Illuminating the dark night with its presence, the moon cast its pale light over a bleak city, buffeted by an overwhelming snowstorm, the likes of which had not been witnessed in centuries.
Snow and ice covered the endless city streets with an impenetrable blanket, as if claiming dominion over what had always been theirs.
While all this was going on, the silent moon watched the scene with a detached gaze and an impassive presence.
Unnoticed, its dim light illuminated a narrow alleyway that, like the entire city, was almost completely buried by snow.
Inside the alley, a small figure could be seen swaying restlessly, though not moving from its place. A closer look revealed it to be a child shivering uncontrollably from the winter cold that enveloped him.
"H-He's quiet..." The boy mumbled weakly as he hugged himself tightly in a desperate attempt to keep warm; his legs were wrapped around his thin arms in a sort of fetal position. "The t-storm will pass... I p-promise you, j-just stay here..."
The boy was dressed in cheap, threadbare rags that barely did anything to give him some relief from the winter cold that plagued the city. Despite being only a child no older than twelve years, he had a thin, sickly face that clearly shouldn't be on a child his age, while his equally thin body looked like he had been through hell itself if his dirty bandages were any indication of anything.
Despite how the cold penetrated his skin, freezing his bones and lungs, the boy still spoke with impressive warmth as he gazed lovingly at a small black and red lump that remained between his legs and chest.
"Z-Zor..." Shakily replied the small black lump, raising his head slightly to look at the boy with concern. Looking closer, it turned out that the small black lump was indeed a small greyish-black fox that had large reddish tufts on its forehead and limbs.
"D-don't worry about me..." Managed to whisper to the boy with remarkable effort as he hugged the little black fox tightly, as if his life depended on it. "J-J-J-Just try… j-just try k-keep you warm..."
Drawing in a shaky breath, the boy looked up and fixed his tired gaze on the impassive moon, staring at it for a moment before slowly closing his eyes.
'Who knew this world would be so cruel...' He thought to himself in an attempt to ignore the chill on his skin along with the feeling of bitterness and listlessness that filled his chest. 'The Pokemon world is not what I expected...'
-----
Two months, it had been two months since he had been... sent?, transmigrated?.
I didn't know the difference between the two terms, and I didn't give a shit, to be honest.
Memories of who I am or who I used to be were fuzzy and strange for the most part.
I didn't remember my old name, I didn't know if I had a family or friends, but I remembered being a college senior. I didn't remember that I was studying, though, so the vast majority of that knowledge was useless or incomplete at best.
I also remembered my death, although it was not an epic death in an attempt to save someone or anything like that.
There had been a strong earthquake in my area while I was working on a project. Perhaps it was concentration or exhaustion from working on the project that made me ignore how my room was shaking like crazy and how my things were falling one after another against the floor of my apartment.
By the time I finally realized what was happening, it was too late.
The ceiling of the room collapsed, and while that didn't kill me, it did when the shaking collapsed the building I lived in with me still inside.
A rather absurd and grotesque death, if you ask me.
I died... or, well, not really.
Not long after I was left in red paste in the rubble, I woke up in the body of a child in the dirty, dark depths of a dark alley.
Honestly, at that moment I was quite confused; I would even say frightened by the sudden change, and, as if the world had forgotten something, abruptly a lot of memories were injected directly into my head.
'Maybe the mixture between memories was the reason why I can't remember my previous life...' I thought with zero interest as an icy breeze hit my side, making me shiver like a leaf.
That large amount of memories caused my head to split in two.
An indescribable pain seized my skull, almost causing me to faint immediately. Slowly and surely, however, the pain finally faded, leaving only a feeling of fascination and burning excitement in my chest.
It was thanks to those memories that I realized that I was no longer in my old world but in a new one, one that my past self knew quite well.
The Pokemon World.
A world where mythical and powerful creatures coexist peacefully with humans, a world where epic battles, the challenge of surpassing oneself, and friendship are above all else.
And now I was in that world!
'How foolish...' I let out a sneer at my past self; even shivering under the overwhelming assault of the wintry storm that lashed the city, I found a way to amuse myself, even if that amusement was on the basis of my own suffering. 'How silly and stupid...'
It was that very excitement and fascination that made me forget that at the end of the day, this world and mine were not so different. This world was not simply driven by friendship and the goodwill of people but by need, money, and selfishness.
I learned that lesson the hard way in my first week when a group of teenagers suddenly appeared, demanding all the money I had on hand and promising me a good beating if I didn't obey.
Naturally, I refused their request, as I had barely been able to scrape together some money to feed myself. And eating junk was not an option at the table...at least not at that moment.
The result of my response?
A brutal beating that left me lying on the floor like a dog, the pain etched not only in my brain but also in the dozens of bruises I still had all over my body.
Blow after blow, tear after tear, plea after plea.
But nothing stopped the blows.
And that wasn't the worst part.
After beating me to a pulp, the bastards stole all the money I had stashed away along with what little food I had.
And as icing on the cake, the only place I could call my little home, even though it was basically made of cardboard and garbage bags, was completely destroyed.
The dirty, hard mattress that could hardly be considered a bed was completely ruined, my small electric stove that I had gotten from a dumpster had been stolen, and the cardboard walls and ceiling were completely destroyed.
Despite remembering almost nothing of my past life, I was very, very sure that I had never felt a feeling of hatred and anger as great as I felt at that moment.
Shit! Even now I'm still very angry about that shit!
A small howl brought me out of my reverie; looking down, I noticed how the little fox was looking at me with concern. I let out a half-hearted sigh as I stroked his little head with my bony hands.
I closed my eyes for a moment, focusing entirely on caressing the little animal in my arms. Forgetting for a brief moment about everything.
...
Anyway, when I finally gathered enough strength to stand up wobbly on my two feet, I immediately went to the Pokemon Center in hopes of getting some sort of medical attention.
That didn't turn out well either, but at least I didn't get beaten up by some random bastards.
Apparently, only Pokemon Trainers received free medical care based on the severity of their injuries, and even they were not exempt from paying the fees required for such services.
If you were a civilian, you had to pay for any type of medical care.
And in case it wasn't obvious, I wasn't a Pokemon Trainer.
I was a starving kid who could barely stand up on his two feet without dropping dead in the middle of the street.
'This must be a joke… right?'
Was my thought as I staggered out of the Pokemon center as my whole body creaked with every step, but even as my body screamed in pain, my mind wouldn't stop thinking, wouldn't stop spinning, wouldn't stop looking for something to blame.
What had I done wrong to deserve this?
Was this some kind of punishment for having done something wrong in my other life?
The answer to both questions was: no.
I had done nothing to deserve this; this was simply the fate the world had in store for me.
"Zorr..." A growl managed to snap me out of my reverie again, making me open my eyes wearily again. I looked down to see my only friend growling menacingly at something I couldn't see.
Squinting, I managed to discern a towering silhouette, completely enveloped in an imposing white trench coat. The face remained in the shadows, hidden behind a hood, making it impossible to discern any features, thus immersing the figure in an aura of ominous mystery.
I immediately put myself on guard while cursing my bad luck for running into another person during this stupid storm.
If there was one rule that had stuck in my soul during my sojourn in this shitty world, it was: don't get with anyone.
"Child" The figure's voice was soft but strangely firm at the same time.
'A woman then,' I thought absentmindedly as I pretended there was no one in front of me; inwardly, I simply begged her to go on her way and leave me alone.
"What the fuck are you doing out here?" Continued, the woman said with contempt dripping from her voice.
I didn't know if my shudder had been from the displeasure in her voice or from the winter chill.
Perhaps both.
I glanced briefly at the hooded woman before lowering my gaze and huddling even closer to Zorua in a desperate attempt to appear even smaller than I already was. "W-what do you c-c-care...g-g-go f-fuck yourself..."
"Child" The hooded woman's voice called, but I simply ignored it; holding conversations with strangers had never brought me anything good, and it wouldn't anytime soon.
'Just leave me alone...' I thought with annoyance as I gritted my teeth hard.
"Look at me when I'm talking to you, you little bastard!"
I suddenly felt myself being forcibly lifted up, leaving me suspended in the air as the hooded woman's hand grabbed my shirt by the collar.
"Zor! Zor!" I heard the angry growls, Zorua. I knew she wanted to take action to protect me, but...
"D-Don't do n-nothing...!" I ordered forcefully, causing Zorua to go silent but still growling audibly. I couldn't let one of the few things I had and cherished get hurt because of a cheap whore.
Taking a deep breath, I managed to focus my gaze on the hooded woman. A strong, icy breeze caused the hood to fall from her face, revealing what was easily the most beautiful woman I had seen in both of my lives.
The woman had long, silver-colored hair that covered one of her bright, light blue eyes, which seemed to be as cold as ice. Her skin seemed to glow in the dim moonlight, almost making her look like a fairy instead of a human.
We both stood in silence... just looking at each other.
"..."
"..."
Suddenly her eyes sharpened slightly as she gave me a creepy smile.
"How interesting... very interesting." The woman murmured as her cold eyes scanned the most inhospitable corners of my soul. I shifted uncomfortably as I felt her eyes seem to see through me easily. "You're not just a child of the streets, are you? You're a stray dog kicked and beaten countless times, a dying dog who is always one foot from the grave, but even then refuses to take a step to end that suffering because that would mean the world got over you..."
The woman continued speaking as she slowly brought her face closer to mine, causing me to squirm in a miserable attempt to escape the woman's firm grip.
"L-Let go of me... y-you old w-w-witch"
The figure laughed lightly before letting go of me without any sort of finesse, leaving me sprawled in the cold snow that lined the alleyway. Zorua immediately pounced on me as she shifted with obvious concern.
Shaking my head to come to my senses, I turned my gaze to the woman and could only shudder as her cold eyes looked at me with wicked amusement.
My mind filled with one thought: run.
But for some reason, I can't move; it was as if invisible chains surrounded my body.
"I don't normally do this shit, but I'm curious. If you don't want to freeze to death, then follow me... if you're strong enough for it, that is" Snorted the woman mockingly, if she noticed my fear, she didn't seem to mind as she pulled her hood back over her head. "If not, you can stay here rotting for the rest of your pathetic life... you wouldn't be the first child to die directly or indirectly by my hands, you know?"
And without further ado, the woman turned around and started walking towards the other side of the alley, as if I had never existed in the first place.
As I watched the woman slowly but steadily walk away, I let out the shaky sigh I had been involuntarily holding back. I began to breathe heavily as my head began to spin.
'Who was that woman?' I thought to myself as I concentrated on breathing, ignoring the small mist that came out of my mouth with each breath and ignoring how the cold seemed to fill my lungs.
"Rua!"
"I-I'm fine..." I murmured warmly as I gently stroked Zorua's grayish fur.
Letting out an exhausted sigh, I looked down at my trembling, bony palms, which looked like they might break with the slightest pressure.
I bit down hard on my lip, causing the familiar taste of iron to enter my mouth.
'This is silly, big stupid silly...' I let out a hollow laugh at the thought.
Clenching my fists tightly, I made a decision.
Letting out a groan of pain, I barely managed to get to my feet only to have, just then, another strong gust of icy wind hit me like a truck, almost forcing me back to the ground.
The winter cold seemed to be trying its best to keep me from getting up, to keep me from staying like the miserable stray dog that had been kicked and beaten countless times but no one cared about.
No more.
I'm tired of being the world's plaything.
I will show the world that no matter how many obstacles it puts in my way, no matter how much suffering I have to endure, I will get back on my feet.
I looked forward with a trembling movement.
I took my first step.
_______________________________________________
A/N: I don't think I'll update this often; this is just one of many ideas I had written down a while ago. It'll probably be a short story, or at least I'll try to keep it short. Thanks so much for reading!