The wind howled through the dense canopy of the ancient forest. Moss blanketed the trees like forgotten memories, and somewhere deep within the green silence, a boy awoke.
His name was Alex.
He sat up slowly, dazed. The scent of damp earth filled his nose, and the sky above him was a soft gold—the hour just before sunset. He looked at his hands. They were smaller than he remembered.
"Alone …Again," he whispered hoarsely.
Alex had died.
He remembered the cold grip of metal, blood filling his throat, the pain of betrayal. And now… this. A second life. A forest. A world he vaguely recognized. One with strange creatures and strange rules. Pokémon.
He was alone. Again.
Hours passed before he found something else. Or rather, it found him.
A rustle in the bushes.
He tensed instinctively. From behind the leaves, a small, limping Riolu emerged, dragging one foot and covered in bruises, dried blood crusting its fur. Its left ear had a tear, and one of its eyes was swollen shut.
Alex didn't speak. He only stared, heart sinking. He knew pain when he saw it.
Riolu stopped. It stared back, suspicious, chest heaving. The air was tense, silent.
"…I'm not here to hurt you," Alex said, his voice quiet and cracked. "I get it. I've been hurt too."
Riolu blinked, cautious but unmoving.
Alex slowly reached into his pocket—berries. he would have grab them before, and now his instincts told him to offer. He placed them gently on the ground, backing away. Riolu hesitated… and then limped forward, grabbing the berries with trembling paws.
As it ate, Alex noticed the scar across Riolu's chest. A burn. Deep. Deliberate.
Someone had tortured this Pokémon.
"Whoever did this to you… I hope they die in hell" Alex muttered under his breath, fists clenched.
Riolu looked up, eyes meeting his. For a second, something passed between them. A silent, mutual understanding. Pain. Loneliness. Survival.
Alex sat beside him without saying a word.
Night fell.
They found shelter in a small cave, barely big enough for two. The stars above glimmered through cracks in the ceiling. Riolu curled near the entrance, too wary to sleep close. Alex leaned back against the stone, arms crossed.
"Back in my old life…" he murmured, mostly to himself, "I didn't have anyone. I couldn't even speak right. People just… avoided me."
He wasn't sure why he was talking. Maybe he just didn't want the silence to feel so heavy.
"I guess I got another chance. In a different world. A weird one. And I met you." He glanced at Riolu. "You're a mess, you know." Alex would let out a soft laugh
Riolu looked at him, almost annoyed, but not angry.
"But I am too. So… I think that makes us even."
That night, something stirred outside.Leaves rustled. Footsteps.
A wild Mightyena lunged into the cave, jaws open, eyes rabid. It was huge—foaming at the mouth, driven mad by hunger.
Alex barely had time to react.
Riolu leapt between them, his body glowing faintly with aura, eyes wide with terror—but filled with a will to protect.
The fight was fast. Violent.
Teeth sank into Riolu's arm.Alex grabbed a sharp stone and with the adrenaline going at full he stabbed the Mightyena's eye.
Blood sprayed. Fur tore. Screams echoed through the cave.The wild beast collapsed after a final blow from Riolu's desperate Force Palm, blood dripping from its jaws and skull cracked open.
The silence returned. But it was different now.
Alex collapsed beside Riolu, breathing heavily. "that was brutal.."
Riolu didn't respond—just collapsed next to him, exhausted and bleeding.
Alex pulled him close.
"…We'll survive this. You and me. I promise."