The town was bigger than I'd expected from a distance, but I barely registered any of it as I half-jogged down the main street. Buildings were scattered about in no particular structure. A few people were going about their morning business, and the smell of something baking made my stomach grumble. I could eat later, I had tasks to complete.

  The bear trap easily weighed fifty pounds. The fact that the trap hadn't snapped closed and severed the limb completely goes to show how durable Pokémon are. I could hear the muffled rattle of the chain with each step, and the metal teeth were still stained with blood. A few people gave me strange looks as I passed, their conversations dying mid-sentence when they saw what I was carrying. One woman actually stepped back, pulling her small child closer to her side.

  Yeah, I probably looked like a psychopath carrying a bloody bear trap through the middle of town. Great first impression, Lazarus. This definitely won't bite you in the ass later. I'll deal with that later if necessary.

  The Pokémon Center's automatic doors slid open with that familiar whoosh from the games. I was immediately hit with the clean, antiseptic smell mixed with something vaguely flowery. The interior was exactly what was depicted in the games. The interior wasn't important though, the presence of the restoration machine definitely lifted a weight off my mind.

  Nurse Joy looked up from her computer screen as I approached. Her smile was warm and professional, the same expression I'd seen countless times in the anime.

  "Good morning! How can I help you today?" Her eyes dropped to the trap, and her smile faltered slightly. "Oh my... what happened?"

  "I found a Pokémon caught in this," I said, setting the trap down on the counter with a metallic clank that echoed through the suddenly quiet lobby. "A Mightyena. It was badly injured, so I caught it to get it here for treatment."

  I pulled out the Pokéball, placing it on the counter next to the trap. Joy's expression shifted from concern to something I couldn't quite read as she picked up the ball.

  "You... you should have brought this to Officer Jenny first," she said, her voice taking on a slightly strained quality. "The proper procedure is to file a report about the trap, then bring the injured Pokémon for treatment. But..." she looked at the blood on the metal teeth, "I suppose if your Pokémon was hurt, procedure might slip your mind."

  The way she said 'your Pokémon' made something twist in my gut. There was a weight to those words I didn't like.

  "It's not technically mine," I started, but Joy was already moving toward the healing machine.

  "Let's see what we're dealing with first," she said, placing the ball into one of the machine's slots. I could hear a soft humming as Joy pressed a few buttons on the machine.

  The chatty atmosphere in the waiting area had completely died. I could feel eyes on me, and whispered conversations were going on, though I couldn't hear them. A trainer with a Taillow perched on his head got up and moved to a seat further from the counter. Another gathered up her backpack and left entirely.

  What the hell was going on? Sure, I must look nuts considering I'd slapped a snap trap on the counter.

  The machine chimed after what felt like an eternity, and Joy retrieved the Pokéball. But when she turned back to me, her expression was pinched, like she was concerned.

  "Your Mightyena is fully healed," she said, handing me the ball. "The leg wound was severe, but the restoration process repaired all the tissue damage. No permanent injury... but they'll need to take it easy for a few days."

  "That's great, thank you, Miss..."

  "However," Joy interrupted, and her voice dropped lower, "I need to be clear with you about something. As a Pokémon nurse, it's my duty to heal and care for every Pokémon that comes through these doors, regardless of type or species. But..." she glanced around the lobby, then leaned closer, "Evil-type Pokémon like Mightyena don't make their trainers any friends around here."

  Evil-type? It took me a second to realize she meant Dark-type. The original Japanese name for the type was literally 'Evil-type,' but I'd never heard anyone in an English Pokémon product actually use that term.

  "The reputation of that type of Pokémon and their trainers is... not good," Joy continued, her voice sympathetic but firm. "I'm telling you this because you have one now. You should be prepared for prejudice to follow you around. Many people see the type as inherently malicious, and they'll assume the same about you."

  This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

  I looked down at the Pokéball in my hand. Inside was a Pokémon I'd saved from a cruel trap, a creature that had been suffering and needed help. How could anyone see that as evil?

  "But they're just Pokémon," I said. "They're not actually evil."

  Joy's smile was sad. "You and I know that, but not everyone does. Just... be careful, okay? And next time you find something like this," she gestured to the trap, "take it straight to Officer Jenny. She's fair, and she'll listen to your side of things."

  She gave me directions to the police station – three blocks down, turn left at the fountain, can't miss the blue building. I thanked her and gathered up the trap, noting how the remaining trainers in the lobby watched me leave with undisguised wariness.

  The walk to the police station gave me time to process what had just happened. Dark-types were stigmatized here in a way they'd never been in the games. Sure, some villainous teams used them, but they were still just Pokémon. The prejudice Joy had warned me about was already starting, and I hadn't even released Mightyena from its ball yet. But what about other Dark-type specialists? What about Elite Four trainers like Karen and Grimsley? Wait, what about Sidney? Shouldn't he be one of the Elite Four here in Hoenn? I suppose those questions will have to wait for later.

  The police station was a modest blue building with the standard Officer Jenny motorcycle parked out front. I pushed through the glass doors with my shoulder and found myself in a small lobby with a reception desk. A few plastic chairs that likely hadn't been used for a while lined one side of the lobby.

  Two officers were behind the counter. One was an Officer Jenny, her blue uniform crisp and her teal hair pulled back in a professional bun. The other was a man about her age, sandy brown hair, trying way too hard to look important as he shuffled through some paperwork.

  "Can I help you?" Jenny asked, looking up from her computer.

  "I found this on Route 103," I said, lifting the trap onto their counter between us. "There was a Pokémon caught in it. A Mightyena."

  Jenny's expression immediately became serious, while the male officer—his nameplate read 'Clay'—perked up like he'd been waiting for something exciting to happen all morning.

  "Illegal trapping," Clay said, stepping up to the counter and examining the death trap. "Nasty piece of work, this one. Custom job, too—look at the size of those teeth. Whoever made this knew exactly what they were doing."

  "Where exactly did you find this?" Jenny asked, pulling out a notepad.

  "About forty yards off the main path, in a cluster of trees. Maybe half a mile from where the path reaches the grassland," I replied. "It was chained to a tree and camouflaged with leaves and dirt."

  Clay whistled low. "Professional setup. This wasn't some amateur trying to catch dinner. This was deliberate cruelty."

  Jenny shot him a look that clearly said 'shut up and let me handle this,' then turned back to me. "I'm going to need to take a full statement. Clay, can you bag this as evidence?"

  "On it, boss." Something in his tone suggested he didn't much like being ordered around. He pulled on latex gloves and started examining the trap more closely, making a show of pointing out details like he was some kind of forensics expert.

  Jenny led me to a small room in the back—white walls, metal table, two chairs. Definitely an interrogation room, though she'd given me a bottle of water as we sat down, which was nice of her.

  "I'm Officer Janice Jenny," she began, settling into the chair across from me with her notepad ready. "I know you already told me some of this, but I need the full story. Start from the beginning—what were you doing on Route 103 this morning?"

  How much could I realistically tell her? 'Oh, I woke up in a clearing not really knowing where I was and stumbled upon the Mightyena?' That sounded made up and stupid, even if it was basically the truth. Fuck me. Well, looks like I'm biting the bullet on this one. If she's as fair as Joy says, throwing my lot in with the Jennys would probably be for the best.

  "Miss Jenny, I don't really know how I ended up on Route 103 this morning."

  "You don't know?" Jenny asked, looking a bit put off, but her pen remained over her notepad, ready to write.

  I shook my head. "No, I don't. I woke up out in a clearing with no idea how I'd gotten there." I cracked open the bottle of water and took a sip. "I had woken up with my phone, my wallet, and a singular empty Pokéball."

  Janice set her pen down and ran a hand down her face. I could see the conflict on her face at what I'd just said. Picking her pen back up, she leveled me with a firm look. "Do you mind if I have a Psychic Pokémon confirm that?"

  "I do not, so long as whatever they find in my head isn't shared and is only used for the sake of validation of my statement." The single raised eyebrow Janice had as she tapped her pen on her notepad showed her surprise.

  "Yes, that is acceptable." She got up and pressed a button on the wall, then came and sat back down. "A Psychic Pokémon from the Pokémon League will be here in a few minutes. For now, let's get back to how you found the Mightyena."

  I nodded and explained the best I could about everything I did—from walking down the cut path and seeing the Wurmple and Zigzagoon, to hearing the pained cry after a little while of walking. My investigation of it, along with everything I said and did while in the presence of the Mightyena.

  "I was unaware of the proper procedure for what needed to be done when a trap was found. I apologize for that, but Mightyena needed treatment first. I wasn't going to let the Pokémon suffer that pain longer than necessary."

  Jenny nodded, scribbling notes on everything. Neither of us seemingly noticed when an Alakazam had appeared in the room via Teleport.

  Janice looked up and nodded to the Alakazam. "We have a Displaced." The Alakazam's bored look was wiped away and replaced with extreme curiosity. "This young man claims that he woke up in the woods and doesn't know how he ended up there. Look through his mind and everything about today to see if what he has stated has been true."

  Having an Alakazam rooting through your head isn't a pleasant feeling—it felt like I had thousands of insects in my head buzzing around. I did my best not to resist the feeling, but reliving your entire life? In reverse? Experiencing all the feelings and pain of it? Right when I managed to get to when I was nine and receiving my first Gameboy, I slammed my fist against the table and the experience stopped.

  Opening my eyes, Jenny was holding a cloth beneath my nose. Apparently I hadn't taken well to having my mind looked through.

  "Alakazam?"

  'What he says is true... He does not know. He did save the Mightyena. From my understanding, Mightyena didn't see the point in fighting her capture. It was either a painful death or a peaceful one in the worst case.'

  -----

  It took time for everything to be squared away. Janice was to obtain a trainer license for me.

  As we walked back to the main area, I could hear Clay talking to someone on the phone.

  "Yeah, custom job for sure. Heavy-duty springs, reinforced teeth, professional craftsmanship. This wasn't some backyard welding project... No, victim was a Mightyena... Yeah, I know, figures it'd be one of those types..."

  Janice's jaw tightened. "Clay, wrap up that call."

  "Just giving them the details, boss," Clay said, but he ended the conversation quickly.

  "Details are for official reports, not gossip," Janice said sharply. She turned to me. "Thank you for bringing this to our attention. You did the right thing." I wasn't sure which thing she was thanking me for. The fact that I'm a 'Displaced', or turning in the trap. Honestly, it could be both. "Stay at the Pokémon Center tonight. I'll be there in the morning with some paperwork for you to sign."