Enter, Pikachu!
You are not the chosen one in this world.
You have simply been called to fix a void that shouldn't exist.
Hopefully this life will be more fruitful than your last.
Therefore, you will be a...
Prelude
On the Guild's Outlaw Board, one portrait stood out above the rest for its grisly implications. It had seemingly been there a lot longer than the others, remaining steadfast throughout the constant changes of wanted Pokémon on display. Teams would take the requests, leave, and come back with a criminal in tow in exchange for the valuable bounties thay lay in wait thanks to Magnezone and his team - and yet, this one target had remained, as of yet, untouched, having been covered up by numerous new entries for aspiring heroes to bring to justice.
"This dangerous Pokémon leads poor Pikachu to their doom — please help us apprehend this criminal at once!"
Client: Magnezone
Objective: Arrest Mimikyu!
Her head ached.
How long had she been drifting in and out of consciousness, like she was trapped in some kind of lucid dream? No matter how much she tried again and again to rise up, the weight of her tired body seemed to win out. She hardly even had the strength to lift a finger. Weakly, her eyes opened, unable to fathom anything but blurry shapes and shifting lights.
That too, was eventually too painful for her to bear, and once more, she drifted into a slumber; a desperate last-ditch effort from her body to preserve its last bits of strength.
A figure burst into the clearing through a curtain of thick undergrowth, leaving broken leaves and twigs in his wake, and yet leaving no sound as his gait resembled something between a creature scuttling and a phantom gliding. The figure appeared hunched over as he looked around, back and forth, left and right, his 'head' flopping here and there in an almost comically exaggerated manner as he moved, before finally deciding to tentatively approach the crumpled shape that lay limply in the center, staring intently at the bundle of fur.
He knew his eyes hadn't deceived him; that yellow flash that fell from the sky was most certainly a Pokémon. He didn't particularly care about the whys or hows a Pikachu had found itself falling from the sky; it had most probably been captured by some Staraptor with slippery talons. All that he cared about was the fact that it wasn't moving.
He grimaced tightly beneath the cloth concealing his features. It seems he was too late to do the job himself — not to mention the fact it had not even a single Oran Berry nor Poké to its name. Coming out all this way had been an absolute waste of time.
... Or had it?
Upon closer inspection, he sees movement. It's shallow, but its chest is slowly rising and falling, even if it clearly pains it to do so. Excitement began to well up inside of him as its body twitches. It's alive. Beneath the frayed edges of its cloth, tar-black tendrils seep out and coil up into the air like a defensive Arbok, ending off in two twitching and writhing claws aimed right above its neck.
"...Mn...hf...? A... Mimikyu?"
His breath hitches as it let out a groggy whimper as its eyes flutter open, even if they're glazed over and almost staring into something far beyond him — and yet he knows that those big brown eyes are looking at him with an almost child-like wonder.
He flinches back, frozen in his place as he simply stares at it for a moment, stumbling back a little. This wasn't supposed to happen. There's no way any Pokémon could wake up from a fall like that!
"Honestly, I need to lay off the video games... Somethin' like this is way too vivid, even for my dreams... "
It mumbles absentmindedly out loud, attempting to get itself up with some shaky paws, only to stumble back down with a pained squeak. What on earth was it even talking about? Did it really hit its head that hard? In all of his time as an outlaw, Mimikyu had never seen one of them with such a flat out baffling disposition before as the one before him.
"Ah, um... 'scuse me? You wouldn't mind helping me up, wouldja? I'm... kinda in a pinch, ehehe..." it winced, attempting to get to its feet once more. He was snapped out of his daze by the piercing words of the Pikachu right in front of him—
What on earth was he doing?
He could get rid of it right here, right now. Just because it's slightly lucid doesn't mean he can't just finish the job. He's done this numerous times before, so why—
Pause.
Those eyes.
Those big, brown eyes, looking up at him dizzily and relying on him for help. Its eyes are full of trust and reliance on some stranger whose intentions it didn't even know about yet. Just how delicious would it be to watch the hope in those eyes grow more and more, only to be inevitably crushed in its final painful moments? This could be a once in a lifetime opportunity...
His mouth's watering.
The Plan
Dear Diary,
I'm not sure how long it's been since I've come here, but judging by these notes, I'd say it's been two weeks at least since I woke up as a Pikachu. It's been a whirlwhind of a fortnight, that's for sure.
Part of me's still convinced I'm stuck in some sort of coma or something, but everything about this place feels so real.
It's taken me a little while to get used to being a Pokémon and I still don't think I'm all that good at it yet. But with Mimikyu's help, I've really been able to recover and understand things! Honestly, I'm not sure where I'd be without him; he's so nice, and I've learned everything I need to know through him!
Today, I recovered enough to finally go into Treasure Town to approach Wigglytuff's Guild. I asked Mimikyu if he wanted to come so we could officially register ourselves as an Exploration Team, but he got really angry and seemed really nervous at the idea. To be honest, I was too, but I couldn't give up the idea of being able to go explore all these beautiful places and discover new things...
Weirdly enough, when I got there, Chatot was extra suspicious of me. I mean, I know he's always had a bit of a stick up his ass, but this was way scarier! He pressed me and pressed me about where I'd come from, until eventually I crumbled under the pressure and told him the truth; I'd fallen from the sky one day and swore up and down I was a human once before, but now I was more than ready to make my debut into the world of Pokémon™ Mystery Dungeon!
... And I got kicked out immediately.
I don't know what happened, but apparently this group of aspiring explorers who claimed they were humans came in and left Treasure Town in a complete mess. I even heard a massive part of Apple Woods got entirely destroyed thanks to them! Geez, that's scary... I wouldn't want to run into them!
I was really sad at first, but Mimikyu reassured me that we don't need the stupid guild's approval to be explorers. We could just go out on our own! In fact, Mimikyu said he knew the perfect place he wanted to check out with me tomorrow... I can't wait!
I'm glad I made a friend so quickly. I miss my family a lot, but I was never good at socialising as a human. I don't feel so lonely with Mimikyu around... I really don't know what I'd do without him! In fact, I've spent the whole evening brainstorming the best team names I can muster. I'm sure with his help, I'll be able to get to the bottom of why I'm here and how I can get back home.
Yours,
▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉
Pikachu hummed happily as she finished writing in her diary, slamming it shut with a rhythmic thump and placing it in her makeshift bindle, lifting it up and approaching the intently focused Mimikyu as he collected his things.
"Do you need any help?" Pikachu inquired gently, leaning over, causing the poor Ghost Type to visibly jump.
"Pikachu!" Mimikyu gasped, letting out a startled yelp that caused the Electric Mouse Pokémon to let out another squeak in response. "You scared the stuffing outta me! I know you're feeling a lot better, but you shouldn't be moving around so freely without me after that fall..."
"S-Sorry, ehe... Um, I mean, it's only 'cuz of you that I even can move around." Pikachu rubbed the back of her neck apologetically. "I mean, if you hadn't found me, I would've been a goner for sure. So Please don't worry about me... I'm fine! Let's just get this show on the road! I don't know where we're going, so can we go over it one last time...?"
For a moment, Mimikyu let out an irritated groan, causing Pikachu to flinch back in guilt, swallowing embarrassedly as he extended his black limbs from beneath his sheet, drawing a makeshift map in the dirt with his finger-like appendages.
"This is the fifth time today. Try and get it into your thick skull this time, yeah?" He sighed, shaking his flopping head and prompting Pikachu's ears to visibly wilt in shame. He drew four locations in the dust — one representing their current location, the other representing their goal, and another two reprenting the surrounding areas respectively. "Right, so... We're going off to a set of caves between Tiny Meadow and Craggy Coast. I heard a bunch of Outlaws stashed their treasures there long ago."
"Treasures..." Pikachu responded dreamily, eyes sparkling in anticipation as she carefully examined the diagram. Her tail twitched from side to side rapidly in delight. "I-If we find 'em, Chatot's sure to recognise us as worthy explorers, right? He'll have no choice but to let us in!"
"Yeah. Right..." Mimikyu scribbled out his drawing, the black limb retreating beneath his clothy shawl. "We're going the long way around, so make sure you've packed enough Apples for the journey."
"Yeah, um... about that. I..." Pikachu swallowed for a moment, hesitant to voice her opinion. Noticing his growing impatience at her lack of words, she feverishly spoke up in a shaky, meek tone. "W-Wouldn't it be better if we cut through Treasure Town? We could probably try and pick up some extra supplies on the way, and I'm sure it'd take up less ti-"
"Can I remind you for a second that I'm the one who knows the area?" Mimikyu snapped, scowling with eyes narrowed and a flicker of irritation in his gaze. For a moment, he flinches back, voice softening slightly. "I-I mean, you probably hit your head really bad when you fell, you know? Let me handle the planning. I know what I'm doing."
Pikachu nodded; she wasn't sure what to muster aside from a small, anxious 'sorry' under her breath. She can't fumble this — not like she did back in the human world! She promised herself that this time she'd make lots of friends while she tried to find her way back... she wouldn't be an awkward recluse. Not like back then...!
"So... You ready?" Mimikyu cleared his throat, snapping Pikachu out of her panicked daydream in an instant. "We need to get there before it gets dark, after all." He leaned forward slightly, his 'head' flopping in an almost confused, saddened manner. "...You trust me, right?"
"I...O-Of course I do, Mimikyu! I'm sorry I made you think otherwise, I..." Pikachu assured him, evidently flustered. "You saved my life. I owe you... everything. I'm just excited for us to start our first exploration together, y'know...?" With burning resolution in her eyes, she nodded. "Yeah. I'm more than ready."
"I'll take the lead. Stay close behind me and watch your step."
As the tell-tale sound of branches and leaves breaking in the undergrowth told him his target was dutifully following behind him, a wicked grin curled on his expression.
Jackpot.