Two Tails Too Many Part 1

As I drifted in and out of consciousness, I could remember vague things here and there, vague shapes, all colourless blobs. Nothing really made sense, it felt as if I was just floating along with no real destination. Through the murmurs, I could pick out a distinct voice, one that was unfamiliar to me, but I couldn't understand what they were trying to say. It was like someone was trying to call out to me, but who? As I continued to drift in the realm of unconsciousness, the sound of a splash reverberated around the space, followed by silence. Something about that splash felt familiar to me, but I just couldn't remember, though who's to say what's important and what's not. I felt something tingly in my body before everything faded to black.

My eyes opened in an instant to the view of the sky. My body was writhing in a numb, tingling pain. I attempted to find my bearings and figure out my surroundings. My body wasn't responding as my sudden sporadic breathing caused me to start sinking. Trying to breathe, all I received was a mouth full of salty water before the minuscule air in my lungs started to diminish, causing me to plummet into the watery depths. The sun beams pierced through the clear water, creating a scene like something out of a dream as I sunk ever so deeper. Closing my eyes, I felt sorrowful not knowing how it came to this, why I was here, where I was. So many questions, vanished to the fathoms of the sea. Who knows, maybe this was just fate and it was my time to go...

As I woke again, I was met with the blurry, chubby face of a rodent-like creature. My vision gradually cleared up as I saw what I identified as a Raichu, standing over me. I looked around me, seeing a distinct sand trail going from the shore to where I was.

"Gee, sorry about that. Sometimes I don't really think things through and um... well... Hey! At least you're awake now! Do you still feel tingly at all?" The Raichu said while he looked at me with concern.

I was very caught off guard, a Pokémon was talking to me, and I could understand it. Everything felt topsy turvey as I came to grips with what was happening.

"A P-Pokémon?! And you can talk?" I questioned, trying to make sense of this.

"Yeah? Course I can talk. Say, are you sure you're okay? I thought you would've been fine out there, but you almost drowned. I always thought that Buizel's were natural born swimmers..." Raichu responded, ignoring the fact that he thunderbolted me in an attempt to wake me and inadvertently caused me to almost drown.

"Buizel? What are you saying, there are no Buizel's here." I replied back, feeling like I was being gas lighted.

"Um, dude, I'm looking right at one." Raichu said, pointing his paw at me.

As my heart dropped, I looked down and noticed that what once were my hands, were now orange furry paws. Trying to stand up, I awkwardly stumbled toward the water where the truth faced me as clear as day. My reflection in the water was a Buizel.

"W-what's happening!? Why am I a Pokémon!?" I tried to pinch myself, but ended up accidentally jabbing myself with my stubby claw, as a faint pain began to resonate through my body.

"Aaah, ow..." The Raichu walked over, looking slightly more concerned.

"Hey, you alright dude?" Raichu asked, hoping that his previous thunderbolt wasn't the cause of my strange behaviour.

"I don't know... I-I'm supposed to be human, why am I a... Pokémon?" I ask, seeking solace in my time of confusion.

Raichu gave me a puzzled look as he tried to process what I said, looking like I had said the most looney thing he had ever heard.

"You're a... what? What's a human? Is it like a spice or something? Some kind of wild animal? Hey... you sure you're all good up there?" He said, tapping his head as if to imply that I sound crazy.

"Yes I'm sure!" I shouted unintentionally.

"S-sorry, I... um... I know I was a human, I'm just... having some trouble coming to terms with this..." Looking down in disbelief, my words hung in the air as the Raichu realized that I was serious.

"Okay... so... somehow, you were a human and now you're a Buizel. Do you at least remember anything before you ended up floating out there in the water?" Raichu pondered, trying to get a grasp on the situation.

Trying to recall any events prior to my rude awakening led only to blank memories, and vague recollections. The only thing I could truely remember, were memories that were deeply embedded, family gatherings, holidays, special moments in my life, and my name. I didn't want to share this with someone who I had just met, so I decided to keep it to myself for now.

"I only have vague memories of events that happened long ago, but trying to remember anything about how I ended up here, it's just drawing a big blank." I responded, trying my hardest to recall anything within that voided patch of memory, with any attempt leading to nothing but a small headache.

As the sun was setting, I was prepared to have to go at this alone. I didn't want to drag anyone along with me, I didn't want to burden them with my problem, even if it would've been the smart thing to do. I got up and started to stumble away, thanking the Raichu for saving me from drowning earlier. The Raichu grabbed my shoulder with his paw, holding me back from walking away.

"Where do you think you're going?" Raichu said, turning me around to face him.

"Look at you, you're stumbling, you're dazed and confused. You're like a baby Pokémon learning how to move for the first time. Listen, come with me, you can crash with me for tonight, it's the least I can do for you right now."

"N-no, it's fine, I'll be fine... I'll be-" As I tried to reassure him, he suddenly hoisted me up and tossed me up on his shoulder.

"Nuh uh buddy, you're coming with me." Raichu responded with a cheeky grin as he started to walk while carrying me.

I didn't try to struggle as I was absolutely drained, plus a place to rest didn't sound too bad. I rested my eyes a bit while he carried me, the sounds of ocean starting to become distant, being replaced with the sound of a gentle breeze and the slight murmur of voices.

"Oh right, I never introduced myself, name's Ray, it's nice to meet you... um..." Ray waited for my response, hoping that I at least remembered my name. Even though I did remember my human name, I didn't want to tell him, it felt too personal to reveal to someone who I had just met, especially being in a new body and world.

"N-no, I don't remember my name..." I replied, feeling slightly bad for lying.

"Hmmm... well that's a shame, I'll have to think of one for you then." Ray responded, trying to think of an appropriate name.

"Well, when I first saw you, you were floating out in the water... and you're a Buizel... hmm.... Oh! I know! How does Floatzel sound? Wait, that'd be confusing if we ever came across one..." Ray said, trying his hardest to come up with a name.

"Um... how about Buoy?" I replied, not sure if they existed in this world, but it was at least a better name than what Ray had suggested.

"Buoy? Yea, that'll work." Ray said as I started to feel sleepy. As Ray continued to carry me, the sound of voices grew distant as the soothing breeze of the wind brushing off of the trees filled the air. The sun had almost fully set as darkness began to set and the moon could be seen peeking it's head out from the horizon. Clouds began to roll in, small flashes of light emanating from them, it was a sign of a storm. I felt Ray come to a stop as the slight momentum jolted me awake.

"So Buoy, wanted to ask, but are you good with kids?" Ray asked before moving again.

"I-I beg your pardon?" Before Ray was able to respond, he slid open the door to his house, revealing a whole family of chu's. There was a small Pichu with a cute pink bow tied around the base of their right ear laying on the floor, presumably their daughter. Two Pikachu brothers were chasing after each other, with one of them being slightly taller than the other. The smaller one was wearing a stylish red beanie with holes cut out near the top for his ears to poke out. The bigger Pikachu had a navy blue scarf wrapped around him as it flowed with his movement around the house. Ray closed the door and set me down on my feet. The Pichu and Pikachu's all came running towards me, looking excited to meet the new guest.

"From youngest to oldest, Shimmer, Vash, and Vance, say hi to Buoy everyone!" Ray put his paw out like he was putting me up for display. The children all said hi one after another, seemingly a bit shy of my presence. It was understandable, I was an unknown guest that their eldest brother brought home out of nowhere who was scratched up and a bit dirty.

"H-hey guys." I sheepishly responded, waving at them and trying to seem friendly.

An older looking Raichu with earrings on both ears peaked their head through an alcove deeper in the house.

"Oh? Who's this you brought in Ray?" The older Raichu asked while looking over at Ray to figure out why he dragged in a random stranger.

"This here is Buoy! I found him out by the beach, and he doesn't remember much. I wanted to offer him to stay with us for as long as he needed to... If that's okay with you, Mom." Ray asked, watching for his mother's reaction.

Thankfully, it looked like Ray's Mom took pity on me as she gave a slight sigh.

"Alright, Buoy can stay with us for now. Hope you don't mind sweetie, but we don't have much more space to work with, you'll have to room with Ray for now." Ray's mom kindly offered to me.

"O-oh, thank you Ray's Mom, I... appreciate the kind gesture." I responded back, feeling a bit relieved that I at least had a place to stay for the meantime.

"No problem sweet-pea, oh, and call me Rose, please." Rose said to me while winking.

As the night went on, I could hear the slight pitter patter of rain striking the roof of the house, as it gradually increased in viciousness, turning into a fierce downpour. I had sat down at the centre table where the rest of Ray's family congregated. Rose had brought out several plates of white rice and set them down in front of everyone. She went back into the kitchen and brought out a bubbling cauldron with a blue liquid inside. It filled the room with a sickly sweet aroma, one that I had never smelled before. Going to each persons' plate, she used a ladle to pour a generous amount onto everyone's plate. Ray poked at me to get my attention.

"Man, my mom's Oran Berry Curry is to die for. If you don't finish yours, I'll gladly take it!" Ray exclaimed, hoping that he would get your helpings.

As Rose sat down, everyone began to eat. I attempted to pick up my spoon, but with just a paw and no fingers, it was awkward and a bit tricky. Ray looked over at me, seeing the difficulty that I was having with grabbing the spoon and decided to provide a snide remark.

"What's the matter Buoy, never used a spoon before?"

"O-of course I've used a spoon, it's just... tricky." My response caused Ray to look at me with confusion, changing from that to concern as it looked like something had just clicked in his brain.

"Uhh... well that might be because I kinda sorta used thunderbolt on you." Ray said slightly nervously, rubbing the back of his head with his paw. He thought that his attack caused some sort of side effect with my motor functions.

I looked over at Ray in surprise, realizing that me sinking into the water was his doing and not just some act of god that happened to plight me. Rose shot a shocked look at Ray too, surprised that he would do such a thing to me, not really knowing the context.

"You WHAT!? You used a thunderbolt on him!?" Rose exclaimed.

"Sorry Ma, but there was nothing else that I could think of. I even tried throwing stones at him, he just wouldn't wake up." Ray said, sounding a bit desperate as was pleading his case.

As Rose and Ray argued back and forth, I felt a bit conflicted. On one hand, I was a bit mad at him for thunderbolting me, but on the other hand, if it weren't for him doing that, I would've drifted out to sea. Even if I did almost drown, he did save my life in the end.

"I-I'm-" Ray and Rose stopped arguing and looked at me when I started to speak.

"I'm fine that he did that to me, it ended up saving me in the end." Both Ray and Rose looked at each other and seemed to calm down from their argument. Ray looked back at me and mouthed out 'Thank you' to me, showing his appreciation for assisting in defusing the situation. Rose looked back at me and noticed that I hadn't touched my food.

"Oh Buoy, honey, you've barely touched your food, it's getting cold." Rose replied with a sad tone, not wanting her food to go cold without her guest having a bite while it was still warm.

"Oh! Right, thanks." I firmly grasped my spoon and started eating. Taking the first bite, it was quite sweet, but not overbearing. For my first taste of food in this world, it was pretty tasty.

Afterwards, the younger siblings shuffled off to bed along with Ray and I. Rose had brought in a small cotton bed for me to sleep on, putting it a couple of feet away from Ray's. I got a look at Ray's room and truth be told, there wasn't much room for another bed, with the two of them being at opposite edges of his room. Ray looked at me and patted me on the back.

"Hey, you go and rest, you've had a long day, I gotta help out mom with cleaning up." Ray insisted.

"O-okay, thanks..." I replied softly, shuffling off to bed while Ray went and helped his mom with cleaning. I sat down on the cotton bed and reflected on the events that had transpired. It still felt like nothing more than a dream to me, maybe I'd just wake up and this would all be just some freaky, realistic dream. Maybe I was in some sort of long form coma, and the doctor's and nurse's were working to try and resuscitate me back to life. Who knows? I sure as hell didn't.

I rested my head against the soft, plush surface of the bed and closed my eyes, trying to fall asleep. After what felt like an eternity, I ended up falling into a deep slumber. The ambience of the falling rain certainly helped soothe me, that and the quiet chitter chatter of Ray and his mother.

Not sure how long I was out for, but I remember floating around in this void-like space, complete blackness surrounding every inch of my surroundings. I heard the faint sound of water flowing as something touched my shoulder. Suddenly, I felt like I was falling, falling for an insurmountable distance, not knowing where the destination was. A reflective surface approached rapidly that looked to have the consistency and flow of water, but was completely clear like a mirror. With a familiar sounding splash, I passed right through it, with no impact or friction. My velocity slowed down to a crawl, as I turned around and looked up, watching bubbles float up to wherever the surface may have been.

I slowly opened my eyes to see Ray snoring in my face. I guess he was a bit of a heavy sleeper and tended to roll around a bit, but upon closer inspection, I ended up rolling over to him. I heard that the rain was still ongoing and realized that Ray had put his paw on my shoulder in his sleep. I carefully moved his arm off of me before tactically rolling back to my bed. I didn't expect that rolling would hurt, forgetting that I had tails. In fact, I noticed that my tails felt a bit sore, as I must have slept on them. Odd, since I couldn't even feel or control them, yet I felt a dull pain right where my tail bone would have been as a human.

As I laid there trying to fall back asleep, I thought about how long I'd be stuck here for, and if I was ever going to go home. After thinking on it for a while, I decided that I would go at this on my own. I didn't want to involve Ray, I didn't want to involve him in my problem. How could I, I was just an outsider to this world, thrust into it against my will. As guilty as I had felt for thinking this way, I didn't want anyone getting hurt trying to help me with this. I silently rose to my feet, anxiously committed to my decision as I sneaked out into the pouring rain.

The rain continued to pelt my face and body as the wind picked up. I wandered around the sleeping town, trying to find an entrance or exit. After some walking around, I came to what looked like the entrance to the town, with a sign that I couldn't read. It was written in some bizarre script that I had never seen. I assumed that it was the entrance to the town and as I took a couple of steps outside of the town, I heard something, someone calling out to me.

"HEEEEEEEEEEEYYYYYYYYYYY! WAIT!!" Screamed Ray, getting my attention and stopping me in my tracks. I turned around to face him as he ran up to me, panting from running.

"Buoy! Where are you going? Why did you just up and leave like that without saying anything?"

"I'm sorry, but I need to do this myself, I appreciate all that you've done for me, but I don't want to burden you or have you or your family get hurt because of this." I said sorrowfully, feeling hurt and conflicted.

"But... Buoy, I want to help you. I believe what you say... that you're some kind of being from another world, truly I do, and it must be scary being in a place that you don't know. But, I'm here to help you..." Ray responded in a heartfelt tone.

"B-but why, we've only known each other for less than a day, why go so far for me?"

"Because... I want to help you find your way home... and... this may be a lead to something that I've been searching for..." Ray's voice got a bit quieter near the end of his sentence.

"A lead? What do you mean?"

"Well, you may have noticed the absence of my father, back when we were at my home. Well, years ago when I was a younger, my dad was a part of the Wigglytuff guild. A renowned guild around here and across the Grass Continent. One day, he and his team went out to investigate an anomaly that was a complete unknown. But after days and days of waiting, he never returned. A second group was sent after his team, but he and his team were never found. To this day, all I want to know is if he's still alive out there..."

As we both stood there in the rain, letting the intense downpour glide down our heads and bodies, the atmosphere had changed dramatically. I was shocked to hear that he had a father, and that he had disappeared so suddenly. I was equally shocked that he trusted me enough to reveal such a private piece of information about himself, despite us only meeting that afternoon.

"...And with me appearing out of nowhere, you're thinking that my existence could be a clue to your father's whereabouts?" Putting the pieces together on Ray's motives, I understood why he would make that connection.

"I know it's selfish, but I still do care about getting you home. You seem like a nice dude, Pokémon or not, and I want to help you while you're stuck here. So please, let's go back and rest up, we can hit the town tomorrow morning and see if we can dig up anything." As Ray finished his heartwarming speech, I started to change my mind. Maybe it would be a good idea to stick with Ray, at least for now. He knew way more about this world than me.

"...Okay... um... thanks Ray. I'm... glad that I was able to meet you." I said while looking away, not used to someone caring about me so genuinely. Tears started welling up a bit, though the pouring rain made it hard to tell if I was actually crying or not.

"Hey hey, no need to get sappy, this is only the beginning. Now come on, let's get dry and back to bed. I don't want to get sick from being out here for too long." Ray said as he led the way back to his parent's home. At the entrance to his house, I tried to shake my fur off as much as I could, as did Ray. We both entered in, leaving slightly damp paw prints in the entryway. Ray quietly sneaked around and grabbed towels for us. After drying off, we both tip-toed back to his room and got on our respective sides.

"Night, Ray."

"Goodnight bud, see you in the morning." Ray responded as he turned over and fell asleep almost instantly, sinking into a gentle snore.

Ray's snoring made it a bit tough to get back to sleep as I laid on my bed, thinking about everything that happened. Is Ray's father really still alive? Would I ever find a way back home? Has anyone else met with the same fate that I have? It was difficult to not stress about, since part of me hoped that this was something that I could wake up from, but... that didn't seem like it would be the case. It was looking like I was going to be stuck here for the time being. But, on the positive side, at least it was going to be in good company. As I thought about that, my consciousness faded, until I fell into a deep sleep, wondering what tomorrow would have in store...