Into the Dark - A Pokemon Isekai

Waking up was a lot more painful than I had imagined it would be. It seemed to be an unfortunate trend in this world so far, and I wasn’t a big fan of it. The entire left side of my face practically radiated pain, and it was a struggle to open that eye to look and see where I was.

Which apparently was a cage. I had to admit, of all the places I was expecting to wake up, it certainly hadn’t been in a cage. My head must have been hit harder than I thought it had, because it took me a minute before I jolted upright, realizing what was happening.

I was in a cage!

“Boss!” The reedy man’s voice called. “She’s up.”

“Is she now?” A basso rumble replied.

Frantically I looked around, trying to figure out just exactly where I was. We weren’t in the clearing anymore, instead I had been brought to a small camp somewhere in the forest. There was a faint bit of salt on the air as the wind blew, which made me think we might have been somewhere close to the ocean. I didn’t know how long I had been out, but it must have been a while considering the night was already starting to fade into daytime, the faint glow of the sun starting to color the horizon orange.

The camp itself wasn’t very pleasant to look at. Three tents, one more than twice the size of the others, were set up in a line to my right, a campfire was in the middle, and a row of cages similar to the one I was in extended off to the left. The cages themselves were pretty simple things, almost looking like dog crates with thick metal bars and a black box that hung where there would normally be a handle for the door. I could make out vague shapes moving in the cages, but my attention was grabbed my the three figures coming into view from around the tents.

Sure enough it was the two goons I had run across before, along with a third man who was clearly in charge judging by the way the other two scurried after him. He was surprisingly average looking, wearing green cargo pants, thick hiking boots, an entirely too-tight black t-shirt that showed off his muscular chest, and a worn leather jacket that completed the outfit. Around his neck hung a necklace with different kinds of teeth strung on the leather cord, the center one was nearly as long as my hand.

His face looked like it had been chiseled out of granite despite his white hair, and I hoped I would be in as good shape as he was when I was his age. He must have been pushing sixty years old, but his age didn’t seem to wear him down any, instead his pale grey eyes seemed to take in everything around him. When those eyes were turned on me however, a shudder ran down my back at the sheer inhumanity in them.

Back in my senior year of high school we had been forced to have a discussion on whether or not people were evil, or if bad situations forced them to do bad things. My teacher had been of the opinion that some people were just evil, and whatever situation they had found themselves in wasn’t important. I had strenuously disagreed, and we’d had a big argument in which I had been sent to the principal’s office because I had thought that just because somebody did a bad thing didn’t mean they were a bad person.

I still believed that, but looking into those grey eyes I knew that the man before me was evil. I don’t know how, but as soon as we made eye contact I knew that the man had killed somebody before.

Gone was the sense of wonder and peace that I’d had in the forest, heartlessly ripped away by a man who stared at me without a single trace of pity or guilt in his eyes.

“So this is the one who stumbled on you two.” He said, emotionless.

“Yeah Kane, just came out of the woods in the middle of the night. The Poké Radar picked her up right as she was coming into the clearing.”

The leader, Kane apparently, grunted an acknowledgment and pulled out a leather wallet, and I instantly recognized it as my own. “Interesting things you had on you, friend.”

I had no illusions at all that this man considered himself my friend as he opened my wallet, looking through my cards.

“I haven’t heard of any of these things. “Massachusetts,” for example.” He held up my driver’s license, comparing it to my face. “Where is that? Also, I would recommend you get a better photographer next time, this photo barely looks like you. Obviously you aren’t a local, if no other reason than I haven’t seen this kind of money before.”

Without giving me a chance to respond, he put the license back and showed off the small handful of bills he had found.

“Even back in Orre we still used the Dollar, but I don’t recognize anything in here. So tell me “Alina Knighton,” who are you and what are you doing here?”

I shuddered under Kane’s gaze and couldn’t help but look away. “I don’t know.”

He squatted down in front of the cage to get down on my eye level. “That’s not a good enough answer. Now I like to think of myself as a reasonable man, but I’m running a business here and that business relies on a certain amount of privacy. Who sent you?”

“Nobody sent me! I just… woke up here.”

“Right, right. You just woke up in the middle of Sinnoh, right by our camp? You’ll forgive me if I find that hard to believe. Are you part of InterPol?”

“InterPol?”

“You don’t look like a Ranger, and you’re not wearing that obnoxious outfit the Aether Foundation wears. I’m honestly impressed you can move with how big those clothes are. Boys, what Pokémon did she have on her?”

“She didn’t have any Pokémon on her, boss. Just some weird phone that broke when she dropped it, some keys, and some kind of headphones.”

He handed over the phone and my other items, which Kane looked at skeptically. Despite everything else that was going on, a pang of pain shot through me when I saw the phone’s shattered glass. My phone wasn’t good by any means, I hadn’t been able to afford a new one for a while, but it was mine and seeing that it was broken hurt more than I thought it would.

“No Pokémon, huh.”

Kane scratched his stubbled chin, considering.

“Like I said,” I took a chance, speaking up. “I just woke up in the middle of the woods. I didn’t know where I was or what had happened to me.”

“That’s a mighty interesting story you got there friend. One that I don’t believe for a second. Hawg, Greer!”

The two men jumped when their leader called their names, and stepped forwards. “Yeah boss?”

“Go back to where you found her. Look for any signs of a campsite or base, she probably stashed her Poké Balls there.”

“But what about you, boss?” The big goon, Hawg if I wasn’t mistaken, said.

“Ha, I can take care of myself. Besides, I won’t be alone.”

The man reached into a pocket and pulled out a familiar looking red and white ball. It was about the size of a ping pong ball, but as I watched he did something to it, making it expand to the size of a tennis ball. Pressing the button on the front, he held it out in front of him and a red beam extended from the Poké Ball. A shape emerged from the beam, one that I recognized instantly.

The Houndoom howled as it came into the world, looking around curiously. The dog-like Pokémon was massive, probably about five feet tall, and it’s red eyes glittered as it eyed me. I shoved myself away towards the back of the cage from the Pokémon as it snarled, but even as I did so I noticed that it didn’t look very healthy. It’s claws were long and jagged looking, and while they were incredibly frightening to look at, they obviously hadn’t been trimmed in a long while. The Houndoom’s ribs were also clearly visible through its black fur, which itself seemed patchy and dull almost as if the Pokémon had mange or something. That didn’t seem to stop it from being entirely too threatening however, and I felt none of the wonder that I had experienced with the wild Pokémon I had seen.

“Havoc here will look after her, make sure she doesn’t get into any trouble.”

Kane eyed me again. “Although, I don’t think she would cause any trouble, would you Alina?”

I shook my head, never taking my focus off of the Houndoom.

“That’s a good lass. Now get going you two, I still have some calls to make. Havoc, guard!”

The Houndoom sat down on its haunches, but still seemed ready to leap at me at any time.

“Now you just sit there and relax Alina. I’m sure it’ll all be over soon enough.”

With a chuckle, Kane disappeared into the largest tent while the two goons disappeared back into the woods, leaving me feeling cold and alone.

/^\

As it turns out, I did not manage to relax like Kane had commanded I should. Instead I sat and I stewed about the crazy series of events that had led to me being imprisoned by a bunch of… what? Pokémon hunters? I didn’t really get a good chance to see what Kane, Hawg, and Greer were up to until the sun fully came up, it’s light illuminating the clearing. When it did, I almost wished that it hadn’t, as it showed off the worst sight I had seen since coming to this strange new world.

The cage I found myself trapped in wasn’t originally meant for people, it was meant for Pokémon, and Kane and his goons had managed to trap quite a few of them. All manner of Pokémon were stuffed into cages, each of them looking more hopeless than the last. In the cage next to me was the Elekid I had seen Hawg and Greer trap, along with a small brown lump that I couldn’t quite make out. In the next cage over was a sad, grey skinned Croagunk and a purple and blue skinned Mime Jr.. The third cage held a Skorupi, with what seemed to be rubber bands holding the claw on its tail and it’s two stingers up and out of the way, and a Riolu of all things, the poor Pokémon looking like it had its arms and legs hogtied so it couldn’t move.

It was the most horrible sight I ever could have seen and I could feel the tears starting to well up at the corners of my eyes.

“Hello?” I whispered to the Pokémon in the cages next to me.

Havoc growled at me, and I glared at it. “I’m not making trouble!” I snapped, still whispering as to not draw the attention of Kane.

“I’m just trying to talk to these poor Pokémon. Look at them, they’re clearly miserable! How can you not feel bad about this?”

The Houndoom reared its head back in surprise and looked, for a brief moment, ashamed. Much had been speculated online about Pokémon intelligence, but looking at that expression of shame and regret on the Houndoom’s face, I knew it understood what I was saying.

Havoc whuffed quietly, then laid its head back down, carefully not looking at me.

Taking that for tacit approval, or at least allowance, of what I was doing, I turned back to the other Pokémon in the cages.

“Hey.” I whispered again. “Hey, are any of you awake?”

The Elekid seemed out of it, but the little brown lump seemed to stir.

“Little one, can you hear me?”

The small furry Pokémon eventually managed to totter to its feet, and my heart melted a little bit at the Eevee that cocked it’s head at the sound of my voice. It was only about a foot tall, with its brown fur dirty and stained with mud, brown eyes staring hopelessly at me, and I don’t think I had ever seen a sadder sight.

The Mime Jr. in the next cage over also raised its head, and a vague feeling echoed in my head. It wasn’t words so much as an emotion, strangely foreign, and carried with it a sense of fear and desperation. My heart broke at the feelings sweeping through me, and I knew somehow that this little Pokémon was the source of the cry for help that had woken me up in the first place.

“Hey little ones, don’t worry.” I said without thinking. “I’ll get you out of this.”

The Eevee made a soft purring noise and tried to move closer, only being thwarted by the tightly packed bars of the cages. Havoc, the Houndoom, growled slightly which startled the little Pokémon, but didn’t do anything more than bare it’s teeth slightly.

I still glared at the Houndoom, which didn’t do anything worthwhile. Returning my attention back to the Eevee, I wormed my hand through the bars and the small space separating our cages, and let the Eevee inspect it. Havoc growled a little bit louder, but I ignored it in favor of trying to reassure the Pokémon in front of me. An Eevee wasn’t a dog, like how a Houndoom wasn’t really a dog either despite how much it looked like one, but I figured it would be better to let the Eevee decide to come to me instead of trying to force my sympathy onto the Pokémon.

It flinched and stepped away from my hand, but after a minute where I didn’t do anything, it slowly came back and reached out with its nose, gently sniffing at it. A moment later it pressed it’s head into the palm of my hand, and I gently scratched it at its ears.

How anybody could treat a Pokémon like this… Kane would have a reckoning, I would make sure of it.

The Eevee and I stayed together for a long time, until it suddenly withdrew and curled up against the far side of the cage.

I stared in confusion, but it was only when Havoc perked up that I realized something was up, and hastily drew my hand from in-between the bars of the two cages. A few seconds later Greer and Hawg returned, looking significantly more tired and angry than before.

“We’re back boss.” Greer called, and after a moment Kane stepped out of the tent.

“Well boys? You find anything?”

“Not a thing.” Greer said. “We went all the way to the river and didn’t see a thing. If she did have any Pokémon, she hid them well.”

“I’m starting to believe she doesn’t.” Kane said, eyeing me thoughtfully. “I rang up some of the boys from the old Snagem days, and they haven’t heard of her at all. The Rangers don’t list her as a member, and if she is an InterPol agent, she must be some kind of spy or something. There’s not even a trainer profile or birth date attached to the name. So where are you from kid?”

I debated not answering, but the glare that the Houndoom was giving me told me that wasn’t a good idea.

“Like you saw, I’m from Massachusetts.”

“Yeah, but where is that? That’s no place I’ve ever heard of before.”

I shrugged. “I don’t know, as I’ve already said I’m lost. Just woke up here.”

Kane’s eyes narrowed, and he hummed in thought. “Of all the times when I wish I had a Psychic type with us. Your accent sounds Unovan, you know where that is?”

A million thoughts raced through my mind in a heartbeat, and I eventually settled on a plan. I wasn’t sure if it was a good plan or not, but hopefully it wouldn’t end badly for me.

“Unova? You mean the mainland to the north?”

Kane froze, then a small smile spread across his face. It wasn’t a pleasant smile, reminding me more of a shark than a human.

“Well now, that’s interesting. It looks like we might be getting somewhere. I didn’t think Unova had any islands nearby, but I could be mistaken.”

“I wouldn’t say it’s nearby.” I said, lying through my teeth. “It’s a couple days by boat. Or uh, Pokémon if you have one big enough.”

“Still, that’s a long way from Unova to Sinnoh. What did you do, piss off a Psychic trainer enough for them to get one of their Pokémon to Teleport you away?”

“Would I remember if I did?” I sniped back, and if anything his smile grew a little wider.

“I suppose not. Despite myself, I think I might be starting to like you kid. You’ve got attitude, I like that.”

It was hard to hide my shudder of disgust.

“Well it looks like I have some more calls to make. This little diversion aside, I think that last catch was enough for this outing, that Riolu and the Eevee will fetch a high price. What do you think boys?”

Hawg and Greer, who had been silent for the exchange so far, exchanged a look before Greer spoke up.

“Whatever you say boss. We do have a lot.”

Kane tsked at the non-answer, and looked at the smaller man with ill-disguised contempt. “Well congratulations, for your wonderful contribution to the conversation you get to be the one to get the boat ready.”

Greer slumped, and opened his mouth before Kane cut him off.

“No complaints! Hawg will stay here and get the cages ready for the truck once you come back. Or would you rather be the one doing that?”

The other man’s face twisted in annoyance and frustration, but he shook his head. “Alright boss, whatever you say.”

Greer spun on his heel and stalked off deeper into the woods. A few seconds later I heard a truck’s engine start up, before driving away. Kane stared after the disappearing sound for a long minute, then turned back to me.

“Who knows kid, maybe if you still come back clean after I check you out again and if you prove to be reasonable, I might have a place for you in my crew. You like making money? Of course you do, who doesn’t. Hawg, make sure the catches are taken care of, I don’t want any bouncing loose like they did last time, you understand?”

The big man paled, and nodded his head.

“Excellent. Since you weren’t an idiot like Greer, take thirty minutes, get yourself some food.”

Hawg visibly perked up, and Kane stalked back into his big tent. When he opened the flap I could just make out the sight of an computer on a rickety camp table and a big chest, before it dropped closed again.

I was alone, all over again. Except this time, I had a plan started to form in my head, and I hoped that I wouldn’t get myself killed trying to get free. To get all of us free.