quickly. It was coming closer than any Pokemon had before. In a matter of moments, I could get hit by it.

“Look out!” I yelled in fear.

“Calm down,” Sneasel snapped. She crouched, and started to glow white. The next second, she was gone, and I was left hanging in midair.

I seemed to float there for a moment, weightless. I saw Sneasel flicker into existence on the other side of the Dustox, her claws gleaming white. The bug had a brand-new glowing cut along its abdomen, and twitched before fading into smoke.

Then gravity came back on, and I suddenly fell. I screamed automatically, but shut up as I realized I was falling very slowly. I glanced back and saw my outstretched wings were catching the air like a parachute. I gently floated down to the ground and landed with a look of surprise.

Meanwhile, Sneasel felt the top of her head, noticed my absence, and gave a start. She quickly turned back, then sighed in relief as she saw me sitting there, unharmed.

“Okay, good,” she said, running over to me. “I thought that dash sent you flying somewhere, or you fell and broke something. You’re alright?”

“I’m fine,” I replied. “W-what was that? What did you do?”

“Quick Attack,” Sneasel explained. “I don’t like it as much as Ice Shard, but it’s useful. Guess I shouldn’t use it when you’re on my head, though, huh? Sorry.”

“How about... not fighting at all when I’m up there?” I mumbled.

Sneasel’s ear flicked again. “You’re really quiet,” she said. “I know you’re small, but c’mon, speak up.”

“I said, maybe you shouldn’t fight at all when I’m up there. That Dustox got way too close, and it made me think... well, I haven’t been hurt so far, but one wrong move, and I’d be collateral damage.”

“You’re asking me not to fight?” Sneasel smirked. “Might as well ask snow to stop being cold. But if you’re worried, how about you use some moves while you’re up there? We can fight together. The baddies won’t have a chance to hurt you if we beat them first.”

“But I don’t know any moves...” I said.

I immediately realized I made a mistake, since Sneasel was now staring at me, dumbfounded.

“You have got to be kidding me,” she said flatly. “First you say you can’t fly, now you’re telling me you can’t do any moves—are you joking?”

“No,” I said timidly. “I’m sorry.”

Sneasel’s eyes narrowed. “I’ve never heard of a Ribombee that couldn’t use any moves,” she said. “Or any Pokemon, for that matter, except a hatchling...”

She looked down at me for a while in silence. I hoped she wasn’t angry. I tried to sense her emotions again, but I couldn’t read anything more specific than a general feeling of negativity.

At last, she said some frightening words: “We need to talk.”

She bent over and held out her hands to me. I reluctantly climbed on and sat in her cupped palms. She brought me up in front of her face, looked me in the eyes, and said, “You’re a weakling.”

I was speechless. I definitely hadn’t expected her to be so blunt.

She continued, “You’re useless. You can’t fly. You can’t do any moves. You’re small, slow, quiet, shy... you’re just pathetic.”

Her words hurt as if she’d stabbed me with one of her ice shards straight through the heart. But I said nothing to defend myself, because I knew she was completely right.

I considered taking this chance to finally reveal that I was actually a transformed human, but making excuses for my weakness would probably make Sneasel angry. And the thought of hiding behind an excuse made me feel even more pathetic. Still, it was true that being transformed was a massive problem. I was already nothing special as a human, but this was far worse. Now I was trapped in a new world and stuck in a useless body. How was I going to live like this? And was this permanent? Would I be stuck at a tiny size, trapped in an alien body, without any powers or abilities, away from my home and family... forever?

Sneasel watched my reaction closely, but I couldn’t bear to look her in the eye. I hung my head, and I felt myself start to tear up, despite my best efforts not to.

After a while, I heard Sneasel say quietly, “Yeah, you’re definitely a weakling. But there’s something I’ve gotta know: what are you gonna do about it? Are you just gonna sit there and take it, or are you gonna do something about it?”

I looked up. Sneasel was grinning now, showing off her fangs, and I no longer sensed any negative emotions from her. I thought she hated me, judging by what she said. But instead, it seemed like she was actually testing me, seeing how I’d react to being brought down. And I knew my response.

“I’m... I’m not gonna take it,” I said, stammering less than I thought I would. “I know you’re right. I know I’m useless. But I don’t want that. I want to get stronger. I’m not sure how to do it, or how long it’ll take, but it’s something I need to do. I’ll train, learn some moves, learn to fly... I’ll stop being useless. I promise!”

Sneasel slowly nodded. “I was hoping you’d say that,” she said. “That was the right answer. See, there’s one thing I hate more than anything else: a weakling who doesn’t wanna get stronger. But if there’s a weakling who does make an honest effort... I like that.”

I sheepishly glanced away. When I looked back at Sneasel, she had closed her eyes and seemed to be pondering, as if trying to decide whether or not to say something. She eventually sighed and took on a serious look, and spoke quietly.

“Y’know, I wanna get stronger too. See, I’m not actually from this continent. I used to live with my pack—my family—on an island far away. It was always cold and snowy, there wasn’t much food, there were strong ferals and dangerous dungeons everywhere... but it was home, and I didn’t wanna leave. Then a few months ago, my pack and I were training in a dungeon, and some big feral attacked us. I got scared and ran—like a little coward.” She snarled at that word, then continued, “I kept running. Before long, the dungeon started changing. Everything just... shifted, like it was getting messed up by some strange power. I’d heard about that kinda thing, but never seen it before. One moment, I was there, and then I was here on the Grass Continent.”

“Oh...” I murmured. “I’m really sorry to hear that. Do you know how to get back home?”

“No. I never learned exactly where my home was on the map, except it was north of the Mist Continent. I don’t think I’ll ever find it again.” She sighed and continued, “None of this would’ve happened if I stood up to that monster. I lost my pack and my home, all cuz I was a coward. And that’s why I think it’s so important to get stronger: if you’re strong, nobody can hurt you.”

I suddenly remembered how Sneasel reacted earlier, back when she first met me, when I told her I wanted to go home. I now knew the identity of the nameless soft emotion I sensed from her back then: pity. She’d suffered something similar to what I went through, and she knew how I felt. And now I pitied her too.

“Well... good luck with your training,” I said. “I hope you get as strong as you want to get, and find out how to get home again.”

“Thanks,” said Sneasel. “Y’know, I don’t like talking about how I ran away in that dungeon. What if everyone laughs at me for being a weakling, or they abandon me, y’know? So, ever since coming to this continent, I’ve been pushing people away, cuz I don’t want them finding out about what I did. Actually, you’re the first Pokemon I’ve told about what happened to me.”

“Wait, really? Why? What’s special about me?”

“I can tell you understand how I feel. You know what it’s like to be weak, and you wanna get better. So I figured it’d be fine to talk about this with you. And I was right. Talking about it with someone who understands... it feels good.”

We smiled at each other, until Sneasel suddenly cleared her throat and said, “Alright... enough of all the sappy stuff. I dunno what came over me. Anyway, we probably should get outta this dungeon soon. I think we’ve almost explored this whole floor, so the exit should be close.”

Chapter 4: Strong

After traveling onward a bit longer, we finally entered a room with a smooth stone staircase rising up from the center, eventually leading into a pale cloud that seemed to flicker and shift around at random. Sitting at the base of this stairway was an Exeggutor. It was bigger than any Pokemon we’d seen in the forest before, standing well over twice the height of Sneasel, and many more times the height of me. It closed its eyes and basked in the sun, and seemingly paid no attention to anything around it.

“That’s the exit,” Sneasel said. “But I guess it’s got a guard. Weird. Exeggutor usually don’t come to the eastern half of the forest.”

She shrugged and added, “Oh well. Doesn’t matter. I’ll take it out anyway.”

“W-wait,” I said. “You’re fighting it?”

“Sure. It’s in our way, right? And I’ve got the type advantage. This’ll be easy.”

“Then let me get off your head first. That thing looks stupid, but I’m sure it’s tough. I don’t want to be in the middle of your fight. Remember what I said about collateral damage?”

“Fine,” said Sneasel.

She stood still as I turned around and, after some slight hesitation, slid off the back of her head. I gently floated down past her long red tail feathers and landed behind her, then I turned and watched her sneak towards the feral. But somehow—perhaps with some psychic power—the Exeggutor sensed her. Before Sneasel could get close, the feral Pokemon’s six eyes opened, and they all glared at her. She immediately jumped back, tossing a flurry of ice shards to cover her retreat. The feral’s eyes flashed, and a wall of light appeared before it. Sneasel’s attack bounced harmlessly off it.

“That’s gotta be Reflect or something,” she growled.

She began darting around the Exeggutor, trying to trick it and get past its defense, but it kept turning to face her and constantly block her with its shield. And as it did, something within the Exeggutor’s crown of leaves began to glow, before a volley of shining green orbs launched out and flew high up. They rained back down like shots from a mortar, carpet bombing the area with thundering explosions of green energy.

I cowered on the ground and covered my head, though no bombs landed near me. Meanwhile, Sneasel looked up and nimbly dodged each falling projectile. But while she was distracted, the Exeggutor’s eyes glowed, and a beam of bright energy shot out of its main mouth with a hiss, passing through the barrier to strike Sneasel in the head. She groaned and stumbled, and one final falling bomb exploded right next to her. She went flying and landed close to me, shaking me with the impact.

“Sneasel!” I shouted. I ran to her side, but she just shot me a quick glance and shook her head.

“Heh... I’ve... been though worse...” she said.

“Maybe we should retreat,” I said.

“No!” Sneasel snapped, baring her fangs at me. She quickly sealed her lips when she saw how scared I was at the sight of her fangs. She sighed and added, “Sorry. But I’m not running away. Not again.”

She took a blue berry out of her bag, ate it in one bite, and regained her vigor. Then she got up and let out a surprisingly feral-sounding battle cry before charging at her enemy. Instead of trying to trick it and get around its defenses, she now focused on overwhelming offense to try to break through. She swung her claws wildly, but the wall of light held firm. The Exeggutor’s eyes glowed again, and the same beam as before shot into Sneasel’s chest. She growled and stumbled back.

“Is that the best you got?” she yelled. She lunged at the shield again and kept attacking. The Exeggutor stood still and watched her. It was either silently mocking her useless attacks, or charging up for an even bigger attack.

Either way, I could tell Sneasel’s reckless offense wasn’t working, but she seemed too angry to notice. I wondered if I could help her somehow. In my mind, a voice crept up and told me I was useless, and I shouldn’t even bother. But I forced those thoughts down. This enemy was stronger than any in the dungeon so far, and I refused to stand around and do nothing while Sneasel was risking her life.

If I was unable to fight by myself, I needed to find a force multiplier.

As the fight raged on, I ran around the room, searching for anything that I could use. Aside from the red mushrooms growing all over, the only item of note was a strange sort of seed or fruit lying on the ground. It was about the same size as my head, and somewhat crystalline in shape. It had ripples on its surface, was colored deep blue, and had a single green vine wrapped around it. It was lying beneath a tree whose canopy reached out over the clearing, and I saw similar fruits or seeds in its branches. The one on the ground must have fallen from that tree. I eagerly picked it up and rushed back to the battle.

From my time playing PMD, I knew this world had plenty of seeds with various effects. Some were helpful, and some were harmful, but the design of this one was unfamiliar to me. I considered eating it in the hopes that it would be one of the beneficial ones, and I would get strong enough to help Sneasel fight directly. But I quickly decided that eating a weird-looking unknown alien plant was a terrible idea. Instead, I decided to throw it at the Exeggutor, and hope that the seed was indeed dangerous.

I came up behind the feral Pokemon without it noticing me. I gulped as I looked up, and up, and up at it. It already looked huge from my perch on Sneasel’s head, but now that I was on the ground and up close to it, it towered above like a kaiju. I froze and clutched the seed tightly, unable to throw it. What if the seed did nothing, and then the Exeggutor turned and crushed me? Or what if the seed made it even stronger somehow?

As I wavered, I peered around its massive body and saw Sneasel on the other side, still slashing away at the barrier. She was panting, and her face bore a frightening scowl.

“Come on!” she shouted. “I got this... I’m strong enough to smash this stupid shield!”

Sure enough, the shield actually began to crack. As soon as it did, Exeggutor’s leaves began to glow. I knew it was preparing another attack. I had to act now, and that motivated me to swallow my fear and chuck the seed as hard as my little arms could manage.

The Exeggutor and its shield disappeared with a pop.

Sneasel immediately stopped attacking and crossed her arms defensively. She looked all around the room, and her ear stood straight up and rotated around. Though she was still panting, she managed to say, “What happened? Where’d it go?”

“I think that was me!” I said.

Sneasel noticed me on the ground nearby. “Y-you!” she said. “What’d you do?”

“I didn’t want to sit off to the side while you did all the work,” I explained. “And you looked like you could use some help. But because I can’t do any moves, I looked for an item to use. I found some sort of fruit or seed, and threw it at the Exeggutor, and then... I dunno what happened to it.”

“What did the seed look like?”

“It was blue and had a vine around it.”

“That was a warp seed,” Sneasel groaned. “You just sent that feral to another room. Now we’ve gotta go track it down again.”

“Wait, hold on. Track it down? The stairs are right there! We don’t have to keep fighting—we can just go!”

“No, we can’t,” Sneasel said as she came over and sat in front of me.

“Why not?” I asked.

“Cuz I’ve gotta beat that feral. Nobody gets away from me!”

She held out her hand once again, waiting for me to climb on. “So c’mon,” she said. “We’re chasing after that thing.”

I surprised both her and myself by standing my ground. “No,” I said. “There’s no point in chasing it. We should leave.”

My brief surge of courage quickly faded as I saw her red eyes glaring at me, and I looked away. I looked back up when I heard Sneasel sigh.

“Please, Ribombee,” she said quietly. “I need to do this. I can’t let a fight go unfinished. I’ve gotta prove I can beat everyone I fight. I’ve gotta prove I’m strong.”

Something clicked in my head as she said that. I knew what I had to say. I smiled and moved between her outstretched claws, patted them with my hands, and told her, “You’re already strong. You don’t have to prove anything.”

I sensed a surge of emotions from her. I still couldn’t pin down what they were, but I could tell they were a mixed bag. She was conflicted. I kept talking.

“I’ve watched you fight. You’re a good fighter—I can tell you’re a bit reckless sometimes, but you’re definitely skilled. And you told me how you grew up on that tough island. By the sound of it, you need to be strong to live there. And... this is gonna sound silly, but I think the way you’ve been so nice to me also means you’re strong. It would’ve been so easy for you to abandon me here, but you decided to take me with you, and help me when I was lost and alone. That’s the harder option, but you did it. So you can say that’s another kind of strength, right?”

“I guess,” Sneasel said after a long pause.

“Anyway, the point is—you’re no weakling. Even if you ran away that one time, it doesn’t change anything. You don’t need to prove yourself. I believe you’re strong, and you should believe in yourself too.”

Sneasel considered my words for a bit. I stood there, waiting for her reply, and also feeling amazed that I gave such an impromptu speech without stuttering once.

“I get what you’re saying,” Sneasel said eventually, “even if I don’t agree with it all the way. I mean, I still think I’ve got a ways to go before I can really call myself strong. But maybe I don’t need to worry so much about winning every fight. And if you say you believe in me, then... that makes me feel better. Thanks.”

A faint, warm emotion was flowing out of her as she said that. I could safely guess she was feeling happy. It soon dissipated as she glanced around the room, then looked back down at me. “Well, no sign of trouble. I guess we can leave now. Ready to go?”

I nodded. She put me on her head again, and we climbed the stairs. When we entered the clouds at the top, I felt a tingling sensation wash over me, and the next time I blinked, we were outside.

Chapter 5: Partners

Sneasel and I found ourselves at the edge of a forest. It looked perfectly normal, and I never would have guessed it had a whole mystery dungeon hidden inside. One dirt path led east into the woods, and also ran westward, climbing up and over a low hill. Tall grass stood on either side, swaying in the cool breeze. Although the dungeon had a clear blue sky, the outside world was different. It was twilight, and the stars were starting to twinkle up above. The sun had recently set behind the hill before us, and the cloudy sky was painted in beautiful orange and pink.

We stood there for a while, watching the scenery. At long last, I broke the silence.

“I guess this is our prize for deciding to leave the dungeon when we did,” I said. “Any longer and we would’ve missed this.”

Sneasel nodded carefully, to avoid knocking me off her head. “Yeah. I guess so.”

She looked back at the forest, and by extension, I was also turned back towards it. “I’m still mad at that Exeggutor,” she muttered, “and I wish I could’ve beaten it. But you’re right. Maybe it’s okay to walk away from some fights.”

Sneasel and I faced the sunset again, and after a long pause, she said, “I remembered something. I kinda forgot during all the commotion in that dungeon, but... back when we met, I said I was gonna take you to the town, and we’d go our separate ways there, huh?”

“Y-yeah, I remember,” I replied. “You did say that.”

There was an awkward silence. I hoped Sneasel was thinking the same thing I was thinking: I didn’t want us to split up. She was a good Pokemon, and the only one I could call a friend in this new world. And with my weak new body, it was crucial to have a friend. However, I hesitated to speak my mind. I didn’t want to force her to keep me with her. So, I kept silently hoping she would come to that choice on her own.

Eventually, Sneasel cupped her hands in front of her face. I wasn’t sure what she wanted at first, but I figured it out soon enough. I jumped off her head and used my wings to float down and land in her palms, then I turned around and sat down. Now we could talk face to face again.

She looked at me with a strange glint in her eye, and then she said, “Saying goodbye sounds lame. I’ve got a better idea. How do you feel about partnering up with me?”

My heart skipped a beat. That was exactly what I was hoping she would say. I could hardly believe this was actually happening, and I barely hesitated before stammering, “Y-yeah! I mean, if it’s a-alright with you, that is.”

Sneasel chuckled. “Yeah, it’s alright with me. I mean, I can take care of myself—I’ve been doing it ever since I ended up on this continent. But having a buddy is useful... and it’ll keep me from feeling lonely. Also, since we both wanna get stronger, I think it’s a good idea for us to stay together so we can help each other.”

“That makes sense,” I said. “But I’m not sure if I can help you much, or teach you anything.”

“Hey, don’t worry about it. I don’t mind. Even if you can’t teach me, I know I can still learn some new things by teaching you. And I’m sure we can eventually find some way for you to help me out in return. It’ll work out fine.”

“Yeah,” I said. “It’ll be fine.”

We gave each other a big smile. And for the first time, I sensed an emotion and knew exactly what it was, as clearly as if I were reading the word in a book: happiness. It seemed to radiate out of Sneasel, to the point where I could have sworn I saw her faintly glowing in a gentle red hue.

It faded slowly. But my own happiness remained. I actually had a partner now! I was becoming a bona fide PMD hero at this rate. Then again, this was a much more convoluted way of gaining a partner compared to how it worked in the games, but I couldn’t complain.

However, there was still one problem: if Sneasel and I were going to be spending more time together, she would inevitably find out I was a human. Although I’d been hoping to keep that a secret, it was probably best to reveal it now. If I tried to keep hiding it, it could come to light at an inconvenient moment, or Sneasel could change her opinion of me after learning I deceived her for so long. I had to tell her now, and hope she was okay with the big reveal.

I steeled myself, then told Sneasel, “I’m glad you want to be my partner, and I’m looking forward to spending more time with you. But first, I need to tell you something important. I was keeping this a secret, because I wasn’t sure how you’d react. But now I think I can trust you with this.”

“What’s up?” she asked apprehensively.

I took a deep breath to prepare myself, then dropped the bombshell: “There’s a reason I’m not able to fly, or use moves. The truth is, I’m not a Ribombee. I’m a human. I came from another world and turned into this, but I don’t know how any of it happened.”

I gazed into Sneasel’s wide red eyes, wondering how she would react. Her response was much more muted than I expected. She frowned, then nodded and shrugged.

“To be honest, I believe it,” she said.

I stammered, “W-wait, what? That’s it? No shock, no surprise—you don’t think I’m lying?”

“Not really. Actually, it kinda makes sense. Honestly, I was kinda suspicious of you ever since you told me you couldn’t fly, even though Ribombee are great flyers. And then I got more suspicious when you said you couldn’t use any moves at all. Plus, you said you woke up in that dungeon without knowing how you got there, and I guess that could be explained by you coming here from another world. Not to mention, you’re not the first human to turn into a Pokemon and come here, according to all the stories I’ve heard at Capim Town. Some humans even saved this world a few times, apparently.”

I was both relieved and dumbfounded. “Well, I’m glad you believe me,” I said. “I was worried you’d think I was lying. Either that, or maybe you’d even hate humans.”

“Hey, I can’t hate them if I’ve never met them before,” she said. “And I think you’re giving humans a good name so far. You seem really nice. A bit too nice and wimpy, maybe. But I kinda like that. You’ll be easy to mess with.”

“Huh?”

“Nothing,” Sneasel said with a warm smile. “Anyway... gotta be honest, it’s pretty crazy that I met a real human. I don’t really know what to say about that, and that’s rare for me. You’re gonna have to tell me everything about the human world. And we’ve got a long walk back to Capim Town, so you can get started right away.”

“Sure, I guess,” I said. “But can you please keep this a secret between us? I feel like it might start a ruckus if we start telling everyone I’m a human. Especially since there probably aren’t any other humans around. I mean, what are the odds of a whole bunch of humans all ending up in the same situation as me, in the same place?”

“Pretty low, I bet,” said Sneasel. “That’ll never happen. Anyway, I agree: we should keep the human thing a secret.”

“Good,” I said. “Of course, if we do find another human, I think it’s safe to tell them I’m a human too. But other than that, let’s keep it a secret.”

Sneasel gave me a nod and lifted me back up to the top of her head, preparing to start the walk back to Capim Town. But first, she stopped and lowered me before her face one more time.

“Oh, by the way,” she said. “I was curious about something. One of the things I heard about humans was that they use special names for themselves. It’s a different system than Pokemon use, apparently. I mean, I’m just ‘Sneasel’, and normally, you’d just be ‘Ribombee’. But I dunno if I should keep calling you that, since you’re not a real Ribombee. You got a human name?”

“I do, but if we use it, I’ll probably stick out and draw attention,“ I said. I put a hand to my chin and thought it over. Eventually, I shrugged and added, “Actually, please use my human name. I don’t think I’d like being called ‘Ribombee’. I’m still a human deep down. And if anyone asks about my name, we can come up with an explanation for it.”

“Sounds good,” said Sneasel. “What’s your name?”

“Booker,” I said.

Sneasel nodded again. “Nice name. Alright, Booker... partner... ready to go?”

I smiled. “Let’s go, Sneasel. I think this is the start of a great partnership.”

My partner grinned at me and put me back on her head. With high hopes, we set off towards the setting sun, towards Capim Town, and towards my new life in this new world.