//------------------------------//
// I'm a...… Pokémon?!?!? 
// Story: Pokémon/Digimon Mystery Dungeon: The Adventure Begins 
// by StormPhoenix246 
//------------------------------//

All was calm within the magical forest that looked like it came out of a children's story. The sun was shining, birds were singing, frogs were croaking, rabbits were hopping, and everything was peaceful from up above in the sky and down below in the ground.

That all changed after sounds of running could be heard from within the forest. All the animals were trying to locate where those sounds were coming from, but could not locate them. As the sounds began to get louder, they were becoming more clear to visualize what they were. They sounded like someone or something was running very fast from something else that reverberated with large steps. Before the animals could continue to search for these unknown sounds, some of them were knocked off of their spots on trees or spots on the ground by a fast-moving object. And not far behind this speedster is another, large object that knocked away all trees, logs, and stones out of its way.

The smallest of the two unknown objects continued to run through the forest, dodging all the projectiles that were being thrown by its pursuer. Amongst the shadows of the forest, the fast object's characteristics make it out as a colt with a cream-colored body. While a smaller object would be way faster than a larger object, the smaller of the two could be seen carrying two smaller objects on its back and another object in its mane.

After much running and dodging the large object's pursuits, the colt made it out of the forest and into the sunlight. The colt and its passengers had hoped there was a clear escape for them at the end of this path, but their hopes were quickly shattered. In front of them was a small patch of land with very few patches of grass that ended with a steep cliff, with a narrow slope at the end of it. The colt came to an abrupt stop, kicking up a large dust cloud to keep itself and its passengers from plummeting off the side of a cliff. As the colt was inching closer and closer to the edge of the cliff until it finally stopped moving just at the edge with a large dust cloud surrounding it.

Once the dust cloud was beginning to subside, the colt's features were coming into view. It was a quadrupedal, colt with a cream-colored body. It had a short, rounded snout with large nostrils and blue eyes. It had a large, feathery red mane, long, dark blue, ridged eyebrow-like protrusions, and a single cream-colored horn that curves slightly. The back of its head, as well as its neck, was covered with fluffy, light blue fur. It had blue hooves, and its tail was light blue with white spots and resembled an elaborate feather in a cap. 

With no way forward, the young colt searched for another path to escape his pursuer, but there was no way out of this situation unless he suddenly grew wings. Without a chance to think of a plan, the young colt's pursuer finally caught up to him, and from the look on its face, it was clearly angry. This being, more accurately creature, was large with brown fur; a large, red mane; from around its head, protruded four horns out of its head; razor-sharp teeth adorned its mouth; large, red, bat wings flared from its back; and a scaly, scorpion rose from its backside. There was a word for the kind of creature that this was: a Manticore.





This large beast, appearing to be twice the size of this young colt, roared at him in order to instill even more fear than it already was. While the colt was trying to remain calm at the sheer presence of this menacing creature, the three figures on the colt's back and mane were trembling at the mere sight of it. He looked back and saw the small white unicorn with the purple and pink mane and the yellow pony with a red mane and the big red bow was shaking in the crook of his neck. And atop his mane, a yellow rodent with a heart-shaped tail was hiding within his mane, so she doesn't have to look at the beast. With the approaching beast in front of him and a deep cliff behind him, the colt knew of only one option out of this situation.

He reaches towards his back and grabs the small unicorn with his mouth and places her on the ground. After that, he did the same to the other small pony, then he dipped his head and the yellow mouse rolled off of his head. Once all three of them were off of his body, the colt moved them safely behind him in a protective manner. "Stay right here." The young colt said without taking his eyes away from the mythological beast.

The colt began to slowly approach the beast with confidence in its eyes, surprising both the small creatures behind him and the large creature in front of him. No average pony would be brave enough to approach a beast that could tear them to shreds in a matter of seconds. This is simply because this wasn't an average pony because behind this colt's brave face is actually the spirit of a human being. How could a human find themselves in a situation like this? That is a story that begins a few days ago.





3 Days Ago

An average day began just like any other day, which usually started getting up in the morning, having breakfast, taking a shower, receiving assignments from his employer to work on from home, hanging out with his friends, making dinner, going to bed, and everything would start over the next day. It wasn’t a perfect life, but this was the life of Tom Williams.

Tom is 19 years old, has short brown hair, his eyes bright green, and a height of 6'1. His parents is long gone. The two of them may be gone, but they left behind the values they taught Tom when he was young. Those values are what have made him the man he is today. 

Now, on a Saturday morning, Tom is in the living room of his apartment, working on the code for his company’s website as he does every once in a while. And near the island in the kitchen, his roommate, Max is brushing his teeth over the sink, while he getting ready for his job in Nebraska’s local casino. The two of them have been friends since elementary school, and have had each other’s backs, even when the two of them don’t see eye to eye.

“I’m telling you, Tom. The thing about people disappearing is a reading thing.” Max says after he spits his backwash into the sink, then gargles some mouthwash.

Tom was hard at work on his computer but still answers without looking up. “And I’m telling you, Max, that all of those stories you hear are you that: stories. No one’s disappearing just by buying some items at a convention.” He said just as he finished another line.

“No, man. I hear people talking about it all the time at the casino. Some people say they actually see cosplayers disappear at booths after they buy something.” Max says before he rinses his spit out of the sink and heads toward his room to grab his uniform.

As much as Tom believes that Max is telling the truth about these rumors, he thinks those rumors are coming from no reliable sources. Most of the people these rumors come from are people down on their luck playing various games in the casino. These people are usually drunk from all their losses and will occasionally spout nonsense, like these disappearing rumors.

“Just don’t take any of those stories seriously. I heard some people looking into those rumors and end up in worse situations than disappearing.” Tom responds with concern in the tone of his voice. 

Max exits the door to his bedroom, dressed in his work uniform. “Don’t worry, Tom. I’m not like those guys looking for trouble wherever I find it.” He says, fixing his bow tie in the mirror. 

Tom held back the urge to laugh at that comment. When the two of them were kids, Max would always get himself into trouble without even trying. Even when he was just walking down the street, he’d find himself running from a pack of dogs. After middle school, he grew out of this habit, but every once and a while, he’d find himself in more situations.

Once Tom got the last line of code typed and tested his program, he uploaded it to his company's site and turned off his laptop. When he closed his computer, he looked up and saw Max finished tying his bow tie and grabbing his keys out of the bowl.

“Well, whether the rumors are real or not, it’s still a fun story to hear once and a while.” He said as he was heading toward the front door.

“Yeah, well, don’t go disappearing on me,” Tom said while looking for the remote to the Samsung television.

“You do the same.” And with that being said, Max left the apartment out the door.

With Max gone and no more work today, Tom uses this chance to put his feet up and watch television. He turns on Netflix and continues his where he left off on Pokémon Journeys. The show may be for kids, but it’s a classic show he’s watched since he was 6 and it reminds him of some of his best memories. And no matter how old he gets, he will always love this show.

Before he could start his show, there was a quick know at the door. This made Tom sigh out of his mouth. ‘Max probably forgot his wallet again.’ He thought to himself. He go up from the couch and made it to the front door. Once he opened the door, the person turned out to be a mailwoman.

She was definitely a woman after getting a look at her figure, but not in a creepy way. The only problem was that her hat was obscuring her face from the young man’s view. He can; however, see short pink hair coming from her hat.

“Are you Tom Williams?” She says, not even looking up from her clipboard.

“Yes. I am.” He said, confused by this surprise visit.

“Package delivery for you.” She says, pointing to a large package right behind her legs under a dolly.

This took him by surprise. Tom doesn’t recall ever ordering a package lately. It could be Max’s package, but then the mailwoman would’ve asked for his name and not Tom’s. 

“I’m sorry. You must have the wrong apartment. I have not ordered a pack-“ Tom tried explaining but was interrupted by the mailwoman.

“Can you please sign for this, sir? I have a lot more deliveries to make today.” She says while tapping her pen on her clipping, signifying she losing patience.

Without no much choice to make, Tom signs for this unknown package. After signing his name, the package was wheeled in on the dolly and dropped in the middle of the room. Once the box dropped, the mailwoman took left the room and stopped at the door.

“Have a nice day, sir.” She says while giving a toothy grin before turning and leaving.

After she left, Tom closed and locked the door before turning to the mystery package in his living room. There wasn’t a return address on the box, so they were not any form of identification. Who could have sent him the package? Could it have been a gift from one of his friends? Or maybe it was a prize from a contest he entered and just forgot about. It could be anything, so with that thought in mind there’s only one choice: open it. He goes into the kitchen and takes out a knife. He cuts through the tape around the edges of the box, and after a few minutes, the last seal was sliced. Once, he grabbed the edges of the box and lifted them open, Tom saw what was inside.

Inside the large box was an assortment of Pokemon figurines. Some of them were starters from Gen 1 to Gen 8 while the others were various species of Pokemon. There were even figures of Ash Ketchum’s teams, Team Rocket’s past catches, and a figurine of the mystical Pokemon, Keldeo.

“Why would anyone send me these?” Tom wondered while inspecting every figure. While they were nice, he couldn’t figure out who in his would send all of these for him.

Outside of his apartment, the mailwoman was standing outside, looking up at Tom’s apartment building. She was smiling with a toothy grin before removing her hat. Atop her head were small stubs in her hair that resembled ears. The wind blew her hair out of her face, showing her blue eye. Before anyone could see, she disappeared in a blue light.

The rest of the day was pretty boring. Tom spent the rest of the day eating while watching Pokémon Journeys and Ultimate Journeys. When it was dinner time, he micro leaves some leftovers from the previous night. Once Max came home, he joined had dinner, and asked about figures. Tom had hoped Max ordered them but was surprised that they weren’t from him, leaving the mystery yet to be solved.

When nighttime hit, Tom and Max hit the hay, so they can prepare for the next day. While Max was fast asleep, Tom had trouble sleeping. He couldn’t stop thinking about who sent him those figurines. His mind thought back to those rumors, but then laughed that off as nonsense. He closed his eyes and decided to worry about it tomorrow.

When he closed his eyes, the figures in the living room began to glow one by one. Once they were all glowing, they began to disappear. And once they all disappeared, a familiar light began to shine on Tom. The light began to shine brighter and brighter before he was gone.





Tom’s eyes were slowly beginning to open after feeling himself move. When his eyes scanned the area, he just closed them as if nothing was wrong. Until he opened with shock after really at where he was right now. Everything around him was nothing but a dark void. For as far as he could see was just an endless from his left to his right. Below him is solid ground that he seems to be standing on with translucent legs. That’s right. Every part of his body was covered in this translucent darkness with only his eyes and hands still solid.





At first, Tom thought this was just one of his dreams, but this seemed too real to be a dream. He would’ve pinched himself to know he was dreaming, but his hand just phased through his cheek. So, if this wasn’t a dream, then he needs to know where he is and why he’s here.

Before he knew it, a bright appeared right in front of him. He covered his eyes the best he could with his translucent body parts. Once the died, he uncovered his eyes to see what appeared. If he still had his mouth, it would have dropped.

What appeared was a white equine resembling a qilin or centaur with a gray, vertically-striated underside. The striated pattern has similar recurrences on the underside of its mane, tail, and face. Its four pointed feet are tipped with gold hooves. Its long mane juts away from its head, and its face is gray, with green eyes and red pupils, and a green circular pattern below its eyes. It also had a streak of gold coloration on its head, and ears that point upward. Its neck was fairly long, with two pairs of extrusions to the sides, and a flap-like feature on the neck's underside that is colored white like much of the body. It also has a golden cross-like wheel attached to its body by its round abdomen, which also has four jewels attached to it. 

And atop the centaur was a pink, bipedal with mammalian features. It had a rounded, wide snout; triangular ears; and large, blue eyes. It had short arms with three-fingered paws and large hind paws with oval markings on the soles. Its tail was long and thin with an ovoid tip. 





The two in front of the young man were Arceus, the God of Pokémon, and Mew, the Progenitor of all Pokémon. Two one-of-a-kind Pokémon floating in front of him were amazing, whether this was a dream or not.

While Arceus continued to stare down at Tom with its emotionless eyes, Mew just teleported out of sight. This caught the man off guard. When he searched for the mythical Pokémon, it teleported right in front of his face. This scared him and made him fall on where his butt would be. Mew just laughed in its signature laugh that’s been heard since the first movie.

When Tom tried to collect himself, he tried to talk but forgot his mouth was just a ghost. He was freaking out so much that he didn’t notice Arceus’s eyes were glowing. And, in a flash, the green darkness around his mouth was replaced with his lips. Tom was shocked by this sudden change, and he quickly moved his eyes toward the giant Pokemon.

“My apologies for Mew. She can be a little too carefree at times.” Arceus said as its voice echoed through the void.

“You’re just a sourpuss, Arceus. There’s nothing wrong with having a little fun.” Mew said with a more feminine voice. Her voice sounded so familiar to the human when his mind placed it.

“Wait… that voice. You’re that mailwoman that sent the package.” Tom declared while pointing his finger at the floating creature.

“Yep. You got it.” Mew said with joy in her voice before her body began to shine. Once the light died it, Mew’s body was replaced with the mailwoman from earlier today. She struck a pose when she landed on her feet.

“Why would send me those figures? Why would you bring me here?” Tom asked, more confused than he’s been his whole life.

“Because it we need your help and it was easier than appearing in your home,” Mew said before turning back into regular form.

“What do you need my help with?” Tom asked.

It was finally Arceus’s turn to speak. “This is a great force pulling our kind to another world, and we need your help to protect them.” Arceus boldly said.

“But, aren’t you the god of all Pokémon? Can’t you stop this from happening? Why do you need my help?” Tom curiously asked.

“Even we have our limits. The force pulling Pokémon into that world is too strong for us to stop. When need someone to protect them from the encroaching darkness that has yet to come?” Mew said while flying around before landing on the top of Tom’s head.

“You still haven’t said why you want me to do this. How can I help every Pokémon?” Tom wondered.

“Tom Williams. You have been chosen because you are a kind, human being that truly cares for others and not yourself.” Arceus boldly explained the qualifications Tom has for this mission.

“There are a few other things, but we’ll keep them to ourselves for now,” Mew said while giggling after finishing her sentence.

“What if I’m not good enough for this mission? What if I make things worse? What if I fail?” Tom said, listing all the ways he was wrong for the job.

“What if there are no what-ifs? You cannot be so scared of failure that you will not attempt the unknown.” Arceus said, encouraging the man.

“And if you don’t want the mission, then you don’t have to take it.” Mew plainly said while laying on its back.

This news surprised Tom. The two of them have been talking about how he’ll be taking on this mission, but now he learns that he has the choice of whether to take it.

“So I have a choice in this?” Tom asked, considering saying no to this mission.

“Of course, you have a choice. However, you’ll have to understand the risks of declining this mission.” Arceus explained with a hint of warning in his voice.

“What kind of risks?” Tom asked was a hint of concern in the back of the host's voice.

Mew floated on Tom’s head and faced him. “Well, you’d forget this conversation ever happened and you’ll go back to your regular life.”

“How is that a risk? It seems to say no what be my best option.” Tom said, sounding as if he’s already made his decision. 

The looks on both Arceus and Mew’s faces look like they didn’t like his answer. “It’s not you who will be taking the risk,” Mew said with no ounce of joy in her voice.

“Huh?” Tom wondered what she meant by that.

“If you say refuse this mission, then we must search for another champion to take on this task. This search may take a long time, and many lives could be endangered while we search for a willing volunteer.” Arceus said with a grim tone in his voice at the very thought of his species in danger.

The thought of lives being lost because Tom wasn’t brave enough to take on this assignment made him feel worse. If his parents were here, would they take on this job or decline and stay with him? Knowing who they were and how they raised him, Tom knew what their answer would be.

“What would happen if I chose to take on this mission?” Tom declared with a look of courage in his eyes. Arceus and Mew saw this look in his eyes and it brought of hope.

“If you were to take this mission, then everyone you’ve ever met would forget everything about you. It would be like you never existed.” Mew said while floating around him.

“That way, if anything ever happens, none of your friends or family will have to worry. No matter what happens, this choice is up to you.” Arceus said, leaving the final choice to Tom. 

Never would have Tom believed that he be given an opportunity like this. A job like this is something that may come once in a lifetime. If you were to say no, then he would regret it for the rest of his life, even if he does forget it. As dangerous as this mission sounds, there’s something inside him that is saying that he should do this. After thinking hard about this, Tom has made his decision.

“I accept the mission.” Tom proudly said as he stood before the two creatures.

Mew was happy with his answer that teleported to Tom’s side and nuzzled against his face. Arceus did not have a mouth, but the look in his eyes say that he liked the human’s answer.

“You’ve made a wise decision,” Arceus said with a joyful tone in his voice.

“Thank you. Now, how am I supposed to fight against this darkness.” Tom wondered while Mew is still nuzzling her face against his.

Arceus didn’t say anything and instead, allowed his it’s crystals to glow. A soft light appeared around the young man, and once it subsided, Pokemon from Gen 1 (Bulbasaur, Charmander,  Squirtle, Pikachu, Eevee, Psyduck, Meowth, Cubone, Machop, Vulpix, Growlithe, Pidgey, Ratata, Dratini, Horsea, Ponyta, Poliwhag), Gen 2 ( Chikarita, Cyndaquil, Totodile, Tyrouge, Phanphy, Mareep, Larvitar, Togepi, Sentret, Magby, Elekid, Gligar, Teddiursa, Swinub, Sneaseal, Murkrow, and Houndour),  Gen 3 (Treeko, Torchic, Mudkip, Shroomish, Zigzagoon, Skitty, Mightyena, Bagon, Ralts, Trapinch, Wurmple, Bagon, Electivire, Anorith, Tailow, Swablu, Azurill), Gen 4 (Turtwig, Chimchar, Piplup, Shinx, Riolu, Starly, Pachirisu, Gible, Cranidos, Shieldon, and Croagunk.), Gen 5 ( Snivy, Tepig, Oshawott, Lillipup, Pidove, Timburr, Purrloin, Zorua, Deino, Axew, Petilil, Blitzle, Emolga, and Cottonee.), Gen 6 (Chespin, Fennekin, Froakie, Litleo, Fletchling, Dedenne, Goomy, Pancham, Tyrunt, Amaura, and Scatterbug) Gen 7 (Rowlett, Litten, Popplio, Pikipek, Rockruff, Meowth (Alola Form), Ratata (Alola Form), Jangmo-o, Vulpix (Alola Form), and Togedemaru.) and Gen 8  (Grookey, Scorbunny, Sobble, Rookidee, Yamper, Meowth (Galarian Form), Growlithe (Hisuian Form), Ponyta (Galarian Form), Zigzagoon (Galar Form), Morpeko, Dreepy, and Zorua (Hisuian Form)) appeared around him. 

These were not just any Pokémon, these were the Pokémon figures that came in the mail. Even theKeldeo was amongst these groups of varying species.

Before a word could escape his mouth, another bright light appeared before him. This was an even brighter force of light than before. When this light subsided what appeared this time was Ash Ketchum's Pokemon from the Kanto region to the recent Galar region. Followed by Team Rocket’s Pokemon teams, past and present. It ended with multiple digimon (Agumon, Gabumon, Biyomon, Tentomon, Palmon, Gomamon, Patamon, Salamon, Veemon, Hawkmon, Armodillomon, Terriormon, Impmon, Gaomon, Falcomon, Kamemon, Coronamon, Lunamon, Floramon), which appeared in their Rookie levels.

"After combing through your mind, I have found that you have strong feelings towards each of these Pokemon and Digimon. This is why they were chosen for you and sent in the package. Now, you must choose amongst each of them to become in order to survive in this other world. And choose wisely."

Tom didn’t know what to say right now. It’s like he’s in a real-life version of Pokémon Mystery Dungeon when the player chooses their starter Pokémon, only this time it isn’t a personality quiz, and it was with digimon. 

He walked up to every Pokémon and Digimon, inspecting everything about them: their appearances, their moves, their abilities, and their qualities. If he was going to enter another world with new dangers ahead, then he’ll need to choose the best. After making his final decision, he walked up to Arceus confident look on his face.

“I’ve made my choice,” Tom said with a confident tone in his voice.

“And which have you chosen?” Arceus asked, wondering about his choice.

“I’ve chosen all of them,” Tom said, spreading his arms to emphasize his choice.

This choice made Arceus widen his eyes and Mew began to giggle when he the choice he made.

“Tom, you are aware that you must choose only one of them, correct?” Arceus asked, wondering if Tom knew the rules.

“No. You said that I have to choose amongst these Pokémon and Digimon. And amongst them, I’ve chosen all of them.” Tom explained.

Arceus was still not convinced of this, so Tom continued, “Arceus. You say that I will have to face a number of problems in this new world. So, I’ll need every advantage I can get if I hope to survive what’s coming.” 

Everything he was saying made sense to Arceus. If he’s going to face many enemies then he’ll need every opportunity to stand a chance against them. For the first time since this conversation started, Arceus started to laugh.

“You are a smart young man. We were wise to choose you for the mission. Very well. Your choice is granted.” Arceus said while still chuckling.

The crystals on Arceus began to glow just as the void was changed into a brighter hue. All of the Pokémon and Digimon behind Tom disappeared into a collective light before they converged and draw into his body. The green dark void was soon replaced with a rainbow color. Even the green darkness around Tim’s body was replaced with this prism hue. 

“While in this world, we will stay in contact with you in case you ever need help,” Arceus said before a light appeared before Tim and what followed was an Arceus-styled phone.





“You’ll also need a carrying bag for all of your food and accessories,” Mew said before flying around and a bag appearing behind her.





Tom took the treasure bag placed over his shoulder and the Arceus phone was put into one of the outer pockets of the bag. No matter how crazy this is happening, he can’t believe it’s happening to him.

“Now, how am I supposed to get-“ Tom asked before something pushed him forward and he fell down a hole that appeared in the void.

Right where Tom was standing, Mew was floating there with her left foot sticking out in a kicking position. 

“Was that necessary, Mew?” Arceus asked while looking down at his pink trickster.

“Probably not, but it sure was fun,” Mew said before laughing and teleporting away. Arceus's only response was a shake of his head.





The sun is in the sky shinned, while only radiating a few patches land in the forest down below. In this dense forest, the rest of the forest was covered shadows with various rays of sunlight poking through the trees. Various animals running or flying across the forest, enjoying the beautiful day, except for one.

“Hey. Are you okay? Hey. Wake up!” A voice spoke, coming from a small figure next to the unmoving object.

This voice kept trying to wake up the lone figure on the ground with no positive results. Another minute went by until the object on the ground started moving after hearing the unknown voice.

The unnamed figure gasped in success. They said, “You’re awake.”

The voice’s recipient, now determined to be female, was overjoyed that the person on the ground was okay. Once they opened both of them, they rubbed them in order to wake themselves up. After they removed their small, stubby hands, they looked at the small figure right before them.






Then, with no chance to respond, the awake person jerked up and head-butted the other right in the forehead.





That headbutt was all that previously sleeping person needed to wake themselves up fully. They were able to take a look around them and see if they were okay. When they took a look at their body, say a small body with light blue fur and a pale yellow seashell on their belly. Their arms were white and rounded, while their feet are dark blue with three toes each. They felt around their face and could tell their head was round and soft.

A noise of discomfort tore the figure away from their confusion. They looked toward the sound and saw something that widened their eyes. It was a small, chubby, yellow rodent. It had a small mouth, long, pointed ears with black tips, and brown eyes. Each cheek was a red circle and it had short forearms with five fingers on each paw, and its feet each have three toes. At the base of its heart-shaped tail is a patch of brown fur. And it was clear from this female’s eyes that she was crying.





With that piece of information, the confused figure now knew what was happening. The injured female was a Pikachu and the other figure was an Oshawott. Only this wasn’t an ordinary Oshawott, for behind its face was, in reality, Tom Williams.

‘I’ve been turned into a…….  Pokemon?!?!?!’