The first rays of the morning sun slowly filtered through the tall trees.
Bird Pokémon were already chirping somewhere in the branches above, and the quiet sound of the river flowed steadily nearby.
André slowly opened his eyes.
For a moment he just stared up at the sky through the leaves, trying to remember where he was.
Then something warm shifted beside him.
"Grow…"
André turned his head.
Growlithe was lying right next to him, still half asleep, its fluffy tail twitching slightly.
André blinked a few times.
"…You're still here."
Growlithe opened one eye and looked at him.
"Grow?"
André sat up slowly and stretched his arms.
"Well… guess that answers the question."
Growlithe stood up and shook its fur, then looked at him curiously.
André laughed quietly.
"Yeah, yeah, good morning to you too."
The two of them walked down to the river so André could splash some cold water into his face. The clear water woke him up immediately.
Growlithe drank from the river beside him.
For a while they just stood there in silence.
Then André sat down on a rock.
Growlithe sat next to him, looking up at him expectantly.
André looked at the forest around them.
Still no roads.
No houses.
No people.
Just endless trees.
He sighed softly.
"Hey… Growlithe."
The Pokémon looked up.
"Grow?"
André rubbed the back of his neck.
"You know… I was thinking about something yesterday."
Growlithe tilted its head.
André looked at the flowing river.
"Back where I come from… I don't really have much waiting for me."
Growlithe watched him quietly.
"I mean… if this really is another world… then technically I should want to go back, right?"
He picked up a small stone and tossed it into the river.
"But honestly… I don't."
Growlithe's ears twitched.
André smiled faintly.
"Actually… I kind of hope this isn't a dream."
Growlithe stared at him.
André scratched behind the Pokémon's ear.
"Or if it is a dream…"
He chuckled quietly.
"…then I hope I never wake up."
Growlithe made a soft sound.
"Grow…"
André looked down at him.
"Because where I come from… there's nothing I'd really miss."
For a moment there was only the sound of the river.
Then Growlithe suddenly moved closer and gently bumped its head against André's shoulder.
"Grow!"
André blinked.
Then he smiled.
"Yeah… I guess I've got something now, huh?"
Growlithe wagged its fluffy tail happily.
André stood up and stretched again.
"Well, partner…"
He looked down the river.
"…what do you say we keep going?"
Growlithe barked excitedly.
"Growlithe!"
André laughed.
"Alright then."