MC’s POV:

I couldn't help but feel the changing times.

"Well done. Garchomp, come back." I held the ball up to the wounded, dying target. Its body immediately turned into light and was sucked into the opened Poké Ball's mouth. I gazed at the grinning opponent trainer, feeling deeply emotional.

I was probably about that age too, when I received my Pokédex and went on a journey, eventually becoming the Champion. And for the ten years since then, I had defeated many challengers with real ability. There were tough battles too. But this was the first time I had suffered a complete defeat.

I should guide him. This Trainer who will leave his name in the times, along with his partners who have walked beside him, loving them as much as I have loved mine, or even more so. This person is worthy of being the Champion.

As I smiled congratulations at my opponent, I thought about what was to come. Of course, there was still plenty of work left to do as an archaeologist. The bizarre Pokémon we had encountered in that strange world. I needed to put effort into deciphering them too. There were still countless mysteries about Pokémon history and mythology. So even if one duty had been lifted from my shoulders, it wasn't like I would have free time. But just a little

As I guided the Trainer who had defeated me, I relaxed my expression where he could not see, just a little.

Is it okay for me to rest just a little?

"Hm?"

The trunk I was holding fell to the floor. At the sound, everyone in the room turned to look at me. After observing me spacing out for a while, they each began reacting in their own ways.

Some whistled at me shamelessly. Others glanced over with a sort of resigned look. On the opposite end, some looked expectantly. One man lost interest after a single glance and looked away. And some were crouched on the floor, not paying me any attention at all.

"Oh, it's a foreigner this time huh," said a dark skinned, near bald man as he grinned at me. His eyes roamed over my entire body.

"Can you understand Japanese? Can you speak Japanese?"

A long-haired man leaning against the back wall laughed as he smoked. "Wrong order. You should try English first."

"Details, details, no need to fuss over them. Just die already."

"Annoying."

I tapped my thigh with my index finger out of habit, organizing my thoughts. Times like these were when the professor's teachings came in handy. Approach phenomena in the order of acceptance, organization, then analysis.

Top of Form

Acceptance.

I am somehow here right now, in this incomprehensible place. Or rather, it's undoubtedly a room somewhere. But I'm surrounded by people I don't know at all. Most of them wore strange black clothes. The fabric clung tightly to them, with hollows here and there.

Pokéballs?

I wondered for a moment. The object that drew my attention the most was the large black sphere in the center. Was there something inside it? But I couldn't find any buttons for opening or closing it, and its smooth surface offered no clues. I decided to shelve thinking about it for now.

Organization.

Obviously, something was off. I was certain I had been enjoying my vacation just earlier. I had been in Sunyshore City, pretending to investigate the underwater ruins as an excuse to go to the beach. And yet now I was suddenly in a place like this? There was a discrepancy in the order of events. A contradiction in the timeline.

Analysis.

While the people here did appear to be fellow humans, something felt different about them. It was as if they were living in a separate dimension from me. That sense of disconnect put me on edge. Their way of talking also seemed strange somehow. I wondered if there had existed such a manner of speech in some obscure region and made a mental note to look into it a bit later.

That concluded the thinking I could do for now based on the limited information at hand. My next step should be gathering more intel.Top of Form

 

 

“Gomen nasai, watashi wa honto ni mondai ga wakarimasen.” (I'm sorry, I don't really understand what's going on,” I said as I removed my sunglasses.

The bald man had a look on his face as if I had jabbed painfully at one of his weaknesses.

"Huh, so fluent in Japanese. Guess the twist is you were born and raised in Japan after all?"

Nihon?

"So the foreign lady is from Kanto region right? Your intonation gives off that feel," he continued.

Kanto!

I immediately approached the man upon hearing a term I recognized for the first time since coming here. Honestly, it was quite a relief. A core thread to cling to amidst the incomprehensible situation I found myself in.

"Do you know Professor Oak?"

"Hah?"

"I believe this is likely the work of a Pokémon with an extremely powerful force. I alone won't be enough. Is there anyone here who has a means to contact the professor?"

The reactions were dull. Most looked at me with confusion, as if wondering what I was talking about.

"What's with this girl..." said a sharp-eyed man with short hair before letting out a yawn.

"So as I was saying..."

"Now now, calm down miss," the bald man leered.

"We got another weirdo joining huh. What was your cause of death? Overdose on drugs?"

"Cause of... death?" I didn't like the words I was hearing. That is, if I understood the meaning behind those words correctly.

"This place gathers those who have died once already. So you came here after dying too, missy."

Now it was my turn to give him a quizzical look. Dead? That notion felt completely detached from my earlier emotions. Just moments ago, I was happily enjoying my vacation on Sunyshore's sandy beach. That memory remains crystal clear. Being suddenly told I had died felt like nothing more than a tasteless joke.

However, it likely felt the same way to them regarding my words. Somehow, what I said wasn't being taken seriously at all.

Certainly, even I have trouble believing it myself. A Pokémon with enough power to gather this large a number of people in one spot. If such a being did exist, I could only conceive it as a legendary existence. To ordinary citizens, it would seem like nothing more than a fairy tale. So of course they wouldn't even try believing me. Throwing out a hypothesis so suddenly, there's no way it would be accepted.

That's one line of thought at least, but... I had an unpleasant hunch. Something felt off. There was a way to confirm it. And the method lay inside the trunk that had tumbled to the floor. When I turned my gaze towards it intending to pick it up, that's when it happened.

~♪

Suddenly, cheerful music streamed out from the sphere's direction. The disjointed melody was ill-fitting for the current atmosphere. It played through a cycle of patterns while gradually fading out.

"It's showtime huh," someone said.

I thought I heard a scream, so I quickly turned to look around. Oh right, the reason this room feels so abnormal. While some like the bald man seem excited, others are bawling in corners of the room. Clearly unnatural. I wonder what the difference is. Excitement and fear seem to coexist here.

Gradually, I started having unpleasant premonitions. Everyone's gazes focused uniformly on the black sphere.

[Your lives,

have ended.

How you use,

your new lives,

is entirely up to me.]

This is it, my rational side said. That confirmed what the man had said applied to everyone in that room. However, a part of me still couldn't accept it. I still wanted to believe it was some kind of nasty prank. But the sphere's voice and words did not end there.

[Now you guys,

will be going to hassle,

this person.

Sanada Alien]

Beneath the strange name, an image appeared. An utterly normal human male face that looked to be in his 30s. Nothing particularly stood out. He wore a somewhat worn-out suit, with slight dark circles under his eyes. More descriptors followed. But they didn't contain much information at all. Small, weak things like that. And subjective impressions too, like creepy.

"Seems petty. More like an appetizer huh," said the short-haired man as he walked over to the sphere's side.

I had so many questions. It looked like some people here possessed various bits of information. While I still couldn't accept anything about death so readily, resolving my doubts took priority regardless. But once again, my actions got interrupted.

Something suddenly shot out from the sphere's left and right sides, making me flinch in surprise. A cute woman standing a slight distance away reacted the same way, then shyly met my gaze.

What emerged were makeshift storage racks. Crammed inside were numerous attaché cases. Even with my somewhat rattled mind, I understood the number matched the room's occupants. Engraved deeply on their silver surfaces were characters.

Those who seemed used to this rushed over and began taking out cases, inspecting the contents. Next, the second group hastily made their way over too. Realizing I should probably do the same, my thoughts finally caught up.

But I struggled with deciding which one to pick. Most cases didn't have specific names written. Instead, derisive words poking fun at the owner's traits or short nicknames were used. As a result, there was only one way forward. Taking the last remaining one.

Luckily no one tried to grab two for themselves. After confirming everyone else had taken theirs, I picked up the case left behind. Still not very convinced about all this.

Woman Tamer of Ferocious Beasts in Her Thirties (Alas)

"Oh?"

“You’re more mature than I expected," said someone next to me.

The cute woman I got startled with earlier smiled at me.  "What does this mean?"

"Around 30 years old. So onee-san, are you part of a circus troupe or something?"

"No, it's not like that..." The more I thought about it, the more I disliked this designation. I'm only 27...

"Oh, I'm..." The woman next to me tried to introduce herself but a strange occurrence interrupted her. She shrieked upon seeing her arms fading out of existence.

I checked my own body too. Nothing seemed wrong with my hands or arms, but I noticed my waist and below starting to disappear. Having seen this before, I managed to keep composed till the very end.

Lying haphazardly on the floor was my trunk. Still having sensation in my body, I firmly gripped onto it. Even if my hands vanished, I would not let go.

Next to disappear after my waist seemed to be my face area. Although my vision changed, I continued clenching tightly onto my important baggage. By the time my body returned to normal, I became aware of my new surroundings.

Outside.

To be frank, my understanding remained minimal. I had no recollection of leaving that room at all. In an instant, I moved locations completely, ending up outdoors somewhere. A few others also looked around anxiously, seemingly unsettled.

It was a parking lot. A few cars and trucks sat parked. An everyday scene. I decided to place down the attaché case first and check its contents. But immediately after, I remembered there was something even more important to confirm first.

I placed the trunk I was holding in my right hand on the ground. My hand trembled slightly, making it difficult to open. The haste seemed to reflect in the force with which it actually opened. It split into two with force, and the contents I had packed spilled out.

"Ah..."

Inside were swimsuits, both white and black. I couldn't decide which one suited me, so I ended up buying both, with a sense of foreboding.

And yet.

Even though I hadn't checked the contents yet, I felt a wave of relief wash over my whole body.

‘For now, I should get them out.’ With that thought, I took out the seven balls from the trunk.

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