"Hey! Hey, are you all right?"

Ugh…

"Come on, you've got to be fine, right? Okay, hold up. Just let me… oh! Oh good. You're breathing at least. Um… maybe I should go fetch someone. Yeah. Yeah, that's a good idea. Wait here. Oh, uh… can't… you're not awake. Right. I knew that."

The creature on the beach coughed, eyes flashing open to an unfamiliar scene. Bubbles floated across a brilliant, painted sunset, magnifying the brushstrokes of the clouds. She pushed her limbs under her body and wobbled to a stand before lurching forward and falling back to the sand.

"Oh! You- you're awake! Oh gosh, that's good."

The creature blinked. What was this thing in front of her? It looked like a toddler in a night-sheet with a very strange, green bicycle helmet, but she couldn't be entirely sure.

"Um… do you need help? I'm not very strong, but I think I can help you stand. Here." The toddler raised its arms, which seemed to lack any sort of hands, and closed its eyes.

Suddenly, the creature was lifted to her feet. She looked down. Hands and knees. No. Paws.

Paws.

She screamed. "I- I have paws! Oh my word, what is this? I don't recall being a quadruped—not that I recall much anyways—but still… I don't… I'm not…"

"What are you so scared of? You're an eevee, right? What's the matter with paws?"

The… eevee—that was right, wasn't it?—stared at the toddler. "And… what's an eevee, exactly? I've never heard of that. Is it some kind of acronym or abbreviation? Like TV and television?" She didn't know what those were, but it sounded about right.

The toddler tilted its head. "First off, I have no idea what those are, and two, an eevee is just an eevee. There's nothing to explain. You're a pokemon, just like me." It sort of gestured at itself. "Oh, and since you seem to be lacking in your species knowledge, I'm a ralts."

The eevee squinted at the ralts. "What's a pokemon?" she asked.

"You don't know what a pokemon is?" The ralts threw up its arms again, and the eevee wondered if it was going to do that funny lifting thing again.

It didn't, and instead smacked its helmet. "Of course… you're probably like the pokemon in the stories, the ones that turn from humans into pokemon and save the world from time to time. It's true there hasn't been one like that in like… five centuries, if my memory serves me right."

The eevee flicked her tail and peered at the ralts. "So what does that make you? A guide? An inseparable companion? The chosen one?"

"It makes me an incompetent freak," the ralts spat. Then it paused for a moment and reconsidered. "If the stories are true, I mean. It seems like whoever finds the human ends up getting rescued a lot, which is kind of boring. I'd kind of like to do the rescuing, you know?"

"You seem a lot better suited to rescuing than me," the eevee offered.

"Thanks. Name's Titania, by the way, but everyone calls me Nia." Grinning, she stuck out her hand.

The eevee took it. "I haven't got a name," she explained, "but I'm sure we can remedy that. It's nice to make your acquaintance, Nia." Placing her paw in Nia's hand, she added: "and I hope we can be good friends."

"Aww! I think I'd like that," Nia said. "Now come on! Once we get to the city, we can test out all the precedents from the humans who came before you." Shee held fast onto the eevee's paw and closed her eyes before a pastel blue bubble surrounded them both.

The ground fell beneath the eevee's feet, shifting this way and that until she found footing on smooth, orderly cobblestones. As soon as she could stand, the blue bubble dissipated, leaving the eevee with a panorama of new scenery to enjoy.

Surrounding the cobblestone courtyard were several two-story buildings made of dark wood and creamy plaster. Their windows were left open, mostly, but with the huge flowers sprouting from their window boxes, it wasn't easy to tell. The sky above was still painted orange and pink, but it was clearer here than at the beach.

"My teleportation is pretty good," Nia said, putting her hands on her hips. "Sometimes, I wander for hours without any notion of where I am, but I can always get home at the end of the day. It's nice having that kind of freedom, though it doesn't help much anymore."

The eevee cocked her head. "How come it's not helpful? Can't you go just about anywhere with it?"

"Not really. How about I explain it while we head for the Shrine? I mean, you need a place to stay, and a christening and patron legend, of course. Didn't you say you didn't have a name?" Nia pointed at a street that led from the courtyard and started walking.

The eevee bounded after, slowing as she caught up. Thankfully, Nia didn't seem big on running, and they could chat more easily as they strolled along the streets.

"So, my teleportation normally lets me go anywhere where I have strong emotions. The beach where I found you? That's one of them. I found it with my best friend when we were younger, and we'd always play there, so I have no trouble."

"Oh. But that means you can still go to lots of the places you like, right?" the eevee asked. She swished her tail back and forth, and her ears pricked with curiosity. "So what's wrong with your teleportation?"

"Well, about five years ago, something interesting happened here."

Watching as Nia's gaze softened, and her pace slowed, the eevee wondered what that was. She guessed Nia would tell her.

"You see, one day, we just couldn't teleport to certain places anymore. So a bunch of people went out exploring to see why, and they came back one day and said that there was this great, huge chasm separating us from other lands."

The eevee's eyes widened. "And let me guess: no one could teleport across the chasm?"

Closing her eyes, Nia nodded. She smiled, but no happiness tinged her face. "My friend—he was a shinx, by the way—lived in Bolt City, a haven for electric and steel types. It's probably one of the biggest cities out there, and he used to come out for vacation, and I found one day that I could teleport out there."

"How far away was it?" the eevee interrupted.

Nia sighed. "It was a long ways. I think the trip usually took about a week, so the very idea that I could teleport so far was pretty amazing."

"I guess you two were pretty good friends, huh?"

Nodding, Nia looked away. In the light, the eevee swore she saw something shiny and wet escape the corner of her eyes.

"It's been five years, so I don't miss him as much as I used to, but I wonder if we'll ever get to meet again, you know?"

The eevee didn't really know—she had no memory of such friends—but she hoped someday she might have something like that. Less sad, of course, but it'd be really amazing to have a friend she loved so much that she could teleport huge distances just to hang out with them.

"Maybe you can be an explorer, and you'll find a way to cross the chasm," the eevee suggested, beaming. She really wanted to cheer up Nia.

"That's a good idea. Now let's hurry to the Shrine and get you a name, okay?" Nia picked up the pace, and the eevee had to trot to keep up.

They walked a few more blocks before reaching a huge building surrounded by elaborate flying buttresses and carvings. The windows glittered with millions of colored glass pieces, all glued together in amazing tapestries of color. From the eevee's perspective, it looked like a tower from heaven. Maybe it was, even.

"Here's the shrine," Nia said, gesturing to a set of grand, wooden doors. "Let's get you in there before they close up for the night."

Nia led the way, and as she passed through the giant doorway, she put her hands to her mouth and called out. "Hello? Priestess Millie? I have a guest who needs to stay the night."

The eevee didn't know where to look, but soon enough, a bright pink thing ran up the center aisle. Its belly was cream-colored, and its ears had the funniest shape, as though they'd been cut from paper for a fancy invitation. Trying to be discreet, the eevee leaned over.

"What kind of pokemon is that?" she whispered.

"The Priestess here is an audino," Nia explained. "They're really great healers, but Priestess Millie is especially strong and kind."

Turning back to the aisle, the eevee noticed that Priestess Millie stood right in front of them.

"Why hello there, Nia!" the Priestess said. "Who's your friend? Did you meet her by the ocean?"

Nia nodded. "She was passed out on the beach. Um… she hasn't got a name though, and I think she might be one of the humans from the legends, but we don't know for sure."

As though this simply could not do, the Priestess clapped her hands and gave a motherly frown. "We must give her a name then! Do come along, dears, and we'll get you fixed up straight away, little eevee."

She waddled back down the aisle, Nia and the eevee following behind. They turned right at the strange altar at the front of the building and exited into a short hallway. Looking around, the eevee noted how perfectly smooth the stone walls were, and that the vaulted ceiling was covered in vibrant paintings of majestic pokemon. She'd have to ask Nia about each one later.

They stopped at the end of the hall, where a set of rather conspicuous doors had been left open.

"This is our christening shrine," the Priestess explained, closing the doors as eevee and Nia entered. "All of the world's legends are painted on the hallway before it, and again in here." She walked to a small fountain at the center of the room and waved for the eevee to follow.

"Well, all of the legends except Lord Arceus. We believe it is a disgrace to make anything in his likeness."

Priestess Millie instructed the eevee to put her front paws up on the fountain ledge. After that, the eevee closed her eyes and waited as the Priestess chanted something in a strange language.

"Now, eevee, dip your paws in the water and search through your soul. Ask yourself who you are, what you want to become, and how you want to live your life."

The eevee did so, keeping her eyes squeezed shut the whole time. She frowned as she asked herself the questions.

Who am I? She didn't know. Gulping, she asked it of herself again and tried to think harder. Something rustled behind her, and there was a small gasp.

Though the answer didn't come, she felt something click in her chest and moved onto the next question. What do I want to become?

Well, she thought, she'd like to be kind and caring and strong enough to effectively use those traits. Bravery too—that was important.

How do I want to live my life? The eevee frowned at the water, her forehead wrinkling a tiny bit. She wanted to live freely, able to do as she pleased for as long as "as she pleased" was good and right, or at least good and right according to the romantic ideal that everyone could be happy.

A sudden warmth spread from her chest, and a second gasp reached her ears.

"Goodness! That's Xerneas, the fairy of life. My dear eevee, you may open your eyes now, and come, come and look!"

The eevee blinked back to the christening shrine and scurried to where Nia and the Priestess were standing. She looked at where Priestess Millie was pointing.

Xerneas looked like a deer or a moose. He was blue and black, mostly, but his horns sparkled in a zillion pastel shades. Admiring his picture, which was painted on the ceiling above, the eevee thought he looked like a very nice legend to have for a patron.

She was still staring at him when the Priestess nudged her, effectively shaking her from her trance. "I'm guessing you don't remember, but do you know your birthday?"

Quickly, the eevee shook her head. She didn't even know how dates worked here, let alone if she could use whatever day she'd once had.

The Priestess seemed to understand. Smiling, she led Nia and the eevee to a table on the edge of the room. A huge tomb lay open on it, and though its pages had clearly seen better days, it didn't seem dusty at all.

Priestess Millie leafed through a couple of pages. "Ah! Here we go. Let's see, if you can't remember your birthday, then we have to use your christening day, which is today, obviously." She put a finger to the page and dragged it down. "And if your patron is Xerneas, then… your name will be Mabel!"

Mabel. It seemed nice. The eevee tested it out, letting the name roll of her tongue.

"Maayy-beell," she said. Something tingled in her heart. "Oh, I love it!" Tail wagging, Mabel turned to the Priestess and thanked her profusely.

"Oh, no need to thank me! You might want to send a prayer to Xerneas, but really, all I did was show you how it's done." However humble she might be though, the Priestess could not stop beaming as she turned to Nia. "You said Mabel needed a place to stay, right? You're not bringing her to the guild?"

Shaking her head, Nia muttered something about inefficiency.

"Don't be like that," Priestess Millie said, wrapping an arm around each of the smaller pokemon. "Now that there are two of you, I'm sure the guild will let you start exploring."

As Nia leaned over, Mabel noticed a tentative shyness overcome the ralts's face. "Um… I hate to ask this of you right after arriving, but would you like to join my guild?"

Mable grinned. "Of course! You said yourself you wanted to rescue people, and I think that by exploring, you can do that! I'll support you in any way I can."

Though pink dashed Nia's cheeks, the ralts smiled back. "Then that's settled. Off to the Cantorsburg Exploration Guild!"

Priestess Millie led them the rest of the way to the courtyard surrounding the church. She waved them goodbye, her pink and cream colors matching the sky's array.

As the ralts and eevee walked onto a side street, Mabel turned to Nia and asked: "what does the exploration guild do, exactly?"

"Hmm, well, they explore these places called mystery dungeons to see if those places can act as portals between the shards of land that are left. Sometimes, they also mount expeditions to see if they can cross the chasms. Just last week, we sent an altaria to see how far he could fly, but he hasn't come back yet."

Mabel gave a little "oh" and watched the cobblestones pass under her feet for a few seconds. "It sounds kind of dangerous."

"It is," Nia said, "but if I'm ever going to see my friend again, I've got to do this. And maybe looking into the whole thing with you will make me able to help people, you know? I mean, if all the stories about humans are true, then maybe we'll save the world together or something."

Honestly, Mabel thought saving the world was a big order, but she smiled and looked up at the sky. "Maybe," she sighed.