Fair .
Chapter 2: This Is Not a Dream
Aarav woke to sound.
Not voices.
Not machines.
A sharp, rhythmic crunch-crunch echoed nearby, followed by a low, curious grunt.
His eyes snapped open.
Green filled his vision—dense, layered, alive. Tall trees rose overhead, their branches tangled together, sunlight leaking through in uneven patches. The air smelled damp, earthy, and faintly sweet.
A forest.
A real one.
Before panic could fully set in, the sound came again—closer this time.
Something moved through the undergrowth.
Aarav pushed himself upright too fast, dizziness washing over him. His palm sank into soft soil, cool and unmistakably real.
"No," he said under his breath.
He turned his head sharply.
Just a few meters away, a small Pokémon rooted around the forest floor. Round-bodied, brown and mud-streaked, with stubby legs and a pink snout.
Lechonk.
Aarav froze.
The Pokémon lifted its head, ears twitching. It stared at him for a long second, eyes wide and unreadable, then snorted softly and went back to digging.
Aarav's breath hitched.
That wasn't imagination.
That wasn't metaphor.
That was a Pokémon he could name without thinking.
His heart began to race.
He looked around properly this time.
The forest wasn't empty.
A trio of Tarountula clung to a tree trunk farther off, their thread-like silk shimmering faintly in the light. Something small and birdlike—likely a Fletchling—darted overhead before vanishing into the canopy.
Pokémon. Everywhere.
His hands trembled as he dragged them through his hair.
"This… isn't real," he muttered.
His voice sounded wrong.
Higher.
He swallowed and spoke again. "This isn't real."
It still sounded wrong.
Aarav looked down at himself.
His clothes were unfamiliar—simple, worn fabric, frayed at the sleeves and knees. Nothing he owned looked like this. His jacket was gone. His watch was gone. His phone—gone.
He raised his hands.
Smaller.
Thinner.
No calluses. No old scars from clinic work.
His stomach dropped.
Slowly, he stood up. His balance wobbled, his body lighter than he remembered, movements unfamiliar. He took one careful step, then another.
He felt shorter.
Aarav stumbled toward a shallow stream cutting through the forest floor and crouched beside it.
Water reflected a boy's face.
Twelve years old.
Dark hair falling messily into wide eyes. A narrow jaw. Features that resembled his own, but stripped back—like someone had taken him and rewound him a decade.
He stared.
"No," he said, louder now.
He slapped himself across the face.
The sting was sharp and immediate.
He sucked in a breath and pressed his fingers to his cheek.
Pain.
Real pain.
Dreams didn't do that.
His chest tightened, breath coming faster now. He backed away from the water and sank down against a tree, dirt smearing his clothes.
Okay.
Okay.
If this wasn't a dream, then—
He squeezed his eyes shut.
Last memory: the road. The girl. The dog. The impact.
Then darkness.
Then—
Pokémon.
This wasn't Earth.
That realization settled heavily, bringing with it a strange, disorienting calm.
"If this isn't Earth," he said slowly, "then…"
He opened his eyes again and looked at the forest with new awareness.
This wasn't Kanto. Not Johto. Not Hoenn.
The trees were too dense, the terrain too open and wild. There was a ruggedness to the land that reminded him of one specific region.
Paldea.
The thought made his stomach flip.
Paldea—the region of vast open spaces, ancient ruins, wild Pokémon roaming freely. A place where civilization and wilderness blended without clear borders.
And he was alone in the middle of it.
A rustling sound snapped his attention back to the present.
The Lechonk had noticed him again.
It shuffled a bit closer, curiosity overcoming caution. Its nose twitched as it sniffed the air, then it let out a quiet snort.
Aarav held still.
"Hey," he said softly, instinct taking over. "Easy."
The Pokémon tilted its head.
It didn't attack.
It didn't run.
It simply watched him.
Aarav let out a slow breath he hadn't realized he was holding.
That reaction—cautious, curious, non-hostile—was familiar. He'd seen it countless times in animals. Pokémon behavior followed the same principles, just… expanded.
"Okay," he murmured. "That's good."
The Lechonk snorted again, then wandered off, apparently deciding Aarav wasn't worth the trouble.
Aarav laughed weakly.
Of all the ways to confirm reality, being ignored by a Pokémon wasn't one he'd expected.
He pushed himself to his feet and took stock.
No supplies. No Poké Balls. No Pokédex. No map.
And he looked like a kid.
A kid in the Pokémon world.
He rubbed his face with both hands.
"This is insane," he muttered. "This is actually insane."
But insanity didn't explain dirt under his nails, or the way the forest felt alive around him, or the way his body responded naturally to the environment—as if it belonged here.
He tested his legs, jogging a few steps. Light. Responsive.
No old stiffness. No lingering fatigue.
His throat tightened unexpectedly.
Whatever had happened back there—whatever had ended—was gone.
This body was healthy.
That thought scared him more than the forest.
A sudden buzzing sound made him flinch.
A yellow shape zipped past his head, hovering briefly before landing on a branch.
Pawmi.
It stared at him, cheeks faintly sparking.
Aarav raised his hands slowly. "Whoa. Hey."
The Pawmi's ears twitched. It chittered, then bounded away, electricity crackling softly as it vanished into the undergrowth.
Aarav exhaled.
Pokémon weren't just background here.
They were present. Close. Watching.
He scanned the forest again and noticed something he'd missed earlier—a faint dirt path winding between the trees. Not a road. Just a trail, likely made by repeated foot traffic and Pokémon movement.
A way out.
Staying here wasn't smart. Wild Pokémon, unfamiliar terrain, no shelter.
He adjusted the straps of his torn shirt and stepped onto the path.
As he walked, his thoughts finally began to organize.
He didn't know why this had happened. He didn't know how.
But he knew this world.
Not personally—but deeply enough to survive.
Trainers started young here.
Pokémon were partners, not tools.
And Paldea was dangerous to those who underestimated it.
Aarav clenched his fists.
"Alright," he said quietly to himself. "One step at a time."
He followed the path forward, the sounds of Pokémon echoing around him.
Behind him, the forest closed in, indifferent.