Chapter 172. A Trip to the Past

Alex sensed that the intent wasn't hostile, so despite the mind-splitting headache, he struggled to respond."Please... reduce your… psychic connection." The pressure receded like a tide as Alex dropped to his knees, only kept steady by a timely Heal Pulse from Gardevoir. "Thank you," he muttered, catching his breath as he slowly stood up. A smaller, almost imperceptible message slipped through. "Sorries. Been lonely for a long time." "It's alright. I was just too weak," Alex replied. "What do you mean I'm finally here?" "You've come to help." "Help how? I'm just a bounty hunter. A weak human compared to you." "You succeeded. You have helped." Alex was immensely confused by this particular intent. It was filled with gratitude for something he had yet to provide, an intent that thanked him for what he would do in the past. Thinking this was some kind of time-related incident, he ultimately chose to accept it. If he had already pulled it off, then it meant he was capable of doing it, no matter the effort. And even if he refused, he would eventually have done it anyway, at least from Celebi's perspective. As confusing as it sounded, it made perfect sense to Alex. Besides, it sounded dangerous, which was exactly the kind of life Alex lived for. "Fine, what do I have to do?" "Kill humans." Before Alex could ask for more details, the world around him began to dissolve. Space twisted and folded in on itself, bending reality in ways that made it hard to tell what was up or down. It felt like the very fabric of the world was melting around him. He shut his eyes, hoping to steady himself, but it did nothing. Pressure built in his skull, his senses overloaded, and warped sounds clawed at his ears. His stomach turned violently. He dropped to his hands and knees and threw up. Eventually, everything settled. The pressure eased off. The noise finally quieted down. Breathing hard, Alex wiped his mouth and pushed himself to his feet. The space around him had stabilized, but something was off. The shrine was gone, the clearing turned into a heavily wooded area, and the sounds of Pokémon cries were wrong. He found himself in a far denser forest with significantly fresher air. He felt power well up inside him from the shortest of breaths.  He assessed his situation and found his bag missing, along with all his Pokémon. The only things he had on him were his guns and combat gear. He didn't like his current situation at all, which meant he was enjoying every second of it. Alex then noticed the strangest sight of all. A squirrel. Not a Skwovet, Greedent, Pachirisu, or Emolga, but a real squirrel. It was the size of a dog, with thick, heavy fur and a large bushy tail curled behind it. It wasn't exactly a normal squirrel, but it was a squirrel nonetheless. It paused for a moment, noticed Alex staring, then leapt up and disappeared into the tree canopy. Alex stood in shock at the sight of a normal animal. As far as he knew, normal animals were endangered species that needed human intervention to survive, lest they all get eaten by wild Pokémon. It was the reason for their inflated price, considered strictly a family-run business that had existed for an unknown amount of time. The fact that there were squirrels out in the wild suggested he was in the past, long before Pokémon had become as prolific as they were. A past he knew little about due to a lack of study. A time before even the first Pokémon began hunting animals in the wild. As Alex's mind wandered through the extreme impossibilities, he heard a rustling nearby, followed by a familiar kind of complaint. Voices rang out through the forest, harsh and clipped like barking dogs. Alex couldn't understand the language they spoke, but the tone was unmistakable. These were not casual shouts or random noise. They were shouting out orders. Another set of voices responded, crisp and rehearsed. Whatever they said, it sounded like a confirmation. Alex didn't need a translator to figure it out. Their tone carried anger, urgency, and frustration. They were clearly looking for something. Probably Celebi given the situation. He slipped into the shadows, covering himself with Dark type energy. Months of meditation had proven its value as he maintained his shadowy form with practiced efficiency. He followed the voices deeper into the woods until he spotted the squad. Twelve men in mismatched military gear combed the underbrush. Their helmets didn't match, their clothes looked patched together, and their weapons were a mess of salvaged parts and unfamiliar crystals. It was chaos pretending to be coordination. They were scavengers, not soldiers. They spread out across the forest floor, poking at bushes and shouting more of that garbled language. Alex remembered Celebi's request to kill humans. But before that, he wanted information. They didn't seem strong or professional, so it would be easy to take them out one at a time. He crept closer and singled out the one furthest from the group before striking. A silent blow to the back of the neck dropped the man instantly. Alex caught the body and eased it into the undergrowth. He moved again and managed to take out five more in swift order. By the time he reached the sixth, the tone had shifted. The commander barked something, louder than before, expecting a reply but none came. Another shout rang out. The scattered steps grew more focused, boots closing in around the voice. The remaining six formed up around their leader, weapons raised and eyes scanning the trees. More words were thrown out, urgent and strained. They knew something was out there as they made their way back in a tight formation, retracing their steps. Alex followed along, then leapt high into the air and dropped into the middle of their group. He grabbed two unprotected heads and slammed them together, knocking both out with a single move. Panic followed. The rest shouted in confusion and opened fire. Energy beams burst from their rifles, lighting up the forest as they sprayed wildly in Alex's general direction. Every shot missed as he weaved through their allies, taking out two more in the crossfire. Three left.  One of them shouted something fast and desperate, then they turned and ran. Alex gave chase, silent and focused. He closed the distance, grabbed one by the back of the neck, and knocked him out cold with a single blow. The commander shouted again, but it didn't matter. Alex drew his guns and fired two Thunder Waves that hit their marks, leaving them paralyzed on the forest floor. "Clean up," Alex commanded out of habit before catching himself and letting out a groan. His Pokémon always handled the cleanup while he investigated the loot, but with them gone, he realized he had been more reliant on them than he thought. By his lonesome, he spent the next ten minutes dragging bodies over and piling them up. Once he was finished, he checked their weapons. The design was rough, old, and salvaged, but the tech beneath was anything but primitive. The crystals pulsed with unfamiliar energy, not too different from his own guns. Clearly, it was at least as advanced as what he used, maybe even more so. Their clothing was patched together with whatever scraps they could find. Their hair was messy, worn by time spent in the wilds. Their skin looked thicker than normal, and they were abnormally tall compared to most humans. They were definitely human, but something in their genetics had shifted. Their technology was more advanced, and their language was completely different. Somehow, Alex had landed in a past where humans were far more advanced than in his present. Yet something must have happened. Something catastrophic that sent humanity all the way back to the stone age.  Alex crouched beside the one who seemed in charge and slapped him awake. The man stirred, looked up, and spat out a series of garbled sounds. Alex could barely tell where one word ended and another began. What was clear, however, was that the man was angry. "What year is it?" Alex asked. The man looked confused, then began spitting out more unintelligible noise. A few syllables repeated, but none of it made sense. Alex stared at him in silence as the man began writing in the dirt. Still nothing but nonsense. He didn't understand a single word. Alex crouched and drew an arrow in the dirt, then added two circles along its length. He pointed at the one near the end and then at the commander. He pointed at the one near the tip and then at himself. Finally, he tapped the very end of the arrow and stared the man down with cold, unflinching eyes. The commander responded with more unintelligible shouting, his voice rising with each word. So, Alex backhanded him without hesitation. More shouting followed in a defiant manner, so Alex turned and shot one of the unconscious men in the head. That finally got the message across as the man's expression shifted from anger and frustration to fear and regret. He fell silent, eyes fixed on the drawing, clearly taking the conversation more seriously now, though it seemed he still didn't understand. Alex thought for a moment, then drew another arrow beneath the first. This time, he added a series of sun and moon symbols in a repeating pattern, meant to represent the passing of time. At the end of the arrow, he drew a large question mark. He looked up and stared at the man, hoping the message was clear. The man, still confused, hesitated before scratching out a crude drawing of a round shape with uneven lines that looked like a planet. Around it, he drew a four-legged creature with exaggerated features and pointed ears. Beside it, he drew several circles with animalistic faces. Finally, he connected all of them with lines pointing toward the planet. He pointed to the four-legged creature, then the circle with animalistic faces, and finally the planet. Alex stared at it in silence before he got the idea. "So the planet was invaded by Pokémon?" ----- Support me on Patreon patreon/babywrath