"What is a hus-key?" Flannery asks as she looks up from her newest Pokemon. "And why would we be doomed?"
It took me a second to register what my girlfriend just asked, but when it did, the world seemed to freeze solid. Or at least I did, as I looked at her owlishly. Did I really say that out loud?
"What about Chansey? They are the absolute cutest things, aren't they! We would be doomed without them!" I respond with a smile as my brain races like a Rapidash.
Flannery just stares at me and raises an eyebrow, letting me know she is not impressed with my deflection.
"O-or did you mean Flaffy?" I ask as my voice cracks slightly.
"Frost…"
"Hap-"
"Frost. Oak. Stop trying to dodge the question." Flannery states calmly but with an air of finality to it. Her tone, along with the usage of my full name, draws memories of my mother catching me in a lie, causing me to flinch slightly before I slump my shoulders in defeat.
"Before I say anything…" I start, taking a deep breath to try and calm myself. I don't like lying, but this secret is personal. I've deflected away from my weirdness so far, but I really don't want to hide anything from my mate. "Please try to understand that everything I say from now on is completely true, no matter how absurd it sounds." I see Flannery give me a small nod as I take a deep breath before continuing.
"On my fourteenth birthday, I woke up with two things that I couldn't explain. Memories of a life I never lived and a floating screen that only I could see. Memories that have information about a world, similar to ours, but different in key points. Like technology was more advanced with computers and phones, and the use of four-wheeled vehicles that ran on oil. Vehicles that could fly you from one region of the world to another in a few hours. Cities that make Saffron seem small, with populations over one million.
"Yet with all this technology, that world did not have our storage systems, teleporters, or healing technology. Though the biggest difference was the animals. Have you ever wondered why Vulpix was considered the 'Fox Pokemon' or Lycanroc is the 'Wolf Pokemon'? What is a fox, what is a wolf?" I ask as I take a moment to let what I have said sink in.
"Oh, that is easy!" Flannery retorts with a smile, "a fox is… a fox…" she starts to frown slightly as she tries to think of what to say.
"Skitty got your tongue, love?" I smile at her cheerfully as I hear her mumbling to herself.
"Well, go on then, Oak-sensei. What is a fox? And you can't say Vulpix!"
"Well, according to…" [https://fantheories.fandom.com/wiki/Pok%C3%A9mon#Pokemon_is_a_Post_Apocalyptic_World]
*~*~*~*
"Besides the mysterious origin of Pokemon, what about this screen of yours? Are you sure it was not a ghost or psychic Pokemon playing a prank?" Flannery asks as I try my best to tell her the running theory of the origin of Pokemon. Outside of Arceus, that is.
"There is no chance of that," I respond with a wave of my hand. "Sure, an Alakazam or Metagross could have simulated it for a while, but it has been years, and besides spending most of it in Pallet, I have been on the move."
"Still…"
"There is no way. If it were only information, I would be willing to entertain the idea, but once I started getting physical items that do not exist?"
"You got what?" Flannery exclaims incredulously.
"Well… I got something like this…" I tell her as I unclip my snowflake media player and hand it to her. She looks at it and then looks at my hand quizzically before grabbing my media player. It's at this time, my media player decides to start playing one of the most iconic songs from home. [ https://youtu.be/fJ9rUzIMcZQ?si=ABLRLmSa3kjrZVb8 ]
"🎵Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy? 🎵"
"🎵Caught in a landslide, no escape from reality. 🎵"
"🎵Open your eyes, look up to the skies and see. 🎵"
"So this is where that music has been coming from!" Flannery says excitedly. "I had wondered about it, but I figured it was just your Pokegear. So this is a music player huh, what's so special about that?"
I giggle slightly at her reaction. "Do you recognize this song? Or the band?" She shakes her head at my question. "The song is something from my other set of memories. It's called Bohemian Rhapsody by a group known as Queen. Feel free to check the Pokenet for them." I tell her as the song slips into the third verse.
"🎵I see a little silhouetto of a man 🎵"
"🎵Scaramouche, Scaramouche, will you do the Fandango? 🎵"
"🎵Thunderbolt and lightning, very, very frightening me 🎵"
"🎵(Galileo) Galileo, (Galileo) Galileo, Galileo Figaro 🎵"
"🎵Magnifico (Oh-oh-oh-oh) 🎵"
Flannery gives me a look as she pulls out her own Pokegear. As she starts searching, I start to hum along to the song. Even though I have never put any effort into learning the lyrics of the song I seem to know it word for word. This song just has a way into your brain like that. Before long, the song ends and we are placed into relative silence again.
Flannery looks up from her phone and gives me a miffed look. "The lack of a song on the Pokenet means nothing. You could have easily gotten it in some other region from an unknown group. I hope this isn't the only proof?"
"Fine, if that isn't good enough for you… then what about these?" I mentally reach out to the system inventory that I had, but as my energy touches it I feel a draw on my aura as everything disappears. I blink owlishly for a moment as nothing appeared, but then I remember that the system is gone but I have a storage bracelet. Sending a bit of energy towards my wrist bangle I get a mental list of everything that was in my system inventory, as well as a few additional items that were not there previously. Planning on checking out those items later, I mentally select the potions that I had received and with a small flourish of my hand eight different glass vials appear.
"What are those? Where did they come from?" Flannery asks, taken aback from the sudden appearance of the vials on the table.
"These are potions that I received, as for where they are from… I'm honestly not sure as I only know the names of them as well as the effect they should have."
"So you were given dubious potions and music of mysterious origins. Still not beating the psychic Pokemon prank allegations." Flannery tells me as she crosses her arms under her breasts, making my eyes follow the delightful dance they perform. "After our battle in Celadon City, we are heading straight to Saffron to get you checked out by Sabrina or another psychic."
The tone of her voice cuts any willingness of mine to argue with her. I know that I am not affected by a psychic Pokemon. Right?
*~*~*~*
After the multitude of revelations, and my unsuccessful attempts at explaining things to Flannery, from this morning, the two of us decide to see what kind of entertainment could be found on a cruise ship. The pamphlet in our room had listed various kinds of activities on the ship, catering to any form of entertainment that could be requested. This is the first time I have been on one in two lifetimes, and Flannery has never been on one either. I step out of the hallway, Skadi at my side, and pause for a moment as the warmth of the sun caresses my bare skin.
After finding out that clothing is optional on the ship, I decided to try my luck and only wear a tiny white bikini bottom, the kind that gets dangerous when wet, which I had picked up in Cerulean City. I take a quick peek behind me and smile slightly at my lover's choice of clothing. Like me, she decided to enjoy the freedom of the ship and only wear a bikini bottom, though not only that, she also put on the cat ears and tail once more. I reach back and grab her hand and head out onto the deck with the rest of the crowd.
As we approach the front of the ship, my heart begins to speed up as the empty hallway quickly opens up to clear blue skies and people. A few people notice us approaching and give a small wave and smile before returning to their conversation and not giving either of us more than a glance. The nonchalance of the other passengers actually does a lot to settle my mind. I had really taken a leap of faith about the nudity, but a quick glance around shows I had no reason to worry.
I note a decent number of women, older than Flannery and I, lounging naked beside a pool that has several small water Pokemon playing in it. It's not just women going around naked, as I spot a few guys around the pool as well, either sunbathing or hitting on other passengers. I shake my head as I realize that guys will be guys no matter what world it is.
A small yip from my ankles draws my attention away from the free eye candy as I look down at Skadi. She looks up at me and then lifts her paw in another direction. As I follow her paw with my eyes, just in time to see a beautiful spray of water burst into the air above the crowd. With my interest piqued, I start heading towards the front of the ship while Skadi playfully dances around my feet.
As I get closer to where I saw the water spray, another bursts out, only this one looks like it was made of glitter as it has every color imaginable in it. I don't recognize the source, but a cheer sounds out from the crowd in front of me causing me flinch for a moment from how loud it is as the cheers from the crowd hit my ears, until it is like someone suddenly turned down the volume. I shake my head in confusion, mentally filing it away for later as I slip around the couple in front of me so I can see what is going on.
In front of me is a round area, painted in the same colors as a pokeball like how it is in a gym, with several Pokemon standing around it with their trainers behind them. I happen to see the fluffiest of Eevee's prances out of the center of the 'pokeball' and back to a demure-looking young woman with a white sun hat on, and one of the few that has all their sensitive bits covered. Her face blooms into a smile as she crouches down to pet her Eevee.
Before I can get further distracted by the pretty blonde in a white bikini, Skadi yips again to draw my attention. At the same time as I draw my eyes away, another Pokemon rolls into the center of the arena. Now, I won't say it is the cutest thing ever, as that is Flannery followed closely by Skadi and Eevee, but it certainly ranks in the top ten cutest Pokemon. The half-blue, half-cream color of its fur, its tiny little flippers, and dopey look all come together in a package known as…
"SHPEAL!" The little thing suddenly calls out as a burst of glittering Powder Snow appears from it, causing the surrounding area to be showered in silvery glitter. What catches me by surprise is that instead of letting the Powder Snow disperse normally, it danced and swirled in the air, completely ignoring the wind generated by the boat. Flannery slips in beside me and gently holds my hand as I get lost in the flows and eddies of spectacle.