The lights swirled around in a dizzying, meshing formation. Despite the thunder booming outside, the lightning crackling to the ground, the buckets of water flooding the streets of this godforsaken run-down part of the inner city, the club boomed with the rich atmosphere of need and longing. It was a single, conscious desire: to be one. The inhabitants, packed wall-to-wall, covered in sweat and radiating heat to combat the chill outside, moved in synchronization. Cloth against cloth against skin against skin, and the neon lights illuminated the floor for brief moments. Eyes would meet, followed by hands, then hips. The celebration would never end, not until the sun came up.
Minutes, hours, millennia later, I managed to make my way out. I began, at first, to walk, then run through the streets, to avoid the torrential downpour that had been assaulting not only the city, but the entire world, for weeks. Sometimes, it let up. Long enough to dry. But it would return with full force, and there was never daytime. Not anymore. The world had been lost for almost two months now, and those of us that had any sense knew how to avoid the despair it brought. Clubs and dance halls were consistently full, consistently open, with alcohol flying off the shelves and undercover drugs probably being trafficked by the armful. Hallucinogens, antidepressants... whatever made it stop. At least for a little while. Or until someone figured it out.
When I finally got back to my apartment, I forwent a shower. I stripped, throwing my clothes aside, and fell down into bed, pillows and blankets strewn everywhere. My hand found the remote and I flipped the television on, but I could care less what was on. Everything was still spinning. I knew I had drank...at least a little. Maybe more. It was hard to remember. I shook my head and water droplets flew everywhere; it made me light-headed, as well, and I fell back with a laugh. My body was warm. Too warm. Kicking off the sheets, I fell further into myself, and the rain tapped insistently on the glass of the window behind me while I eventually fell asleep. The television lost signal, and white noise filled the room, accompanied by the gentle flicker of light.
Complete emptiness. Absolutely nothing. It was suffocating, drowning-
A brilliant flash of light accompanied a single, disharmonic chord. It was wonderful and horrible all at once. Then, it resolved to a single, pure note. There was an accompanying, warm presence; comfort, but it seemed alarmed. I reached out, and came to the realization that I was falling. When I opened my mouth to cry out, no sound came forth. I felt like I was plummeting, like I was going to die. Then I hit water.
"Shit!" It was bright. That wasn't...normal. I blinked my eyes open, and it hurt. It was a few minutes before they adjusted, but the first thing I noticed was that I was looking at a sunlit room. Not my room, but a sunlit one, nonetheless. On a second look, I could verify that no, this was definitely not my room. That was, though, the least of the things I would want to notice.
I stumbled over to the window and flung open the curtains. Sunlight. It hurt, from lack of being exposed to it in over a month. It was warm, though, and I fought with the window latch until I forced it open. Oh, god...
It didn't smell stale and cold like the rain. It was bursting with life, and with color. I looked down, to see the bright glow of the grass, blowing slightly in the breeze. It was like seeing the world again, for the first time. I didn't know where I was, but I was just happy that wherever I'd ended up, it was normal again. I would spend probably a few more minutes just soaking it in before I would turn to look for something to put on.
There wasn't a television in this room, but there was a computer, off to the corner. I frowned slightly at it as I pulled open a drawer, tugging out a shirt that, miraculously, fit me well. Lucky, I guess. Looking through another drawer, I found a few pairs of pants that were in my size; coincidence, I assured myself, or else someone else my size brought me home. I thought I'd gone home the night before, but...eh. I've woken up in weirder places, I suppose. Finding, not entirely surprisingly at this point, a pair of shoes that fit in the nearby closet, I grabbed a headband off the computer desk and flipped the monitor on.
Files, folders... was there not a desktop for this system? Oh, there it was. Strange...I couldn't find a browser anywhere. Well, I guess I wouldn't be finding the news after all. I turned it back off, then headed out the door and down the hallway. I emerged into the kitchen to see, across the bar, that the house was empty. Decorated very plainly, and also empty. There was an envelope on the table, sealed, and with something on the front. A name. My name. Frowning slightly, I picked it up, hesitant as I opened the letter.
Valerie,
Right now, you're feeling confused. Maybe even scared. I can't tell you much in this letter, but I can tell you what to do next. My name right now is not important, just know that I am your friend. This world, and your Earth, are in danger. It's going to be up to you and me to save it, but I couldn't shift you close enough to be near me, or where we need to be. You will have to find me.
Leave the house, and go right. At the end of the road is the school. Today is your graduation day. After the ceremony, you'll need to make your way towards a place called Sunyshore City. Take the next ship to a place called Kanto. I'll meet you at an island known as Cinnibar Island.
You're not going to understand what's going on, but I'll give you the short, short version. What you called animals in your world we know as something called Pokemon. They're more than animals, though. Pokemon are our friends. They are more sentient. They are our partners, who we travel with and learn with. Your graduation is from a Pokemon School; everyone will know you. You're going to be certified as a Pokemon Trainer. This is necessary for you to make it to me. Please understand.
I'll try to be in contact with you as soon as I can. Trust me. I'll get you back home.
-R
...R? What in the hell kind of name is R...? I folded the letter, and put it in my back pocket, walking towards the front door.
The trip to this 'Pokemon school' wasn't long, but it gave me time to think. Whatever kind of dream I'm having, it's a weird one. Pokemon...sounds vaguely familiar, in the back of my head, but I can't place it. I don't believe I'm in some other world, or whatever, but this place does feel different. It's not raining, either, which is uncharacteristic.
I've never been one to turn down a challenge, though, and 'save the world' is a hell of a challenge. I was no stranger to the idea- 'girl gets transported to another world, has to learn all their customs and ways, and then has to save the world with a mysterious other protagonist.' It just seemed so...cliché.
I would humor it.
"Valerie~!" The voice caught me off-guard, mostly because it was a voice I didn't know screaming my name. A bright-eyed girl with curly blonde hair bounced up to me, throwing her arms around me and nearly knocking me off balance. "Hey, girl! Nice to see you showing up late!"
"As usual." Another voice chimed in, this one much deeper. A darker-skinned boy was beyond the loud girl, giving us half a smirk. Both of them seemed about my age, maybe late teens or early twenties. "I don't know how you made it, Val."
"Oh, come off it, Malachi." The blonde girl stepped back, straightening my shirt where she'd thrown it off by crashing into me. "Valerie is the smartest student in our class. It's no wonder the Professor chose her as Champion, anyway."
"Yeah, well. I'm happy as an Elite Four." Malachi raised his eyebrows. "With you, me, Wyatt, and your boyfriend as Elite Four, though, I'm alright, I suppose. Can't say I didn't expect it."
"Damn right, we worked our asses off!" she wrinkled her nose. "Well, then, let's go! If we don't go, we're going to miss the Ceremony!" With that, she whirled off again, leaving me more confused than before.
"That's Olivia for you, huh?" Malachi chuckled. "Even one of the best Pokemon schools in Sinnoh has a couple of airheaded girls. Still, she's a great student, so I guess I can't complain." he shrugged one shoulder. "See you there, Valerie."
"Yeah." See you there. Of course. I didn't just learn your name or anything. It was going to be a handful just remembering all their names. I followed after him, with more questions than answers. Champion...? Head of the class...? I'd barely passed high school.
It had been easy to lay low at graduation, accept the applause for being Champion as it was announced, and leave with the backpack that apparently held the same weight as a diploma in this Sinnoh place. I hadn't learned much more by that point; I was officially a Pokemon Trainer now, which meant I could travel around Sinnoh, catch more Pokemon (in these little ball capsules they called Pokeballs), battle Gym Leaders, and become...well, the Pokemon League Champion, which was similar to the silly ranking system they had used for grading. There had been one thing that had struck me as completely odd, though. At the ceremony, in the audience, there were dozens of...well, I supposed they were Pokemon. Animals, of all shapes and sizes, and colors, even. With humans, like pets. I guess that was like the letter-writer had mentioned. I really couldn't take this. I would sleep, that night, and wake up back on Earth, in the rain-soaked world I knew. Maybe I'd had a bad trip.
Following the ceremony, Olivia, the girl from before, caught up with me and told me some people were having a dance party at their house. That was something I knew. I accepted her invitation, and went 'home' to change into the most appropriate clothes I could find (because oddly enough, my entire wardrobe was in this crazy dream world, go figure) and met up with Olivia before following her down to someone's basement. The music blared and the lights flashed; it was the most home I'd ever felt here. I danced until I couldn't anymore, stumbled back to the place I'd woken up at (which was still deserted) and fell asleep on the bed, ready to wake up to Earth again.
The next thing I knew, I was standing in a cave. I was alone, until a shadowed figure approached me. No matter how close he got, I couldn't see his face, but when he opened his mouth to speak, I heard him clearly.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" I opened my mouth to respond, but again found that I couldn't. It was like talking into water. "I didn't bring you here to jack off!" A pause, and the figure slouched slightly. "Look, I'm sorry for snapping. It's just, I'm trying my damndest to save my world and your world, but I really need your help, Valerie."
I finally found it in me, somewhere, to speak. "I don't know what the hell you're talking about!" I sounded exasperated; mostly because I was. "Who are you? Why am I here? This isn't even real!"
"It is real." he insisted, pleadingly. "Valerie, I can't make you believe me, but I can do one more thing for you." He held out his hand, and a book materialized in them; a thick book, and on the front, the word Pokemon. "This contains pretty much the basics.. well, everything you would have learned in school. It's taking almost all I have to get this to you."
"I can't read all that."
"You don't have to." He held it up, and I touched it; the book vanished, and I suddenly had a headache. "You'll know it when you wake up. Please, Valerie. They gave you a Pokemon, a Pokedex, and a map at your graduation. Please get to Kanto. I'm waiting."
"Wait, who are you?" It was no use. He faded away, and I jolted awake. It was the same room. In this Sinnoh place. With a moan of defeat, I put my head in my hands.
I was headed to Kanto.
A/N: Forget you guys, I write what I want. Anyway, this is all premise, set-up, whatever. The next part will be about Valerie's Pokemon and some other things. Also this whole dang thing is full of PLOT TWISTS so stick around. Shoot me an email if you wanna chat about it. See you next time!