Ten minutes later, they reached the edge of the forest, and he gazed at the flowing hills stupidly. A deep crater sat smack in the middle, one that he had never seen before, and he could barely see the town behind it. It was encircled by a high wall of stone, and he saw flying Pokemon nestled atop impressive watchtowers.

"So… I guess a lot has changed," he muttered to himself.

He gazed in wonder at the new river, which streamed from the forest and reached the crater, where it split up. The larger branch dropped inside like a massive unending waterfall, while the smaller stream, almost wide enough for him to jump across, continued to the town in the distance, curving around the crater.

Groups of Pokemon roamed around: from dozens of Skiddos that he saw hopping around the distant crater wall to Paras and Parasects, whose familiar purple color stuck out against the green bushes in the distance.

More moved about, and with a curious feeling, he began walking ahead.

A short while later, they were walking down the hills, which now blocked his sight of the surroundings, when Riolu jumped from his shoulder, excitement coming from the tiny fighting Pokemon.

"What's up, buddy?" Orion asked, suddenly worried as he looked at the bushes.

Had they run across another Pokemon that'd be too strong? A rustle came from the bushes ahead of them. Low, barely four feet high, but densely covering a side of the hill. He was about to walk around when a familiar purple head poked out, and he recognized a Rattata.

"Ah, that's better," he said, while a sudden combative feeling grew in him.

He wasn't sure if it came from him or Riolu but didn't mind either way. He was about to tell Riolu to attack the Ratata when the tiny mouse screeched angrily as its eyes focused on him. A dull red gleam covered them, and he felt his hackles rise as the Ratata rushed forward.

"Intercept with quick attack," Orion barely managed as he jumped back.

"Ri!"

Riolu rushed forward, his body covered in a white gleam as he struck the roughly equally sized Ratata before it could come even halfway to Orion. A soft thud followed as the Ratata was knocked sideways, rolled over, and hissed angrily at Riolu.

Why does it look surprised and angry with Riolu? Orion thought.

Then the Ratata rushed forward, and he recognized the move Tackle.

"Dodge and hit it with another quick attack," Orion shouted quickly, hoping he was fast enough.

Riulu jumped to the side, then blurred into a quick attack, meeting the Rattata head-on. Orion's eyes widened as he saw the Rattata get knocked back a dozen feet before rolling over in the grass.

"Riiiiiii," Riolu cried, raising its tiny fists in the air in victory.

"Great job!" Orion shouted happily.

He walked closer, examining the Ratata curiously, noting it was small, even for a Rattata, and probably young. He didn't have a Pokeball, but he wouldn't have used it on the Ratata even if he had. There was no saying how the world had changed, so he should expect that he could only bring six Pokemon along max, as soon as his own endurance could handle that anyway. Still, he carefully picked up the tiny Pokemon and placed it below the bushes. He didn't want to be responsible if a Pidgeot or other flying type saw it and scooped it up as a snack.

They continued forward, leaving the tiny Pokemon inside a dense undergrowth.

Barely halfway up the hill, Riolu turned to the bushes again, and Orion blinked in surprise.

Before he could even ask what was wrong, another Rattata jumped out. It was slightly bigger than the previous one, but not much.

Weird… since when do Rattata behave this aggressively? Orion thought as he saw the Rattata glare at him as if he'd done something horrible.

"Take it out like the first one," Orion said, feeling Riolu's near-unstoppable desire to fight.

This time, Riolu was the first to move, and although the Rattata managed to remain standing after a few blows, it was quickly knocked unconscious after the third quick attack. Looking at the tiny purple Pokemon, Orion shook his head stupidly.

"What is going on? These guys are supposed to be skittish!"

"Ri?"

"Yeah, I don't know either," Orion muttered.

They reached the top of the hill, giving him a clearer view of Old Ferrum Town. Surrounded by a massive wall and with a large gate, he shook his head. Ferrum Town had never had a wall before… there just weren't enough dangerous Pokemon around to warrant it. Thinking about the aggressive Rattata, he frowned. He needed to get there and figure out what was going on!

A few hundred feet to the side, halfway up the adjacent hill, was a path that led to the town. Relieved, he headed there only to see the bushes around the path shake.

Come on… there can't be-

His mind went blank as two Ratata jumped out of the bushes, glaring at them.

"Ah, come on!" Orion snapped as he looked around for a way out. There was none. The bushes were more dangerous than a safe haven, and the Rattata were blocking his way to the town.

"Take one out as fast as you can," Orion whispered as he sidestepped, focusing on the two Rattata.

Pokemon, even small ones, were all capable of severely harming or even killing a human because of their out-of-proportion strength. However, some of the weaker ones, if they weren't high level, were things a human could at least dodge or sometimes deal with.

A quick gouge told him the left one, smaller and slightly duller in color, should be younger. He lowered himself in a crouch, rummaging through the mud until he found a large enough rock.

"Take care of the right one and help me as soon as you are ready," he said.

Riolu was already running, and both Rattata looked at him. Steeling his nerves, Orion stepped forward.

"Over here," he shouted, hurling the stone at the left Rattata.

He had always been good at throwing, as some of the more dangerous Pokemon needed their food thrown at them, but nothing like this. The rock flitted through the air and struck the Rattata just as it looked up from his shout. The stone knocked its head to the side.

That was one lucky throw, Orion thought, only to feel a seed of fear as the small rodent turned to him with an angry glare.

Hurry with the other one, he thought as loudly as he could, hoping Riolu would hear it, or at least sense his emotions. Then he lowered himself while the Rattata prowled towards him, its eyes gleaming a dull red as it picked up speed.

Orion saw Riolu move out of the corner of his eye and charge the other Rattata as his scrambling hand found another rock.

As he rose, the Ratata used a quick attack, which he barely managed to dodge. He hit the ground on his side, the air knocked out of him, but he ignored it and rolled to his feet. There was screeching and the sounds of fighting behind him, but he had to trust Riolu to take care of it. As the Rattata turned, its eyes even redder than before, Orion felt a wave of adrenaline flood his system.

He could do this! He had a rock, and he'd hunted Ratata before!

That was with traps and a crossbow, a tiny voice reminded him.

Orion ignored it, and he lowered his stance, glaring at the Rattata.

"Think you can just attack me, do you?" he snorted as he held the rock tightly.

"Raaaaatatatata!" the Rattata screamed furiously as it rushed him.

Orion stepped forward, making as if to throw the rock. At the last second, he held back when he saw the Rattata turn white as it used a quick attack to dodge to the side. He was about to throw it when it continued the move, dashing left and right so fast he could barely follow it.

He waited till the last moment, as the Rattata was almost on him, his heart beating like a drum, before hurling the rock forward, almost releasing it as the Rattata reached him. The rock cracked between its eyes. The Rattata squealed, then collided with him.

Orion shoved it to the side as best he could, but pain flared up from his chest, and then something hot burned in his hand. Crying out, he struck at the Rattata that was biting on the side of his hand, its large canine piercing through his palm.

"Let go," Orion roared as he struck the tiny mouse repeatedly, afraid he'd lose a hand.

Fury flared up as he held the Rattata behind its neck and slammed it down onto the ground to get it off. Two hits, three- finally, the Rattata let go and jumped back, snarling and glaring at him while shaking its head.

Orion growled back but felt slightly woozy. At the same time, horrendous pain came from his head, and a wet, sticky mess leaked across his fingers.

"Raaaa," Rattata squealed as he shot forward.

A blue blur intercepted it before Orion could worry, knocking the Rattata aside and to the ground. Riolu landed beside it, jumping up and rushing the downed mouse, striking it in the head.

There was a loud crack, and then Riolu backed up, breathing heavily.

Orion stood behind him, his hand pressed against his leather vest, the adrenaline slowly fading. A look to the side showed that the other Rattata was downed, and he swallowed.

"Let's get to the town, fast," he croaked.

"Riolu? Ri?"

Orion felt his friend's worry and quickly shook his head, beckoning him with his good hand.

"I'll live, but let's leave before something comes after us!"

Riolu ran next to him, swaying on its feet, and Orion cursed. His friend had only just hatched and had already had to fight three Pokemon in a short time. There was no way he'd be able to keep up. Gritting his teeth, he ignored his pained hand, cradling it against his chest tightly and hoping the blood loss wasn't too bad. With his other hand, he lifted Riolu and turned to the town. This time, he didn't take it slow but ran to the muddy path and sprinted across it towards the town.

A tiny bit of him realized the two Rattata were now probably going to get eaten, but this time, he didn't think it was such a bad thing.

Why are these Pokemon all so aggressive? he thought as he continued ahead, ignoring his hand and his ragged breathing.

Roughly two hundred feet from the gate, he finally saw that two people were standing beside it. They were moving forward, obviously having spotted him, while he saw another on the wall.

There was some shouting, but he ignored it. Only when he was fifty feet away, and the two people released Pokemon did he slow. He shivered as he saw a large, grizzled Houndoom and a brown, lean Pokemon standing on two feet with pale yellow hair. It barely reached its trainer's waist, but its eyes gleamed dangerously. He vaguely recognized it but couldn't recall what it was or where he'd seen it.

"Stop right there!"

Orion froze at the threat in the voice, his breath coming out in ragged bursts.

"Please… I need- help," he said. "My hand, I got- got bitten!"

He raised his hand, and as he saw the blood and gore, he swayed on his feet.

"Where did you come from?"

What? Why does that matter? Orion thought, shaking his head, trying to clear it.

"From Basil's ranch," he shouted, "North Ferrum Forest!"

There was no response, and he quickly held his hand back to his chest, afraid if he took another look, he'd fall over.

A tall, gangly man with a gray beard moved closer, the Hounddoom beside him.

"Kid, I've never seen you before," he said, looking at him. "You should know better than to leave your town and roam around on your own!"

Orion held back an angry snap, instead swallowing.

"I got lost," he said.

The man examined him, ignoring a shout from behind, then his gaze landed on Riolu, and his eyes widened.

"You've got a Pokemon?" he asked, his eyes widening.

Orion saw a look of surprise and relief in the other's eyes, and even through his pain and weariness, he knew that of all the things he'd seen since coming through the portal, this had to be the weirdest of all.

Don't you have one too? He was about to say, then held back.

His mind spun, and he grimaced as he decided this wasn't the time to tell someone he came from some portal from the past. "Yes. I thought he would be strong enough, but I was wrong, and we got jumped," he said, hoping his lie was convincing enough.

"Ugh. Fine, what town did you say you are from? Basil Ranch? Can't say I've ever heard of that, but if it's in the Northern Forest that makes sense. Nobody in their right mind goes there," the man said as he seemed to relax.

"Alright, follow me," he said after examining Orion for another moment. He turned and headed back to the gate.

"It's fine, Jeff! He has a Pokemon," he shouted. "No Zora or Ditto.

Confused, in pain, and still slightly out of breath, Orion followed the man to the gate.

The second man, younger and with a dark stubble across his cheeks, was inspecting Riolu with curious eyes.

"Never seen one of those before," he said with raised eyebrows. "I hope it evolves, though, because it's pretty tiny. No wonder you got hurt by some Ratata."

Orion grimaced again.

"Come on, Jeff! Get this guy to the pokestop so they can look at his hand," the other guard said. "Just make sure you get back here ASAP. Those Raticate have been causing trouble again. Apparently, one of them managed to find a way in, and-"

"Yeah, yeah," Jeff snapped as he quickly turned and opened the gate with a large key. "Follow me," he whispered as he threw Orion a quick smile. "Before he talks us to death."

Orion just nodded, not sure what was going on but really wanting someone to look at his hand. By now, the pain was a dull throbbing, and Riolu's worry kept rippling through him.

"I'm fine," he whispered as he tried to smile bravely at his tiny friend.