Chapter 1: Transmigration Confusion in Forest

The sunlight stabbed through my eyelids, dragging me back from the edge of unconsciousness. 

Groaning, I shifted, the crunch of leaves beneath me oddly loud. 

Leaves? That didn't make sense. 

I forced my eyes open, the blur of green towering trees and a forest canopy filling my vision.

"What the…?" I mumbled, pushing myself upright. 

My body felt weird, lighter almost. 

Disoriented, I glanced around and spotted Alice lying a few feet away. 

But before I could say anything, she was up, rushing toward me, her arms suddenly around my neck in a tight hug.

"Ethan!" she blurted, her voice sharper than usual. "Where are we? Are we… in the Amazon?"

I couldn't help but chuckle. 

Alice was rarely this panicked, her calm and collected demeanor a fortress that I never saw crack. 

"This is a rare sight," I said, teasing, my voice slipping into that familiar amused tone.

She pulled back, a faint blush creeping across her pale cheeks. "Shut up," she muttered. "Aren't we supposed to be… I don't know… in our beds? Sleeping?"

I blinked, trying to piece things together. 

Something was off. 

More than just waking up in the middle of a forest. 

"Does it feel like… your body's different?" I asked, frowning. 

"Smaller somehow? You're... uh, Smaller than me." I looked down at myself and felt a pang of confusion. 

My legs seemed shorter, my hands smaller.

Alice took a step back, her eyes scanning me up and down before her brow furrowed. "Yeah. But… how?" Her voice trailed off, and then her eyes widened with realization. "What are we?"

"Weird guess," I said slowly, "but maybe we got transmigrated into another world."

"Transmigrated?" Alice looked at me like I had just suggested we'd sprouted wings.

I shrugged, trying to make sense of the swirling thoughts in my head. "How else do you explain this?"

"Then why don't we remember anything?" she shot back, her tone sharp.

I didn't have an answer for that. 

I sat down heavily on the ground, trying to fight the wave of dizziness that suddenly hit me. 

Alice joined me, crossing her arms as we sat in silence, waiting for something to click.

Minutes passed, but nothing did.

After what felt like forever, she sighed. "Looks like waiting for answers isn't going to work."

"Yeah," I agreed, rubbing the back of my neck. 

As I turned my head, something caught my eye. 

A small bag lay nestled in the leaves next to where I had been sleeping. 

Alice had one too. 

I motioned toward them. "We've got bags. Might as well check them, right? Maybe they'll explain where the hell we are."

She nodded and we crawled over to our bags. 

Alice grabbed hers, flipping it open with more urgency than I'd ever seen from her. 

As she rummaged through it, she suddenly froze, her expression going from confused to wide-eyed.

"What?" I asked.

Her lips parted into a grin before she shouted, "We're in the Pokémon world!" She actually laughed, that composed Alice exterior breaking down completely.

I stared at her. "Seriously?"

She ignored me, standing up and spinning in place, her eyes wide with excitement. "We're really here, Ethan! Do you understand how insane this is?" She laughed again, almost giddy, a side of her I'd never seen.

"Yeah," I muttered, narrowing my eyes. "Are you not changing your personality?"

She flashed me a grin before her face lit up again, and she pointed ahead. "Look, a Pidgey!"

Sure enough, a small bird Pokémon flitted through the trees, its feathers blending into the sunlight filtering through the canopy. 

Alice was practically bouncing on her heels, but I couldn't let myself get swept up in her excitement. 

"We should focus," I said, trying to rein in the situation. "On getting back. Figuring out what's going on."

She tilted her head at me, eyes glinting. "And?"

"And… aren't you worried about our families? We've got to find a way home."

The excitement drained from her face. 

Without warning, she hugged me again, this time tighter. 

Her voice was quieter, more vulnerable. "I don't think they even care… I mean, they never showed it. But you... you always did."

Her words hit like a punch to the gut. 

I held her for a moment, unsure what to say. 

Finally, I pulled back and gestured to the bags. "Let's check if there's anything useful. Maybe if we're trainers, we have some starter Pokémon or something to defend ourselves."

Alice nodded, her usual composed expression sliding back into place. 

We rifled through the bags, pulling out snacks, flashlights, and… pokéballs. Two of them.

I stared at the one in my hand, the smooth surface glinting in the light. 

This was real. 

"Well, at least we're not empty-handed," I said.

"Look," Alice said, pulling out a small notebook. "It's called 'New Pokémon Guide for Trainers from Another World.'"

I couldn't help but snort. "Title's a little on the nose, don't you think?"

She swatted me on the shoulder. "Don't joke, Ethan."

I leaned back against a nearby tree, crossing my arms. 

Alice sat down beside me, close enough that our shoulders brushed. 

She flipped through the pages, quietly reading as I stared at the unfamiliar sky above us. 

It was too calm.

Too peaceful. 

Something about it made me uneasy.

After what felt like ages, Alice closed the book, slipping it back into her bag. 

She leaned over, resting her head on my chest. "It's going to be tough getting back," she whispered.

Her words sank in, weighing heavy on my chest as I wrapped an arm around her. "Yeah. But we'll figure it out."