Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Arceus's Wish | (Rebooted on Youtube!)

F O U R

"So, how do you like our town?" Nila had happily asked Kyle. He had told her it wasn't as sophisticated as he was used to, yet it served every purpose quite nicely.

The town itself - named Pleada as Kyle had already learned - had a park or two, some stores and facilities, a pelipper-run mail house, residences and patches of pure nature. All of these things made Kyle feel far less out of place, something about the atmosphere made him feel much more at home.

"Well, we've reached our destination." Nila brought his thoughts back to the present. They were standing in a marketplace of sorts, Pokemon of all different kinds walking in every direction to purchase goods from the many different stands set up around the circular parlor. In from of them was a small wooden fish stand, and on top of it, sitting beside the merchandise, was an oshawott wearing a sailor's hat, soundly asleep.

"Morning, Josh!" Nila's call startled the pokemon out of his slumber, and he teetered and fell back into the vendor's side of the stand. He immediately climbed back up, and determinedly shouted, "How can I help you--"

Then, he became aware of Kyle's presence.

"Oh. Hi, Nila... who's this?" he asked.

"I rescued him from drowning yesterday," she answered, "his name is Kyle, and he claims he was transformed into an Umbreon, but used to be a 'human'..." (Kyle took note of her slight mispronounciation) "...well, I figured you'd know what that--"

But Josh had already stopped listening at "human." He leaped off the stand and landed in front of Kyle, then jumped to grab his cheeks with his tiny arms. "Come with me!" he shouted, "Now!"

He half-dragged the umbreon to the back of the stand, and whispered, "who are you? How did you get here?"

"I'm Kyle, and I don't know."

"Right... So tell me, Kale--"

"Kyle."

"Right! Right, well, tell me what happened before you got here."

"Well, I went to sleep back home, and when I woke up-- poof. Turned into an umbreon. If you need any more detail, I fell from the sky as well, and some voice spoke to me, but that's all I can tell you."

Josh took a breath and looked seriously at Kyle. "You're not gonna believe this," he said, "but your story is just like my dad's."

"What?!"

"He also used to be a human. Got transformed and sent here, but he never really explained why... He was one of the founders of our town, in his day!"

"And you work at a fish stand?!"

"I-it's a family business!"

"Right. But do you have any idea of how I can go back home?"

"No idea, our dad never did! Hasn't anything come to you yet?"

Kyle decided not to tell him about the voice and its message in too much detail. "N-not really..."

"Well then, if my scalchop is real," he tapped the shell on his stomach proudly, "then you'll find your way."

"Thanks... I suppose. But you didn't have to hide behind here to tell me that."

"I guess it felt like it needed to be a little secretive!"

Suddenly, a voice startled them both. "Dramatic? Well, sure." Josh yelped and fell back as the voice continued, "secretive? Not really."

Kyle looked up to see a Fennekin, hanging upside-down from the roof of the stand. "Heya," she giggled, "Are you the new guy in town?" She leaped and landed on the ground beside them with a double back-flip, and Kyle couldn't help but applaud. "Thank you, kind sir." she bowed.

"Hello," Kyle said, excited at meeting someone new, "who might you be?"

"My name is Fiona, and I'm guessing yours is Kyle?"

Kyle felt awkward for a moment. "F-for how long were you watching?"

"I was going to buy a fish, but... service here is usually better than this on Tuesdays." she stared scornfully at Josh as he picked himself up. "Dewey does me one better."

"Hey! My brother couldn't work today, so you get me!" Josh yelled, "You only came here after him, anyway! Because he's all you talk about! Either way, he's busy so there's no need for you to be here, if you're not gonna buy anything!"

"Well!" Fiona scoffed and turned away, "how rude of you!" Kyle could see the smile on her face as she said her goodbyes and leaped away.

He turned to the flustered oshawott. "I can't exactly put my... paw... on what relationship you two have."

"It's only because she only ever comes here because of my brother Dewey. He evolved a while ago, and now she won't leave him alone."

"You sure seem to care a lot."

Josh immediately flushed. "It's--" he groaned in anger and threw his scalchop on the ground. Realizing what he'd done, he frantically picked it up and placed it back on his belly.

Becoming aware of kyle's presence once more, his expression closed and he stormed away to Nila. Kyle followed.

"What's wrong?" the espeon asked.

"Nothing important--" Josh began, but was cut off by a loud noise.

A scream.

All the pokemon citizens turned around to face where the sound had come from, and to Kyle's surprise, began stampeding in the opposite direction.

"What is happening?!" Nila shouted over the noise of feet stamping as she dodged the crowd, but her question did not go unanswered long.

As soon as the crowd passed and the dust settled, a shadow slid across the ground and sat on the three pokemon left standing.

Josh looked up to see the looming shape of a gengar, teeth bared in a menacing smile. A tentacool floated beside it, its tentacles raised menacingly.

"Oh my gosh..." Josh's face became pale under his already white fur.

Kyle couldn't help but notice this gengar was different than he was used to: It had many more spines over its body, longer arms that stretched out in front of it, and the shape of a third eye in the middle of its forehead.

And, it was dragging a dead pidgeot by its feet.

The horrifying gengar's mouth remained static, yet the word came out loud and clear:

"Hi."