Jade was floating in nothingness. She couldn't see anything and she wasn't one hundred percent sure that she was still attached to her body. The only sense that seemed to be working was her hearing, as she heard a faint echo that sounded like it was coming from miles away. The echo sounded just as confused as she felt.

"Heeello? Hell… Hello?! Wake up!"

Jade thought, Wait a minute… That's not just an echo. That's an actual voice. Someone is speaking to me!

And suddenly it wasn't dark anymore. It wasn't nothing, it was a kaleidoscope of swirling colours and blurry shapes that were trying to manifest themselves.Jade found herself blinking several times, after she'd re-remembered how to blink, and as the image she was seeing started to focus, Jade could see a round face with a mop of jet black hair. It was wearing a hat and on its shoulder was some kind of yellow creature.

A rabbit? Jade wondered. I've never seen a rabbit like that before… And why is it sitting on his shoulder like a parrot?

Rudely interrupting her thoughts, the boy started shaking her shoulders and said, "Hey! Don't faint on me again now, will ya?"

Jade suddenly regained her sense of alertness. She sat up and rubbed her head, which was throbbing painfully. It was spinning uncontrollably. I'm sure I didn't drink a single thing last night, Jade thought to herself.

"Are you gonna speak or somethin'?" said the boy. He was getting impatient now. Upon closer inspection, Jade noticed that he wasn't a boy; he was a young man with a z-shaped scar on each of his cheeks, huge brown eyes and, most noticeably, a determined look on his face.

"Y-yes. Sorry. I'm… I'm Jade. At least, I thought I was," replied Jade. Nothing seemed right to her. She was in a foreign face with a complete stranger who was half-boy, half-man, and his over-attached yellow rabbit.

"Wow. You really are confused, aren't ya? Well, you're in luck! The nearest Pokémon Center isn't too far from here. That's where my friends are, too." The boy gave her a beaming smile and gave her the thumbs-up.

Wow, this guy's cheesy… said Jade. Wait… what did he say? "Pokémon Center? What on earth is that?"

"But… but you've gotta know what a Pokémon Center is! Man, you need help. Come here." The boy lifted her up roughly by the arm and slung it over his left shoulder. Jade planted her feet on the ground and pushed herself up. She wanted to push the boy away for being so up close and personal, but she knew he just wanted to help her, and she was in a lot more pain than she realised.

"Jeez… What's happened to me?" said Jade. She was still bleary-eyed from fainting, but as she looked around, she saw a few… odd… things. There was a purple rat with oversized front teeth scuttling around the pair of them. Overhead, there was a blue-and-orange bird, tinier than any bird she'd ever seen in England, fluttering between their heads. She thought she could heard it say a single word over and over again, but she shook her head. Birds do not talk, Jade Roberts. You are going crazy and you mustn't believe your psycho thoughts.

But this was just the beginning for Jade Roberts and her new friend. Unbeknownst to her, she's found herself in the mysterious and exciting Pokémon world. Whether she likes it or not, she's been thrown out of her mundane life in the suburbs of Manchester, England, and propelled into the vibrant, varied and colourful Pokémon universe.

Check back next week for another instalment of this new series! Please review and subscribe.