Alone Again

"Arceus?" Vex asked, curiosity peaked. He wasn't a fool so he was able to deduce a few things simply from this very short interaction. "You're the one who brought me to this world correct?"

Arceus smiled, clearly pleased. "Oh, I do so love it when folks catch on quickly. It saves me so much time." Waving his hand, a dusty gray kettle appeared on the table in front of the man, steam rising out of its nozzle. "Come Vex. Have some tea with me. No need to worry about time. It flows much differently in this space. We have so much to go over."

The young man approached the table with caution, his eyes flickering from the man to the steaming kettle. He wasn't sure what was going on so he didnt plan on lowering his guard anytime soon. He took a seat opposite the man and rested his hands on the table. "What is this place? Isn't it happening in my own head?"

Arceus waved his hand, emitting a small laugh as a pair of plastic cups appeared on the table. "This is indeed situated inside your mind but we let's not talk about such mundane topics. Just know that with this space, we can freely discuss the two important topics such as why you're here and what I want you to do."

Taking the stopper out of the nozzle, the young man with silver hair filled the plastic cups to the brim, the boiling water still giving off steam. Dropping in a tea bag, Arceus slid one of the plastic cups over to Vex, who accepted it with a polite thank you. Having relaxed a bit, Vex leaned back into his seat and stared at his cup. He didn't say anything as he waited for Arceus to continue speaking. After seeing that Vex was readily complying and was listening, Arceus nodded.

"Then lets start with why you're here. It has to do with the criminal organization known as Team Rocket."

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The police arrived shortly after the trio vanished from the Pokemon center, Officer Jenny being the first one who rushed in, crashing her motorcycle through the dooe without pause.

Having already visited here earlier in the evening, Jenny had been en route to check on the white haired young man she had dropped off when she had been called in to check out the Pokemon Center where someone had forced open the back door. Luckily she had already been heading there and it gave her an excuse to turn on her siren, gunning her motorcycle to the fastest possible speed. Now, parking her bike inside the lobby, Officer Jenny took a long hard look inside the interior of the building, slipping two pokeballs off her hip and pressing the buttons twice.

The inside was a mess. Deep craters were formed on numerous spots of the walls, floor and ceiling, debris from the shattered roof was scattered everywhere. Over near the door, a body lay unconscious, though she presumed them to be dead, next to a beaten up Pikachu. Despite the destruction, Jenny let out a sigh as she had expected things to be marginally worse. This scale of things was tame compared to some of the scenarios she had witnessed in her time as a cop. Death and destruction were quite common, more than she admittedly would've liked.

Throwing out the two pokeballs in her hand, Jenny summoned her most trusted partners, an Arcanine that had been with her through most of her life and a recently evolved Ninetales. "Arcanine, sniff the place out. I want the scent of whover was responsible for this. Ninetales, I want you to lead the other officers who arrive towards the back entrance. There could still be intruders who have yet to flee."

After emitting low grunts of confirmation, the two split up to do their assigned tasks. Arcanine began to sniff the ground while Ninetales bolted out the door towards the cops that had just arrived. It was clear that these pokemon were either used to these orders or were well trained.

Shifting her focus from the Pokemon, Officer Jenny walked over to the kid and pressed her fingers against his neck and she was surprised to find a pulse. Having assumed the worst, she previously hadn't been too concerned about the body and his Pikachu but now her thoughts were different.

White fluffy hair that slightly covered his eyes, weird outfit, and partially wet clothes. She was happy that the handsome teenager she had dropped off earlier was still alive and couldn't help smiling as she attempted to shake him awake. "Hey kid, are you alright? I need you to wake up." After receiving no response, Jenny tried tapping his cheeks to see if she could initiate a response, any response at all.

After about a minute, a small groan escaped the lips of the young man before he finally opened his eyes. Blue and gold hues met a lighter shade of blue as the two stared at each other. Jenny felt herself get drawn in by the boys gaze, getting lost in his eyes. It was an odd feeling, only managing to snap back to her sense when the boy sat up, his hand pushing off the ground. The woman backed up slightly after realizing just how close she had been to his face, feeling a tad bit embarassed by her own unprecedented behavior.

"Are you okay young man? Are you hurt?" Jenny took out a radio from her belt, prepared to call in an ambulance should the need arise. "Any intense pain? Broken bones? Trouble breathing?"

Vex took a deep breath, an attempt to calm his rapidly beating heart. He had just experienced 10 hours worth of emotions and information in the place he was now calling "the mindscape" and he was more then a little shaken. It was hard to believe that anything that had been said to him was true, but there was an easy way to confirm it. For now though he just had to send this woman to make sure the ladies in the back weren't injured.

"No, I'm fine," Vex muttered as he looked at Officer Jenny. He forced himself to smile, disguising it to look genuine by flashing his teeth a little. Reaching to his side, he picked up Pikachu who was unconscious and slightly beaten up but otherwise okay. "More importantly, you need to check up on the three girls that ran in the back. I managed to hold off Team Roc....I mean the thieves long enough for them to retreat back. Its likely that they barricaded themselves back there. If Nurse Joy is as smart as I think she is then she'll have made sure you can't get through those doors without struggling."

Officer Jenny stood up and nodded, deciding to take the youngsters words for it. She was eager to get away anyways as her reactions to this boy were beginning to confuse her. "Thank you for the information. I'll head to the back entrance. You should head outside and report everything you know about the thieves such as look and Pokemon used." With those parting words, she turned and ran back at a surprising speed even though she was wearing a skirt.

Once she was out of sight, Vex rose to his feet and glanced around the room. After making sure there wasn't anyone close enough to stop him, he walked around the counter and began rummaging behind it. His beanie, backpack, socks and shoes were all there as well as some other unidentifiable objects which he couldn't put a name to. After a few seconds he finally found what he was lookong for, a small brightly colored circular disk about the size of his palm. Red colors swirled on the plate, the hues shifting constantly while radiating a sort of hidden power.

"So everything he said was true then." Vex sighed a little as he tucked the disk into his pocket. "I guess this world is going to get more insane then it is now. Especially if this Team Rocket is as good as he claims; I can't even trust the police with this info because they might have spies lurking amongst them. How annoying."

After donning his clothes and items he had recently thought had been stolen, Vex picked up Pikachu's pokeball and tapped it against the unconscious yellow mouse. The ball opened and Pikachu turned into red light and disappeared inside, the red and white sphere closing back up.

"Now that I got the item, I should leave before anyone spots me. I need to travel on my own for the time being." Vex shouldered his backpack and slipped Pikachu's pokeball into a side pocket of his black shorts. He was ready to go. "I'm sorry Misty but it looks like I'll have to pay you for that bike some other time."

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"Team Rocket is a criminal organization that, for now, mainly deals in covert operations. Their aim is to make the world submit to them using the power of Pokemon. They'll use my plates to do it. You'll need to find them before they do."

"Gather the others that I've brought together and find a way to stand against them. You must become a strong and cohesive team because no one person can handle them alone."

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Vex clenched his teeth as he recalled some of the word Arceus had spoken to him in the mindscape. The god of pokemon had put all of his hopes on this plan, there was no backup. Either Vex and the other people shaped up or the whole world would find itself under new management. This is what Arceus forsaw and was trying to prevent.

As he stepped out of the Center, Vex broke into a run, darting past the cops and into the shadows before anyone had time to even register what had happened. He could hear shouts from behind him but he didn't have plans to stop as he darted down the connected streets and along alleys before joining a crowded area where pedestrians calmly walked and chatted amongst themselves. Out of breath and adrenaline pumping, Vex attempted to blend into the crowd while willing his heart to slow down.

Once he was situated, he would finally be able to relax for a second and get his mind on straight. Back when he had thought this was a dream, he had been fine and his joking personality had been on point. Now when everything was going downhill, he couldn't even muster up the energy to try and be optimistic. With the information he had recieved from Arceus, while he did see despair, he also saw hope but he couldn't smile about it yet until he got some rest.

After a few hours of walking, Vex finally reached the edge of Viridian City. The Pokemon Center had been located more towards the innards of the city then he had originally thought. He had to commend Misty for walking all the way over there just to get her bike back. Even jogging from the lake to the Pokemon Center would take a few hours. That being said, Vex planned on heading back towards the lake for various reasons.

Apart from being away quite a distance away from the city, it provided him with a wide open space to train as well as fresh water and fish for food.

Setting his bag onto the ground, Vex pushed aside the food and objects until he came across a waterproof flashlight. The fact that it was waterproof was quite obvious as it still shone out light when he flicked the switch on, a bright beam illuminating the dense foliage in front of him.

Feeling satisfied, Vex zipped up his bag and slung it back over his shoulder, shining the light in front as he began his stroll through the woods. Various noises filled the dark expanse, no doubt numerous nocturnal Pokemon that would only come out at night. Vex wasn't a big fan of bugs, silently praying that whatever creature didn't look like a centipede or beetle. He wasn't afraid of the dark but he was terrified of creepy crawlies.

After about thirty minutes of walking, the young man realized that he was totally lost. He thought he had recognized the way previously but now he was unsure, his sense of direction becoming skewed and warped. Had it been morning, he might have been able to find the way, but in the dead of night there wasn't a chance he was going to get anywhere with just a flashlight. The only thing he could do for now was to set up camp in a clearing and try tomorrow morning.

Vex pushed through bushes and stepped over poison ivy for what felt like forever. Mosquitos unfortunately were still a thing in this world and constantly bit at him while small moths would be attracted to the beam emitted by the flashlight. It was a grueling walk, especially since he was hungry. The rice in the carton placed in his bag was starting to seem rather tasty. He had half a mind to stop and eat real quick before continuing onwards. At least until he saw the light from a campfire up ahead.

When the dancing of red, yellow, and orange lights reached him, he almost wanted to cry as he shut off his light and walked towards it. It could've been a trap and he wouldn't have cared in the slightest. All he knew was that he wanted to relax near a toasty fire and go to sleep.