The Lost World

[Loyalty]

Clint looked up at the treetops when he heard the creature jumping across the branches above him. He saw a green form moving between the trees, but given its speed and the cover of the treeline it was impossible to discern any more details about whatever Clint was looking at. Nonetheless, Clint assumed the cry to be left alone came from said individual as he saw that some kind of bird was chasing it. Clint took a moment to note how the bird, despite being no species which he recognized, curiously appeared to be just a simple bird despite his expectation that all animals in this strange land would be extremely different from those which he knew. Recognizing that the bird was in pursuit of the mysterious green creature, Clint picked up the nearest stick while calling out to the others, "Hey y'all, we ought'a stop that thing."

Clint threw the stick into the air, carefully aiming in the bird's path. Aim was the least of Clint's concerns however, as his arms lacked the strength which would allow him to reach the bird by throwing his stick. The stick hardly traveled more than two meters high before falling onto the grass with an erratic bounce. Clint watched it fall, sighing with a deadpan expression on his face, though nobody could read it under the cover of his helmet-like head. "No idea why I tried that," Clint muttered in disappointment.

 

[Murkmire]

After the helmet-headed creature named Clint had sadly failed his attack, Brutus took action. "Let's help this creature, guys. They may be able to help us," said Brutus as he took a determined step towards the lizard and it's pursuer.

Of course, not knowing anything about the area, Brutus still had to do something. He brandished a rock, and gestured everyone else to pick up a stone or two. "We need to drive that bird away. Let's make sure we hit it hard, too." He turned back to the chase headed towards him and his teammates.

 

[Epic-Ash-Fan]

Damion glared at the bird. he hated bullying of any kind, so he put his crystal down next to him for a moment so that he could pick up a rock with his tail. and stood in position.

"Alright bird brain! You'll have to find your dinner somewhere else."

Damion swung his tail to gain some momentum, aimed carefully then threw the rock hoping it would hit the assaulting bird.

 

[Plumbum]

Through the cover of the treetops, the Pidgeotto was a very tough target to hit, with most of the rocks simply flying past it as it bore down on the hapless creature. As the chase ran out of trees to jump through, the tables turned quite quickly. The lizard-like pokémon dropped down to the ground of the forest, granting a much more clear view. The pidgeotto that had been bearing down on the seemingly stranded Grovyle was also finally struck by one of the rocks, which seemed to catch it awkwardly on it's right wing. It tumbled out of the sky, hitting the treeline hard, and then the ground even harder. Amazingly, this didn't seem to knock the bird out, but it was certainly far out of a fight.

The grovyle they'd just saved was certainly grateful for the help he had been given. Once he had looked up and noticed that not only was he not dead, but the Pidgeotto had been taken out on his behalf, he turned to his saviours. "Hey, thanks. You really saved me there." He seemed to stop and think for a second. "Ralts, Shinx and Emolga? I don't see many of you guys around this way. I'm not going to ask too much about why I'm getting strangers helping me out of a tight spot, but what brings you guys here?"

 

[Epic-Ash-Fan]

Damion smiled. He decided to assume that this lizard type creature was referring to them when he mentioned something about a Shinx, Ralts and Emolga for now as he didn't want to look like an idiot in front of him since it sounded like common knowledge around here.

"It's no problem, we were just passing by when we noticed you were in trouble. As for what brings us here...well we're looking for a place called Gigalith Cliff."

 

[Little Miss Eevee]

"Do you know where Gigalith Cliff is?" Asked Eileen.

 

[Plumbum]

The grovyle looked even more confused. They were rare pokémon for this part of the island as it was, and as much as he thought about it, he was sure the Cliffs were an increduble distance from here - the fact there were people looking around here for them astounded. "It's quite a long way from here... they're outside Spectra... which I'd guess at about a day away."

 

[Loyalty]

"Wait, what'd-" Clint began in response to the Grovyle, but he yielded to Eileen and Damion as they asked the question of probably greater importance. Regardless, he was very curious as to what the lizard had called him. It sounded as though, despite the rarity that he mentioned, the Grovyle would know what a Ralts, Shinx or Emolga were. Clint was extremely interested in which of the three he was now, and why he looked like a mushroom wearing a shower towel. Unfortunately, he did not want to be told what the Grovyle had answered to the Emolga. Clint groaned under his breath, holding his head in his right hand after quickly realizing he couldn't pinch the bridge of his (no longer existant) nose as he intended.

"I tell y'all what, I better be dead and this best be heaven. One day's all my grandparents are gonna need to call the police lookin' for me."

 

[Murkmire]

"It's quite a long way from here... they're outside Spectra... which I'd guess at about a day away," was what the lizard-like creature told the group about Gigalith Cliff. Brutus was nowhere near pleased, but he knew it could've been worse. "Can you point us in the right direction? We need to reach it as soon as possible." Brutus had asked this with a determined look in his eye.

"We need to find a 'Belle,' whoever they are," Brutus remembered to include. This "Belle" character told him, and most likely the others about finding someone to help, so to Brutus, it'd only seem natural to ask this creature about "Belle."

 

[Little Miss Eevee]

"What is an Emolga? And a Ralts? And a Shinx?" Asked Eileen. She was very curious as to why she was a squirrel thing.

 

[Plumbum]

The dinosaur-lizard stopped for a moment as he tried to take the situation in "Should've known it would be something to do with those jumped-up mindbenders.". He seemed to raise one hand towards Clint. "No offense." However, the mention of Belle had seemed to add a bit of weight to his words as he spoke, he knew how important they actually were right now. Furthermore, being asked what Emolga was by an Emolga seemed to jolt him again. "It's.... you. Don't you know that?".

He rested his head in his hand for a second. "Okay, you guys did me a good urn, I guess I should pay you back for it." He looked towards the sun, which was rapidly setting in the sky. "If you left for Spectra now, it would be night long before you got there. Not a good idea to be travelling at night right now, not with this fighting. If you want, you can come back to our little forest town and we can get you set up for the night there, and I could help you get to Spectra tomorrow morning. And maybe we can try to figure out what's going on with you guys."

He realised he'd been rambling for a while. The Gorvyle paused for a second to let the pokémon in front of him speak.

 

[Murkmire]

With a sigh of relief, Brutus responded, "That would be greatly appreciated." Brutus was sure it'd be dangerous, considering the unknown of this new area. Especially what other types of creatures existed.

Brutus, still wondering how and why he got here, paid less attention. It would appear they weren't leaving anytime soon.

 

[Loyalty]

"Mindbender?"

Clint echoed the Grovyle's words to himself with confusion. Why he supposed to be offended by the name? What exactly does it mean? Clint briefly considered the possibility the Grovyle was implying that he, or whatever creature he had become, had some sort of psionic power. Clint quickly dismissed that thought as he found it far too ridiculous, though he contradicted himself by reasoning that almost everything about his current position was rather ridiculous. Clint knew he would need to ask the Grovyle what it was talking about at some point, but he didn't want to force himself to the front of the metaphorical waiting line. The others surely had questions of their own, especially regarding the species of animal that they are supposed to be, so Clint felt that he could wait until their questions were answered before worrying about his own. Thus, for the moment, he withheld the questions that the Grovyle had raised by referring to him as "mindbender."

Clint turned his attention back to the Grovyle. "Well thank ya kindly for the offer, Sir. I'd love to come to this town of yours. Provided, of course, that the rest of these fellas are alright with the idea just as well." Clint turned to Damion and Eileen to see if they had any objections to the offer. Though Clint didn't offer his own input aloud, allowing the others to make whatever choices pleased them most, he secretly wished to visit this forest town himself. While he wasn't aware of it, Clint shared Brutus' concerns about the dangers of both the area and its unknown inhabitants, especially in light of the fact that he wasn't sufficiently capable of defending himself. It was a fact that Clint almost revealed to the Grovyle, but he held his tongue before he thoughtlessly mentioned it. Clint felt that blatantly letting the odd creatures of this forest know that he is weak and helpless wouldn't be in his best interests, as it was information that could be used against him. Clint didn't strongly believe that the Grovyle was actually about to turn on those who had helped get him out of danger, but he cautiously assumed the worst nonetheless.

 

[Epic-Ash-Fan]

Damion nodded, happy to know that they met a friendly creature in this strange world. It made him feel a little safer.

"Thank you, very much. It would be a big help if you could do that for us."

I guess I won't be going to the movies today. he thought to himself

 

[Plumbum]

"Alright, let's head out." The Grovyle quickly scampered up the nearest tree to locate the direction of his home. Jumping across a couple of treetops, he seemed to collect his bag he'd dropped when he was attacked - full to the top with various seeds and berries.

He dropped back down to the others and pointed to his left.
"This way, just follow me. Oh, by the way, I forgot to tell you guys, name's Blue. Good to meet you guys."

---

Anfang Town

The first impression of Anfang Town one would get would be it's small size - one could see the treeline that signalled the other side of the town from the moment they entered. There didn't seem to be much here, in fact the whole town resembled something one might expect of an ancient African or Amazonian tribe, but of course pokémon didn't exactly have the technology that humans do. "Well, here we are. Little clearing we call home." The pokémon that could be seen around the town were generally unevolved Normal-types, although a few specific kinds of grass, fire and water pokémon could also be spotted. Blue pointed at a small set of buildings away from the rest. "We keep those ones over there spare since we get a few travellers come through, you're welcome to them, okay? And... thanks again guys. I owe you a lot." Blue turned and left, he had a lot to still do, he had missed a lot of his day in being attacked. The evening was already well upon them, and the sky was beginning to darken, but there was still a pleasant warmth in the air. Of course, the ongoing war was a long way from Anfang...

---

???, Pokémon Island

"Master Arceus..." The pokémon addressing the Creator was far from it's native enviromment. In fact, like the Creator itself, the pokémon was shrouded in legend and not all had believed it to exist. That is until it became a general into Arceus' army. The name Rayquaza was no longer spoken as a fairytale.

The creator demanded to know of his servant's endeavors."Rayquaza, you bring news of your leviathans?"

"Master... Groudon and Kyogre are now loyal to our cause... They will strengthen our forces immensely."

"Excellent. The day dawns closer, Rayquaza. This world I have created will be reformed as I envisioned it. It will be a thing of pure beauty."

"Yes, master. This world will certainly be reformed..."

"You may leave, Rayquaza. You have done well."

The serpentine dragon bowed his head in respect, duly turned and left. He had done Arceus proud.

 

[Epic-Ash-Fan]

Damion looked around the town curiously and nodded. Despite it's size it looked like a nice place to live and was quite tempted to settle down here. But he and his new found friends had a job to do first. Not to mention he'd miss his family too much.

"This is a nice place" he said. "Nice and quiet."

 

[Loyalty]

Clint nodded towards Blue as he left to go about his business. "Thanks for the help, Blue. You take care, bro." He took a moment to look around the town of Anfang, analyzing the various species of Pokemon throughout the area, specifically seeking any which looked like himself. Clint was surprised with how variable the different creatures were in appearance. He wondered where he could possibly be that would have such unusual beings. Finished looking about the area, Clint turned back to Damion and the others, crossing his white arms over one another as he began to speak.

"S'right, nice town they got here. Since the consensus seems to be that we wait until tomorrow to find this Belle person, I reckon it'll do well until we leave tomorrow. Now I understand that I don't know none of y'all and none of y'all know me, but I think we ought'a run together bein' that we all seem to be lost in a world completely alien to the lot of us. If anyone would rather we don't, I don't mind either way; the choice is up to y'all. Regardless as to what y'all decide, it seems like we'll be meeting up again in them guest buildings, so ya got the rest of the day to think about it."

Clint turned away, preparing to leave as he felt the dark red horn on his head with one of his arms. "In the meantime, I know exactly what I'ma be doing: figuring out what in god's name I'm supposed to be here. I reckon there should be something or at least someone with some sort of idea. Blue seemed to know, so it's entirely possible I'll try talking to him whenever he finishes with whatever he's out doing." Clint began thinking back to the name "mindbender" from before, and started walking away from the group to execute the specific action he is curiously going out of his way to so strongly imply that he will verily do.

As he walked away, however, Clint stopped and turned back to the others. "Ah hell, I near about forgot: I never did really introduce myself, did I? Well my name's Clint Cassiday, but all my friends jus' call me Cassiday so I suppose y'all can too. If ya want, y'all can call me Cass for short, but Cass sounds kinda like a girl's name so I like Cassiday better. S'up to y'all though, so I reckon y'all can just call me whatever helps ya remember."

 

[Murkmire]

Brutus had taken in the surroundings of Anfang Town, while listening in on Clint's speech to the group. After Clint had finished, Brutus responded with, "Well, Clint, it'd be best if we did team up. Seeing what lives here, there may be a possibility of even more creatures. But let's keep the fact we're not from this... land a secret. We don't want anyone to get suspicious of us. By the way, I'm Brutus."

Brutus didn't know why, but felt he should keep the fact of him once being human a secret from these creatures, and for his group to do the same.

 

[Epic-Ash-Fan]

Damion nodded, agreeing completely.

"I agree with Brutus. We can't risk anyone turning on us, and if we stick together we'll have a better chance of reaching our destination. There's safety in numbers. And I'm Damion it's nice to meet you."

 

[Loyalty]

Clint stepped back towards the others, crossing his arms over one another as he responded. "Well Mr. Brutus, I understand where you're coming from there. I don't think these uh...people would react favorably if we spread the word that we're mythical beings of a different universe. Assuming we even are, of course."

Clint raised his right arm out towards Brutus, Damion and Eileen. "However, this presents a problem. See, I don't know about y'all but I'm extremely interested in whatever it is I'm supposed to be here. Y'all three look kinda like a small lion, bulldog and I think a flying squirrel whereas I ain't got a fucki-" Clint shook his head slightly as he re-worded his last sentence. "I ain't got a clue what I'm supposed to be. The only people that probably do, until we find Belle, are these people around here. Blue said something about what we all were, though I can't remember the specific names he used. If Blue knows, then surely that means I can ask somebody around here what I am and what I do."

Clint continued to move his arms about as he went on, occasionally talking with his hands despite no longer having any. "Now my first impressions of this world are that it's primarily wild with limited civilization, and its inhabitants are commonly in conflict with each other. Since Blue seems to recognize me as a normal animal, or whatever I am, around these parts, it must mean that more of my species exist. If more of my species exist, then that must mean they have a means of defending themselves that I don't know about else they should'a been wiped out by rule of natural selection."

As he prepared to finish his argument, Clint uncrossed and lowered his arms. "As it stands, I'm weak, half-blind and pretty much worthless. I ain't quite happy about it either. I'm hoping that, if someone here can't prove me wrong, I can at least know why. How I am to do that without simply asking them 'what am I,' I ain't sure."

EDIT: And now Loyalty shall learn how to begin sentences with more than one word.