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.”