''David!'' a voice screamed. A man standing alone in the dark forest jolted to attention and ran in the direction of the voice.
''I'm coming, Amilia!'' he shouted as he ran.
''David, please help!'' the voice screamed again. '' Where are you?''
David ran for what felt like hours, but he couldn't find the source of the voice. A shadow passed through the gloom, but he paid it no mind.
The screams grew louder and increasingly more desperate, some followed by a cracking sound. David picked up his pace, until he burst through a clearing next to a huge canyon.
''Amilia! Amilia, say something!'' he called.
''Down here!'' he was relieved to hear. ''Over the edge!''
David quickly and carefully went to the edge of the steep cliff and looked down. He saw Amilia hanging onto a tree branch, terror in her eyes.
''Alright, Amilia.'' he said calmly, knowing that revealing his own fear would cause her to panic. He reached a hand out.
''I-I can't.'' Amilia said.
''Yes, you can.'' David said. ''Just move very slowly.'' He carefully rested his weight on the trunk of the tree to minimize the distance between them and reached farther.
His fingers were only a few inches short of Amilia's knuckles.
The branch cracked, and Amilia screamed again. She slipped another few inches down, and the branch began to sag.
''Amilia, you're going to have to jump.'' David said. ''I can't reach any farther.''
Amilia looked at him, and their eyes met. He could see her fear, and she could see his. She knew she had to trust him. Her life now depended on it.
She nodded. ''There's nothing to jump off.'' she said.
''Try to jump anyway.'' David said. ''You have to.''
The branch cracked again, splitting from the tree and falling.
''Amilia, jump!'' David screamed. Amilia obeyed this time, and propelled herself upward.
David caught her by the fingers, and the sudden weight pulled him to the ground, knocking the wind out of him, but he managed to hold on with three of his own fingers. He began to pull her up...
...When she slipped.
''NO!'' David screamed as he helplessly watched Amilia fall to the bottom of the canyon.
He looked away, unable to bear watching her land. He began to cry.
He had failed to save his lifelong friend.
He sat there crying for half an hour, before he got up, wiped the tears from his face, and looked at the now-broken branch. He kicked the tree in anger and it uprooted, tumbling over the edge.
David closed his eyes and took a deep breath. ''I can't lose my senses.'' he said. ''I have to move on. For Amelia.''
He turned around and reluctantly went back into the forest.
I shot up in my bed in a cold sweat. The dream again. It had been occurring more frequently than before. It happened almost every night.
I rubbed my eyes and yawned. Judging by my biological clock, it was around 5:00 in the morning. Not enough time to bother trying to go back to sleep, then. Not that I could anyway.
I got out of my bed and searched for my jacket and belt. When I found them, I put them on, checked to make sure I had all three Pokeballs, and left the house.
I smiled and breathed in the fresh air outside. There was a nippy breeze blowing in from the sea today. A welcome release from the hot months of summer and a precursor to the wintertime.
I walked to the center of the village, to a pedestal that marked the center of the village and the island it was on. On top of the pedestal sat a small velvet pillow, which electrically transferred heat to the egg sitting on top of it. I ran a hand over the cylinder of bulletproof glass covering the egg, which was about a foot long at its polar longitude and a brilliant red in color. It was covered in cracks that turned the shell into a rendition of the Earth's own crust.
''Maybe today.'' I said, then smiled. I doubted the egg would hatch today. It's shell was just as cracked and its inner membrane was just as waterproof as they were two years before. It wasn't hatching anytime soon.
''Ah. I thought I'd find you here.'' a voice said from behind me. I turned around.
''Hi, Ash. How are you doing today?'' I said. Ash chuckled.
''Very well, thank you. And how are you today, Herobrine?'' he asked. Herobrine wasn't my real name, but it was the one I had used since...No. I promised that I'd move on.
''Fine.'' I answered.
Ash was the wise man of the village of Corrinth, a town that completely filled the island it was on. Years ago, Corrinth was a huge city on the delta of a river. It was the capital of the largest and most powerful region in the world. Palmo, home of Xyrule. Of course, now, nobody believed those myths of a benevolent being creating everything. For if he existed, then why had Palmo fallen?
Anyway, Palmo was attacked by a group of Pokemon Masters led by the most powerful Pokemon Trainer who ever lived: Black Death.
It was seeing the destruction Black Death leaves behind him that convinced me that Flarimist, Emperor of the Bottom Realms, was real. He was the one who crushed Corrinth, turning the Xyrule River Delta into a violent malestrom and separated this island from the mainland.
Black Death had been planning this deadly siege for many years before then. He went through the six regions of Earth, taking them over one by one. He started with Kanto, swiping its guardian, Mewtwo, off the face of the Earth forever, moved to Johto, extinguishing Ho-oh's flame, went to Hoenn, blasting Rayquaza out of orbit, destroyed Arceus to claim Sinnoh, and froze Kyurem's strength in its tracks in Unova. Finally, he arrived in Palmo, and personally took out every Pokemon Master and defensive trap until there was nothing standing in his way.
When this all happened, I was 20 years old and already went by Herobrine. I was one of the top five Trainers in the world, but I did not fight. Instead, I remained hidden, knowing that Black Death would win anyway and that Palmo would need someone left to train more Trainers in an effort for a rebellion.
Most of Corrinth's 20 people had lived here since they were isolated.
However, Ash and I were different. We both came from the mainland. Ash had done the same thing during the siege that I did.
He had laid in wait.
I knew that Ash, like most people, pitied me. After all, I had lost the use of my eyes, and that was a severe handicap in this world today.
''And how are your Pokemon?'' he asked. I shrugged.
''They're fine. I trained them some yesterday, so they're content. Dragonite especially, and that's who I need right now.''
''Still planning to leave Corrinth?'' he asked, smiling. I nodded.
''As soon as the egg hatches.'' I responded. We had this conversation every day. I never actually expected the egg to hatch soon, but I still prepared for when it did. It would, eventually. I was sure of that.
Ash put a hand on the glass over the egg. "Do you want to wake up soon?'' he asked it. "The world wants to know you." He chuckled to himself and turned back to me. ''You're doing well being its Protector.'' he said. I shook my head.
''I've been leaving it out in the middle of the village for two years.'' I replied. ''That's not protecting it very well.''
Ash merely smiled and walked away. I turned back to the egg and smiled.
"I can't really do anything to help you." I told it. "You know, I'm sure you'll hatch. You're destined for great things. I can see that very clearly.'' After that I left as well, chuckling to myself about the irony of my statement.
If I had still been facing the egg, and if I had not lost my sight, I might have noticed that the egg glowed a bright red for an instant until I turned a corner and was gone.