Energise Chapter 1

Max knew he was close to death, and at this point he welcomed the feeling. It might hurt his family, his friends would be upset, and he himself might have been scared. But, that fear wasn't as serious as it should have been.

Max was sixteen years old, and just a year and a half ago he was diagnosed with cancer. Brain cancer to be more specific. It was a stubborn little bastard, one that had grown, shrunk a little, only to grown again bigger than before. Everyone knew he was done for, but that didn't stop them from giving him false hope. They still held onto the idea that he could be saved, or at the very least his life in a hospital bed could be extended.

To be honest though, Max was tired of it. What was the point of living if he couldn't even go to school? If he couldn't sleep in a regular bed? If he couldn't enjoy a regular meal instead of the bland and spongy hospital food they served him everyday. Actually, that last one probably wasn't too big a loss, especially since his chemotherapy was making him constantly eject food from his guts.

Max took in a deep breath, feeling dizzy as he lied in bed and suddenly the world around him felt like it was underwater. Sounds were coming out strangely, his vision was blurred, and his senses were being thrown off. There was no pain, no disruption, it was calming.

Max had never felt this before, he wondered what was happening to him. The chemo wasn't the answer, usually he felt pain or unpleasant tingling from his cancer treatment, and he'd passed out enough times to be intimately familiar with the feelings of unconsciousness. This was something new.

Max morbidly wondered if he was dying, or if he was already dead, and was... strangely unbothered by it. It was like swimming, only you were directionless and there was no water, and all you had to pass time was your thoughts. It was almost pleasant compared to the life he'd gotten used to living, and he was half expecting to arrive at either heaven or hell. But no, for a while he just floated there.

Ever since he started chemo, Max had often wondered what death would be like. For a while it scared him, terrified him even, bit eventually he became more neutral on the topic. Maybe a part of him, no matter how tiny, even welcomed it and found it preferable to his life ruled by illness.

Once or twice... he even thought it might bring relief. To go to sleep forever, to not be controlled by anything, to not have to feel that desperate need to continue enduring existence. That sounds more like freedom that pain.

It sounds nice.

Max closed his eyes, not noticing the dimly lit life above his head as he suddenly became surrounded by actual water with a full moon hanging above him.

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Max was overcome by a feeling of coldness, that made his surprisingly strong muscles lock up, and his body acted on instinct when he breathed in a mouthful of water.

Max shot out of the shallow lake, hacking and coughing the water out of his lungs. "Wh-what the hell is-"

Before he could finish, a series of sputters interrupted him and after a minute he held himself close. It was freezing.

Max, bewildered and chilly, gazed around and realised he was in a pond, one that was in a small opening surrounded by trees. Another odd note was how much flesh he had on his skin, and he had to do a double take when he poked around the rest of his body and found actual muscle.

Touching his face, Max figured he was hallucinating, Afterall, ever since he started his treatment he was closer to a skeleton than a regular human being, but that theory was contradicted when his fingers grazed a few strands of hair.

"If this is a joke it's a cruel one, that's for sure." Max said to himself, grabbing a few curly locks of his brown hair and pulling at them to see if they were real.

Max wondered how he ended up in a forest, with a healthy looking body that had zero signs of wear, and why he was only wearing a hospital gown, but chose not to linger on it any further when a bitter gust of wind made his drenched body shiver.

Deciding he was finished standing in ice cold water, Max looked around and was pleasantly surprised to discover a stone foundation behind him. He scampered out of the pond, leaving it behind as his shoeless feet touched grass, and rubbed his arms for warmth as he walked up to what looked like a path out of the forest.

Max looked down, scrunching his face up at his complete lack of footwear. It wouldn't exactly be comfortable, trying to escape what looked to be a thick forest without shoes, but he could manage.

He stepped forward, only to nearly jump out of his skin when two booming howls called out from behind him, and Max's heart was beating out of his chest as he snapped his head around so fast it nearly cracked his neck.

Max's eyes went wide as saucers when he met the eyes of two dog-like creatures. One of them was blue with long locks of hair flowing past the sides of it's body majestically, whilst the other was red with a face like a shield. Both of them has numerous scars along their body, all unique in shape and size, but the one feature they did share was the pair of glowing yellow eyes that were locked onto him.

Max recognised them immediately, and he forced out a chuckle as he stared around. "Okay, hahaha, very funny!" Max felt sweat drip on his brow despite the cold night. "You've managed to scare me now. I admit it, so now's the time to tell me you've been fucking with me!"

When he got no response, Max could only swallow and take notice of the white fog surrounding the area. Recognising the action, he shot his eyes back to where Zamazenta and Zacian were only to be  met with nothing but a stone arch... along with a rusty sword and shield.

Max felt dots cloud his vision, but before he passed out he muttered. "Dammit, where did I sign up for this bullshit?" Not able to utter a word more, he fell face first onto the ground as mist surrounded his unconscious form.

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Max opened his blue eyes, instantly noticing how comfortable he felt with a blanket draped over him, and shot up from his position on a sofa. He frowned, putting a hand on his head out of suspicion.

He was lying on a sofa in what looked to be a living room, if the lit fireplace and bookshelf along with many other household items were any indication, and there was even a coffee table just a bit in front of him.

"Okay, so I'm not dreaming." He noted to himself, finding the idea a bit ridiculous. He was supposed to be a cancer patient, one who couldn't even leave the bed he was tied to, so how exactly was he healthy again?

Max lifted his hands up and just stared at them for a moment. He tested them, moving the digits, and he had to stop himself from crying when the reality hit him. He wasn't dreaming, this wasn't a hallucination, he wasn't delusional. He was better.

Max did his best not to cry, not wanting to break down like a child, but he couldn't stop a few tears from escaping his eyes as a feeling of strength passed through him. He didn't want it, but couldn't stop himself from grinning widely like a fool at the revelation.

Wiping his tears away, Max's sadness was replaced with joy when he came to another world shattering realisation. He'd seen two pokemon, two actual real life pokemon who were also legendaries, did that mean he was somehow in the pokemon world? If so, then he couldn't say he wasn't more than a little bit giddy.

Admittedly, he was more than just a touch out of the loop when it came to the pokemon games. Whilst he was a big fan, he just didn't get the chance to play on any video games when his treatment got into it's later stages. His brother's mentioned pokemon Scarlet and Violet, but not much regarding what actually went on in them. It was a bit worrying, not knowing about a whole region's pokedex, but he could work around that.

The more Max thought about it, the more his new situation began to appeal to him. He could become a trainer and challenge the Champion with a team of pokemon. It was like every kid's dream.

"So, you're awake."

Max snapped out of his daydreaming, noticing the amused looking woman in the doorframe. She was definitely beautiful, and was maybe in her 20's if her clear skin and lack of wrinkles was any indication, with glasses and overalls that gave her a very comfy look. But, despite her clothing choice, she definitely had quite the body with an impressive chest. She looked pretty familiar.

Trying not to let his eyes linger for too long, Max stood up to meet her eyes. "Alright where am I- why am I naked?" He asked, pulling the blanket up to preserve his modesty before the woman who'd been kind enough to take him in saw him naked. He'd rather preserve his dignity.

The woman had the decency to rub the back of her head sheepishly as a tinge of pink graced her cheeks. "Well, all ya' were wearin' was a soaked 'ospital gown, so I figured it'd be best if ya' took that off. Wouldn't want ya' ta catch a cold, ey?"

Max was surprised by her accent, with it sounding Scottish, and almost instantly realised where he was. The woman seemed to take his look of confusion as him questioning her way of speaking.

"Sorry if the accent tis' a wee bit odd ta ya'. I'm from down by tha' tundra ya' see, so I talk just a teeny bit different from these other Galarian folk." The brown haired woman explained with an easy smile, and Max responded calmly.

"You don't have to apologise for your voice." Max began, taking note that her accent wasn't the norm in Galar. "I'm just a bit confused is all. How did I end up here? Also, where is here?"

"Ya' don't know?" The woman tilted her head curiously. "I just found ya' outside the gate to the slumbrin' weald, why?"

Max looked to the side. So, he was in Postwick, Galar then. Not the worst place to be, even if the pokemon games for generation eight were terrible, and-

All at one, Max realised why this woman looked so familiar, but before he could say another word the sound of a door opening and closing caught his attention and he cast his gaze over near the doorframe.

Then, after a few seconds, he heard a girl's voice with an accent similar to the woman's. "Mam' it is absolutely soakin' wet out there. If this weather continues, then we might have ta' just stay indoor-"

Max was unsurprised when the female protagonist of the generation eight pokemon games walked into the room, that being Gloria, only for her eyes to go wide when she noticed Max's presence.

"Mam', why the ell' is there a naked boy in ere'?!" She blushed slightly as she looked towards her mother, who explained the situation calmly.

"Well, I found im' passed out just outside the slumbrin' weald. I couldn't jus' leave im' there now could I, not in this weather? Sides' he ain't doin' anyone any harm." Her reasoning made her daughter cross her arms as she momentarily looked out the window to see rain downpouring.

"Ya' had no way of knowin' that mam'. He could ave' been some sorta' weirdo for all ya' knew. People don't jus' appear... naked outside your house'." Gloria looked away when she muttered that last part.

Max felt the need to defend himself. "Hey, it's not like I was buck naked out there, I had a hospital gown on. Besides, it's not like I just stumbled around and ended up at your house. In fact, I'm meant to be a patient at a hospital right now." That got the attention of the brown haired girl and woman.

"Really, you don't look ill at all ta' me. You seem pretty fit if anythin'." Gloria blushed at her mother's words, and Max couldn't stop his lips from twitching up slightly at the mention of his newly acquired health.

Max snorted and answered her. "Well, not anymore it seems. I'm meant to be a cancer patient, but for some reason I've been healed. I really don't know how, maybe some pokemon interfered, but I woke up inside the slumbering weald."

Gloria's expression showed how unimpressed she was as she looked away, her fluster fading. "Sounds like total shite to me."

Max shrugged and agreed. "It does, but it's the truth. Believe me, don't believe me, either way I'll happily be out of your hair if you want. All I need is a set of clothes and I'll find my way. Probably."

Max gauged their reactions, noticing that Gloria's mother seemed to be less for that idea than Gloria herself, and he hoped that she let him stay. It was really his best option, especially since he was in a completely unfamiliar location.

As much as he wanted to believe otherwise, Max doubted everything would magically work out if he was left to fend for himself. He had no idea how the world worked, their customs, if he could have a job considering he likely didn't exist legally. Plus, there was the matter of finding a roof to sleep under.

Then again, he didn't expect her to actually accept him. From her perspective, he was a complete stranger who just showed up essentially outside her front door. She didn't know him, she had no reason to trust him, and she might have been nice but that didn't make her irresponsible. She had a daughter in the house, and she had no reason to believe a guy she hadn't even been talking to for five minutes wouldn't try anything heinous.

The fact he was naked probably wasn't helping matters.

Gloria's mother looked contemplative, before nodding to herself. "There's no need fur' that. Ya' can sleep on the sofa here, I ain't sendin' a teenager like you out on your own. Jus' don't try any funny business."

Her declaration surprised both Max and Gloria, with the latter having an incredulous look on her face.

"Are you sure you're okay with letting me stay here? I'd really rather not cause you the trouble." The moment those words left his mouth, Max wanted to take them back.

Gloria looked at him in shock, her brown eyes holding a range of emotions until her face settled on something more neutral.

Gloria's mum nodded. "Of course. Ya' seem like a nice enough lad, and I'm a decent enough judge a' character. Ya' can stay ere'."

Max resisted the urge to pump his fist up, knowing he actually had a place to stay now, but ended up settling with a thank you. "I really appreciate it, Ms."

She smiled back kindly. "Don't call me Ms, I'm only thirty-three ya' know. Jus' call me Natalie. This over ere' is Gloria." She gestured to her daughter, who met Max's gaze with a pair of wary brown eyes.

Max looked her over, noticing that Gloria wasn't in her signature pink dress with a grey hoodie over it, instead she was in a drenched rain jacket with black shorts on that looked impractical considering the weather. She didn't have her signature hat on either, with her chin-length brown hair being left free.

Gloria took off her jacket and placed it on a nearby radiator, before taking a seat next to him, putting her hands out to catch some heat from the fireplace.

An awkward silence ensued, until Max finally asked. "So, can I get some clothes?"

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Thank you for reading my content and a merry Christmas to you all. I hope you all have a wonderful day.