#migration 001

“『Aaah, this sucks. This totally sucks. It wasn’t supposed to be like this, you know? I was going to get a Dratini and train it into a big, majestic Dragonite. I was going to fly through the air and Hyper Beam everyone who was mean to me. I was going to be the very best, like no one ever was. But nothing ever goes my way. Why does this always happen to me? I just-』”

Kumagawa’s pokemon training adventures continued. Or, rather, they were set on an aimless path that even he was not fully aware of. In all honesty, he hadn’t thought of anything beyond catching Dratini. But considering how rare they were, he could not find another one after the first managed to slip through his grasp. Instead, the minus had been left with the company of a simple Magikarp instead. And while many may have considered that to be fitting, it was anything but.

For you see, Kumagawa’s Magikarp hated him. All it ever seemed to do was bounce around and slap him in the face whenever he was close to him. It was the ultimate insult. Salt in the already bleeding wound left in his chest from his dreams being shattered. All he could do now was wander around and hope he could run into some other super cool and psuedo legendary pokemon to add to his ranks. Perhaps that would fill the gaping void left in his heart- For the love of fuck Kumagawa it’s just Pokemon.

His depressing slump landed him in District Mu. More specifically, the swamp Area of district Mu. It was hardly the kind of place most other trainers would come to, probably. But at this point, it didn’t matter to him where he ended up. With all of the.. swampy sounds around him, it was hard to pick up on the sounds of any nearby pokemon footsteps or anything of the sort. Which meant that he’d likely end up just walking through the area entirely until he reached the next district. That was.. Until he saw her. Standing there, right in his path. His second favorite Pokemon ever.

A wild Croagunk. Squatting there in the middle of the swamp without a care in the world. Literally without a care, it wasn’t even doing anything. Even when it made eye contact with Kumagawa, it simply sat there. Watching. Was she not going to offer any resistance? Could this be the moment where his luck turns around! At last! His losing streak was finally going to end! Digging into his pocket, Kumagawa swiftly pulled out a pokeball and tossed it in the Croagunk’s direction!

Only for it to be casually slapped back towards him. It seemed as though she wasn’t just being impassive. She literally did not view him as a threat worth worrying about. Which was made evident by the fact that she still wasn’t running, even after the capture attempt.

“『Not going to make it easy for me, huh? In that case.. MAGIKARP! GOOOOOO!』”

And there it was. The time had finally come! Magikarp’s first pokemon battle! Kumagawa grinned confidently as his Magikarp flopped towards Croagunk and--.. Just kept bouncing and splashing in the mud. This.. This was a mistake. Magikarp was FUCKING TERRIBLE. The Croagunk simply kept up it’s nonchalant stare before simply slapping the Magikarp away lightly.. Oh no.. OH NO!

“『MAGIKAAAAAAARP! NOOOOOOOOOO!』”

Kumagawa rushed towards the still flopping fish’s side, picking it up and holding it against his chest. It had taken some time for him to realize.. But now he finally saw. It didn’t matter that he didn’t catch Dratini! It didn’t matter if his dreams had been crushed! Magikarp.. Magikarp was his very first Pokemon. His very first friend..! And he cared about him. No matter how weak he may be, Kumagawa cherished his Magikarp above all else! He wouldn’t allow it to be put in harm’s way without a way of defending itself! He would not expose it to the horrors of the world around it! He would protect Magikarp with his body and soul. He would protect him with his very LIFE-

KAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARP!

“『UWAAAAAAAAAH!』”

Magikarp then unleashes a devastating TACKLE to Kumagawa’s chest, rupturing his rib cage and sending him flying. Magikarp wasn’t weak at all. It just didn’t want to do what Kumagawa told him to. Because Kumagawa is the WORST. And Croagunk..

Viewed the entire debacle with feelings of pity and second hand embarrassment. With Kumagawa writhing in pain and Magikarp slapping it’s tail againgst his face, Croagunk simply walked towards the dropped Pokeball and tapped it with her hand before disappearing into it. She apparently felt so bad after seeing that pathetic display that she decided to give the poor guy a break. It wasn’t as though she had anything else to do anyway.

Congratulations, you caught a Croagunk! Would you like to name your new Croagunk?

“『My spleeeeeeeen...』”

The mage's footsteps are light on the pavement as he carefully carries his latest spoils from the herbal shop in the shopping district in large bags, heading slowly but steadily back to the over-sized plant that he and Atlus have been using as a sort of 'base of meetings' here in Hive, since that seed they brought back resulted in such sudden growth. It seemed a shame to not use it, yet the strange whispers on the wind of peculiar beings called 'Pokemon' roaming about the city make his steps slightly more cautious. As a scientist, the prospect of studying something he did not know was most alluring.

After everything that had gone on, Frisk couldn’t help but be restless. Things that they used to be okay with now gave them shivers down their spine. When they tried to go to the park, they couldn’t help the hammering panic of their heart in their ears. They ended up running as far as they could, all the way into a different Sector. Their feet hurt by the time they got there. If they’d been sensible, they’d have gone to Sector 005, instead of 001. 005 was full of people, it was bright and vibrant and they could feel at ease that nobody could hurt them in a crowd. Here, on the out skirts of 001, they were alone.

It was hard not to be afraid. Their ears were strained to hear the sounds of anyone nearby. At first, there was nothing, and they could almost relax. However, as they reached a nearby building, they heard some shuffling. Frisk jumped and backed up to the nearest wall. Part of them was angry. They should be better than this! They’d been killed so many times in the past and had never been scared before. But this was different, and they couldn’t help but be a coward. Frisk hated to be alone now. They should have just gone home…

“A-ah!”

The cry of something Frisk had never heard before. It sounded cute, and maybe a little hurt. Their fear was smothered by their concern. They pushed back off of the wall and crept their way over to the building next to them. In the shadows, they saw something move.

It was small, much smaller than them, and green with a bit of white. The small human gave a little gasp, it seemed like this was some kind of monster, and it looked scared. That was their fault, probably. They’d moved so suddenly. They’d learned from dealing with dog monsters that moving too quickly was scary. They crept forward and dropped onto their knees. They let out a few clicking noises and called the creature over. It took a few minutes, but with a soft chitter, the little monster crawled to their hand. Frisk offered a smile, which it replied with a tilt of its head. Hesitantly, reached a hand out and Frisk took it.

“It’s scary to be alone, isn’t it?” Frisk asked softly. “I’m scared too. But, if you want, you can come along with me for a bit, okay?”

The little creature was still for a moment before giving a little nod. Frisk took its hand more firmly now and got to their feet.

“Now, let’s go back. If you want, you can come to my home with me. I’ve certainly got the room…”

Things had been rather strange in Hive City as of late. He admittedly hadn’t paid much attention to the city’s goings-on in general. When it came down to it, that was his own fault and it had taken an event of sorts to get him back into the gear of his alternate persona. Or rather...who he felt he really was. He'd been given his Batcave back, even his computer. Unfortunately, he could only bring up the city's network for an hour a day so it wasn't all that helpful to him. A pang of annoyance shot through him at that, especially because he'd recently been given the small red and white spheres that were clearly meant to capture these "Pokemon".

Though that name sounded strangely familiar. Had such a thing existed back home? Examining the "pokeball", he surmised that he surely would have known about it if it had been a known factor to him. Regardless, a strange species of bat had taken up residence in the Batcave. They were blue in color, purple webbing stretching out within their wings and they didn't even seem to possess eyes. They were truly a strange creature and, admittedly, he was curious about them.

A strange tutorial video had shown up, depicting people all over the city interacting with these Pokemon. And, in turn, it had explained how to capture them within the balls that they'd been given. Bruce had been given ten in total and while he wasn't keen on tossing a weighty sphere this size at a small creature like a bat... it didn't appear to harm them too badly. Slowly, his head tilted up, trying to get a line of sight on one of the creatures hanging from the ceiling.

Bruce rolled one of the pokeballs about within his hand, clicking the button on it within one hand and causing it to grow in size, almost the size of a baseball within his grasp. Pulling a small device from his pocket, he pointed it upward, emitting a sonic wave of sound that would no doubt attract one or two of the creatures. Or, rather, it would have, had the device not been one of the few faulty pieces of equipment he hadn't managed to weed out with the others. The sonic wave of sound was much more intense, causing a loud screech to fill the air and a swarm of the bats to come down atop him.

With one sharp flick of his wrist, he sent the pokeball sailing upward, a red light enveloping one of the bats and, satisfied, he quickly ducked down low and flung his cape over his head to block the creatures. Their sonic cries bounced off the cape and they quickly flew the other direction and deeper into the cave. The soft 'clack' of the pokeball he'd thrown falling to the floor of the cave until his efforts were rewarded with a soft 'Ping!'

"Interesting..." Bruce said softly, carefully approaching the ball and picking it up, turning his wrist to examine it closely. It didn't feel as though it had anymore weight to it... but one of the creatures had clearly gone inside. Pressing the button, the ball opened and spat out a burst of red energy, causing the Zubat to screech and fly around quickly in quick circles around Bruce.

"Lively." Bruce muttered quietly, unable to stop a soft smile from tugging at the corners of his lips. Placing the ball down on his desk, he decided he would let the creature be with its friends until he decided he might want to take a look at it some more.

Kumagawa wasted almost no time in springing into action. Honestly, how could he not make his move right away? Something like this.. It was like a dream come true. And while he’d seen many things here that were once mere fiction to him, this was something entirely. The only thing that could have been beter was if he suddenly got shot with a stand creating arrow or had a persona making gun. But that was hoping for too much? Or was it? (DUN DUN DUN stay tuned.)

The idea that he could have his very own Pokemon.. His very own companion that he could train with.. Use to fight in battles and travel this vast world.. City.. Whatever. The point it it was fucking radical and he wanted it. He wanted it right now! He wanted the goddamn Pokemon and nothing would get in the way of his goal! Which likely explained the trail of bodies he’d left behind him as he dashed towards a certain sector. No worries though, they’ve already been revived by all fiction.

His legs carried him farther than he had ever gone. Faster than he had ever run. Until his destination had been reached. It was the norther part of district Theta. And he had come here for a very specific reason. However, the hard part begins now. Because the pokemon he had set his sights one would not be an easy one to find. Ever since he first delved into the game, one pokemon had caught his eye. The one that almost everyone wanted to have. Tall. Majestic. Powerful.. The bane of everyone’s existence during the elite four fight.

Yes.. The Pokemon he idolized was none other.. than Dragonite. And here, in this district, he would take the first step in acquiring him. As long as he could find just one Dratini, his wish could come true! He could have the pokemon he’d always dreamed of catching! He could fly around on it’s back.. Hyper beam everyone that ever made fun of him! The mere thought of it was enough to send chills down his spine!

And then, he froze. Stopping in place, Kumagawa clutched the pokeball in his hand tightly. This was it.. He’d found it.. Deep near the ocean floor, almost completely shrouded in darkness.. It was so beautiful. So majestic.. And a bit goofier looking than in the games. But there was no doubt about it.. A dratini! And it seemed the Dratini had noticed him as well. There was a moment of silence. Nothing but the sound of other sea life around them. And then, it made a quick dash to flee. But it was too late.

All Fiction could turn everything into nothing. From objects, to people.. And even time. For just a brief moment, time froze for everything but him. And in that moment, he made the decisive toss! By the time time itself resumed, the pokeball was already a few mere feet away from it’s target! It couldn’t dodge.. This was it! He’d gotten it! HE’D FINALLY CAPTURED A DRATI-

“KAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARP!”

A magikarp appeared from out of nowhere and swam in front of the pokeball. Congratulations, you caught a Magikarp! Would you like to name your new magikarp?

..

“『FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK!』”