I woke up confused and a little cold. Why were there rocks digging through the dried grass scratching my skin? Why was I naked? Why was I outside? What was that thumping sound? What was that SMELL?!

  After a panicked moment the memories of yesterday flooded back, bringing with them the pounding, throbbing agony as my heart rate increased. I stared at my hand. My left hand. My missing finger. My pinky! It ate me-!

  No, nope!

  Stop!

  I am strong and brave when I am naked and injured in the wilderness! I am happy go fucking lucky!

  I can break down when I'm safe.

  I rolled away from the Tyrantrum's stomach, leaving the warm, soothing sound of her heartbeat behind. I didn't need comfort right now. I needed to move.

  I was starving, but I didn't plan to eat the forearm I had saved yet. Instead I simply started cooking it after blowing some life into the embers that remained from last night. I had something to do before I ate.

  I was terrified I would trip and stab myself or slice my palm open, but I needed a way to cut things safely. So while my food cooked, I carved a very basic handle for my blade with the blade, sliding the broken base into a notch I cut into the roughly carved branch. I then wrapped it tightly with a strip of Sneasel skin, pinning it with a shard of the metal I smashed in. A chunk of wood with a wedge taken out gave me a rough 'sheathe'.

  The forearm finished cooking, but instead of digging in right away, I looked up at the Alpha Tyrantrum with a hopeful expression as I held the piece of charred meat. The Sneasel intestines were rolled up under my arm and already starting to stiffen, with my Pawniard blade slid into my chestwrap. Carefully slid into my chestwrap…

  "Could we go get some water, please?"

  My throat was so dry it hurt to talk, and I was once again startled at the sound of my voice, even in my own head, but she nodded at me before opening her mouth wide. As hesitant as I was to re-enter her mouth, I eventually caved in, stepping into the cavernous maw. I wasn't even hesitating out of fear. Her heartbeat had literally soothed me to sleep last night, and it's not like I could fight her if she actually wanted to eat me.

  No, I simply didn't want to be covered in saliva again, but as I grabbed onto a tooth, I had already given up on that.

  Maybe I could make a saddle if we found vines?

  Or she might actually eat me if I suggested it. She had balked hard at carrying her baby in her arms, let alone me. Why not her baby, at least? It couldn't be pleasant to do it this way; I had seen her tongue bleed last night!

  A brief run that involved far too many jumps and hops later, I found myself unceremoniously rolled out again, disorientated as the baby flopped out next to me with an adorable little roar. While I was grateful she was using her tongue to cover her teeth, I'd really rather just step out, though, personally.

  That was just my opinion, though.

  As I stretched, I found that we were already at the base of the towering, red-leaved tree. Well, at the lake that ran around its base, but still. That would have taken me days of walking, and she had run here in less than a half hour. She wasn't even panting!

  I decided to ignore her insane physical abilities for the moment, drawn in as I was by the crystal clear, somehow flowing water. Must be a river under there... Dropping the forearm but still holding the Sneasel intestines from last night, I made a mad dash for the water.

  A mad dash that was rather rudely interrupted by a massive foot that stomped in front of me. I looked up, only to find the mother giving me a disappointed look. Even the baby was staring at me like I was stupid. Then I looked into the water and saw movement.

  There were a lot of Pokemon down there, and now I wasn't sure how this would even work. I had to assume that any Pokemon in there wanted to eat me, but thankfully, the mother Tyrantrum just stomped into the shallows, forming a small, safe area with her tail and head. I didn't hesitate to throw myself into the water alongside the baby. It tasted great and probably would have even if I wasn't dehydrated, but I wasn't just thirsty.

  I kept my left hand and its throbbing stump above water, but I used my free hand to snatch up sand and scrub myself. To scrub myself raw if I had to. I was absolutely covered in dried blood, not to mention saliva, and it took me multiple long minutes just to scrape most of it off. I surfaced with a wide, happy smile, feeling at least somewhat clean for the first time since I got here.

  I took the intestines, all fifteen feet of them, and slowly pulled the long, thin tube inside-out while trying to scrape them clean with some nearby reeds, before I plunged the entire thing underwater. I put a large rock on top of the pile, still in the shallows, and pulled myself from the water with a satisfied expression. The mother Tyrantrum just remained there as I grabbed the dirty, charred forearm, brushed as much of it as I could off, and viciously bit into it.

  After I finished my meal (Sneasel tasted like the weirdest combination of deer and duck, I had found), I tossed the baby the bone and heard it begin to crunch behind me as I groaned in satisfaction. Food was food, and I felt much more lucid with water and nutrition in me.

  I felt like the intestines weren't going to loosen up any further, so I retrieved them, tied a knot in one end, and filled half of it with water. Reaching up with the knotted end, I asked the mother to hold it for me. She did, with a very puzzled face, before I started vigorously shaking it back and forth, trying to clean the inside, which had been the outside, as much as possible.

  Eventually, the water stopped running any cleaner, so I carefully filled the entire thing before tying another loose knot on the other end and wrapped it around me like the world's most morbid sash. I tried to ignore the smell, but I got the feeling I would just go nose blind to it soon enough. I had barely smelled the blood, after all, and it had covered my front. After my nose died a little, that was.

  As I strode back towards the baby, I could feel the Alpha rise behind me. What would have once been terrifying was now a comforting presence, especially compared to the feeling of death suddenly radiating from the lake.

  I looked at the water, scrambling backward in fear as a large shape rose from the water, hovering in the air before the strangely calm Tyrantrum. It was a ten-foot tall, jagged-looking seahorse of all things, with large brown fins, light pink underbelly, and a vibrant red crest with two green antennae-horns that looked like seaweed. A Dragalge, and judging by its size, also an Alpha. Were the two Alpha dragon types about to fight?

  I stood next to the baby Tyrunt, her lack of fear somewhat calming me despite the absolute terror I felt coursing through my veins. The Dragalge began to speak, a warbling, watery, oddly high-pitched sound that set my teeth on edge. In comparison, the low growls of the Tyrantrum actually calmed me as they talked. They just… talked. For minutes they stood there, the water dragon shifting to stare at me occasionally. Finally, with a growl the Tyrantrum gestured me forward.

  I didn't fucking move.

  A louder growl, more insistent, and I warily trudged closer to the giant dragon-types. I froze up as the Dragalge got right in my face before a surge of irritation made me straighten my spine with a snarl. It just stood there staring me down for what felt like hours, but it was probably less than a minute. With a splash, we were suddenly alone again. I looked back at the Tyrantrum, but she just gave me a vicious grin.

  I was about to ask her what the hell had just happened when another explosion of water rang out behind me. I turned, already scowling again, only to find myself face to face with a Skrelp, the tiny, unevolved form of Dragalge. Tiny wasn't accurate, however. It was only two feet tall, but considering it should have been only a foot? It was another Alpha. What the hell?

  I looked around, but its parent didn't reappear. A painful bump on my arm startled me, and I found the Skrelp latched onto my left arm with its tiny little fins. I felt a small trickle of blood run down my arm where a thorny protrusion had poked me, and I paled immediately.

  Skrelp were Water/Poison typed, and roughly half of them could poison opponents that simply touched them, automatically. I stared into its eyes, my own open wide. I waited in fear, but nothing happened. I let out a massive sigh of relief at the realization that this Skrelp had Poison Touch instead of Poison Point. He had to trigger it by attacking. If Abilities were a thing here… they probably were?

  I looked back towards the Tyrantrum, noting the absolutely huge grin on her face. She began to chuckle at me, a rumbling sound that I felt echo in my bones. I glared at her, but she only chuckled harder, eyes squinting in amusement. The baby Tyrunt just stared at the Skrelp, her eyes wide with a child-like innocence.

  "Mind explaining what the hell that was about?" The Tyrantrum just grinned back at me before nodding at the Skrelp. The little Pokemon shivered on my arm, driving its sharp little points further in, but maintained eye contact as it nodded back. I turned to stare at it as I hissed in pain.

  "You're hurting me, you know?" Its red eyes got wide before it loosened its grip. I was about to demand it release my arm entirely, but before I could even suck in a breath I heard the sounds of claws scraping rocks, followed by the most terrifying growl I had yet to hear from the Alpha Tyrantrum.

  I whipped my head around, only to freeze up in terror. It was a Weavile, the evolved form of Sneasel, and it was almost three feet taller than me. Four, if you count the huge crest of feathers. Another fucking Alpha. There were two normal-sized Sneasel behind it, glaring at me. They all were, actually.

  No idea why they disliked me. Honest. Maybe they were jealous of my chest wrap? It was quite fashionable.

  I barely had time for my internal panicked sarcasm before a large chunk of ice materialized above the Weavile's claw. It reared back, and before I had a chance to second guess myself, I threw myself backward.

  I watched in horrified fascination as a blur rushed past my face before I felt myself lifted off the ground and thrown backwards from the sheer velocity of the missile. I had a split second to watch the Tyrantrum charge before I found myself slamming into the river.

  I managed not to gasp as I plunged underwater, but upon opening my eyes, I did scream internally. Rising to meet me was a veritable cloud of Pokemon. I saw a school of Whiscash clash briefly with a few Basculins, the catfish overwhelming most of the barracuda lookalikes, but that wasn't my main worry. That was reserved for the group of arachnids my size that had launched themselves from the bottom, eyes intent on me.

  Araquanid, the Pokemon that managed to give me spontaneous arachnophobia in an instant.

  Before I could even try to swim away, a futile gesture at best, the Skrelp released my shoulder, only to slam back-first into my chest. I gasped in pain, but before I even had the chance to start choking underwater, I found myself launched backward, back into the open air.

  With a thud, I landed, quickly rolling to my feet in a crouch while I felt at my rib cage where the Skrelp had impacted me. Nothing felt broken, it just hurt like a bitch. Which didn't help much as I took in the scene.

  In the background, a game of cat and mouse played out at titanic proportions, the Alpha Weavile darting around so fast it was hard to track, unleashing ranged Move after ranged Move while the Tyrantrum roared in fury, lashing out with her head and tail in attempt to land a blow as a cloud of hovering, rocketing stones continually missed the Weavile by inches.

  The two Sneasels were harassing the baby, and for once I was grateful that they were sadistic fucks, because she only had a few claw marks. They were having fun with her. If they had just gone for the kill, it would have been too late.

  Time to make sure it wasn't too late.

  The Skrelp was floating in the air near me, so I quickly pointed towards the Sneasels and yelled out an attack. I didn't know the entirety of its move pool, but it had certainly used Water Gun to launch me out of the water. I bumped him with my arm, feeling his sharp points dig in as he latched on tightly.

  "Use Water Gun on the left one! Hold on!" I was sprinting forward as I said this, pulling out the Pawniard blade. It was barely longer than my fingers, but better than nothing.

  I let my upper body fall forward as I ran, both to present a smaller target and to snag another rock in my left hand. It didn't hurt as badly as it had last night, but my stump still flared in agony as my grip tightened. Thankfully, adrenaline was a hell of a drug.

  As I neared the Pokemon my living kelp armband released me momentarily, rocketing back with the force of the Water Gun he briefly unleashed before shooting back to my arm with a smaller one. The piercing needle of water impacted the left Sneasel and caused it to stumble slightly.

  Before it could recover, I was already there, rock smashing its temple even as I drove the blade toward the back of its neck.

  I was quickly reminded that Pokemon weren't animals, weren't stupid, and most importantly, weren't weak, as it barely looked back as it let out a Slash. And it was very much a capital S Slash, I noticed with detached horror, two vivid white lines of pure energy radiating from the claws that rushed towards me.

  I tried to cover myself, despite knowing the futility of such a meagre defense, when I was knocked sideways away from the Slash. The Skrelp screeched in warbling pain as it took the move meant for me, but I couldn't stop to worry. I maintained my footing and, with a vicious growl, went back in for the kill.

  Another Water Gun thankfully slammed into its head, stunning it long enough for me to knock it to the ground, face down. I didn't hesitate to place the knife at the base of its skull and, with a scream of mingled pain and anger, drove the rock down on top of it.

  It stopped moving, but before I could even sigh in relief, I heard a piercing Screech of fury ring out, my legs locking up at the sound. I looked up just in time to see the Weavile, eyes full of berserk fury, sprinting at me right past the Tyrantrum, ice already materializing over its hand as it murderously charged me.

  It's childrens killer.

  With a Roar from the Tyrantrum, however, the Weavile was stunned momentarily even as it stumbled forward from the sonic impact. I caught a glimpse of wide jaws closing around its head before I snapped back to awareness. I guess Screech could also stun a human, much like Roar could apparently freeze Pokemon momentarily.

  That, or she was just that stupidly powerful.

  I quickly turned to my right, only to find the baby Tyrunt and Skrelp had things well in hand. In mouth, technically. The Sneasels arms were once again in the Tyrunt's jaws, Skrelp firing a non-stop barrage of Water Guns at the Sneasel as it hovered above the grass nearby. Still, my blood was flowing, and all I could see was red as I shoulder-checked the Sneasel to the ground. The baby was knocked over as well, and I let out a vicious snarl as I stomped on the top of the Tyrunt's jaws.

  Now, the only reason I did such a thing was her Rock typing, knowing that it would barely faze her, which it didn't.

  The Sneasel, however?

  It found itself laying on its front, my blade already held to its spine as I began to raise the rock. Staring at the gushing stumps of its forearms. Even as its scream began, I was striking, putting the vile thing out of its misery before it even got the chance to suffer.

  Adrenaline still dumping itself into my system as fast as possible, I stood and stared around with wide eyes, taking ragged, panting breaths. The fights were over, but once again, the baby Tyrunt was hurt, thankfully less than last night though.

  In fact, now that the fighting had stopped, I could almost see her scratches scabbing over in real-time, the wounds only slowly oozing blood as the fight ended, and the Skrelp's Scratch wound was barely there in the first place! The mother was far more injured, most of her flanks covered in iced-over gouges, but honestly, she barely seemed hurt as she stomped her way toward us.

  She was still absolutely enraged, but I didn't even blink as her head lunged past me to nuzzle her baby. I turned to the Skrelp, still hovering near my arm, and gestured for him to follow me. I walked up to the corpse of the Alpha Weavile- at least the body. The head was nowhere to be seen, so I could only assume she had eaten it. I rolled the corpse onto its back before taking a deep breath. I could already smell the foul innards and was not looking forward to pulling the entrails out.

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  I still did, though, and by the time I was working on separating the skin from the meat, I felt the earth thump under my feet and an angry growl of hot air ruffled my hair. I didn't look back, earning myself another deep growl. I sighed and looked over my shoulder. She wasn't enraged anymore, but she looked very unhappy with my actions. Why, though? I did it last night, and she even helped me- Oh.

  For fucks sake!

  "Do you really think I'm dumb enough to take meat from your kill without permission?" I growled out, only to receive a serious nod. The fuck?

  Really?

  "Really?! C'mon, look, I'm just getting the skin off. We're going to have to go up into the snow to find humans, right?"

  She nodded at me, eyes never stopping their intense glare. I noticed the Skrelp had backed up, looking at her anger in slight terror, but the baby Tyrunt had actually managed to drag both Sneasel corpses over to me, which had been adorable. She had been fascinated by my actions, and wanted to help.

  When she wasn't distracted, of course. She was still a baby.

  The Tyrunt was standing near the pile of organs now, whining at her mother. The Tyrantrum briefly spared her a glance and a nod, then continued to glare at me as her daughter dug into the viscera. She tossed her head at the Skrelp, too, and it began to feast on the offal as well, eyes shining with delight.

  "Well, I'm sure you will be fine up there in the cold, Miss Gigantic Alpha Rock Dragon, but what about your daughter, or us?" The glare lessened, and I began to explain my idea. "See, if you try to carry us in your mouth, not only are we going to get wet and colder, we're going to be cramped in there. This bitch, however, is big enough to make a pouch we can sit in, especially if I use the ribcage as a floor. That way we can stay warm and dry, and you can carry it in your jaws. Unless I could… ride you?" Before her growl could even get started, I began shaking my head.

  "No, nevermind. That would be even colder, and I'd prefer not to get frostbite and lose more of my body parts, thank you very much. One pinky is enough for me."

  I managed to free the entire skin, tossing it to the side as I began trying to remove the flesh from the rib cage. After a moment, I heard the same dreadful rasping sounds from last night as she licked the skin clean.

  It took me another three hours to finish our transportation and butcher the other two Sneasels, after doing my best to remove the blood and viscera in the water. It was horrendous and disgusting and would for sure give me nightmares, and it looked more at home in a horror movie than in the light of day, truly.

  The ribcage in the bottom gave me a stable platform to sit on, while the various arm and leg bones were strapped together as tightly as possible to make a frame inside so the bag didn't squeeze me. Finally, the legs were mostly stripped to give me lengths of leather, which closed and tightened the entire thing quite nicely. It was going to be a bit of a squeeze to enter through the neck-hole even after I opened it a bit further, but honestly?

  I was so fucking done with this horror show right now I couldn't make myself care!

  I stood back up and walked over to the river. The Tyrantrum was back in the water, both to make a safe area and, I had to assume, for relief. Those cuts looked vicious even after the ice had melted, but I wasn't about to tell a fucking dragon that she was hurt, so I kept my mouth shut.

  I hopped in and scrubbed the blood off me, again, as I heard a much less horrifying rasp ring out behind me, the baby helping to clean the Sneasel hides. The Skrelp floated in the water next to the mother Tyrantrum, but had seemed fascinated by the concept of clothes as I worked.

  Honestly, after the past two days, or full day, so was I.

  As the baby brought me the cleaned hides, I did my best to rinse the blood off before I took the larger of the two and wrapped it around my waist, once again fur inside, like a sarong. I also used a strip from the Weavile to tie a very awkward knife holster onto my right bicep, glad that I no longer had a blade literally above my heart at all times.

  I was technically no longer 'nude,' but the feeling of Sneasel fur against my skin was a foreign one. I didn't feel dressed; I felt like I was cosplaying a cavewoman—one with no underwear.

  I looked to the side, eyeing the large red feathers I had plucked off some of the Sneasels. If I was going to cavewoman it up, I might as well look the part. This was much simpler, a simple headband to keep my eyes free of my filthy, unruly hair, with three feathers for my three kills jutting out behind my left ear.

  I must have looked ridiculous, but the Pokemon? They were fascinated by my attempt at fashion. I grinned up at the Tyrantrum, an idea forming in my head.

  "You like how this looks, right?" She nodded her head rapidly, eyes never leaving the feathers sticking out from my headband. I smiled at her enthusiasm. "Well, I can do the same for you with the Weaviles feathers if you want? The ones you didn't eat, that is."

  An even more rapid nod gave away her intense happiness. That, and her massive tail that was beginning to throw up small waves as it wagged back and forth. I laughed at her, delighted to see this side of the giant predator.

  I looked down at the grisly pile of materials I still had, mind working. I wasn't exactly sure how I would put a headband on her, as her head seemed to be streamlined, every spike, protrusion or ridge angling backwards. I looked back up at her, her tail still wagging, if less energetically. She had noticed my hesitancy.

  I tried to put on a bright smile.

  "It might be a little hard to make a headband with these materials, but how about a necklace? I could put the claws on it, too?" She took a moment to consider before nodding. Her tail had slowed even further, though, so I gave her a wide smile as I stared at her.

  "Hey, when we get to other humans, I'll make a headband that will never fall off; how's that?" She nodded, tail picking up speed again.

  I continued to speak as I got to work. The claws were going to be a problem, but I quickly figured out that using one claw to drill a hole through the other was the easiest, after I got it started with my Pawniard blade.

  "You know, I'm going to miss you when we get there. You might be a giant man-eating dragon dino, but you're also the first friend I made here. Well, you and your baby. Does that make you the second friend?"

  I managed to thread half of the claws onto the string, so I began to work on the feathers next. They were surprisingly (or not) tough, but with difficulty, I was able to bend enough of the fronds to tie a loop in the bottoms. I continued to speak as I worked, the babies watching me intently from barely a foot away. Actually, was the Skrelp a baby? Probably not, if it was already obviously an Alpha.

  "If I had been a minute slower getting to that Sneasel last night, your baby would be dead, and then I would have been dead. If not to you, to these fucks. Or even just to a Skwovet of all things, the stupid looking little shits… What I'm saying is I wouldn't change anything that led to us meeting." I paused for a second at that.

  "Okay, I'd still like my pinky back, very much so, but not if I didn't get to meet you two."

  I briefly contemplated the morality of cursing in front of a baby, but considering she was a baby dragon, well, she'd probably heard worse already. I finished threading the claws on, finally looking up from my work.

  The mother Tyrantrum was frowning so fiercely at me from the water that my heart actually skipped a beat. I froze up as she rose from the river, stalking towards me with her head held low to the ground. It looked like she was about to devour me, but I managed to calm myself before I gave in to the fear coursing through me, although I could feel the blood fleeing my face.

  I trusted her. Right? She would have killed me long ago if she was going to, so what was wrong? I was tense as she towered over me, before her head came down to meet mine. Those jaws opened, and even as I froze in terror, I saw her tongue dart out to lick me.

  It was like a steel rasp on my face, and I quickly pulled away before she could tear my skin right off. I looked at her in stunned confusion before she leaned over and licked the baby Tyrunt, then turned to stare at me pointedly. It took me a few seconds to connect the dots, but I felt my face grow hot a moment later in embarrassment as my blood returned to my face with a vengeance.

  "I think I'm a little too human to be your child, though? I'm not exactly a dragon." She snorted and shook her head. Her front paws came up, pointing first at me, then at herself. Nope, nothing this time.

  "I didn't understand that. I'm human, right?" She nodded, then pointed to herself and then me again. Was she saying we were the same?

  "Are you saying I'm a dragon too? That we're both dragons?" She nodded, eyes bright as she stared at me. That was not what I was expecting, not by a long shot. Was it aura?

  I knew aura was a thing in the Pokemon world, but I also knew that it was simultaneously incredibly rare, yet also ubiquitous. Everything had aura: the grass, the sand, humans, Pokemon. Shit, the mountains and clouds probably had aura.

  It was just that most people only had a small amount, the baseline, as it were. As far as I was aware, only Riolu and Lucario could use it among Pokemon, though I was probably wrong about that. I knew, though, that there were less than a handful of fully trained 'aura guardians' in the anime and games. I think there was one in Sinnoh, maybe? This world can't be that different.

  Well, I'll have time enough to look into that later. I highly doubted I would be suplexing a Pokemon or something anytime soon, although super strength would have been awesome, not just useful in my current situation. I returned my gaze to hers and, with additional context, saw how she treated me.

  Like I was a member of her pack, her child. I had protected her child, fought for her life, bled for her. She was the pack leader, obviously, and had been mad when she thought I was going to eat her kill without permission. She approved of my savage fighting methods (because what other choice did I really have when it was human versus Pokemon?). She healed me, sheltered me, and let me sleep against her. To her, I was now a small, weak Tyrunt. Probably.

  It warmed my heart, but at the same time brought up a huge problem. I tried to get my thoughts in order before I spoke next, the children watching from nearby with wide eyes.

  "Well… Thank you so much." I got up and threw myself onto the side of her face in a hug, grasping her crown as I looked directly into one of her eyes, feet dangling.

  "That means a lot to me; you have no idea, really. I would love to stay with you, but you do realize I have to live among humans, right? I can't just stay out here with you; I'll die. Even if it's not a Pokemon, I'll get an infection and die eventually, not to mention the dirty, untreated water I've been drinking. I'm on a time limit as it is."

  I glanced at my left hand, only my pointer and middle fingers actually gripping the crown above her eyes. The agony had become so ever-present at this point that it barely impaired me. It was still there, but as long as I didn't acknowledge it I could function almost normally. Something similar had happened with a broken arm back on Earth, actually.

  "I'm really surprised I don't have an infection from my stump yet, but hopefully that holds true long enough to get to civilization."

  I looked back at her bright silver irises. Her pupils and sclera were both pitch black, but I could easily see the affection shining in that single giant, bright orb. Her eye was almost the size of my face, it would be hard to miss it, really.

  "You'd have to come with me into human lands, you know that, right?" I felt her nod, and I smiled weakly before I took a deep, steadying breath. This was going to be the big issue.

  "You would have to be registered as my Pokemon, you know?" Another nod. "That means going into a Pokeball. You might have to stay there most of the time we're in a city too, since you're so huge."

  Unafraid of my self-appointed mother or not, I did not enjoy the thunderous growl she unleashed. I spoke up quickly, trying to get ahead of the tantrum before the Despot Pokemon got too worked up.

  "There's no other way! You've eaten humans! If you don't accept being my Pokemon, they might just try to kill you! I was going to have you drop me off near the town up there, but if you're coming with me, there is no other way. None!" I leaned in just a bit closer to her eye, softening my voice.

  "Look me in the eyes and tell me that I think you are my subordinate." Her eye narrowed at me as I hung there, face to eyeball. "Exactly, but here's the thing. If we do this, and you come with me, you would have to behave; that means no eating other trainers' Pokemon, no killing other trainers' Pokemon, no eating humans, and certainly no tantrums around other people. Because if you do?" I waited for a moment, looking into her eye as I hung from the side of her face.

  Her stare was piercing.

  "I would be the one blamed. The one punished. They would take you all away from me, and I don't think anyone wants that." She was still glaring at me as she lowered her head, and I released her when my feet touched the ground. She turned back towards the water with a huff, and I called out at her back.

  "I would have to do that with your baby, too! And the Skrelp!" I turned to give the sea dragon a mock-angry face. "Right, you little surprise? I assume you want to come along?" It nodded eagerly, and I felt my heart begin to melt at the sight. Skrelps weren't a stereotypically cute or beautiful Pokemon, but the way it clapped its fins together was absolutely precious!

  "Okay! That means I'm your caretaker now, so first things first. Are you a boy?" He nodded, and I smiled at him. I crouched down, putting my head level with his. I really wondered how he was just floating, but from what I had seen before, it was slow, and he couldn't go higher than eye level.

  "Well, you heard our little conversation. Are you okay with being my Pokemon? Going into a Pokeball?" I turned to the Tyrunt baby, who was staring at me in clear anticipation.

  "I would ask you, but that's your mom's decision to make, sweetie, not mine." She stomped her feet a few times before running towards her mother, tiny little roars already ringing out.

  I turned back to the Skrelp. The little guy's eyes were wide as he nodded, and I couldn't help but smile at the sight. I carefully patted him on the head, noticing just how many small spikes he had on his forehead. Something too 'small' and insignificant to add to the official artwork; they were only a few millimeters long, and I could touch him safely, but I could only imagine the pain I would be in if he were to use his ability to poison on attacking with a Headbutt.

  He pushed into my hand, but thankfully, not very hard. As I stood to walk towards the tyrant family, he swiftly reached out for my arm, and I jerked my arm back before holding my hands up.

  "Hold on, hold on! You're kinda pokey, buddy, you made me bleed earlier." He looked alarmed briefly before I shook my head. "No, no, you're fine! You didn't mean to, right?" He shook his head rapidly, the fin on the back of his head flapping back and forth. I smiled at the sight.

  "Then don't worry about it! At all. Understood?" He nodded again, and I continued. "Do you want to ride on my arm that badly?" Another rapid nod. "Well, I'm not sure exactly how-" I paused for a second.

  I was an idiot. I mean, I already knew that, but it bore repeating. I looked over the rest of my materials, mainly the unused Sneasel skin, trying to figure out how this was going to work.

  Two short minutes later, I had the world's worst looking… mantle? Half cloak? I literally just tied the Sneasel arms together around my neck, then the legs to my left upper arm, letting the rest dangle down. The Skrelp drifted closer and carefully clasped onto my bicep with his fins. He smiled happily and made the first sound I had heard from him that wasn't a screech of pain, a quiet, but high pitched, moist squelchy squeak. It was absolutely adorable, and I brought my head down to touch our foreheads together with a wide smile.

  "Well then, I guess you can stay there. You're… not actually that light, even with your cool floating stuff, but screw it. I'm right handed anyways, so I'll live." I looked back towards the water. The tyrant family was still arguing, but I ignored them for a moment. I looked back at the Skrelp, smiling softly.

  "Will you miss them?" He nodded, but then looked me straight in the eyes before touching his forehead to my arm, his fins tightening momentarily. My smile grew wider at that.

  "One day, we'll return and show them how much you've grown. You'll be a huge Dragalge by then, you know?" He appeared to perk up at that, and I gave him one last glance before looking around. There were no trees around here, but if I could find enough bushes and shrubs, I could cook some food. We had been here much longer than I had anticipated.

  I mean, I had just wanted a drink. Then, a giant sea dragon comes out of nowhere to drop their son off in my arms, without my consent, I might add. Not that I disliked the Skrelp, but still, I enjoyed my agency. When we got attacked by that psychopath's family, I nearly died… at least twice that I could tell.

  I had to kill again. That part, I was conflicted on.

  I would kill to eat and survive, no problem. I had fished my entire previous life, so this was just hunting. Right? Except I knew that Pokemon were sapient! I hadn't seen any normal animals, not even fish, so that was out. There actually were insects, and luckily so far I hadn't been bitten yet. But Pokemon? Even an evil one, like those Sneasel? I didn't exactly have much choice, but still…

  My feelings on the matter were complicated, but the fact that they attacked the second time, and that they were Sneasels kind of made me not give a shit. They were Egg thieves! Eggs that, once again, were going to be sapients. So while it made me slightly uncomfortable, no, I was overall fine with eating these Sneasels.

  But could I eat a Miltank? Tauros? Pidgey? Even a Skwovet? I disliked the fat squirrel Pokemon on an instinctive level, but I wouldn't have even been rude to one. They couldn't help the fact that their stupid little faces were like nails on a chalkboard to me for whatever reason. They were still people.

  You weren't supposed to eat people.

  I shook my head in an attempt to clear my thoughts, looking at the large bundle of grass and sticks I had managed to gather. It should be enough to quickly cook a meal, at least. As I trudged back to the still arguing family, I shaded my eyes and looked up at the sun briefly. About noon, and with those mountains, we probably only had a few more hours of full, direct sunlight. Not that we were far from anything, not with an Alpha Tyrantrum's legs.

  I got my cuts of meat prepared beforehand, knowing my fuel was limited, but I hesitated to interrupt the arguing dinosaurs just to ask for a light. I glanced at the Skrelp, but I knew their entire line would never learn fire moves. Right? Well, this wasn't a game, it was real life, so maybe? I looked at him inquisitively.

  "I don't suppose you can make fire, can you?" He shook his head. "Can you use, uhh… Dragon Breath?" Another shake of his head, and he seemed to droop a bit.

  "Dude, it's okay. You're a water and poison type. I didn't think you would, but I had to check. Actually, want to show me what you can do?" His whole face lit up as he practically launched off of my arm. Well, he actually did launch himself with his tail, actually. He stared in front of us before I gave him a nod.

  He seemed to hack up a glob of bright purple, viscous liquid that he launched a few feet in front of us. When it impacted the grass, it melted right through it, then through an inch of the dirt before stopping, leaving a smoldering mess that reeked. Not like garbage would, but a sharp, chemically smell.

  I took a few steps back, suddenly very conscious of my bare feet. I had decided against sack shoes, considering I was going to be riding in the morbid-mobile, but I very much wanted something between my feet and the ground now.

  Still, I gave a wide smile as I turned to him, reaching out to pat him on the head.

  "That was Acid, right?" He nodded, then darted forward head-first briefly. "Tackle, I assume?" He nodded enthusiastically before whipping his tail back and forth.

  "Tail Whip, nice. You can probably poison your opponent with that, considering your spikes, too!" He did a little flip, and I barked out a laugh. Then he seemed to split, becoming two Skrelp before a thick cloud of smoke appeared—two feet from me. I coughed, running to get clear. He came floating out of the smog with an even wider smile. That little prankster!

  "Oh, you think you're funny, do you?" He gave me a solemn, sober nod before doing another flip. Great, he can do sarcasm.

  "Either way, good job! Double Team and Smokescreen are great escape moves, and using both? You're going to be a real bastard to fight once we get some training in."

  I would have continued, but apparently, the tantrums had played out by now, and I felt the earth shake as the Tyrantrum soon towered over me. She was still growling, but it was a low growl, not a dangerous one. She looked me in the eyes for a full minute, and I did my best not to blink. She eventually gave a small nod before her head surged down, igniting the small fire I had prepared.

  As I rushed to get my food cooking, I noticed the Skrelp and Tyrunt were happily chatting, the little water dragon still doing flips as he squelched out what we had been doing to the wide-eyed baby Tyrunt. As I sat back, enjoying the warmth of the fire, I met the Alpha's eyes. She was still pissed, but her eyes were kind as she watched me work.

  Looks like I'm halfway to my carry limit already. Assuming I even wanted to be a traine- I abruptly barked out a laugh, waving away the curious look the Alpha gave me.

  Dropped into the world of Pokemon, and in the right body? Fuckin try to stop me from being a Trainer!

  Honestly, though, I didn't want to go on a Journey in Galar. The region had just never clicked with me. I liked Galar, but I would never love it. Call it nostalgia goggles. I mean, they had Alcremie! Hopefully, I could get to Kanto and Johto, but I'd take Sinnoh or Hoenn just as quickly, too.

  Alola would be interesting. And beautiful.

  Well, that also depended on the state of the various Teams. I had no idea where I was in the timeline, or if the timeline I was thinking of was even remotely accurate. I did not want to be in Hoenn when the rival Teams decided it was Calamity Season.

  I had no intention whatsoever of trying to play the hero, a feeling only reinforced by the ever-present agony in my left hand and the sight of the infant, but if I could get a hold of Interpol, I could hopefully stop a few things before they even happened. Unless mind-reading breaks a person so, you know, I'd play it by ear.

  It was as good a plan as any.

  I bet Cerulean City was beautiful this time of year, which I assumed to be late spring, but hell if I knew.