“Ugh… my head…” Sunset Shimmer muttered, trying to get back to her senses. “Feels like I got hit by a truck…” She reached a hand up to her face, rubbing the drowsiness out of her cyan eyes. Opening them, she found herself slumped over in an alleyway, albeit a very clean and very well maintained one. “Just where am I?” She asked aloud, hoping one of her friends was nearby. She sat up, when a lump of fluff fell off her head and onto her lap.
It squealed, huddled face down. It was a lump of gray fur, shaking and shivering, obviously cold. It kind of resembled a cat, and Sunset stroked its back, attempting to comfort the poor feline. “You alright, little one? What were you doing in my hair?” She picked up the animal, and dropped it immediately when it looked at her with large, imposing eyes. Sunset scrambled away from it, shocked mostly by its otherworldly appearance.
“Purr?” It squeaked out, getting to its feet. It stood up on two little paws, the upper limbs acting as arms. Its body was covered in a layer of gray fur, and its eyes were large, purple disks that stared at Sunset, blinking occasionally. It had two ears that were firmly clamped against its head, but that didn’t seem to bother it. It hobbled over to Sunset, who didn’t back away. “Es?”
“Just… what are you, little guy?” She asked, reaching out a hand to pet the creature. To her surprise, it seemed to enjoy the contact, relishing the feeling. Sunset smiled, and stroked its soft fur some more, until the creature hopped up into her fiery red hair. “Hey! Get down from there!” The little creature shook its head. “You’re just going to stay there, even if I try to grab you, huh?”
“Espurr!” The little one cried out.
“I’ll take that as a yes.” Sunset replied. Sighing in defeat, she stood up, the creature poking its head out from on top. She found only one road out of the alleyway she was in, so it was obviously her choice for travel. The beige walls to her sides seemed to lead on forever, and branching pathways led to even more dead ends. Eventually, Sunset stumbled out of the alleys, and found herself in a larger courtyard. The courtyard had a pillar of a ruby-colored material, a spire pointed towards the sky. A hanging sign nearby said, ‘Rouge Plaza.’ Sunset walked around the plaza, spotting a pair of teenagers talking to each other.
The teens had pale tan skin, and were dressed in rollerblading gear. The boy had green pads, while the girl had yellow ones. At their feet were a pair of creatures Sunset had never seen before – one resembled a green snake with arms and legs, while the other looked like an otter with blue fur and a seashell on its stomach. The creatures were chatting aimlessly, just as the humans were. Sunset approached them with a smile on her face, and the odd cat-like creature perched on her head. “Hello,” She started. “I’m afraid I’ve gotten rather lost. Could you tell me where I am?”
“No problem, miss,” The boy replied. “You’re in Rouge Plaza. It’s in the northern sector of Lumiose City, so I’m not surprised someone’s lost. Is it your first time here?” Sunset was confused by the names. There’s no place called Lumiose City that she’s ever heard of. Trying not to show how confused she was, she nodded her head. “In that case, why not head on over to Professor Sycamore’s research lab? He’s always willing to help out others. Just head down that alley there, and follow the edge of the city until you see a large, brown building with marble columns. Can’t miss it.”
“Thanks!” Sunset said, before walking down the chosen path. She glanced up to the hidden creature as she left their earshot. “What are they talking about? Maybe I should have asked them if they knew where Canterlot was…” She walked out into the main street of Lumiose, cars driving to their destinations along the large, curved road. As she walked, she saw more and more people accompanied by more strange animals. “Maybe it’s good I ran into you,” She said to the creature on her head. “I probably don’t look too out of place with you there.”
“Purr!” The creature replied, before pointing its small hand out to Sunset’s left. She saw a large, tan building with stone orbs flanking the front gate. The plaque on the wall outside the gate said, ‘Sycamore Residence.’
“Well, that couldn’t be more obvious.” Sunset said, and walked up to the building. A sign on the front porch said that the lab was open to the public, so Sunset let herself in. The interior was nice and cool, with plush blue carpet lining the floor. To her right was a small area with seating, and a few bookshelves around. Straight ahead was what looked like an elevator, and to her right was a reception desk. Sunset walked up to the desk, and greeted the representative there. “Hello, I was wondering if there was a ‘Professor Sycamore’ here? Or maybe he’s out?”
“No, he’s in his lab, it’s up on the third floor. He wasn’t expecting any visitors today, though. If you’d like, I’ll take your name and go inform him that you’re here.” Sunset gave her name, and the receptionist nodded, grabbing a stack of papers and heading for the elevator. “Have a seat in the waiting room, Sunset. I’ll be back down shortly.” The flame-haired girl thanked the receptionist, and sat down. Out of curiosity, she picked up a nearby magazine.
“Let’s see here… ‘New Champion defeats Diantha in title match, with the aid of her beloved Pokémon.’ What’s a Pokémon? Is it a weapon or something?” She muttered. The more she read, the more confused she became. “’Our new champion says she couldn’t have done this task without her friends by her side.’ Well, that’s cool, I guess.” Sunset flipped a few pages forward, getting to a new article. “Huh. ‘Lumiose’s own Professor Sycamore publishes research paper and notes on new Mega Stones unearthed in Hoenn. Speculation on their corresponding Pokémon continues.’ There’s that word again… What exactly is a Pokémon?”
The creature on her head poked her ear. “Espurr!” It said, pointing to itself.
“You’re a Pokémon?” Sunset asked. The feline nodded and repeated the same word it said before. “Well, that clears things up a bit. Maybe they just call the animals near here Pokémon? The thing next to that girl in the picture doesn’t look like you, at any rate.” Next to the blonde-haired girl in question was a larger ‘Pokémon,’ this one being taller than her and resembling a bipedal fox with a flaming stick in its paw. Before she could read any more of the paper, the elevator door opened, revealing the receptionist from before.
“Professor Sycamore seems more than happy to see you. Go on up, he’s in his office on the third floor.” Sunset offered her thanks, and walked into the elevator. Several buttons lined the right hand panel, ranging from ‘1 – ground floor,’ ‘3 – research office,’ or ‘5 – personal residence.’ The last one had a keyhole next to it, obviously meant so that visitors couldn’t get to the professor’s living quarters. She tentatively pushed the third button, and the doors closed without a sound.
“Hopefully he’s welcome to random teenagers asking him for help in finding out where on Earth they are.” Sunset said to mostly herself, though it was also aimed at the Pokémon in her hair. It simply purred once more, and the elevator doors opened with a ‘ding’ sound. The only rider stepped out, walking into a room full of pictures of the same man in different locations. In each, he was with a variety of different creatures, or people with those creatures. “Hello? Professor Sycamore?”
A head popped out from behind a desk in a corner of the room. “Ah, you must be Sunset Shimmer. Come in, have a seat!” He gestured to the chair opposite his desk, as he took residence of the larger chair behind it. The man had long, black hair and wore a white lab coat over a blue dress shirt. The man placed several items on his desk, most notably a sort of sphere that was red on the top and white on the bottom. There were three of them, all neatly placed in the center. “Trés Bien! I heard you were rather lost. Well, don’t worry too much about it; most new trainers can be a little intimidated by Lumiose’s size.”
“Trainer?” Sunset asked. “Sorry, but I’m just a normal high school girl, who’s just trying to find her way home. Have you heard of a town called Canterlot?” Sycamore looked at her curiously, before laughing. “I’m sorry, did I say a joke, or…”
“Non, non, it’s just a nervous habit of mine.” Sycamore sat up, thinking. “Hmm… no, ‘Canterlot’ doesn’t ring any bells… could you tell me what region you’re from? Maybe that could help me out.”
Sunset thought for a second, believing his mention of ‘region’ to mean ‘country.’ “Well, Canterlot’s a large city in the United States. Is that what you meant?”
Sycamore knit his brow together. “Sunset, I’ve been almost everywhere on this planet. There’s no such place as the United States Region.” He looked at her, the Pokémon in Sunset’s hair cowering under the flaming locks. “Are you messing with me, or are you telling the truth?”
Sunset gulped. “T-The truth, sir.” Sycamore got up, and walked over to his bookshelf. “Um, sir, is anything wrong?”
“I do not know if you truly are telling the truth, Sunset.” The professor said. He grabbed a rather large tome, and placed it on the desk. “But, for some reason, I am inclined to believe you. My gut’s never really steered me wrong, so I’ll carry the notion for a little bit.” He pondered a question, before asking, “Sunset, do you know what Pokémon are?”
She pointed to the creature on her head. “Uhh… this is a Pokémon, right? I read about them in a magazine downstairs.”
“Just as I thought…” Sycamore said, sure in his hypothesis so far. “Sunset, before you walked into my building, did you have any idea what Pokémon are?” She shook her head. “Just as I thought.” He placed his hands on his desk, looking seriously at Sunset. “I have reason to believe you are not from our world entirely, Sunset.”
“W-Wait, what? Just because I don’t know what Pokémon are?”
“Exactly.” Sycamore said. “As I said before, I’ve been all over this world. And Pokémon are present everywhere on it, always have. Everyone knows what Pokémon are; they’re a part of our daily lives all around the globe. For you to not have known what they are, especially after one riding upon your head…”
Sunset fell back in the chair, stunned. “I’m… I’m in another world?”
Sycamore hit a button on the telephone on his desk. “Miranda, please hold my appointments for the day.” He said into the speaker. “I think Sunset here is going to need more than just a little of my attention right now.”