Stepping through the fog was both benign yet tedious since it felt like walking down a tunnel.
I feel it was safer than travelling through a forest full of wild Pokémon regardless so it's not as bad as it could have been.
After a while of just walking without knowing where I am the fog ahead of me starts to dissipate gradually as I approach.
The fog clears up enough that I can see the world again, and when I do I find somehow I'm underground in a cave system full of illuminated rocks which seem to be sparking with electricity. . .
In great confusion, I look around and look back towards where I came from to try and understand what just happened.
When I look behind me I find it a solid wall but within the wall, I can feel a weird connection that allows me to see under the façade of the wall the glowing archway is present.
To test it I reach with my hand toward it and find my hand passes through the stone like it's not there but with my other hand I press against the wall to the other side of the archway frame to find it solid.
Yes, the wall is a wall, while this wall isn't a wall. . .
I sigh since I have no idea how to explain this.
I just turn around a focus on surviving, to be honest, I feel the archway acted like a wormhole or something so again I have no idea where I am.
OK, first plan in a cave is always to try and increase your elevation since caves mean underground and people survive on the surface.
I make a mental note to revisit the archway in the future but I make my way through the cave.
Luckily I don't need any form of light since the surrounding stones give off a gentle hum of light.
Mainly because I have nothing else to occupy my hands I'm rolling my pokéball in my hand, and sometimes I do examine the device since I've never touched one before, also I'm still trying how to shrink it so I can put it back in my bag.
To be honest, my treck through this cave is as boring as the fog tunnel but my thoughts are disrupted when I hear a quiet squeaky voice behind me.
[Delicious♩ it's been so long.]
Hearing this it makes me stop moving since even though it sounded like a whisper it sounded right next to me.
I look around for the voice origin but don't find anything.
I close my eyes and press my left hand against my head checking if I'm not burning up and hallucinating things.
But when I open my eyes I come face to eye with a little silver fish-like creature with an orange squiggle on its side latched to the underside of my arm looking at me in confusion.
. . .
"Well hello there." For some reason I'm calm maybe because I don't feel the creature on my arm, maybe it's numbing my nerves so I didn't feel them.
Seeing it's been caught sucking on me it goes to escape but as it latched off me I finally feel it as it rips a portion of my skin off in its haste causing me to yell out in pain.
The Pokémon goes to run away but when it hears me yell out in pain it turns around and notices me clutching my arm in pain.
Blood drips from the wound onto the floor and as if starved the Pokémon swims in the air towards the blood before sucking it.
The pain slowly fading I realize the Pokémon in front of me is distracted so I take a few steps back before hiding behind a glowing bolder.
Now not in the presence of possible danger I look over the wound and yep it'll leave a scar but otherwise it's fine.
I sigh and rest my back against the rock wall the adrenaline from the shock fading away, at that point I hear the whisper-like voice again.
[Sorry, it was just so hungry]
I turn my head and I see floating peering at the edge of the bolder is the small silver fish with eyes showing concern.
I just sigh since I can't blame a creature for following its instincts like trying to blame magma for being hot.
"Don't worry, nothing some rest won't solve."
The eyes of the silver fish widen. [Wait you can understand me?]
I just nod since I'm starting to feel slightly drained maybe it's the blood loss finally kicking in, the silver fish starts talking without a break which I don't cut.
[Sorry, but it's been so long since a human was here and all the other Pokémon here can survive off the ores or small insects, it's hard for us Tynamo here since we can only feed off the tiny Joltik or burrowing Drillbur's who are strong against us.]
At this, my first thought was very simple. "Then why not move to someplace better"
Hearing this it seems the face of the Pokémon I finally remember is a Tynamo starts to sulk with puffed-up cheeks.
[Most of the Tynamo who lived here had that though and left when they grew up but I'm not brave enough to go alone, when I made up my mind to leave most of them had gone and the ones that are left are bigots.]
Hearing this makes me tilt my head since that doesn't make sense. "Why do you call them bigots?"
Hearing this the Tynamo comes closer with a small face showing annoyance and sadness.
[It's because they call me Dim Witted, it's not my fault my line is orange and there's are yellow, I'm just as strong as them but they think I'm lesser because of it.]
Hearing this my brain short circuits for a second. . . "Oh you're a shiny, that's really hard to tell in here."
Hearing this the rage on the face of the small creature fades into confusion [shiny? Like metal?]
Seeing their confusion, I chuckle slightly. "It's the Pokémon version of albinism it happens in like 1 in 4000 of each species, it's just a visual change but it means you're rarer than other Tynamo." Hearing this the Tynamo seems to pause in the air before starting to cry.
[So, all this time they bullied me because of that and there was nothing wrong with me, I really hate them.] Seeing the crying Pokémon I sigh before simply reaching out and dragging it into a hug which seems to calm it down after a while of crying.
Once they stop crying, I let them go and they just float there in silence, thinking before speaking and turning towards what presumably where the is exit.
[I don't want to stay here anymore, I'm gonna leave here even if I do it alone.]
At this, I remember something and speak. "You don't need to leave alone if you want."
Hearing this Tynamo turns again to me and sees me holding my pokéball. "Wanna come with me to see the world?"
It doesn't even take a second before I see the silver fish like Pokémon charge at me and press its head against the device which opens and contains it.
The situation feels surreal to me, I mean what are the chances of my first Pokémon being a shiny, I just laugh a bit before standing up and throwing out the pokéball.
The ball flies and opens in mid-air to release my new friend in a flash of red light.
Again, the Tynamo appears but this time they don't feel as stance to me, more familiar in a way, but I feel it's weird to just refer to them as Tynamo, so I ask a simple question.
"I know this might be rude but are you a boy or a girl," hearing this question Tynamo jolts for a second and looks at me weirdly.
[you can understand me, but you can't tell I'm a girl? Are your eyes damaged or something, anyway why you ask?]
Hearing her comment, I smile since Logic is still in short supply for me. "Well, I feel it's not nice to just call you Tynamo since it might remind you of those who lived here so I was planning to give you a nickname."
Tynamo does a little dance in the air akin to a child jumping for joy, [Oh you're giving me something called a nickname, what's that?]
I tilt my head while smiling since she probably never heard of it before, "Well it's name to call you to make it so you are no longer just a shiny Tynamo, you're now my friend and companion, you can call me Shaun,"
For a moment I felt a sting from my arm where she bit me, and it gave me an idea for her name.
"How about the nickname Himiko" At my words the small little bloodsucker starts dancing by doing figure eights in the air in front of me.
After she finishes celebrating, she looks back to me and I speak again, "Now let's get out of here and explore the world." she only responds with a chipper [Yeah.]