Culture Wars (Chapter 13, Critical Inquiry Into Education)

[Magmar]

Thanks, Charles! Yes, I started working on Damian's profile (which is on one of my sticky notes on my screen) around 3:15 p.m. the other day. Chapter 1 was done in about four hours. When my mind gets creative, it simply creates. I started writing this at 2:40 p.m. today, and I'm sure a full chapter will appear in a couple of hours.

I appreciate and value your feedback. Nobody is "unqualified" to provide feedback. This story will not improve without everyone's help. Yes, Damian is a stranger in a strange land, but he will learn that the things that made him feel different before do not matter here, but it is his ideas that set him apart. He will also use Pokémon, although I haven't decided how competitive he will be.

Chapter 3
Bridges, Squares

...The tides are moved by sun and moon,
The spring will last from March til June...

When Damian awoke, the first thing he noticed was just how warm it was in the room. It was noon, and the strong spring sun filled the air with energy. The morning breeze had stilled, and the room grew intermittently darker; clouds must have arrived.

Damian noticed that the needle in his arm was removed. He was no longer confined to the gurney. Sitting up, Damian spun round, his feet dangling off the bed. He pushed the sheet off his lap and stood straight. He felt sore and still a bit tired, but for the first time, Damian Czszewicz stepped foot in Kanto.

He could remember his conversation from earlier, but not many of the details. He remembered the word Kanto, and was aware that he was in a laboratory in a town called Pallet, not far from the sea. Damian couldn't remember much else, but a Professor called Oak had spoken with him, and had taken him into his house when he was sick. And this was Earth, but it wasn't any Earth he ever knew.

On a wall in the far side of the room, a colorful poster caught Damian's attention. Damian slowly made his way to the wall, noticing that despite his collapse that morning, or some other morning on some other day which Damian did not know, his legs felt light and free. His head no longer hurt, and his vision was fully clear. He approached the poster slowly, realizing that this was a map, a beautifully handmade map that labelled a town by the sea called Pallet, and this must be a map of all of Kanto.

There were many towns here, squares connected by bridges, all with colorful names that sounded exotic and serene. There was a Lavender Town, an island called Cinnabar, and a place called the Safari Zone; Damian thought it must be some sort of nature preserve for the wildlife here. Somehow the town called Pallet felt more significant, like a painter's tool filled with every color, and this was the beginning of a great adventure into a strange world where there was only one country, called Kanto, and there was no capitol, at least according to this atlas of this world.

By the map was a small table, and on it was a rather ordinary lamp. Damian found the switch beneath and was very nearly surprised that there was electricity, and light bulbs, and an ordinary lampshade on an ordinary lamp. By the lamp was an ordinary photograph in an ordinary wooden frame, and a younger Professor was looking back at him, and there was a young nurse standing by his side. There was nothing foreign about any of this, except for the third smiling face in the lamp.

A creature that resembled a balloon, pink and soft, smiled cheerfully at the camera. Its shape was like an egg, and its eyes were small and radiated light as if they could brighten a room on their own. It looked alive, and joyful, and like it belonged there; yet it was nothing like any creature he had ever heard of on Earth, but this was Earth, and yet it wasn't. It wore the same hat as the nurse, who also had hair in bubblegum pink.

Damian remembered the Nurse.

He remembered lying in bed, depleted of energy, and the Nurse entering the room, happy yet concerned, with something pink trailing behind her. It must have been this creature, this extraordinary monster with bright eyes. Damian thought the animal must be sentient and of exceptional talent and intelligence, like an alien that came to this world on a shooting star, and the people here loved it, and it loved the people, and helped them heal their sick and wounded. Are the people here hidden from the rest of the world, protecting these creatures from exploitation? thought Damian.

He picked up the photograph and touched the creature's image, questioning whether the energy of the creature would transcend physical barriers and fill him with soft warmth and happiness, as even the image of the creature made him feel relaxed, and happy, and filled with warmth. No, this was an ordinary photograph behind ordinary glass.

"What are you...?" Damian said quietly, holding the picture even closer to study the anatomy of this creature.

"It's a Pokémon," said a voice from behind. Startled, Damian dropped the photograph, and the glass shattered when it touched the floor. An ordinary photograph in ordinary glass.

Damian turned around and there stood the Professor, and the Nurse, and the Creature. "I'm so sorry," Damian said, his eyes focusing immediately on the mysterious, egg-like monster. Its eyes looked upon him with great curiosity. Damian saw that it had hands, and feet, and appeared to be covered in a strong, rubber-like skin. An egg was nestled in its pouch; it must be female, he thought.

"Your name is Damian, isn't it?" said the Nurse. She was still smiling, her soft features so full of love and concern.

"How did you know my name?" asked Damian.

The Nurse wore an apron, and she reached inside the pocket and pulled out a wallet and Damian's iPhone. "These were in your pockets when you were found," said the Nurse. "My name is Joy, and I nursed you back to health. You have an identification card. You're Damian Sketsawicks."

"Czszewicz," Damian replied instinctively, pronouncing it properly, like Shez-a-wits. He was used to that. "Thank you for finding my stuff."

This time, the Professor spoke. "You have money and identification like we have never seen before," he said. "You're from a town called Delaware, in a land called Newcastle, and are still in school, even though you are an adult. You are like nobody we have ever met."

Damian smiled for the first time since arriving in this world. He even stifled a small chuckle. "Actually, I'm from a city, and the city is Newcastle," said Damian. "And I go to college. It's... it's what some adults do where I'm from. We pick something we are passionate about and study it closely for four years after we finish, uh, high school..."

Damian questioned whether high school existed here, either. But there were professors, and nurses!

"What's a high school?" asked the Professor.

I knew it, thought Damian. "Where I'm from, the uh, culture is different," said Damian, tapping into his sociology training at the University. "When you are 5 years old, you go to school. You finish up when you're 18 years old or so, though I was 17 when I finished up. Then you can go to University if you want, and have the grades to get in. You study something special there, something you like. I studied gender and biology for four years."

"Interesting..." said the Professor. "Here, we send children to school until they're 9 or 10 years old, then they leave home to train Pokémon after they finish the school year where they turned 10."

That word again... Pokémon. If they can be trained, then they must be animals...

Something clicked in Damian's mind. The pink creature looked up at him, her eyes full of wonder, and Damian somehow knew, he had a feeling, that this creature was the Pokémon that was to be trained.

"Hey," said Damian, looking directly at the creature. "Are you a Pokémon?"

Her eyes closed, her smile widened, and she responded in English, sort of: "Chansey!"

"Every Pokémon speaks their own language," said Nurse Joy. "This one, she is called Chansey, and she's just one species of Pokémon."

The Professor added, "Here, we have more than 100 kinds of Pokémon, each unique and special in its own way."

"There's more than 100 Pokémon?" Damian said, astonished. "You mean, there are more than 100 different species?"

"Chansey, Chansey!" replied the Chansey.

"Are there no Pokémon where you live?" asked Nurse Joy.

"No, I mean, I don't think so," said Damian. "And these creatures, there's more than 100? Are there animals here?"

The Professor replied, "Yes, Damian, there are animals here who are not Pokémon. There are thousands of different fish, and there are birds, and cows, and worms, and they do not behave like Pokémon. Pokémon are different. Unlike animals, the Pokémon coexist with us. We study them, and we train them."

Damian thought of the Galapagos Islands, Svalbard, and other places he learned about in his biology courses. There were places where animals evolved differently, and they coexisted with other species, and unique species populated these isolated worlds. But he learned nothing in class that seemed anything like Chansey, and he had never heard of these Pokémon.

"Are they all just like Chansey?" asked Damian. "And when you say that you train the Pokémon, do you mean like Chansey has been trained to be a nurse?"

"Chan-sey chan," replied the Chansey, shaking its head as though to say no.

Nurse Joy put her hand on the head of Chansey and scratched. The Chansey trilled with delight. "Chansey can only say her name," said Joy. "In fact, Chansey is just one of hundreds of Chanseys in the world. They're quite rare, and one of the smartest Pokémon. They're docile, but can fight if a trainer wishes."

"You can train Chansey to fight?" asked Damian. "But why would you want to?"

This time, the Professor spoke. "Damian, Chansey is a rare, docile, and sentient Pokémon. However, Chansey is just like most other Chanseys. She can learn to read, and write, and nurse, but we have called them Chansey because of their unique language. Pokémon are called for the sounds they make, as most Pokémon can only speak using a few unique syllables."

"That's fascinating," Damian said. He was still hesitant to approach the Pokémon. "But, Professor, you haven't answered my question. Do you send 10 year old children on journeys to find their own Pokémon, and these children train their Pokémon to fight others?"

"Precisely," said the Professor. "It's a part of life, but not all of us do it. Everyone tries to be a Pokémon Trainer when they are a child. They go out and find Pokémon in the forests, the sea, and the mountains. There are so many different kinds. Not everyone chooses to make them fight, but the Pokémon become our friends, and we study them closely. The Pokémon like to fight. Naturally, they're highly territorial."

"It's rare that a Pokémon is seriously injured," said Nurse Joy. "They heal remarkably quickly."

This notion of training Pokémon didn't feel right to Damian. It felt violent and cruel. This casual attitude toward training, and sending children out on their own, was foreign and strange. But something about this intrigued Damian. In his gender studies courses, Damian had learned so much about different cultures that managed to endure despite globalization, surviving on their own without iPhones and electricity. And here was a new culture, just begging to be studied closely, and Damian was curious about these creatures called Pokémon that loved to fight.

But he was still sad, and curious, but the sadness was so strong. He missed his family, his roommates, his University; he wondered if he would ever see them again. "Professor Oak," said Damian. "I still don't have any idea how I got here, but you assure me that this is Earth, right?"

"We call this planet Earth," said the Professor.

"And there's a Sun, and a Moon, and tides?"

"There is a star called the Sun, and a satellite called the Moon," said the Professor. "There are other planets, called Mercury and Mars, and Venus, and Jupiter, and Saturn. Yes, this is Earth."

Damian questioned whether he had somehow found himself on an alternate Earth, a different reality in another dimension, where these Pokémon exist and so do things from the ordinary world from which he came. These spectacular creatures, all 100 or so, must be fantastic to study. But if he was here, he knew he must find a way back home, and it seemed that the way out of town, to find the way back, must be to explore the world filled with Pokémon.

"Professor," said Damian. Something was screaming No! between his ears. His conscience was kicking him, shouting, punching. This must be my way out, replied his curious side, his raw instinct, the fight-or-flight that he rarely used because he just wasn't violent. "If there's a way home, it must be elsewhere. Is there a place here that is considered magical, or spiritual, or unusual in some way?"

The Professor turned to Nurse Joy, who turned to Chansey, who looked at Damian and smiled. Her eyes had clenched shut with bliss, as she seemed to be born filled with endless happiness; "Chan-seeey!"

"I think I know just the thing," said Professor Oak. "Damian. There is a place north of here, deep in the mountains, where there is a cave. That place is called Mt. Moon. It's a magical place, filled with gentle creatures, much like Chansey here, yet different, but it is also filled with dangerous creatures as well. Your way home may just be there. But," he said, his voice growing serious and tough. "Damian, you can't just walk to Mt. Moon. You'll have to travel on foot. And there will be more creatures on the way, who are also violent and will attack you. If you want to travel to Mt. Moon, you'll have to become a Pokémon Trainer."

Damian thought of Alex and Joanna, of his family back home, of Lana, and of his third-floor apartment in Cambridge, in Massachusetts, in the United States, back on Earth, which was somewhere, maybe here, but it wasn't here. The answer was clear, but difficult. If he was to travel home, he would have to travel around here first and find the way.

"I'll go," said Damian. "What do I do?"

"Well," said the Professor. "Many young Trainers start their journey here in Pallet Town. The Pokémon nearby are not as strong. Here, let me get you a map, and we'll go over the logistics."

The Professor reached into a drawer in the sideboard nearby and pulled out a paper map. It was folded neatly, like a road map you'd find in a glove box, yet was much larger than the elaborate map Damian had seen before and had more things carefully marked. He spread the map out on a table, and Damian approached. On the way, his hand brushed the head of Chansey. Her skin was cool, and thick, much like Damian had imagined it would be; she appeared to be covered in a flat, soft fur, much like a short-haired dog. She's real, he thought.

Professor Oak pointed to a square on the map near the bottom left. "Here's Pallet Town," said the Professor. "There is a clear path between here and Viridian City, the next village to our north." He traced his finger northward. "You should stop in Viridian City and visit the Pokémon Center there. You'll meet a nurse, just like Nurse Joy, and she also has a Chansey. You can stop there and rest for free. There will be a store there where you can stock up on supplies. Oh, don't let me forget, you'll need money before you go," the Professor added. Damian nodded. "From Viridian, you'll head north through a great forest, but as long as you can see the Sun, you can tell which way is north. You want to continue through the forest, sticking close to the path, until you find another road. This road will take you to Pewter City, a city in the mountains. From Pewter City, you'll head east, but you'll want to make sure you have plenty of supplies. You'll be following the road until you arrive at the entrance to the cave within Mt. Moon."

Damian hadn't been able to retain most of these directions as the map was completely foreign to him. However, Mt. Moon was clearly labelled, and the path seemed straightforward. The only obstacle was this forest, where there was no easy road.

"What will I look for in Mt. Moon?" asked Damian.

"The Moon Stone," replied the Professor. "It has highly magical properties and, like you, came from the sky. If you find yourself in Mt. Moon and cannot find the Moon Stone, or you cannot find your way home, you should continue down this path to Cerulean City and ask where to find my friend Bill. He lives in a house by the Cerulean Sea, which is north of the city. He may be able to help you."

Damian nodded. He understood these directions, but had no concept of the amount of distance between these cities. He realized that there must not be public transit here, so it was not as easy as taking the T to travel quickly between the Boston suburbs.

"What will I need to bring with me?" asked Damian. "I don't have any identification and I won't be able to just use an ATM to take money out of my savings account."

"What's an ATM?" asked Nurse Joy.

Damian shrugged. "It's something we use where I come from. Here, let me show you my ATM card." Damian took his wallet from Nurse Joy and pulled a small, green credit card out of the front pocket. "This card can connect to my bank, and I can use it to put money in or take it out of the account. It requires a machine that can dial the bank and confirm I have the money."

"That's such a different way to do things," said Joy.

"Chansey!" said the Chansey.

The Professor reached into another drawer and pulled out a small, red device that looked like a mini-computer and a calculator all in one. "Damian, this is called the Pokédex," said the Professor. "If I input your information, it will serve as your identification here. Unfortunately, your storage envelope won't help you if you get into any trouble."

Damian chuckled at the thought of a wallet being referred to as a "storage envelope."

"Money is entirely electronic here. I can wire you some funds and establish an account directly through the Pokédex, but I can't give you much. I'm still waiting on my payout from a large research grant I'm owed for groundbreaking research on other Pokémon, a species that's not unlike Chansey," said Professor Oak. "Now, let me tell you how the Pokédex works. When you find a Pokémon, point the Pokédex at it so that the small light at the top can scan it. You will then unlock information on that Pokémon and understand how to fight it, if you choose to or if you have no other choice. Unfortunately, the only Pokédex I have here is one designed for young trainers. It's our strict policy not to disclose information on the Pokémon until the trainer has seen it. To see as many Pokémon as possible is a rite of passage. That is the point of training."

Damian vowed to himself that if he were stuck in the Pokémon world, he would immediately create a Wikipedia for Pokémon.

"Because Pokémon are dangerous, you need Pokémon to defend yourself while traveling," said Nurse Joy. "That's why we train them, and why we make them fight. They grow stronger as they are trained, and they can protect you as long as they trust you, but you must trust them."

"As you travel, you'll meet stronger and stronger Pokémon," Professor Oak added. "You'll meet other trainers who will want their Pokémon to fight yours. They want to be able to defend themselves as well. You see, not everyone in Kanto is a good person. You may meet some people who want to don't want to be the best Trainers. They want to rule over the entirety of our world, and exploit Pokémon. You have to be careful and stick to your values."

Damian had, thus far, understood everything. He felt better about the concept of training Pokémon, but still had no idea what training would entail. He didn't even have his own Pokémon to fight with him!

"Tell you what," said Professor Oak. "I'll put your information into the Pokédex. I just need your name and birthday, and your blood type in case you get hurt."

Damian handed his driver's license to Professor Oak, who studied it for a moment before typing. "My birthday is June 13, and my blood type is B positive," said Damian.

The Professor finished inputting Damian's information, then reached into his own pocket and pulled out an identical Pokédex. He pressed a few numbers on his own Pokédex, then made the backs of the two computers touch one another. "There, now you have 5,000 Poké-dollars. Oh, you'll also need Poké Balls."

“What are those for?” asked Damian.

“Oh, Poké Balls are used to store Pokémon,” said Professor Oak. “You see, Pokémon can be converted to data, and stored in Poké Balls. When you meet a Pokémon that you want to train, you’ll have to weaken it with another Pokémon, then throw a Poké Ball at it. If the Pokémon is weak enough, it will enter the Poké Ball and submit. You will then be its trainer until you choose to release it. They can be put into the Poké Ball at any time and also summoned at any time.”

The Professor reached into the same drawer and produced six small spheres. They were identical to the Poké Ball that Damian had seen in the room earlier. “These are empty, so you can have them and capture Pokémon with them,” said the Professor. “Damian, I know this is a lot to take in, but we have one more order of business to take care of before you leave here to travel to Mt. Moon. You still need your own Pokémon.”

Damian nodded his head at the Professor, then turned to Nurse Joy. She was curious, too. They were both wondering what kind of Pokémon the Professor had in mind for Damian. The Professor had walked to another sideboard, this one against the wall by the sink, and called Damian over. In the drawer were three Poké Balls, each looking the same as the other; nothing distinguished them apart from one another. This could be complicated, thought Damian.

“Now, Damian,” the Professor said. “You will choose one of these Poké Balls. You will not know which Pokémon is inside. This Pokémon will be your guardian, and you will be its guardian as well. You may choose only one, and your bond with your new Pokémon will be sealed. Now, reach inside, and let fate guide you, that same fate that brought you here.”

[Magmar]

I've found that writing is a slow process when you want to cover all the bases.

This is good practice! I tried to make Damian's introduction to the Pokémon world happen slowly, so that all his questions are answered. I have no outline that I'm following, but I think I know where this is heading now.

Chapter 4
This is for Real

For a physical challenge I’m notoriously born
Intravenous delivery, electrolytes and more...

Damian Czszewicz had no idea how it all happened. It may have been a dream, after all, because the last thing he knew before his world fell apart, he was in his bed, in his apartment, in a city, in a world that had fallen to pieces. And here he was, not even twelve hours later, in what was surely a dream world, filled with monsters and mysterious creatures and people who knew nothing about his world, yet it was real, and he was here, and he had a choice to make.

If you told Damian twelve hours ago that he would be training mysterious creatures to fight one another in order to safely travel around the world on foot, he would have thought you had lost your marbles. Today, Damian had lost everything, and he wasn't sure if he had also lost his own marbles, but he was on the verge of adventure, and you can never be too old for adventure.

Three Poké Balls, each filled with a surprise, a pet if you will, yet a guardian. They were each different, perhaps different species of these creatures called Pokémon, or perhaps differently colored versions of one specie, and possibly quite dangerous. He had to choose one, and he could never go back.

Damian looked at the three red balls in the drawer. There was no way of distinguishing what was inside them. Something about this moment was very exciting, like a baby's first step, or a child traveling to Disney World for the first time. Do they even have a Disney here, thought Damian, and his hand began to hover over each ball in turn.

He could have imagined it, but something was different. Each seemed to be filled with life, a life that he could not see, but one radiated a gentle warmth, much like the sun on a winter's day; one felt full of life, yet the energy was not warm or cold, but almost felt like it was pulsing; the third had a cooler air and a certain dampness that felt like his hand was hovering over fog.

His intuition told him that there must be a fish-like creature in the cool one. He wasn't sure that a fish would be practical for the road, but if he had to travel over water, a fish would be useful. The Poké Ball that radiated heat baffled him; surely whatever was inside was quite large, or exceedingly hot... perhaps a dragon? While a dragon would be a fabulous travel partner, he didn't think he knew enough about this world to possibly tame a dragon. And there was a third, which had an air to it that reminded him of flowers and new life. The thought of a sentient plant crossed his mind. While raising a sentient tree as a friend would be fascinating, he wasn't convinced that it would be very good at protecting him from a fast creature, or one that breathed fire like a dragon.

For a split second, he wished that there was no way to tell; surely chance could be better to him than making the wrong decision based on intuition, and intuition was not based on fact. But for just a second, he recognized that he was thirsty, and so his hand shifted to the Poké Ball that seemed to radiate fog. His hand wrapped around it, and he lifted it up. It was light and felt like plastic, but it was sturdier than any plastic he knew. Even with the hard shell around the edge, he could tell that there was a creature inside, and it had a heartbeat, and it was already bonding with him. Besides, certainly the Professor wouldn't be giving him a useless travel companion such as a fish; but the thought of the Professor gifting him with a tree or a dragon felt silly as well.

Water, Fire, Plant. The opportunities in each ball presenting themselves to him and, much as his father used to ponder what to make for dinner, and his mother used to ponder what kind of vehicle was best for the family, and his sister would ponder what the best kind of tennis shoes were for running, he pondered whether his intuition was keen to this sort of situation, or whether his mind was playing games with him, or even whether this was all indeed a highly detailed dream and he would wake up and go to Senior Night parties with his friends.

"Professor," said Damian. "You told me there was no way to tell what kind of Pokémon were in these capsules. However, I think I can tell a difference."

"Go on," said Professor Oak.

"Well, the ball in my hand probably houses an aquatic Pokémon. It feels cool to the touch, and it seems to radiate fog and humidity. Conversely, there is one over here that radiates heat, and it reminds me of spirit and hope. The third one feels like neither, but has an air about it that reminds me of nature and spring. I've thought about this, and I've made my decision. I just have to ask if I am right in my assumptions."

"If the Poké Ball you hold is the one you desire," said the Professor, "then tell me you have chosen, and I will tell you."

Damian thought for a second more. Something about the colder capsule felt refreshing, and if he ever needed water, surely this Pokémon could track it down. He wasn't anticipating encountering fire, and while a plant Pokémon would be useful in the forest, logic told him that water just might be the most useful. "I have chosen this one," Damian said, forcing the words as though he wished he had no need to make any decision.

The Professor smiled at him. "Your intuition is keen, Damian, and you are one of very few trainers that I have met who can tell these sorts of things. Damian, what you hold is a Water Pokémon. Her name is Squirtle, and she will be your travel companion. Go on then, call her out!"

"How?" asked Damian.

Professor Oak had forgotten that Damian had no concept of throwing a Poké Ball to release a Pokémon. "It sounds like it could hurt your Pokémon, but you have to throw the Poké Ball to summon her. Go ahead and try it."

Damian wasn't surprised by anything anymore. "Come on out, Squirtle!" he said, lightly tossing the ball up into the air. The ball opened in mid-air, and a bright pink light poured from the ball and fell to the ground like lightning. As the lightning began to fizzle out, a pink shape began to materialize before him. The transformation may have only lasted a second, but it seemed to take forever; the shape transformed into the form of a blue turtle that could stand on her webbed feet. A long, slimy tail flowed from her orange shell; her eyes were large and red. It was borderline horrifying and precious at the same time.

"Squirtle?" she said, looking up at Damian.

Professor Oak put the Pokédex in Damian's hand. "Use this like I told you earlier. Point it at Squirtle, and the Pokédex will tell you about her."

Damian pointed the Pokédex at his new friend. It spoke in a robotic voice, but enunciated each syllable carefully to ensure the comprehension of the listener. "Squirtle, a Turtle Pokémon," said the Pokédex. "Squirtle is a very rare Pokémon and is a Water-type. It can spray its enemies with water from its mouth."

Damian had felt relieved that the Squirtle could walk, and the ability to spray enemies down with water must surely be useful. He wasn't sure how committed he was to making her fight and grow stronger; that was contingent upon what was waiting for him on the road ahead.

"I guess we're travel buddies, Squirtle," said Damian. He picked up the turtle and observed her anatomy more closely. She was light, yet dense; her shell was solid and had ridges and grooves, like a soccer ball. She seemed somewhat like a turtle, but her skin was aquamarine, and her eyes were wide and mahogany brown with a tint of maroon when the light struck them from the right angle. The Pokémon did not seem to mind being held, either; these creatures called Pokémon must immediately bond with the person meant to raise them.

"Now Damian," said the Professor. "Did you want to give your Squirtle a name? Many trainers call their Pokémon by their species name, and some give them a more personalized name."

Damian thought about the nomenclature of these creatures. Squirtle seemed to be a pun on squirt and turtle, yet her ability to speak a language consistently entirely of the word 'Squirtle' seemed convenient and very nearly cliche. "I think I'll call her Squirtle anyway," he said to the Professor. "Do you mind being called Squirtle, um, Squirtle?"

"Squirtle," the Squirtle replied, shrugging its shoulders. The human-like body language got its point across. These creatures must have evolved with the ability to communicate with humans! Apparently, the Squirtles don't mind being called Squirtle, although Damian had never met a family with a dog named Dog or a hamster named Hamster.

Nurse Joy had left the office. The Chansey called Chansey was sitting on Professor Oak's sofa, holding the egg from its pouch in its arms and cradling it as thought it were already an infant. Damian put down Squirtle and pointed his Pokédex at the Chansey, curious to learn more about the creature.

"Chansey, the Egg Pokémon," chirped the Pokédex. "It brings happiness to its human friends and other Pokémon. It lays infertile eggs regularly and shares them to provide nutrition to hungry or sick Pokémon. It is naive and skittish, and one of the rarest Pokémon."

In the moment, Damian appreciated the kindness of Chansey and wondered whether he had been nursed back to health so quickly due to Chansey's kindness and love for humanity.

Damian turned to the Professor. "Professor," said Damian. "When should I depart for Viridian City?"

"I think you should leave tomorrow," replied the Professor. "You need time to bond with your new friend Squirtle, and I think dinner is in order. I would love to hear more about where you come from, and you're going to need a tent and some food for the road. It just so happens that I keep trainer kits here, which will have some bedding and medicine for your Pokémon."

Nurse Joy returned with two paper bags. "I brought dinner from the Pokémon Center," Joy said, placing her bags on a counter top. "There are kibbles for Squirtle and Chansey, and I brought cheeseburgers for us."

Damian couldn't believe he was about to eat a cheeseburger, but he was feeling famished, and really wanted a glass of water. The Professor seemed to be childishly excited about eating a cheeseburger. Damian observed his interactions with Joy. They seemed to be normal people, just like people back home, but somehow nicer; their lives seemed to revolve around helping Pokémon and the people who use them.

"Damian, don't you want to eat?" asked Joy. "Let's all have a seat with Chansey and talk about you. I'd love to hear about your country and the kinds of Pokémon you have there."

Damian wasn't sure that there were any Pokémon back at home, but he obliged anyway. And so they sat together and talked about the Internet, and public transit, and what it's like to stay in school for most of your young life. His world seemed foreign to them, but they appeared to understand that it was merely different. They had never heard of government, but had police and firefighters; they had no concept of religion, but existed in harmony with their Earth and the animals, plants, and Pokémon around them. They had never heard of a god called God, but revered their Earth as though everything around them was a manifestation of the spirit world.

The Pokémon world, this Kanto, was a world of peace, and there was almost never war. They had never heard of the concept of race; they couldn't believe that in Damian's world, people were categorized and treated differently based on what part of the world their families were from and whether their skin was light or dark. "Of course, there are people here who look more like you," said the Professor. "But we don't think of them as different. There are Squirtles with different colors of skin, and we call them all Squirtle and they are happy to be Squirtle. Likewise, there are humans with different colors of hair and skin, and some are smart and some aren't, and some are tall and others are short, but we are all the same species, and we all live here together. We call ourselves human, and that's all there is to it."

"Where I'm from, your experience is shaped based on your identities," Damian said, drawing on both his own experience and his training in gender studies. "People treat you differently depending on what you look like, and if you're a man, people expect you to do certain things and if you're a woman, people expect you to do other things. They don't raise their girls to fight and work, and they don't raise their boys to want to be teachers and work in research. They want boys to fight and girls to putter around the house taking care of the chores."

"Well, that's absurd!" said Nurse Joy. "Here, boys and girls go on the same journey then choose their careers. Everyone receives the same training!"

Even though they couldn't talk back in English, Chansey and Squirtle listened carefully to the conversation.

"It's like that back on Earth... er... back home," Damian said. "But it's not the same. If you're a guy and you want to be a nurse, some people think you're weak. If you're a girl and want to build stuff and play sports, some people think you're not fulfilling your role as a woman."

"Women and men have different roles?" the Professor asked, his mouth full of cheeseburger. "That's bizarre. Here, men and women are professors, and men and women are nurses, and men and women are Pokémon Masters, and boys and girls are taught to be trainers and to love the Earth and those who live on it."

Damian finally took a bite of his cheeseburger. He had been hesitant to eat; he wasn't sure what the cheeseburger had come from and whether his body would reject it as food. But it was most certainly a cheeseburger, and it was fresh and juicy like a cheeseburger, with the texture and flavor of a cheeseburger. It was like a relic from back home, as if he had taken the cheeseburger with him on this mysterious journey.

"Damian, so you mean to say that some people are never taught that they have the same chances as anyone else to be what they want to be?" asked Nurse Joy. Damian nodded, his mouth full. "That sounds like a sad place to grow up."

Damian had agreed that there were things about his world that he wanted to change, and yet here was a world where all those things were so very different; it felt like he had stumbled upon a utopia, and nothing that mattered back home mattered here. He still wasn't sure where money came from and whether this place called Kanto was more like a Communist country or an Amish commune, or whether this place was like nowhere else that existed on his Earth.

As he finished his cheeseburger, he reflected on Nurse Joy's words. A sad place to grow up. He remembered his sister, who had to work even harder to prove herself a competent mathematician; his father and mother, who were born in a year where their marriage would have been considered sacrilege if they lived further south than Delaware; and himself, who was onetime asked how he had gotten into University and whether it was reverse discrimination, and another time was asked if he was really a Jew, because that one ignorant guy at that one party had no concept of how Jewish heritage was passed on and that even though Damian was of color, that he was one-quarter Polish and a grandchild of a survivor of World War 2. All these social barriers don't exist here.

Squirtle crawled into Damian's lap and curled up into her shell, full of kibbles and ready for sleep. Damian placed his hand on Squirtle's shell and closed his eyes, too, reflecting on this strange world and how he now felt even more like a stranger.

[Charles Legend]

Thanks, Charles! Yes, I started working on Damian's profile (which is on one of my sticky notes on my screen) around 3:15 p.m. the other day. Chapter 1 was done in about four hours. When my mind gets creative, it simply creates. I started writing this at 2:40 p.m. today, and I'm sure a full chapter will appear in a couple of hours.

I appreciate and value your feedback. Nobody is "unqualified" to provide feedback. This story will not improve without everyone's help. Yes, Damian is a stranger in a strange land, but he will learn that the things that made him feel different before do not matter here, but it is his ideas that set him apart. He will also use Pokémon, although I haven't decided how competitive he will be.

Your welcome, I will say that you sure put a lot of thought into describing your story world which helps me to picture your setting, it's also interesting you gave Damian a female Squirtle.

But yeah I thing your doing a good job at explaining things and not info dumping stuff line I tend to do, However I do wounder if Damian will ever catch a Chancy of his own, perhaps in the Safari Zone.

~Charles Legend

[Magmar]

Thanks for replying again, Charles. I now have a rough idea of the direction the story is going, but I'm really flexible to what will actually happen. I just kind of write as I go. On that note, it's finally time for Damian to begin his journey!

Chapter 5
Watery Hands

You're made of water, I'm made of sand

The sun had barely risen when Damian woke up. He wasn't sure how long he had been sleeping, but it felt like he dreamed a hundred different things. There was a clock on the wall, which read 6:15.

It was now the last Saturday of April, at least he was led to believe. It had been a full day since he arrived here in this peculiar Earth called Kanto. The sound of birds chirping was reminiscent of home, but he could swear the birds here spoke to one another in their own language. He wondered whether the birds of his Earth could speak to one another as well. He had only heard noise until today; now, he could hear communication.

Damian's stomach let out a low roar. He realized that he hadn't used the restroom in an entire day. Looking around the large laboratory, he finally noticed a small room in one corner. He began to stand, but something small was in his lap, and it was stirring. It was Squirtle.

He had forgotten about Squirtle until now, and he finally remembered that today he would set off on a journey home, but had a long way to go. There was much to do to get ready for today. Squirtle began to stretch her rubbery, watery hands, pulling out of her shell and yawning with a raspy voice. Damian picked Squirtle up and placed her beside himself on the sofa, then stretched himself as he finally stood.

Damian made his way over to the bathroom and was nearly surprised to see there were ordinary toilets here. He sat on the porcelain throne and realized it had been a long time since he last sat on a toilet and wasn't using his cell phone.

His cell phone... Professor Oak still has it! Could I use the phone to contact home??

Damian wrapped up his business and stood in front of the ivory sink bowl, placing his hands underneath cold water. After soaping and rinsing, he splashed his face with water, surprised that his face wasn't dirty. Joy had cleaned him up well. He gazed at his reflection in the mirror. He needed to shave his neck beard, and his dreads were unkempt, several locks displaced from their usual ponytail. Stretching again, Damian let his braids fall from the ponytail. His head felt lighter. He noticed that he needed to braid his dreads closer to his scalp again; they had been growing out. But who in this strange land called Kanto knew how to manage dreadlocks?

He was still wearing his Silversun Pickups shirt. He questioned whether anyone here knew what the Silversun Pickups were. He wondered what kind of music was popular here, or even existed here. Damian was so full of questions. He wanted to know everything.

Leaving the restroom, Damian noticed that Squirtle was once again asleep. Scratching his lower side, Damian noticed there was something small and round attached to his belt loop. That's right, Squirtle's Poké Ball, thought Damian. He considered calling Squirtle back into her Poké Ball, but thought she looked comfortable and should get all the rest she could. Today was a big day for the both of them, and Squirtle would also need to be ready.

Damian noticed that on the small dining table, there was a small red calculator-like object. His Pokédex was there. He sat at the table, picking up the device and examining it more closely. It had several buttons that he had never used. He began to explore the Pokédex's capabilities. It could be muted like a cell phone; it could also recall information on Pokémon that he had analyzed with it in the past. There were only two entries in the Pokédex. The device was able to tell him where he could find Chansey in the wild; he was a little disappointed that he wasn't going to travel towards the city called Fuchsia to visit the nature park there. Squirtle apparently no longer had a wild habitat anymore; they must be close to extinction. He learned that there were different types of Pokémon and that Squirtle was a Water-type. Chansey was called a Normal-type.

A familiar smell slowly overtook Damian's senses. It reminded him of breakfast... Turning around, he saw that Professor Oak was awake and frying up bacon and eggs. "Oh! Good morning," said the Professor. "I saw that you were studying, which is exactly what you should be doing this morning."

"Good morning," Damian said, standing up and stretching his back again. "Professor, before I travel today, I have a few more questions that I need to ask."

"Ask away, and if you'd like a cup of coffee, there is some in the French press," said the Professor.

Damian thought about what he wanted to ask first. He wasn't the biggest fan of coffee, but as he grew older, he had learned to enjoy a fresh cup in the morning, especially on exam days. He reached for a plain enamel mug and put one sugar and one cream in, pouring himself a serving of coffee.

"I was wondering," Damian began.

"Oh, no need to worry, Damian," the Professor said, interrupting his inquiry. "As part of my stores, I have plenty of clothes for travelers. You should have a week's worth packed in your parcel."

"Well, thanks!" Damian said, appreciating that he wouldn't need to wander a mysterious countryside for weeks in his favorite shirt. "But, Professor, what I really wanted to know is where the device that Nurse Joy recovered has gone. The thing in my pocket."

"Oh!" said the Professor. "I put it in your parcel as well. I figured you wouldn't want to travel without it, since it comes from your home. Unfortunately, I couldn't get it to turn on, and I don't have a wire that connects to it."

Damian was surprised that in this world full of technological marvels, there were no cellular phones. "Professor, if you were to want an electronic device to work, but didn't have access to any batteries or a wire that could charge it, what would you do?"

"I'd find an Electric Pokémon and try that way," the Professor replied.

"There are Pokémon that are electric?"

"Oh, yes," said the Professor. "There are several types of Pokémon. Psychic-types, Fire-types, Electric-types, even Dragon-types. You'll have to use your Pokédex to learn more about them, but you should know that Squirtle won't do well in a fight against an Electric-type."

Damian thought about the implication of battling a dragon with his little Squirtle. He silently hoped he would never encounter a dragon on the way to finding the Moon Stone. "Professor, what else should I beware of? Squirtle is young, and I don't think she can face a dragon on her own."

"There aren't any dragons anywhere close to here, and by the time you encounter one, I'm sure Squirtle will be much stronger," said the Professor. "Squirtle won't do well against Dragon-type Pokémon, or Electric or Grass-types. She'll be fine with Fire-types, and she should be able to hold her own against any Ground or Rock Pokémon you meet. Most of the others are an even match, although Ice-types will be at a disadvantage if they face Squirtle."

Ice. Ground. Rock. Fire. There seemed to be endless kinds of Pokémon, but Professor Oak had said there were only about 100. Damian swore to himself that he would try his best to never put Squirtle in a situation where she would have to face off against a dragon.

It was time for breakfast. Squirtle had finally woken up, making her way over to where Damian was sitting and making herself comfortable on a dining chair. Professor Oak brought over some bacon and scrambled eggs, a small plate of kibbles for Squirtle. Damian noted that Squirtle kibbles resembled chocolate truffles. He asked if all Pokémon ate different kinds of food. The professor assured him that most kinds of Pokémon he would meet on the way to Mt. Moon would eat the same kibbles.

Once breakfast was finished, Professor Oak put the plates on a nearby counter and began to show Damian how the Pokédex can function as an identification device. He explained the concept of using Poké Balls to catch Pokémon, and that Damian should expand his arsenal of Pokémon so that he would be able to handle any type of threat he should meet on his journey.

When the conversation turned to the subject of facing off against another trainers, Damian listened intently, searching his mind for any types of strategy. He didn't want to waste his time being pushed around by other trainers. He learned that when you win a battle, it is customary to receive money from your opponent and vice-versa. When Damian asked how much money, the Professor told him to give what he can. Finally, the Professor explained that while you can use potion items to cure and heal Squirtle and other Pokémon, they benefit greatly from resting at a Pokémon Center. Damian was also cautioned that Squirtle doesn't have infinite energy and, if she is pushed too hard, she will be unable to fight, leaving Damian to face any threats alone.

--------

It was 8 a.m., and for the first time, Damian stepped outside of Professor Oak's laboratory. His body felt heavy from the full backpack, but he was grateful for the change of clothes. Squirtle was in her Poké Ball, presumably taking a nap again; the Squirtle was very young, after all, and required a fair amount of sleep.

The town was much bigger than Damian had thought, yet there were few buildings. It was rather rural, with grassy hills and distant woodlands. There were a few people scurrying about on their errands; a few folks seemed to be on their way to work. It seemed like an ordinary suburb, except there were no cars here.

"Damian, if you need anything, you can always call me from the nearest Pokémon Center," Professor Oak said. "Please, do not hesitate to ask me for anything."

"Alright," said Damian.

"You should also keep one thing in mind. You can only have six Pokémon at the most with you at any time. Any Pokémon that you catch after six are teleported back to my office. You'll have to call me from a telephone if you want to switch them out. The switching will happen electronically and pretty much instantly."

"Got it... So which way do I go from here?" asked Damian.

The Professor pointed to a road that led away from town. "This road is called Route 1. You can follow it straight north into Viridian City. It's about a day's journey."

Damian glanced quickly at the map, then looked up at the road. He nodded to the Professor. "Listen, Professor, thank you so much for all you've done for me," said Damian. He held out his hand, and the Professor shook it. Damian was doubly surprised; for one, he didn't expect the gesture of shaking hands to be culturally present in Kanto; for another, he was impressed at the Professor's strong grip. It was hard to tell through his lab coat that the Professor was a well-built man.

"I wish you the best of luck on your journey," the Professor said, breaking his grip on Damian's hand. "If you need anything at all, call me immediately. I'll be waiting to hear from you when you arrive at Viridian City."

Damian nodded his head again, thanking the Professor one last time. From here on out, he was on his own, and it would be contingent on both his wits and his ability to control Squirtle to get himself to Viridian City. Even though it was just a day's journey, the road would be filled with mysterious creatures the likes of which Damian had never even heard of.

Waving farewell, Damian approached the road north. There was a break in a white picket fence that signified that this was the path through the grasslands. The way back home.

"Alright, Squirtle," Damian said, putting his hand on the Poké Ball on his waist. "We have a long day ahead of us..."