”What… is that?”

That’s all she could think as she stared at the color lights in front of her. Everything around her seemed to be black, except for those colors that seemed to fade away slowly.

”They’re… pretty”.

Her body felt heavy, and she wasn’t even sure if her eyes were open or not. Still, the lights blurred slowly, forming a white light that engulfed her completely.

“Ugggh...”

The girl could finally open her eyes, staring directly at a ceiling. She was confused and her head hurt. This young girl, around 12 years old, with a slim body and black hair that reached her shoulders, was lying in some kind of bed. She looked around, spotting a big window showing the blue sky, a TV hanging from a wall and a chair… with a man resting on it.

The girl let a gasp come out accidentally as she looked at that man. He was tall, dark-skinned, with a goatee and his hair tied up with a short ponytail while wearing a cap with a rainbow. His sandals and shorts made him look like a swimmer… except for the long white coat, untied enough to reveal his chest with no t-shirt on it.

She was confused, unsure if waking that man up was a good idea or not, so she took another look at the place, finding some strange machines by her side. Even if she didn’t know their purpose, she knew they were part of hospital equipment. Finding herself a bit surer about her whereabouts, the girl guessed than man could be a doctor… a very strange doctor at least. With no one else around, the girl decided to call him.

“Eh… excuse me”, said the girl with shy voice. “Hello?”.

Even if her voice was a bit low, the man reacted to it, opening his eyes as he woke up from his slumber. He scratched his head and looked at the girl laying on the bed. It took him a few seconds to understand the situation, his face showing surprise and enthusiasm.

“You’re awake… You’re awake!”, exclaimed the man, who rushed to the door of the room. “Doctor, the kid’s awake!”

The girl was even more confused, and a bit scared, at that man’s reaction. Then, another person with a white coat came into the room, with short grey hair and serene face, properly of a doctor. After him, a young woman with short police uniform and short blue hair entered as well.

“Good. We weren’t sure when you would wake up”, said the doctor.

“Are you okay?”, said the police woman as she got closer to the girl and helped her sit straight and rest her back on a cushion.

“Ehm… I think so, yeah”, answered the girl shyly. “But what is going on?”

“You have been unconscious for a few days”, explained the police woman. Then, she looked at the man in shorts. “Professor Kukui, that man over there, found you laying on the beach near his house and took you here.”

The girl looked at the man called Professor Kukui, who simply waved his hand and smiled. Contrary to the first impression, she felt he was a nice person. Still, she was confused.

“But… what happened? How did I end up on a beach?”, asked the girl.

“That’s what we wanted to ask you. What happened? Did you have an accident? What were you doing?”, asked Professor Kukui.

“I… I don’t know…”, answered the girl with a bit of nervousness. “I don’t… remember…”

The three grown-ups in the room looked at each other. The girl noticed they were not confused, but actually worried. The doctor cleared his throat.

“Say… what can you tell us about yourself? Where you come from, where’s your family… anything?”, asked the doctor.

The girl concentrated as much as she could… but there was nothing. There were actually no memories she could call back. She couldn’t even remember what was dreaming a few minutes before. Her face turned pale and her lips trembled.

“I… I can’t”, said the girl with scared voice, her breathing turning erratic by the second. “I can’t remember… anything at all! What… what is happening?”

“Hey, hey, don’t worry”, said the police woman, trying to comfort her. “Don’t be scared, we’re here to help. Try to take deep breaths.”

The police woman took deep breaths while staring at the girl, telling her with her eyes to do the same. Still nervous, the girl imitated the agent, and somehow, she calmed down slightly.

“That’s much better”, said the police woman with a smile. “Say, what about your name? Do you remember that at least?”

Her name… She had to have one, right? That thought made something spark in her mind. There was actually something in it, and even if it was just that tiny thing, she felt relieved deep inside.

“I’m… Selene”, answered the girl. “Yeah, that’s… my name. I know that for sure.”

“Well, nice to meet you, Selene! My name is Jenny. Everybody calls me Officer Jenny”, greeted the police woman.

Seeing Officer Jenny smile made Selene feel calmer. Then, Professor Kukui approached her, but this time, he looked a bit serious.

“I have another question for you. Are you a boy or a girl?”, asked Professor Kukui.

Both Selene and Officer Jenny looked at the professor. The girl found that question strange.

“Why are you asking that? I’m a girl”, answered Selene.

For a few seconds, the professor and the girl looked at each other in silence. The girl stared at Kukui, unable to find any reason why he was asking something like that. The man remained serious all that time, but at one point, he giggled, unable to keep his poker face anymore.

“Hah, hah! Don’t worry, I just wanted to cheer you up!”, exclaimed Professor Kukui. “You see, a professor from a distant region, an old friend of mine, used to make this joke to young people. I guess it’s not popular anymore, I’ll tell him for sure!”

Seeing the professor laugh at his own joke, Selene couldn’t help but laugh softly as well, even if she didn’t get it at all. The doctor interrupted that funny moment by clearing his throat again.

“Leaving that aside, I would like to do a quick check-up now that you are awake, just to confirm there isn’t any problem…”, began saying the doctor, but he was interrupted by someone knocking at the door.

“Wait, doctor! Those must be the results I was waiting for!”, added Officer Jenny. “Come in!”

The person at the other side opened the door… or at least, Selene expected a person going into the room. Her eyes opened widely, completely in shock, as she stared at the strange creature that went inside. It was a sort of long rabbit, or more like a ferret, but around the size of a child, walking on its two back legs. Its mouth was a display of big teeth, its eyes were tiny and closed, and it had a blond mane falling on its back, covered with brown fur. The creature was holding a paper on its tiny paws. The girl was freaking out, but everybody behaved normally, with Officer Jenny approaching it and taking the paper.

“Thanks, Gumshoos! We were waiting for this!”, exclaimed Officer Jenny casually. Then, she looked at the doctor. “What were you…”

“WAHWAHWAH… WHAT IS THAT THING?!”

Selene exclaimed that as high as she could, sliding back on her bed until her back met the wall. Her breathing was erratic, her eyes focused on the strange being. On their part, the grown-ups looked at each other with a mix of confusion and surprise.

“What are you talking about? Do you mean him?”, asked Officer Jenny pointing at the monster.

“OF COURSE I MEAN THAT!”, kept exclaiming Selene out loud. “WHAT IS THAT? CAN IT BE IN THE HOSPITAL!”

“Woah, slow down, young girl!”, said Professor Kukui to calm Selene down. “No need to put that Scary Face. I guess you have never seen one: that is a Gumshoos. It’s a Pokémon from this region.”

That answer didn’t help the girl. Instead, more questions popped up in her mind.

“A what?”, asked Selene, this time a bit calmer. -A Bo… Bohi… Poqi… mon? What is a… ‘Vokimon’?”

It wasn’t her waking up after being asleep for some days. It wasn’t her not having no memories at all. It was that simple question that made everybody in the room look at Selene with concern, unable to say any word at all. Professor Kukui laughed nervously.

“Nice… Nice one! I mean, you… you are joking, right?”, asked Professor Kukui with some reluctance, but the girl’s face was enough answer for him, his smile fading away from his face. “You… you are not joking…. You don’t really know what Pokémon are…”

Nobody said anything. Or more like, nobody dared to say anything at all. Selene was confused at their reaction. Of course she didn’t know what that thing was! Still, the way those people looked at her… was it something she had to know? The girl looked at the creature, the “Pokémon” as they called it, but she had never seen something like that. The doctor was the first one to break the silence.

“I think… I think we should continue this conversation outside”, suggested the doctor. “We should let her rest a bit more.”

Professor Kukui and Officer Jenny nodded and followed the doctor outside the room. Before leaving, the police woman looked at the creature.

“Gumshoos, you… stay here and watch over her, got it? But don’t get close, we don’t want to scare her”, ordered Officer Jenny.

Gumshoos let out a small growl before Officer Jenny left, closing the door behind her. Selene was still surprised, but could hear their footsteps before close. Since her bed was next to the wall, she put her ear on it, trying to hear something.

“I mean, it’s basic knowledge. Can she forget that?”, asked Professor Kukui.

“There are still a lot of mysteries around amnesia, and in some circumstances, it can make you lose basic knowledge”, explained the doctor. “It’s a matter of helping her remember. And additionally, about that thing…”

“I think it’s better to let her be. She has a lot to process now”, interrupted Professor Kukui. “What about you?”

“Right, the results!”, exclaimed Officer Jenny. A brief silence happened, and then: “No… It’s impossible!”

Officer Jenny seemed surprised at something, but after that, the group talked even lower, making it impossible for Selene to hear anything else. She sat on the bed again and sighed. She didn’t understand how that could be a problem. Was it really something so basic? Then, she looked at Gumshoos again, who had remained still and silent the whole time. Now that her initial shock was gone, she wasn’t sure how to feel about it. She was still scared, but on the other hand, the girl thought it looked kinda like a big plush… with a weird face. Gumshoos turned its head slightly, like looking at her, but Selene wasn’t sure if it had actually seen her, his eyes didn’t open at all. The girl gulped.

“Are you gonna bite me?”, asked Selene nervously.

To her surprise, Gumshoos shocked its head side to side, rejecting the idea. Even though she made that question, Selene didn’t expect an answer, or even that the creature could understand her that easily. Both of them remained silent for a moment, without moving at all. Slowly, Selene extended her hand, as if offering it to the creature to smell it.

“Co… come here”, ordered Selene.

Once again, Gumshoos negated with its head. It didn’t matter how much Selene insisted, the Pokémon wouldn’t move from its position. The girl expected to catch his attention. In her head, that would have been the normal behavior for a pet, and that seemed to be some kind of pet. But then, she remembered the conversation with Officer Jenny, how she told Gumshoos not to approach her at all. She didn’t pay that much attention at first. However, now she knew that the Pokémon could understand things. That realization made her nervous, slowly lowering her arm.

“Is it… Is it because what Officer Jenny said?”, asked Selene with worried voice. “About you scaring me…”

Gumshoos growled and nodded slightly. Selene looked down, her expression full of sadness. That creature wasn’t just intelligent, it was considerate enough to try not to scare her. Even if her initial reaction was natural, the girl felt bad. It was unfair that she raised her voice to such kind monster, as if it was something dangerous, when the truth was far from that.

“I’m… I’m sorry”, apologized Selene with sad voice. “I’m sorry for reacting like that before. It’s just… everything’s so… confusing. I don’t know where I am or what happened, and then you appeared… I didn’t mean to offend you, really. Look, I promise I won’t be scared again. Can… Do you mind coming here… so I can touch you?”

Gumshoos looked a bit down and growled again. Somehow, the girl thought it had the appearance of an old man complaining at young people. And just like an old man complaining at young people, the Pokémon obliged, walking towards Selene, its short legs making it bounce comically, until it reached the side of the bed. The girl gulped. She was nervous, but it wasn’t caused by fear. Taking a closer look at Gumshoos, she felt excited as she looked closer at the fur and the big teeth. Selene approached her head slowly to its head and patted it. It was a strange sensation, its fur being a bit rougher than expected, but still, it was a comfortable feeling. Selene smiled.

“It feels nice”, said Selene while giggling. “Is it OK if I caress you?”

A small growl was all Gumshoos let out, but since it didn’t seem against the idea, Selene proceeded to caress its head gently. It felt easier to follow the way its fur fell back. The girl kept caressing the Pokémon for a while, but then, Officer Jenny and Professor Kukui entered the room and stared at Selene and Gumshoos. The girl was surprised, she had forgotten about them for a moment. The police woman seemed worried.

“We’re sorry for leaving… Gumshoos, what are you doing?”, asked Officer Jenny, scolding the Pokémon a bit.

“No, wait!”, interrupted Selene. “It’s not its fault! I asked it to come here. I just… wanted to pet it a bit. I’m sorry.”

Officer Jenny and Professor Kukui were surprised by Selene’s answer. While the agent didn’t know what to say, the professor smiled and stepped forward.

“So, are you still scared about Pokémon?”, asked Professor Kukui with a smile.

“I… I’m not sure. I still don’t know what Gumshoos is… But it seems nice”, said Selene shyly.

“Well, there’s no rush. There will be time for you to increase your Adaptability towards Pokémon”, added Professor Kukui happily.