PSMD: A Journey, Not A Destination

Chapter One

      "...Ugh... my head hurts. A lot." I could hardly even speak, or rather, be understood, as my voice was pretty hoarse. I rose to, well, what I assumed was my feet... except for the problem I kept falling. "Where...?" I resorted to just looking around, the back of my head throbbing dully.
      I finally figured out the cause of my pain, being a tree behind me... with a quite visible dent in it. "...I mean, I knew I was hardheaded, but... jeez, I look like I used Headbutt on it..." I shook my head, and started forward, towards a lake. I stumbled, which wasn't really a good thing, towards the waterfall and pond near the tree, and took a good, long drink.
      Man, I was really thirsty... I mean, Quil and I had some crazy times in the desert once, but this takes the cake... wait... who's Quil...? Yeesh, I say a name, and can't remember who it belongs to? Typical me. At any rate, I should probably get used to four feet. Yea, good idea. I carefully prodded the ground in front of me, treading on it, and getting used to the feeling of four legs. And for some odd reason, it doesn't surprise me. In fact, it feels kind of, well, natural. Weird, huh?
      Eventually, I looked up, and saw this oddly shaped figure headed straight towards me. It crashed head on into me, and I yelped in surprise. "Hey!" With a jolt, I realized I had just headbutted the stranger into a nearby tree, and I winced, because, oww. That's gotta hurt. With that, I got into an almost familiar defensive stance, watching the figure rise carefully. "Who are you?" My voice rang clearly, directly aimed at the twitching Pokémon.
      At least, I assumed it was a Pokèmon... "...yowch, you pack quite th' punch there..." I blinked, as the figure rose, with a smile on his face. And might I add, a fake smile. He walked towards me, offering me a hand to, what, shake?
      Jeez, can the guy not see I have paws or something? I sent an annoyed glare at the stranger, my fur spiking up in hostility. "Back off, long nose!" I could hardly keep myself from spitting at him, my eyes sparking dangerously. Or, I thought so, anyways. He put down his hand, fake smile faltering.
      I smirked in triumph, still keeping my stance. "Look, I'm not here t' hurt yah..." fat chance. "Mah name is Nuzleaf. And yours is?" I growled lowly, refusing to speak anymore to this 'Nuzleaf'. He put up his own hands in an attempt to pacify myself. Key word is attempt.
      And... there goes my tail. A random figure jumped out of nowhere, tackled Mr. Longnose, and grinned. "Hey, Mr. Nuzleaf! So this is where you went to, huh?" The... Cyndaquil? Grinned wildly, as the other Pokémon spluttered in confusion. "Q-Quil? What are yah doing here, child?" I smirked at the remark, chuckling lightly. Child? Hardly.
      He wouldn't be a child unless it was time to- ...now where did that come from? I don't know anything about this kid, how would I know what he would do at the time to- ...did I seriously just think about that? Jeez, it's like I knew him before... I lost my memories... then again, did I ever even lose them? If I'm remembering certain snippets, doesn't that mean if I try hard enough, I can remember my past?
      ...and there goes the Nuzleaf. He was holding the kid by the head, sighing exasperately. I walked forward carefully, frowning. After all, it was Mr. Longnose I didn't trust, not this innocent kid.
      Besides, if I felt like I knew him, didn't that mean he could help me with my past? So I walked over the the kid, and prodded his shoulder.
After a few moments, he turned a (...closed eye...) confused gaze towards me. "Ah... who're you? Are you Mr. Nuzleaf's kid or something?" I was taken aback by the comment, and started snarling. "Nooo way. I would rather go to he-...h, e, double hockey sticks, than be his kid." I spat venemously, glaring at the Nuzleaf.
      And before I knew it, I was being dragged. "H-hey, where are you taking me!?" I yelped, as the Cyndaquil merely looked back at my while running, a huge grin on his face that may have made my heart melt a little. "To go see my pops! You're not from here, right? You can stay with me until you have to go, or something! Oh, and by the way, I'm Quil, nice to meet you!" I blinked at the amount of words he just said, but a small smile blossomed on my muzzle before I could stop it. "Heh... nice to meet you to, Quil. I'm Ahrin."