Into the New World

[Alice Hope]

The end of the year was dawning, and to Alice Hope, it felt like time had flown by. University felt like a distant memory, although the twenty-two year old was glad to be done with it, moving on to a dream job and the possession of her own, sole apartment in the north of her home country. She was living normally and as best she could, which was normally not optimum, but it was close enough. She preferred the later slots that her show aired on, allowing her to stay up all night and sleep in if she wished, but something roused her from a deep slumber. It was the hammering of rain, and the feeling of being soaked through.

The young woman's foot twitched and her heart jolted, and when she awoke it was absolutely surreal. A neutral but nice bedroom no longer surrounded her, but instead she lay strewn across grass and sand, beautiful blonde hair stuck to her wet and pale skin. Terrified, she shot up and looked around, grey skies stretching for miles over a turbulent sea, the salty air stinging her nostrils. There was sand everywhere, and manicured nails tried to brush it from clothing that Alice didn't recognise: a ruffled purple tank and black, white-dotted high-waist leggings. Fancy black boots with a slight heel kept her dry from the foot to the middle of her calf, at least, but that was neither here nor there. She removed her (currently useless) glasses, reaching for a nearby green backpack, patterned with a mixture of black animal prints. Inside were bright pink bags. Some were empty. One contained money, another contained blue and pink spheres, which Alice recognised to be Heal Balls. A third had her medical kit-- thank Arceus for that.

Bizarre and unhealthy, she thought with an increasing sense of guilt and frustration. The torrential rain felt so incredibly real, as did the accompanying winds and every sound around her. Alice's whole body ached as she picked herself up slowly, resting against the palm's base, beginning to shiver despite the humidity. It was then that she realised that she wasn't alone, that a squishy pink creature had been watching over her. Alice could only describe its cute face as 'derpy', white fur covering its front, some facial features indicated by bright yellow. The entirety of it seemed to shine in the faint light. Her heart beat and the unknowing trainer froze, blue eyes fixated in fear and puzzlement. What was it? A Shellos? A Shellos. Which sea she couldn't recall, but it was a Shellos, probably.

“Uh- um, hello.” The human greeted awkwardly, peering down at it from her short height, through curtains of soaking hair. This was all some crazed hallucination or a dream, probably. Certainly. It had to be, “You're cute. You're super cute. Can I help you? Ah-- you're a Shellos, right?” Alice was just babbling at this point. At least her madness was long accepted.

[Avaritia]

The creature peered at Alice with reproachful eyes, as if silently judging the girl for her words. He was also smiling, though. His body was soaking in much of the current torrential rainwater, and it looked as if he may have moved toward the soaked girl if she hadn't been shivering and insulted him in... some manner. At least he was respectful enough not to have embraced her and made her even more soaked and miserable. Her clothing wouldn't have been in the greatest of conditions because of it, either.

"Shellos." He muttered sternly, grumbling. His eyes turned from Alice's face down to her side, where nearby one of the pink, metallic orbs rested on the ground, dully clanking with every hit of a raindrop and rolling on an uneven axis ever so slightly with every powerful gust of wind. It looked like it was forcibly opened, as if the Pokémon inside had escaped through sheer willpower and not at the command of its trainer. Nodding toward the object, Shellos huffed, trying to explain to Alice the situation without words. He was hurt that she was acting like she didn't know him, though his happiness of finally seeing her wake was enough to overpower that emotion and leave his derpy smile in place.

[Alice Hope]

Alice looked down, too, following the Pokemon's gaze down to the idle and open Heal Ball on the sand. She crouched, stiffly, and picked it up. Swinging it a bit made the open shells jutter, and Alice looked over at the Shellos. "Oh. Is this yours?" She asked. He seemed rather unhappy with her, although Alice couldn't fathom why. "Did someone leave you here all on your own? Or...?" Perhaps it was a pointless exchange. She couldn't comprehend any answer the Pokemon gave. Alice couldn't even figure out what the hell was going on. The bag must have been hers if it had her medical gear in, and it matched the outfit, but then where had the clothes from? Where had she come from? Life was so bloody hard. "Wait, are you my Shelos?"

The woman pointed to herself, face blank. The Heal Balls had been in her bag, after all. It seemed a random choice. Shellos was not a favourite of hers, and it had taken her a minute to recognise it. It was pretty and pink, though, so she couldn't complain. "Ugh... It's so cold... I need to get out of this rain..." She added suddenly. Illness and her did not go well. Severe enough, and Alice would be condemned to the hospital for two weeks, and that was never fun. Especially on a mysterious island, alone, and probably without a hospital.

[Avaritia]

The Shellos rolled his eyes at Alice's feeble attempts to try and get a word out of the Pokemon, and instead just left her to talk to herself and work things out on her own while his eyes scoped the landscape, keeping an eye out for any potential danger or unwanted attention. Then, she uttered the question and his eyes lit up. "Shellos!" he replied, nodding vigorously while his peppy smile turned to one of smugness. As if asking you got a problem with that? Because I'm not going away.

Seeing her shivering and concerned made him have to push his feeling of Alice's contempt back and gear up into caregiver mode instead. He himself wasn't fully aware of where they had dragged Alice off to, but under the roar of the rain was the sound of faint buzzing and rustling. They clearly weren't alone on the island, but he couldn't quite place what the sound was. It wasn't human, he was aware of that much. Which meant there probably wasn't a source of man-made shelter nearby.

"Shell," he prompted, motioning with his head away from the sandy beach and toward a more dense forest area, full of bushes, palms, and a variety of other trees. It would do at least a fair job of keeping the rain away and blocking the powerful gusts of wind, though it was also the place where the buzzing and other noises were more prevalent. It was either shelter or safety, and the sight of his trainer told him the former was the better option. Besides, he'd be strong enough to take on any threat!

[Alice Hope]

Alice was utterly confused, but her face brightened up nonetheless. Her very own Pokemon? Shellos wasn't her first choice, but he was certainly an interesting one, and he certainly seemed happy to be with her. How could she turn away such an adorable little thing? "Okay, cool. Well, that helps a bunch." The young woman replied, tilting her head to look back at the forest. She honestly couldn't hear the buzzes and chirps over the howling wind and rain, and so she slung the bag over her shoulder and headed in that direction, movements a bit stiff given the stiffness of her limbs. Alice could barely feel her feet! "My nurses'll kill me if my feet or hands drop off or something." She remarked offhandedly, jogging awkwardly to the canopy. It wasn't entirely dry, but it was certainly better than the open beach. Ideally, she needed to get indoors and shower warmly, and then change or dry her clothes off somehow. "You must love the rain. Sorry about that, Shellos. You can go back out if you'd like to."

[Avaritia]

Valiant, Shellos declined Alice's offer and stuck close to her side. His Storm Drain ability did wonders to soak up a store of rain water, and he could bask in the reserve he now had filled to its brim while under the shelter of the trees. He wouldn't be going dry any time soon. As he followed, he made it a point to grip his own Heal Ball gingerly in his mouth, grumbling and glaring at Alice as he did so. He seemed to bounce between moods at the flick of a switch while he rested on grumpy over his trainer's ability to disregard him despite her concerns for his comfort.

As they entered the more dry canopy, signs of life would become much more prevalent. They weren't the only creatures currently seeking shelter from the storm and all around peering out from underneath plant growth and the shade of bushes were small eyes belonging to an assortment of bug Pokemon. They all shied away the moment either Alice or Shellos made contact, showing that most did not intend harm. That is, until a threatening buzz sounded from atop a nearby tree branch. Resting there was a glaring Venonat, the warning vibrations being expelled from his twitching antenna.

"Venonat." It called out with a hiss, clearly territorial and distrusting of the trespassing strangers. Though, it was an action of warning and a threat rather than a full-on attack, so the two would most likely be fine so long as they went on their way quickly. But if this weaker bug sat guarding its territory on the edge of the forest, who knows what more powerful creatures could have staked claim in the drier and deeper land closer to the forest's heart...

[Alice Hope]

Alice came to a halt when she heard the Venonat, peering up with her glasses off. She could see, thankfully, at a distance without them, although her judgement of distance was impaired to a degree. "Oh, wow! A Venonat! It seems angry, though..." She frowned. Seeing Shellos with his ball, the trainer sheepishly apologised and procured it from him, clicking it shut again. "Why don't you fight it, Shellos? Show me what attacks you have!" It wasn't as if she owned a pokedex to check...

[Avaritia]

Pokémon: Venonat
Gender: Male
Ability: Tinted Lens
Level: 5
Moveset: Tackle, Disable, Foresight, Supersonic

---

  VS.
Shellos: 100% - No Status - No Stat Changes
Venonat: 100% - No Status - No Stat Changes

"Shellos," Alice's Pokemon replied, rolling his eyes. He wasn't one to back down from a good fight, though, and took a battle-ready position. Venonat, sensing a challenge, stood taller on his toes, and his hissing ceased. The warning wasn't effective, and it was time for a fight. As Shellos was planning his own moves, Venonat changed the frequencies of his vibrating antenna into a higher-pitched sound that digs into the eardrums and rings in the back of the mind. Enough so that it could even possibly throw a Pokemon off their game and confuse them... it was Supersonic!

[Alice Hope]

Alice's expression brightened, and she too took on a battle ready stance, watching the two. Only, Venonat attacked before they did, and she had to clamp her hands over her ears. Shellos knew that she wouldn't be much use, and gritting his teeth, used harden to toughen his shell and drown out some of the obscene noise. With that, he used mud sport, aiming to not only make the ground slipper, but to use the mucky projectile to knock Venonat from its perch and have them both on even turf.

[Avaritia]

  VS.
Shellos: 100% - No Status - Def. +1
Venonat: 100% - No Status - No Stat Changes

Venonat peered curiously at Shellos's projectile, noticing it not much of an offensive attack. Though, in this process, did not think to get a better grip on his current perch. As the mud covered the branch and all but got rid of all of the grip the branch could provide for the time being, Venonat had no choice but to jump town and land on the slippery ground, sliding slightly as he did so before regaining his composure and balance. His eyes flashed, and a steady, pulsing energy suddenly shot out from his body toward Shellos. It was a Disable attack, so Venonat could try and stop his foe from making any more of a hazard of the area.

[Alice Hope]

"Oh wow, that was really cool, Shellos!" Alice noted. What was that, a mud sport? The Pokemon uttered his name with clear pride and confidence, uncaring for the fact that Venonat had disabled the move. He wouldn't need it twice. Instead, Shellos went straight for a mud slap attack, aiming to spit up repeatedly at the opponent, lowering his accuracy and repeatedly jabbing the bug with damage. It would be harder to avoid, hopefully, with the wet mud inhibiting movement, and that was key against a flighty foe.

[Avaritia]

  VS.
Shellos: 100% - No Status - Defense +1
Venonat: 86% - No Status - Accuracy -1

Venonat already was feeling off-balance from the muddy ground, being able to be overwhelmed by the unaffected Shellos so used to such a slippery ground. He stumbled in trying to dodge the onslaught of the Mud-Slap, but was unsuccessful. He took the hit, and in the process, mud splashed up and hit his large, sensitive eyes, making him flinch back and blur his vision. "Nat!" he cried out, trying to retaliate despite his lowered accuracy. He rushed in Shellos's general direction with a Tackle attack, attempting to make contact despite his lowered accuracy because of Shellos's own lack of speed to dodge.

[Alice Hope]

"Shellos, look out!" The young woman cried, but Shellos was well prepared. His slimy, slug body didn't mind the mud at all, and so he propelled himself forward so as to collide with the Venonat. He tucked his head in, aiming for the minute but sharp-looking spikes of his back to take the brunt of the Pokemon's assault, hoping that it would hurt the other far more than him. He hardened himself again as he moved, trying to weaken the damage taken but raise what was returned.

[Avaritia]

  VS.
Shellos: 90% - No Status - Defense +2
Venonat: 78% - No Status - Accuracy -1

Venonat collided with the harsh spikes on Shellos's back and recoiled in damage. He hadn't expected retaliation from a slow looking slug, and now he looked on, trying to come up with his next move. He was getting weaker while Shellos was buffing his defenses, and he feared that if he tried another Tackle he'd only be met with the spikes once more. While it still did hurt Shellos, he was smart enough to know that the brute attack would negate his own health long before his opponent was in the same condition. They had managed to out-do Venonat's greater attack strength and he was at a stand-still. "Venonat!" he called out in a motivating battle-cry. To try and help with his vision, he used a Foresight to keen his own senses and help keep a better eye on Shellos. Then, he rushed in another Tackle, aiming this time to rush forward and do his best to avoid the majority of the spikes with a better knowledge of where they were located. He knew it wouldn't be a perfect hit, but it was the best he could do.

[Alice Hope]

"Shellos, mud slap again!" Alice decided to take the reins, and it surprised Shellos, but it was welcome. Shellos waited until Venonat was close enough, knowing that he couldn't dodge the attack again or pull off the same trick twice. He suddenly spat up more mud, trying for straight to the face, hoping to blind the bug more or send it off balance.

[Avaritia]

  VS.
Shellos: 79% - No Status - Defense +2
Venonat: 60% - No Status - Accuracy -1

Venonat's charge was enough to damage Shellos, much to the bug's relief. However, it was a double-edged blow. His own brute force attack drove him right into the onslaught of Shellos's own Mud-Slap, making it a critical hit as he collided with both the attack and the slug Pokemon! Crying out, he fought to maintain his composure as he slipped and fell onto his back after the impact. The surprise attack had done its job into unnerving the bug, and the extra damage made him unable to properly maintain his balance. "Ven!" he cried out, wasting his own attacking opportunity with his struggle to get back to his feet. He was clearly getting weaker and losing his composure! That was the difference between Shellos and Venonat, a Wild Pokemon could only do so much without the strategy and encouragement of a Trainer by their side.

[Alice Hope]

Alice was getting a little worried for them both. Watching Pokemon battle for real - or so it felt, anyway - was both brutal and magnificent at the same time. She wasn't sure what moves he knew, so it was difficult to command him, but it turned out Shellos was ready to bring this messy confrontation to a swift end. The ground began to shake, enough to stir flying Pokemon from their roosts and ground types from beneath the wet soil, leaves falling like the rain. Alice stumbled to try and get her balance, moving to clutch onto a nearby tree. [color=mediumvioletred]"Shellos, look out! Something's happening!"[/color

Something was indeed. He was using fissure!

[Avaritia]

The ground shook and quaked with a roaring rumble, bringing a threat even greater than the current storm shaking the island with its heavy winds and beating rain. It was an entire new side of the spectrum, and one that somehow played into Shellos's favor. Venonat was already struggling to get back up, and the shaking of the quake only amplified this tenfold. There was no escape. No mercy. The true raw power that a Pokemon possessed without bounds. The power to shape entire continents. And it was being used against the struggling bug type.

"Nat!" he screeched as the ground seized him and swallowed him into its depths. The shaking grew worse before coming to a sudden, terrible stop. Venonat was long fainted and his body was motionless and buried in dust and dirt, only his head and limp antenna showed through the ravaged ground. Alice and Shellos had won, but the reckless use of such a move wouldn't go unnoticed.

Shellos gained 5 exp. and grew to level 6! He also gained 10 Happiness!

The interruption of the island's shelter was drawing the attention of bugs far more powerful than the Venonat they had used it against. The cracking of now disturbed twigs and leaves  gave a sign of the hasty approach of a clan of Scyther. By the sounds of them, far too many for the weakened Shellos to take on by himself, but they weren't in sight yet. They had disrupted the home of many Pokemon and those Pokemon weren't too thrilled about it!

[Alice Hope]

"Oh, shit, Shellos!" Alice cried. She made to dive onto the muddy ground, something that she made a disgusted sound over. Regardless, she was trying to pull the Venonat out, and Shellos slid over to help as easily as he could, huffing over having to deal with it. He stopped soon, though, because he could detect the buzzing that she did not. "Shell! Shell!" He tried, and she was mostly ignoring him, now trying to stand and yank the fainted Venonat free. "Shell! Shell! Shellos!" He insisted with more vigour, until Alice finally cried back angrily:
"What?!"

Alice paused, stock still, as she finally heard all of the buzzing, too. Her blue eyes fell onto the pink Pokemon, who was indicating nervously that they had to go. Shellos slid along the mud with ease, trying to guide them in a certain direction. She glanced anxiously at the muddy, unconscious Venonat in her arms, and decided it wasn't safe to leave it. "Alright, let's go." She said with some affirmation, and unsteadily scrambled after her Pokemon.

[Avaritia]

It wasn't long in Alice's desperate sprint that the buzzing fell hushed behind them. The roar of the rain made it quite difficult to place the exact distance between the girl and the angry swarm. That being said, they didn't have much time in being alone. "H-hey!" a voice called, startled, to Alice's left as she dashed by clutching the fainted Venonat.

"Hey!" they called out again with more confidence, trying to get Alice's attention. "You! What are you doing out here!? We're under a strict stay-home policy out here because of the storm!" The shouting man held his hand cupped against the side of his face to help guard his squinting eyes against the rain that filtered through the now slightly bare trees. "It sounded like the storm caused a mudslide, it's dangerous!" His uniform was clearly that of some sort of police officer, and his unoccupied hand was currently fumbling for a flashlight to help illuminate the area despite the hindrance of raindrops. "You need to get to town and take shelter, my orders!"

Although he spoke with authority and shone his light toward Alice and her Pokemon companion, his face was formed in a visible grimace. He was clearly not amused with being the guy elected to scour the dangerous island despite a tropical storm. The apparent 'mudslide' probably didn't help his nerves either.

[Alice Hope]

Alice came to a halt when she heard the man's calls, although she didn't hear him right away. She skidded to a halt with a whimper, unimpressed, too, at how drenched, messy and cold she was. "Oh my gosh, I had no idea. I'm so sorry!" The trainer confessed, looking down at her Shellos, who seemed relieved to be aleviated of being the sole babysitter for his hapless human. "Sorry, but-- I don't know this place at all. How do I get to town? Is it very far?"

[Avaritia]

Hearing Alice's reply, the man simply blinked in confusion. "If you don't know where town is... where the port is, then how-?" he cut off, "Y'know what, who cares. Let's get you out of the rain, since you're clearly not dressed for it!" His hand fell to his own sleeve, wiping off the rain from its weather resistant surface. "Since you seem to be the only sorry soul to have wandered off despite our clear warnings, I'll walk you back to the Pokemon Center." His grimace lightened slightly and he motioned for Alice and Shellos to follow.

"It's best to get that fainted Pokemon there as well, the cold and rain can't be good for its recovery," he stated, seemingly unfazed by the sight of a defeated wild Pokemon. In this world, it wasn't a very odd thing to witness. He took a step in the direction toward town unaware if Alice was following or not and instead battling the storm to lead the way with hasty steps. After a miserable trek, he halted outside the sliding doors of the Pokemon Center, turning toward Alice's direction if she had chosen to follow. "This is it," he said, "now get yourself something warm and change those clothes of yours!" He glanced back toward the treeline, "wish I could do the same..." the final statement was begrudgingly under his breath.

[Alice Hope]

Alice followed without objection, wishing that the man had some kind of vehicle or Pokemon that could speed this mayhem up. It was practically her worst nightmare, and she couldn't help exclaiming, "Oh, thank god!" when the enormous Pokemon Centre building had come into sight. The rain smashed against its windows, the lights on inside, and the location's bright red roof symbolic and outstanding against the urban landscape behind it. "Thank you so much! And I'm so sorry that you have to spend your night like that. I hope it all eases up soon."

With that, she thanked him and went inside, Shellos doing the same before sliding after the waterlogged blonde. She had her glasses off as she approached the desk, alarming the pair of Chanseys who were running about the place. "I'd like to get these two healed up, please. And a room for the night if you've got one. Plus, maybe a spare change of clothes I could buy or borrow, or a hair dryer for these, would be awesome. Sorry and thank you..."

[Avaritia]

"Thanks," the officer said after an initial bout of surprise. Not many people really regarded or recognized his work. He was, after all, currently the second person who was out wandering in the wind and rain. After one final, longing sigh he switched off his flashlight and put it back onto his belt. He still had the other half of the island to check before he could retreat into the warm and inviting shelter of home, and he shuffled off to do just that as Alice entered the Pokemon Center.

"Chansey!" one of the Pokemon replied enthusiastically while the other one peered at Alice and her Pokemon with motherly concern. The first waved over a Nurse to help load the two Pokemon onto a tray to carry them to the back room while the second opened a drawer and retrieved one of the room keys inside, setting it on the counter for Alice to retrieve. Then, she quickly dashed toward another back room, returning moments later with a bundle consisting of a human's nursing uniform, freshly washed. It was all they had, but it would fit Alice relatively and at least it wasn't soaked. The Nurse that had brought the Pokemon to the back re-appeared and glanced at them curiously.

Looking up at Alice, she put two and two together. "Just return the uniform when you're done," she chuckled, "otherwise the Center may just swallow you up and you'll have a Nursing job without even realizing it!" She patted the caring Chansey on the head and sent the Pokemon on its way. "Your Pokemon will be sent to your room once they're fully recovered, which should be shortly." She seemed to mistakenly assume Venonat, like Shellos, was just being treated without being in his Pokeball, an honest mistake. "There should be towels and driers in the rooms, so feel free to make yourself at home and warm up a bit. Dinner's being served for two more hours, so be sure to get some food in your stomach afterwards."

[Alice Hope]

Alice's face brightened just a little at the sight of the Chanseys. They were big, round and pink like a marshmallow-- sweet, too, she correctly assumed. "Ah-- take care, Shellos!" She called after the creature, which looked surprised to be taken away so quickly, peering down blankly at the unconscious Venonat before being whisked from sight.

She thanked the nurse for the uniform, peering fondly at the shade of pink that it was. The problem with her generation, from her world, was that she immediately had kinky thoughts. Wouldn't it be a cute and sexy ensemble for a selfie? ... Anyway... "Ah, of course! It's not like I can go anywhere fast, anyway! I'll get it back to you as soon as my clothes are dried, I promise." The rookie blabbered, thanking the lot of them before hurrying off in the direction of the rooms. Her dorm wasn't too far away, and the inside was actually roomy, although not incredibly large, and it had its own bathroom. Alice literally peeled the drenched outfit from her porcelain skin, still dripping wet even after the shedding, and put them into the little washing bowl in the bathroom with a washing tablet and some powder. Basically nude, Alice got to rinsing the dirt off and then hung it up in one corner after getting as much water out as possible. After that, it was time to wash herself.

The hot water from the shower was glorious, and Alice lingered idle for a while, enjoying the heat. She actually enjoyed cold showers a lot more, but it wasn't that kind of day. Hair washed and conditioned, Alice eventually dragged herself out, drying her hair and brushing it, and then getting into her new nurse's uniform. Vain as ever, the trainer couldn't resist admiring her own reflection in the mirror and doing some idol-like poses and expressions, before taking this 'life' more seriously and checking her blood sugars with the equipment in the 'stolen' bag. High, but that was to be expected after getting caught in a storm and waking up in a stress. She decided to wait rather than inject, incase the hot shower and the change of environment brought them back down naturally.

Last but not least, Alice took her few belongings and made for the cafeteria. She did need to drink at least, even if her appetite was small. What kind of food would this world offer her?

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