The faint lights of Pallet Town gave a soft glow to the night sky, a small beacon in the dense forests surrounding it.

  Eevee and I emerged from the foliage into a wide, cleared off section of the forest. It seemed like one of the only places on the route with actual paths. It was just before sunset, where everything was bathed in an ethereal orange. I still had so many questions as to how and why I was transported here, but I figured that those would be answered in time.

  In the present, however, my eye caught onto a wooden post hammered into the ground:

  ROUTE 1

  PALLET TOWN >

  “Shades of your journey await!”

  < VIRIDIAN CITY

  “The eternally green paradise.”

  This confirmed my suspicions of being on Route 1 somewhere. Eevee began leading me to the right, Pallet Town I now knew, with a much faster pace than before. Even so, it still took us a good chunk of time to actually arrive at Pallet Town, and by that time, it was full-on nighttime.

  Once I caught up to her, she was walking around a small house that seemed just like the rest. The lights were out, and nobody answered when I knocked on the door.

  “Seems like they aren’t here, bud.” I said quietly. I didn’t know any of the context, but I could tell Eevee looked really fucked up about it.

  Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

  I looked around, trying to spot anyone, but the sun had set earlier. It would be impossible to find anyone here.

  “Let’s go ask around, maybe someone can help?” I asked Eevee. She sniffed and nodded. We kept moving.

  Looking around Pallet Town, I quickly realized that this was not at all like the Pallet Town you see in the games. Instead of being a measly duo of houses and a single lab, there were blocks. Blocks of houses. Each block’s houses had a different colored roof, and the entire town seemed to somewhat resemble the shape of a paint palette. There were even a Poké-Center and Poké-Mart, which really surprised me, but given how this place strays quite far from the games’ depiction of it, I really shouldn’t have been that surprised.

  Eventually, me and Eevee arrived to the only other building with lights on, a wide building with an odd trapezoidal roof. A sign stood out front, but I couldn’t read it in the dark.

  I knocked on the door, expecting nobody, when a loud bang echoed from inside.

  “NO! HEY! PUT THAT DOWN!” followed by a shriek and a loud crash.

  The door flung open, and an old, very-burnt man stood before us. His dark gold hair was covered in soot, and his white coat was dyed gray with ash.

  Even in his miserable status, his eyes glowed with an unparalleled warmth and kindness, and he seemed to emanate patience.

  “Why hello dear child! What are you doing here so late, and why are you covered in grass?” he said, genuinely worried.

  I looked down at Eevee, but she was still planted on the ground, her dark fur turning her almost invisible, with the absence of light and against the dark brick backdrop.

  “Well, we’re looking for a person who used to have an Eevee,” gesturing to Eevee, “and we were wondering if you had seen anyone?”

  He gave it some thought.

  “Well, first, come in! You both look so hungry and exhausted.” And stepped back to let us into the bright building.

  “Ah! I didn’t even get your names. I am Professor Oak, Pokémon professor of Kanto. And you are?”

  “Uhh, I’m Ajax, and this is… well, this is Eevee.” Scooping up the Normal Type and bringing her in.