I woke up.

  The smells cascaded over me, making me disoriented. For a split seconds, it felt like I was in my room back home. The image dispersed quickly, exchanged with one of barracks back in the base.

  The room in the pokemon center only then solidified into existance.

  The window was open still, chilly morning wind breezing in, enveloping my body.

  I sit up in the bed, instinctively crossing my chest. No wounds.

  I'm still here, I realise. I'm not sure if I like it.

  But the reality stubbornly affirms itself all around me.

  If I was dying, I doubt I'd wake up.

  Charmander claws his way onto the bed and carefully curls himself on my lap. Only then do I relise that I have shaken off both the blanket and the towel to the ground, and I was sprawled out across the bed completely naked.

  I breathe a sigh of relief realising there's still no one else in the room besides me. That the room is still there at all.

  Letting Charmander sleep out in the open with his flaming tail was a fire hazard waiting to happen. Not that I cared about it last night. I had expected to wake up dead.

  It made me feel strange for a second, that I was naked and cuddling a fire lizard. A pokemon. Those shouldn't be real.

  The feeling floated away quickly. The chilly air felt refreshing against my skin, making me feel alive, and Charmander's flaming tail added some comfortable heat to the mix.

  The clock on one of the nightstands read 7 AM.

  As I pet Charmander on his head, the thought sinks into me.

  Perhaps this was reincarnation.

  The explanation seemed to bear some sense at the moment.

  I clearly remember getting shot in my chest. Now the wound wasn't there. And the base wasn't there. My life wasn't there.

  Just for a moment I let myself breathe, the morning air bringing comfort to my lungs. I'm completely sore, I realise. Maybe it's the shock of waking up in a completely new world, two times in a row.

  Charmander yawns, climbing his way across my stomach, and I lean back down to let him reach my chest. This small lizard really doesn't care about privacy it seems. But it's a pokemon, so it makes sense that things like this make no sense to him. After all, he's the one who's naked all the time between the two of us, so why should it bother me.

  I let him lazily lay on my chest for a bit, before I slowly rise up from the bed and head to the bathroom to get ready for the day.

  I have made my decision. To some extent. Pragmatism was the best course of action, that's what I landed on. However, where it would lead me hinged on matters outside my control.

  Having the security of police station was something I couldn't pass up. And Rustobro being a gym location was beneficial. Survival would be easier over there. Once I've made some money there, relocating back here wouldn't be that big of an issue. Rustobro simply gave me more time, 6 months of easy access to free food and shelter. There was only one issue that could easily seal the deal and keep me in Verdanturf.

  Getting dressed I quickly make my way out of the room, carrying Charmander with me. Expertly, I find my way to the dining room, only to find that I'm the only one there.

  One stroll to the pult later, I'm sat at the edge of one of the long metalic tables, chowing down on some strange-tasting meat, with Charmander on the floor next to me, eating some weird blocks that look like dog food. Apparently, that's supposed to be pokemon food, so it should be fine.

  What worries me more is my own meal. Cassie had said that normal animals don't exist in this world, and I can't help wondering what exactly I'm eating. The thought that it might be a pokemon makes me shiver. Still, I sink my teeth into it. A meal's a meal.

  I finish up quickly, and make my way back to the pult to pop the question that would ultimately decide my fate.

  "Is it possible to get the lunch packed for the go?", I lean over the pult, giving my best pleading look to the canteen lady. That usually did the trick back in the base.

  Going on a trip without money was one thing. Clothes are also optional. Leaving without food, however, was not preferable if you wanted to survive.

  Cassie had said that the trip could take anywhere from 4 to 7 days, depending on how often we took breaks.

  The first part, passing through the tunnel was easy. No one really wanted to stay the night in there, so the idea was we enter it in the morning, and cross it in one day. There should be a remote pokemon center on the other side, which works out perfectly for me.

  The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  Route 116 would take a bit more, Cassie had said, but she reassured me there were camping sites along the way, where there were tents the traveling trainers can sleep in. That worked for the three of them, who had money and could bring food. For me, not so much. I doubted the camping site included free meals.

  The lady behind the pult smiled at me, asking what would I like for the way, and the weight lifted from my shoulders.

  First thing I questioned was if I could get a bag of sorts to put stuff in. Unfortunately, the pokemon center didn't offer accesories.

  Thankfully, my cargo pants didn't lack in the number of pockets, and they were all deep. I quickly settled for two sandwiches for myself, and enough pokemon food for three meals for Charmander. I could ration my food without much trouble, but I wasn't sure how my pokemon handled hunger. Two sandwiches could very well last me until we reach the second pokemon center, and in best case scenario, I can even keep one of them untouched.

  I took a bottle of water for the trip as well. Stuffing all of it in my pockets, I realised that I am actually doing this.

  I'm going to Rustboro. Somehow, the thought makes me feel nauseous.

  As soon as I exit the pokemon center, I recall Charmander. Having him walk outside might make him hungrier, which I didn't want. I had no idea if pokemon grew hungry in their pokeballs as well, but he was certainly burning less calories this way.

  With the help of the map installed on my pokedex, I navigate the streets expertly. It feels natural, as if I'm on a field mission with my base-mates. Only difference, I'm alone and I have no gun on me.

  I find the entrance to the tunnel half an hour early.

  The place is ceratinly not a tourist destination. The sturdy looking mountain is still drenched from the last night's storm, so the reddish colour of the rocks seems all-consuming. I stand near the entrance, noticing that the inside is lined with the lights.

  Cassie had told me the path through the tunnel had been well done, so passing through shouldn't be an issue. The only thing that could bother us were wild pokemon, but the ones in the tunnel tended to be tame, as far as she knew.

  As I stood there waiting, I started wondering if they had the change of mind and went away earlier in order to avoid me. The food in my pockets weighed down on my pants and I started questioning my decision.

  I could endure the hunger. Xander and Leo, I had no idea if I could take. A single thought crossed my mind only then - while police work seems like a good idea to me, I am not promised a job. I could very well be making my situation worse here.

  Returning to the pokemon center seems great right about now. I could search for a job, have normal lunch, come back tonight, keep my window open, let my clothes air out and wake up butt naked tomorrow morning.

  If I wake up again, I think.

  As the three figures appear on the road that leads towards the tunnel, I realise it's too late for me to change my mind.

  Cassie notices me when they are few feet away, and immediately starts skipping towards me. I quickly shake Nina off my mind.

  "Hey, you decided to come", she cheerfully greets me, punching my shoulder. Her hair is done in a ponytail this morning, jeans and plain white t-shirt make her look like a tourist. Those earth green eyes stil tell a different story, though.

  "Yeah, decided it would be for the best", I nod, offering a smile. She shuffles in place, fixing the huge backpack she's wearing on her back. "Want me to carry that for you?", I offer. She's doing me a favour here, I might as well return it somehow.

  "Oh, you're a sweetheart", she chirps up, instantly sliding the backpack off of her shoulders. "You're not bringing anything?", she tilts her head, noticing I don't have any luggage.

  "Yeah, well, I kind of died and just appeared here, and my stuff didn't follow", I try to shove off her pity, "not big on material possesions anyways". That might be true, but I had taken off my socks in preparation for the trip. They already smelt bad. I only have one pair and I was in desparate need for more. Soon enough, I'd be going commando as well, not that Cassie had to know about it.

  "Still holding on to your guns, I see", she offers, landing another soft punch on my shoulder, as if she was telling me she still doesn't believe me.

  "Wish I had my gun so I could hold on to it", I mutter without much though.

  Cassie takes a small step back, her eyes quickly flying over me. She doesn't believe me, I remember, that I'm a dead soldier walking. Has she ever seen a gun in her life? I've seen one too many.

  "I'm joking", I quickly tell a reassuring lie.

  Her frame softens slightly, but she doesn't step closer in to me.

  Xander and Leo finally reach us as well, seemingly not in hurry. Xander, his hands shoved into the pockets of his black pants, seems dissatisfied by the fact that I'm here. He gives me a nod, as if to ackowledge my existance. Leo's poking around on his pokedex, but he stops to offer me a small wave, which I promptly return.

  "Alright, so now that we're all here", Cassie says energetically, "let's get going".

  "Agreed, we need to be efficent here if we want to get everything done", Leo immediately steps towards the entrance, still staring down at his pokedex.

  "Wait, wait, not that fast", Cassie screeches at him, grabbing his shoulder just before he manages to take a step into the tunnel.

  "What's with you Cas?", Leo mutters, but doesn't make another step forward.

  "First things first, put that thing down for a second, will you", Cassie scolds him, her hands planted firmly on her hips. Leo obliges with a sigh, letting the pokedex loosely hang in his hand.

  "This is the first step of our journey", Cassie says decisevly, "we have to savour it".

  "I agree", Xander steps forward. He stands in front of the entrance, taking a deep breath. Without a word or a look back, he steps inside. Slowly turning around, he falshes his friends a devilish smile: "first step down, how many more until I'm champion".

  "You can't count that high", Leo offers, stepping after him without much thought. He's not a sentimental type, it seems.

  Cassie looks at them, smiling, but I can see a tear forming in her eye. She doesn't let it escape.

  She takes a deep breath. It seems as heavy as the sky. A look back that last just a second to long, and she steps forwards into the tunnel. Her shoulders drop, but she doesn't turn around. I don't think she can.

  I get it. She's leaving. I did it too. When I enlisted. I remember how it felt leaving my childhood home, uncertain if I'll return.

  This time however, my steps bore no weight.

  I follow her, and I know I'm not stepping towards dreams nor duty. Unlike the three of them, my steps are nothing more but a survival instinct.

  I avert my gaze, deciding to stare at one of the walls. The yellowed lights punctuate just how barren they are.

  "Well, if that's over with, we should get going", Leo notes shortly.

  "Yeah", Cassie exhales again, "I've had my moment, we can go".