The TV flashed and Loki appeared before a black background, wearing a lab coat. He was holding a pokeball in his right hand.
"Welcome to the world of Pokemon. I am Loki, Tevyat's very own pokemon professor."
He tossed the pokeball into the air. The pokeball opened and a bright red light flashed from it.
Mimikyu emerged from the light with a soft cry. "Pika...chuuu"
"Our world is widely inhabited by creatures known as pokemon. These mysterious creatures can be found in every corner of our world."
"Some run across the plains, others fly through the skies, and others swim deep within the ocean."
Numerous images began to appear in the black background. From the land, to the skies, and the depths of the ocean. Pokemon of all parts of the world were shown.
"Humans live alongside pokemon as friends. At times, they play together and at other times, they work together."
Humans from all walks of life were now shown, living alongside their pokemon.
"Some humans use their pokemon for battle and develop closer bonds with them."
The background then changed to an open field where two pokemon were battling each other under the commands of their human trainers.
"Now then, what are you waiting for?"
Loki raised a hand towards the audience as all the images disappeared, returning to the black background.
"Your very own tale of grand adventure is about to unfold. So, go on. Leap into the world of pokemon!"
The TV flashed and the recording ended.
------
POV: Keqing
The images stopped and Keqing turned back to Loki. Various thoughts ran through her mind as she spoke.
"Thank you for sharing this information with me."
"My pleasure." Loki bowed in a dramatic pose.
She could not help but shake her head at his antics. Even if they had just met, she already knew the unruly nature of the owner of this store.
She quickly drove away her irrelevant thoughts and addressed the final reason she came to this store.
"I am grateful that you shared the information about pokemon but I still don't know your intentions for coming to Tevyat. Could you also share those intentions with me?"
Loki didn't respond to her question. He maintained his carefree demeanor without saying anything.
As seconds passed and she thought he was not going to answer her, he suddenly made a serious expression and spoke.
"Since you are one of the Liyue Qixing, I will share this secret with you. I hope you will not mention it to anyone unrelated."
Keqing immediately reacted and spoke with an equally serious expression. "I promise you."
He nodded her head. "A large number of Pokemon are going to descend into Tevyat in a few months. This is inevitable. Nothing you or I do can stop it."
"I am merely a trailblazer who arrived to this world sooner than the rest. My goal is to spread the knowledge about pokemon so that the natives of this world can understand and accept the newcomers (pokemon) peacefully."
After coming to terms with this information, Keqing only muttered two words in response. "I see."
She understood the implications of his words. That's why she could see that the future of Liyue and the entire Tevyat was going to see a huge shift. The very foundations of this world was going to change.
'Of course. That is only if, this man is telling the truth.' A hint of suspicion appeared in her eyes.
Loki made a knowing look as he took out his trump card.
"I have already formed a contract with Morax. So there is no need for you to worry about my intentions. I simply wish to create a bridge that will bring the people from this world and pokemon together."
Keqing immediately widened her eyes at the mention of the Geo Archon. Loki smirked and seemed to relish in her shock.
"If you still don't believe me, you can go and ask Morax himself."
This time, Keqing really had no words to say. She remained silent for a while before looking at Loki with determined eyes.
"There is no need to trouble Rex Lapis. I believe you."
Loki smiled brightly as he clapped his hands. "Awesome."
She ignored his exagerrated actions before slightly bowing her head.
"Thank you for sharing this information with me. And please excuse me." She looked into his eyes with a serious and determined expression.
"I have to go back and discuss some plans for the future with the Liyue Qixing."
Saying her farewell, she turned around. The next instant, a hand reached out and blocked her way.
"Wait a moment."
Keqing looked at Loki, who was blocking her way, in mild curiosity. "Is there still something you want to share?"
"Since you are already here, why don't you take a pokemon with you? If you spend some more time with them, I am sure you will understand that they are not a threat."
A surprised look appeared in her eyes. She thought about his proposal for a few seconds and nodded her head. She could not deny it. She wanted a pokemon, just like the pokemon trainers in the video.
"Who is going to accompany me?" She asked with a hint of anticipation and looked at the 5 pokemon in the room.
Loki was amused at her actions and he laughed loudly. "Haha. That child is not here right now."
He then walked to his table and opened his drawers. He took out a strange device from the drawer and gestured for her to step forward.
She curiously walked upto his table. Loki then pushed the device towards her as he showed the screen.
"This is a pokedex. It is a multipurpose device. Charge (Rotom) will explain all of its uses later. For now, you just need to know that it contains the information about various pokemon."
Keqing took the pokedex in her hands and nodded her head in understanding. Loki then showed her how to navigate through a list of hundreds of pokemon.
"For now, this pokedex only contains the basic information about pokemon. I believe that more details should discovered by the people of Tevyat themselves. Doing so will bring the people and pokemon closer."
He stopped her from scrolling down the list once the image of a small mouse like pokemon appeared.
"This is the pokemon I want you to take."
She tapped on the image with a hint of curiosity and anticipation, and a voice soon emerged from the pokedex.
"Pichu. The tiny mouse pokemon. It is still inept at retaining electricity. When it is startled, it discharges power accidentally. It gets better at holding power as it grows older."
Keqing listened to the strange robotic voice. With the bits and pieces of information, she realized that the pokemon Loki wanted her to take was a child.
"It is cute."
That was the only thing she could say from the image. She could not help but be a little impatient as she looked at Loki.
"When am I going to meet this Pichu?"
"Hopefully, less than an hour. I will have to go back to our world and bring Pichu with me."
Keqing nodded understandingly. They exchanged some more pleasantries before he left.
_____
Nearly half an hour has passed since Loki left for the otherworld.
During that time, Keqing quickly became friends with Magica (Mismagius) and Frost (Froslass). The three of them talked for a while before Frost left to manage the store.
Magica then introduced her to the other pokemon in the lounge.
Joker (Gengar) was relaxing on the sofa, watching an 'anime' called Naruto Shippuden. Dusk (Dusknoir) was on another sofa, watching the same 'anime'.
Cinder (Typhlosion) had fallen asleep at some point. And Chime (Chimeko) was staying by the front door.
She was spooked out when Charge (Rotom) suddenly emerged from the 'TV' and introduced himself. She was even more shocked to meet the 3 pokemon, disguised as decorative objects.
The last pokemon she met was Mimi (Mimikyu), who came downstairs after grooming herself in the mirror. Magica secretly warned her not to call Mimi Mimikyu, and instead call her Pikachu. She was confused but agreed readily.
After she was introduced to all the pokemon in the store, Charge began to show her the functions of the pokedex.
What interested her the most was the communication feature which allowed her to communicate with other users no matter the distance between them.
She saw the potential value of such a feature so she quickly asked Charge to sell her more of these pokedex. But she could only give up unwillingly when he mentioned the number of pokedex was limited.
She then focused on the next feature, which was internet. From the information given by Rotom, the internet held all the knowledge in the world. But she could only find a few games (online and offline), anime, manga, and novels on the internet right now.
When she asked Charge about this, his response was confusing at best.
"There is no server in this world. We brought a server from our world but it only contains the things that interest us."
"When more people from this world get a pokedex, they can upload the information they know on the internet. That is when you will see the true brilliance of the online community."
Charge also helped her create a discord account. Then he had her join a discord server with the name 'Pokemon Trainers'. Currently, she was the only member of this server and Loki was the admin.
When everything was done and said, Keqing could finally lie back and relax on the sofa. She was completely exhausted from all the information she learned since she stepped into the store.
As she waited for Loki to arrive, she took out her note and began to jot down all of the important information.
_____
POV: Loki
Loki fell into a dillemma as he looked at the 6 Pichu jumping up and down, asking for him to choose them.
After a few minutes, he came up with a plan and asked the 6 Pichu to stand in a line as he closed his eyes. After they were ready, he randomly pointed at one of the Pichu.
"Chuuuuu."
The Pichu who was chosen immediately squeaked in excitement and rushed towards him. She jumped onto his shoulder and rubbed her cheeks against his, as a show of affection.
"Someone is excited." Loki was amused at the antics of this small pokemon.
He then looked at the 5 Pichu who were dejected at the fact that they were not chosen. He kneeled down and patted each of their small heads.
"Please wait for a few months. When the world merge, I will bring all of you to the new world."
With a bit more coaxing, the 5 Pichu calmed down a little and left for their home.
"Haahh." He sighed as soon as they disappeared. The Pichu on his shoulder rubbed his cheeks again and tried to comfort him.
"Thank you for the encouragement." He patted her head and began to walk towards the gate.
A thought loomed in his mind. 'I decided to give Keqing a Pichu (Pikachu) to honor the Pokemon Franchise. I never expected so much effort to choose one of them.'
_____
POV: Keqing
Keqing was quitely jotting the information she learned in her note when she heard the sound of footsteps.
She immediately stood up and looked towards the stairs. She saw Loki and the small Pichu on his shoulders, arriving in the lounge. She could not stop her excitement as she walked towards them hurriedly.
"Pichu, this is Keqing." Loki began as she reached them. "She will be your trainer from now on."
Hearing his words, Pichu immediately jumped from his shoulder and landed on hers.
"Chuuu." The small pokemon squeaked in a cute voice and rubbed their cheeks together.
The faints arcs of electricity didn't hurt her. Instead, it gave her a feeling of familial love and warmth.
A few seconds passed and Pichu finally stopped. Keqing then carefully carried the small pokemon in her hands and looked into her eyes.
A bright smile was on her lips as she addressed her future family.
"Please take care of me from now on, Pichu."
This was the beginning of an irreplaceable bond between a human and a pokemon.