Chapter 0 - A New Life

A Medicham stood facing her enemy. The Combusken brandished it's claws at her, but she was unafraid. Nothing could scare her more than the thought of failing her trainer. She vaguely heard a voice announce the battle and charged at her foe. 

At her trainer's command, she pulled back a fist. But her Ice Punch was blocked, and her opponent spun around with a Double Kick. Dodging the attack, she used Confusion, which staggered the Combusken. A Thunder Punch forced it to it's feet before a Zen Headbutt felled it.

Combusken got to it's feet, using Bulk Up and shouting a battle cry. Medicham used the opportunity to Meditate, making herself stronger. 

Her foe cast Flamethrower, forcing her to back up. She attempted a Force Palm in answer, but it was Countered, and Medicham ended up on the floor. 

Her trainer's shouts rung in her ears: "GET UP! STOP BEING SO USELESS!"

She vaguely heard her opponent's trainer shouting back at him, asking why he was so mean and hurtful to his Pokemon. 

Medicham shook her head to clear out the noise and was face-to-face with the Combusken. Instinctively, without even thinking, she used Reversal, and the Combusken's Blaze Kick was denied. She used another Zen Headbutt to force him back and give herself some space.

The fire Pokemon charged at her, but she knew what was coming, having used Detect. After easily dodging the Flame Charge, she pulled back her fist, channeled it with Thunder and lay it across her opponent's cheek. The Combusken flinched back and she jumped forwards, pulling her other fist back-

The Medicham suddenly felt a strange energy in the air. Something completely unfamiliar. The Combusken paused and pointed at her. "You- what are-" her opponent asked, though the humans would have only heard "Combusken."

"This isn't me!" She answered, now worried. The light-blue dust was concentrating around her. She felt it lift her off the ground and squealed in surprise.

"What are you DOING?!" her trainer shouted furiously "Stop playing around and keep fighting!"

"I DON'T KNOW WHAT'S HAPPENING! HELP ME!" she screamed aloud. The Pokemon all over the arena stood up, fearful. She saw an Alakazam in the crowd direct his energy at the force lifting her, but the energy seemed to blast back and repel his intrusion. 

What was happening to her? Her head was starting to go cloudy. The dust obscured her vision. The voices around her became distorted and fuzzy. Her eyelids were becoming heavier. As she shut them, she heard a new voice, deep and ethereal, join the rest. But it sounded less in her ears and more in her head. It only said three words: "You are free..."

All of a sudden, the Medicham was in a completely unfamiliar place. She lay on stone, but was surrounded by wood. It was both hotter and colder than the arena had been. Her eyes were still getting accustomed to the dark, and she could hear voices.

"Is she okay?" A male asked. At least, she thought that's what he said, but it was so fuzzy...

"Yes, but she's heavily disoriented." a female answered. The voices were becoming clearer, but they were still...

"I can't say blame her."

"She's waking up. Quiet your mind." 

Medicham's vision began to clear as she blinked a few times. She saw two people, both caucasian. The male had bright blue eyes, short brown hair and a handsome face. The female had long brown hair, green eyes and very little clothing compared to usual humans.

The female faced the Medicham, put her finger to her own lips and tapped the side of her head twice. Medicham thought she understood, and concentrated on the woman's thoughts. She heard the woman's voice, much clearer than when she spoke "Can you understand me?"

Medicham nodded. 

"Good. I need you to hold still. I'm going to teach you how to speak our language." she informed the Medicham. The pokemon nodded again. The female placed a hand on Medicham's forehead and spoke in a language she'd never heard before: "Praphullata, daya kare e'i agantukake amadera sathe nirdbidhaya katha balara ksamata dina. Tadera katha hisabe cinta bhabana balate dina." The hand lifted away, and she spoke once more "Now think, and put what you think into our minds."
Medicham didn't fully understand, but she concentrated. Her thoughts settled on a single word: "Hello." She gazed at both of them for a second or two, trying to push the word to them. After a second, they both jostled and raised hands to their heads.

"It worked." the male sounded surprised. Medicham was still having trouble believing this was happening at all.

"Excellent! My name is Wakeeda." The female introduced herself.

"Mine is Ciaran." the male told her, giving a short bow.

"My name..." she paused. It felt odd to know that she was actually talking to people "I am Medicham."

Wakeeda smiled "Good to meet you. Now, I'm guessing you have a very many questions. Which one do you want to start with?"

"Why did you bring me here?" the Medicham asked, started to get used to talking this way.

"There are spirits in this realm. They told me to. Maybe they see a destiny for you here." Wakeeda shrugged.

Medicham raised an eyebrow "Such as?"

"I don't know." she shrugged again.

"What about Ciaran?"

"I'm just happy to have gotten you away from that abusive waste of air." Ciaran told her, looking a little sour.

"He wasn't so bad. He kept me warm." Medicham answered.

"He beat you for not training until your bones cracked. He yelled at you for not eating enough, because your kind don't eat much anyway. He was completely ignorant of your needs-he treated you like a tool to make money instead of a friend, or even a pet. I can only hope that he'll get thrown in jail for life because of what he did to you." Ciaran answered hotly "Now, you'll never have to fear him choosing you for a battle. You'll never have to fear his anger for losing again. You no longer have to worry about pleasing him, or his wallet."
It was as if the Medicham had been slapped in the face. Ciaran's anger was very real, and it burned so brightly she wondered how it didn't consume him. How could she have been so stupid? There was a long pause while she digested all of this. 

Finally, she raised her head. "So... what do I do now?" Medicham asked.

"Your story is now yours to write." Wakeeda answered "But first, you need a name. Medicham won't do. That was the old you. You're a new woman now."

"I don't know of many names..."

"What names do you know of?" Ciaran asked.

"Only Geoff, my trainer's. And Marie, his mother. She always told him he was mistreating me... Until today, I never realized why." She answered. Thinking about it, Marie sounded like a good name. Certainly better than any of the insults her trainer used to throw at her. "I think I'll use Marie, but what about my surname?"

"You don't need a surname. I don't have one." Wakeeda told her

Marie furrowed her brow "I'd like one, though."

"What about Spana? I don't know where I remember it from, but it's Ancient Asmanan for 'brainstorm'." Ciaran answered. 

"Marie Spana..." She smiled upon hearing it said out loud. That would be her name, and she would find a new purpose in this new world she'd found herself in. She was suddenly eager to experience this new world. "Thank you for bringing me here. I look forward to going out into the world and-"

"Wait. You might want a quick lesson in re-learning how to use your powers. You can feel it, can't you? The arcane energy shifting through the air?" Ciaran asked. "I can teach you how to use it; I'm a wizard."

Now that he mentioned it, her powers did feel different. Blunted and made clumsy in some ways but focused and sharpened in others. Yet, she could already feel her mind adapting to this new force she felt. Controlling it. Imagining ways to shape it. Use it. Wield it. Her instincts told her she'd be fine.

"I appreciate the offer, but I think I'm better off learning alone. Especially without another trainer. Besides, I'm eager to start my new life." Marie told him. 

He nodded in understanding. She could sense he wanted to say something, but was keeping his mouth shut for fear of hurting her in some way.

"Okay. Just make sure you come back if you get hurt-I can fix you right up easily." Wakeeda informed her. "I'm a witch doctor, but most people focus on the second part."

Marie blinked "Like a Nurse Joy?"

The wizard and witch doctor both spoke "A what??"

"Oh. Nevermind." Marie smiled. Not wanting to answer questions about her previous life, she turned around and headed for the door.
Marie shielded her eyes from the sun as she stepped out of the shack, into her brand new home. She smiled internally as she sensed the joy in the minds of this realm's people. She could feel the hope within herself, burning like a Charizard's tail.

She was free.