FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Outside of the cave, the sun was starting to set when little Natu descended deeper into a strange dungeon. Never before had he seen such structures: unlike other dungeons that were simple caves with labyrinthine paths, ponds and lakes, and wild beasts, this particular dungeon seemed so orderly, as if every stone had deliberately been placed upon another.

Natu's eyes glowed with curiosity at the sight of strange crystals illuminating his way barely enough to see. Another corner, a slight slope upwards, and he walked through a smooth, round arch. Something is off,he thought to himself, but the young bird's psychic powers were far from sufficient to know what exactly this something was.

"I should get out of here," he said. "This is too much. I'll ask Xatu to come to this place with me another time."

Natu went through the contents of his small messenger bag, slung around what would have been a shoulder had he had arms instead of wings, to find the Escape Orb he knew he had brought for emergencies like this. Somewhere in there, somewhere, he knew it had to be there, but before he could find it, the ground started shaking. Natu was struggling to stay on his feet and didn't notice the arch above him collapsing and burying him underneath it. Without a warning, his vision faded to black.

Natu awoke when faint sun rays tickled his nose through the leaves of a tall tree. A terrible migraine turned his head into a balloon just waiting to be popped, but he managed to open his eyes and observed what little he could see without moving too much. Blades of grass grew right in front of him, behind them rows of trees he had never seen before, and bushes that had settled in the trees' neighbourhood here and there. A forest, he concluded. He closed his eyes for a few minutes and processed what he had seen moments ago. He did not, however, dare to question it. No matter where he was or how he had gotten there, he was only glad to be alive.

He stood up in the light of the setting sun, his head still hurting but much less than before, and looked around. Had he really been unconscious for an entire day? Previously out of his sight was a path through the forest, and in the far distance, he could see unnatural structures that reminded him of his home, Treasure Town. Natu moved one foot forward to walk towards those structures but froze in shock when he noticed the length of a single one of his steps. He looked up and down his own body, at his legs, his belly, and his wings - no, arms - and felt panic climb to the forefront of his thoughts. Some cloth covered most of his body, and his feet were hidden by obscure objects he could only call "boxes." He was paralysed as a great many emotions rushed through his head; from fear to confusion and anger, he went through a roller coaster that left him a numb spirit in a foreign shell.

"Hey, are you alright?" a voice asked Natu. "Just wondering, you're standing on the side of the road like something's up."

Natu turned around, away from the distant city, and saw a young man with clothes similar to his own. He had heard of them before in legends and fairy tales: the brutes that could harness the power of beasts with dark magic, or simply "humans." Although he had never seen one before, Natu recognized the creature and thought himself in great danger. Unsure how to respond, he just stared at the stranger.

"I said, are you okay?"

"I, I think so?" Natu replied without thinking much. In retrospect, he was surprised that he could communicate with the human.

The stranger stood in front of Natu for a moment. "Okay, then," he said. "Is there anything I can help you with, maybe? You look roughed up. Are your Pokémon alright? There's a Centre just down the road, in Nacrene City." He pointed to the town behind him. "It's just a few minutes, you'll be there in no time. Are you even listening?"

Natu looked at the fraction of the nearby townscape that was visible between the trees, then looked at the ground. The stranger's eyes made him uncomfortable.

"What do you mean, my Pokémon?" he asked.

The stranger sighed. "Well, your Pokemon. The ones you've caught. They can battle in gyms and such. Don't tell me you're out here without Pokemon."

"You catch them?" Natu started. "How do you do that?"

"With... Pokéballs?" The stranger took a red-and-white ball out of his pocket and showed it to Natu. "You weaken them in battle, then you throw a ball at them and hope for the best." The ball opened with a sudden movement and, engulfed in red light, a Dewott emerged. Natu had never seen such a Pokémon before.

"Dewott," the small otter said, and Natu found himself unable to understand his fellow Pokémon.

After looking at the stranger, his Pokemon, and the town a few more times, Natu bolted towards the town without another word. He couldn't hear the stranger any more when he said, "What a weird guy," and went on his way.

Although he did not understood his being a human now, he decided to accept it for the time being. Different, more important things were on Natu's mind.

Once he had reached the city, Natu went into a building with the word "PokéMart" written on it. He wasn't sure what he expected to find there, but once inside, there was a selection of balls next to the entrance that looked like the one the stranger had shown him.

"This," he said to himself, "this is what I'm looking for." He went through the different models, all in different colours, until someone approached him from behind.

"Can I help you, mister?" a store clerk asked him. "You seem to be looking for something specific."

Natu turned around, his hands against the shelf to support his weak body. "Are these the things you catch Pokémon with?" His voice was rough and shrill.

"Yes," the clerk said with a surprised but friendly face, "they're called Pokéballs. If you'd like to buy some-" But before she could finish her sentence, Natu ran out of the store with tears in his eyes.

Outside, he took a sharp corner around the building and ran into another man. He knocked him over and fell down himself. The man was tutting as he rose to his feet again and gave Natu a disapproving look.

"Watch where you're going, kid," he said. Natu looked at the strange man in a long, black robe. The front of his robe opened slightly when he had hit the ground, and the very tip of a sword's hilt peeked out. The man saw Natu's frightened look, noticed the uncovered hilt, and smiled. "Don't worry, I won't hurt you."

"I'm so sorry," Natu said as the man helped him back up. "I'm sorry. It's just, in there..."

"The PokéMart?"

"Yeah. They... these balls they use to catch Pokémon."

"It's cruel," the man said while Natu tried to order his thoughts. "They catch them and use them as commodities. You are rightfully frightened, son."

"Is it common?" Natu asked. "To catch them, I mean."

"Unfortunately, it is. There is a small opposition, though." The man closed his robe and took a step away from Natu. "But I'm sure that's nothing you want to hear about."

With his robe and some black device over his right eye that Natu hadn't noticed before, the man looked almost like a weird, humanoid Pokémon. He had a mysterious aura, something frightening yet luring.

"Please, tell me more," Natu said.

The man hesitated. "Well, okay. But not here, where everybody can hear us. Allow me to invite you to a cup of tea. My house is right around the corner." Natu nodded. "Ah, and I never introduced myself. My name is Ghetsis."

"My name is Na-" Natu stopped for a moment. "Just call me N, that'll do."

Ghetsis smiled. "It's a pleasure to meet you, N."