Chapter One: New House, New Discoveries

"Okay, gang, we're here."

I opened a sleepy eye at the sound of my mother's voice, and looked through the tinted Window of our '98 Expresso minivan. I sat up, rubbing the sleepiness away as my 16-year-old brother stirred next to me. A gigantic moving truck was parked in front of our car, obstructing my view of the new house. I looked out at an empty street, my spirits falling once again. All the nice Lamborghinis and the rich kids that rode in them were safely tucked away in million-dollar houses, safe from regular, middle class people… like me. Needless to say, I wasn't a Lamborghini.

I was more like a minivan.

At a sports car show.

In Vegas.

In other words, I simply did not fit in here.

Our home was probably the smallest (and cheapest) in Fair Acres, but had still cost my family a fortune. Okay, maybe this would be better than the ghetto part of town we'd used to live in, but not much. Mom and Dad were so excited about moving to a "nice neighborhood" where Aaron and I would have "lots of new friends".

Shyeah, right.

I felt someone sock me in my shoulder, and jolted from my thoughts.

"C'mon, Christine. We gotta go help unload the truck."

I looked into his bright, blue eyes and wispy blonde hair, and felt the urge to smack him. But I couldn't, because he was the only one who really understood what I was going through. Aaron may have been three years older than me and a complete jerkazoid, but he was my brother.

"Hey, wait up!" I called, hopping out and jogging after him. I peeked around the corner of the truck and spotted him trying to move our couch. I jumped up into the truck, rushing over and grabbing the other end, giving him a wry smile as we backed out. Only God would know how long this day was going to be.

By ten o clock that night, we had nearly the entire house set up. I was checking out my room, organizing my hoard of art and writing supplies. After this I told myself, I'll draw a picture of Josh and Ashlee, and then start on a story. It'll have a good plot, and lots of suspense. Just like Stephen King. Hopefully that'll take this whole moving thing off my mind… I released a sigh, collapsing on my bed. Nothing felt right because nothing was right. I decided to check out my closet. Looked like a normal closet, except it only had a few clothes, boxes, shoes, huge hole… I froze in mid-thought. Hole? Huge hole? My eyes bugged out, and I stuck my hand in it. This thing had to be massively long! But the bathroom was on the other side, and there was no hole there. Something was definitely fishy here; we didn't pay to get a huge hole in the second-largest bedroom. "MOM!!" I hollered, and she stepped in.

"What, honey?"

"There's a huge hole in my closet."

My father then stepped in, sweaty from the day's work. He frowned, pushing up his glasses tiredly and taking a look at the inside. "There's no hole here."

"Yes there is!" I insisted, waving my hand inside the hole just to prove it to them. Mom looked concerned.
"Christine, are you feeling alright? You keep whacking your hand against the back of the closet."

"I'm telling the truth!"

Aaron poked his head in, and his jaw dropped. "Dang."

"You can see it?" I asked hopefully, and something in my brother's eyes seemed to flash.

"…No, I just thought it was weird you were… already imagining things on your first day in the house." He was totally lying, but only I could tell. But if I didn't let this go, Mom and Dad would probably send me to a mental institution.

I hesitated, but finally stated, "Yeah, I was probably just imagining it." When my parents had left, Aaron gave me a I-saw-it look. We exchanged slight smiles, and I gave him a little "Good Night" wave. I pulled on my pajamas and slipped into bed. A hole in my closet. That's beyond weird.

Chapter Two: The Me, The Brother, and the Hole-In-My-Closet

The next day, around one o clock, Aaron and I were hanging out in my room. I was seated on my bed; Aaron slouched in a beanbag. "So," he said casually, "Whaddaya think of the neighborhood?"

I shrugged indifferently. "I dunno. Seems kind of dull. Not many kids that actually get out and play." He actually laughed a little, looking into my open closet. "That's some hole you got in there." I bounced off my bed, landing on my knees next to him. We stuck our heads in the closet, marveling at that stupid chasm that stuck out like a sore thumb. "Hey, dare ya to stick your head in there," he said with a mischievous grin. I raised an eyebrow, reminding myself once again how stupid he was. "Maybe it's a portal," he added mysteriously. I rolled my eyes, but thought how awesome that would be. I managed to fit my whole head and neck in there, and felt a slight wind coming through.

That's weird... I mused, and then got scared when a light shone through. "Aaron…" My voice was shaking; it felt like I was being pulled into it magnetically.

The hole widened drastically, and in an instant I was dragged into it. I shouted his name much more frantically. What the heck was going on?! Why was I being pulled into my closet, of all things?! No, I wasn't scared, I was terrified. I flipped my body around, swirling down a now multicolored tunnel. I heard a little zip and saw my brother tumbling down after me. I snagged his hand; he looked about as frightened as I.

"What did you do?" he shouted accusingly, not letting go, and I wrapped my arm around his neck.

"I don't know, I was just looking in there and I got pulled in!"

"Mom's so gonna kill us…"

"MOM CAN'T SEE IT! SHE'LL NEVER KNOW!" I was crying now. Omigawd, what was happening? This wasn't real, I assured myself. I banged into the side of the passageway we were falling down, and it hurt. Never mind. This was real. Aaron suddenly shouted out, and I looked below us. A light at the end of tunnel! YAY! "Flip around!" I shouted, and grabbed his other hand. We formed a sort of vertical dart, and slipped through the light… only to find ourselves falling twice as rapidly. The wind caught beneath our legs, whipping them out to skydiver-fashion. A summer sun was shining on us against a blue sky, but that didn't make me feel any better. My stomach was still flip-flopping wildly, and I thought I was about to be sick. Aaron's voice tore my from my thoughts:

"Hey, I think we're on Earth!"

"That won't matter if we keep falling; we'll crash to the ground and go SPLAT!"

I crazily reached out with my thoughts, not expecting anything to happen. We were getting closer to the ground, closer to death, closer to – WHOOSH.

Something grabbed me quick around me waist, and I stopped falling. Aaron's 130 pounds fell behind me, nearly ripping my arms from their sockets. My relief quickly washed away when I realized there were gray claws entrapping me around my stomach. The first thought was that we had been trapped in dinosaur times, and I let out a screech, squirming wildly.

"Hey, girl! Chill! Aero's not gonna hurt you."

I looked up, and my jaw dropped down in disbelief. A 17-year-old boy was sitting on top of a huge, almost bird-like creature. It had a large, toothed beak and huge wings; looked a lot like a dinosaur. But that wasn't a dinosaur. It was a Pokémon. Aerodactyl. And that wasn't just any regular 17-year-old. It was one that I knew. "Jeff…Malashok?" I stammered, and Aaron glanced up.

"Hey, quit hittin' on my little… Whattheheck is that? Is that a Pokémon? Whotheheck are you talkin' to?"

Jeff looked about as confused as Aaron and I were. "Who are you and how do you know my first and last name? And why were you skydiving with no parachutes? Don't you have any Pokémon?"

I cleared my throat. "Let us down and I'll explain everything."

The older teenager nodded slowly, and directed his gargantuan Pokémon to the ground. Aaron stepped off first, and I was released from the Aerodactyl's grip and fell into my brother's arms. He was holding me protectively. "Boy, you try anything on my little sister and you're gonna hafta deal with me."

"Aaron… he's fine. Let me go." He let go reluctantly, and I faced Jeff. "Alrighty, first things first. I'm Christine, 13, and this is my older brother Aaron, who's 16. Secondly, we weren't skydiving. We're from Omaha, Nebraska, in the U.S. On, em… that human-and-animal world. There's a portal in my closet… Well, I'm guessing that's what it is… and we kinda slipped through. And we just kept falling until we fell into here." Jeff looked terribly skeptical.

"Oh yeah? That doesn't explain how you know my name."
"Well, um…" I chewed my lip. How was I supposed to explain that he wasn't real… in my world, at least… and that he had been simply "thought up" like I was a god or something? This was beyond weird. I could tell him I was a psychic, but decided bluntness would be easier: "I know your name, and everything about you, because I created you. You're a character I use in lots of my stories and drawings, and… I guess you're real here. Just not real… in… Nebraska…" I felt a sweat drop go down my neck.

He was still skeptical. Typical Jeff. "Prove it."

"Alright… You grew up in Cerulean City, lived in an orphanage, both your parents died when you were one in a house fire, you used to have really big, nerdy glasses when you were little, you once finger-painted the bathroom in your foster parents' home…" He stared at me with a no-one-was-supposed-to-know-that look. "… And you have clorophobia. Fear of clowns."

Now both Aaron and Jeff were staring at me with stunned disbelief. I forced myself not to smirk at their expressions, and crossed my arms. The little sister, once again, rules the world.

Chapter Three: A New Friend

Jeff was looking at me, and cleared his throat. "So you're from the… other world? Animal world?" I nodded slowly, and he sighed distressedly. "I need some R&R…" He pulled out what looked like a strange MP3 player, and Aaron gasped.

"Dude! That thing is awesome! What is it?"

He looked at my brother. "MP9 Player, duh. It's only a fifty-gig, nothing special."

My brother jogged over, a huge grin on his face. As usual, we were in a crisis (practically) and all he could think about was the latest iPod. He looked over the older teen's shoulder at the LCD screen, motioning for him to hand it over.

"Ooo, music, video, phone, GPS… this is amazing!"

"Really? Gee, thanks."

"Mine's only 600 megabytes."

"What year are you two from? The 1800's?" That ticked me off a bit, but I kept my mouth shut.

"Uh… it was January 2007."

"Dang, I didn't know the technology there was that primitive."

"What else do you have?"

"Got the latest Pokédex."

"Lemme see! Ooo, you've got…"

He started naming off all the Pokémon Jeff had in the Dex, marveling at it all. I just rolled my eyes, walking over and sitting on a fallen tree trunk. A small Caterpie crawled over the side, staring at me. I smiled slightly, rolling over onto my stomach and putting out my hand. It crept a bit closer, still cautious.

"It's okay, I won't hurt you. Some think you're just a dumb little Caterpie, but I think you're quite fascinating." I tried to make my voice gentle and soothing, but was already a bit excited. It made a little squeaking noise, inching onto my palm. I giggled, holding it up to my face. "And what's your name?" I inquired, not at all expecting a response.

Lori a small voice seemed to say into my mind. I blinked, eyes still locked with the Caterpie's. It tilted its head.

Lori, the same voice repeated. That's my name.

My jaw dropped open; now it looked nervous.

Did I do something? Oh no, Mommy said to be nice to humans. I didn't mean to be rude, I really didn't, I just…

She looked on the verge of tears, and I shook my head, flabbergasted. "No, no, you didn't do anything, it's just… um…" I've never spoken to a freakin' Pokémon using telepathy, I completed in my head.

You haven't? Really?

Now it was official freak-out time. "You heard that?" I managed to stammer.

We're linked. Not a lot of humans can do that, but a few can, usually if they have psychic abilities. But once one of us looks away, it usually breaks. Do you have psychic abilities? It doesn't feel like you do.

Lori had the absolute cutest face when she was talking or listening, even if what she was saying was terribly confusing. Having a Caterpie able to read your mind was a bit strange, but I just loved it. I looked away, and it felt like a thin rubber band snapping between us. Lori was attempting to make her way up to my shoulder, and our eyes locked again.

You need shorter arms, Christine, she whined.

I blinked, then realized she had probably figure out my name. Sorry, Charlie. They'll only get longer.

But I'll be a Butterfree by then and then… Her voice trailed off. I can stay with you, right? At least for a little bit?

I considered answering with a "no", thinking about getting back home. I suddenly felt a bit homesick, knowing that Aaron and I may never get back. I didn't even know all that much about Pokémon, or training, or anything in this world. Then again, I may as well enjoy my stay.

Okay. That'd be fine with me.

Yay! Mommy won't care; she says I need a trainer. But I'm already a big girl. In a couple levels, I'll be ready to make my cocoon to be a Metapod.

I grinned at my new… friend, I guessed she would be. i Looks like my golden retriever won't be the only non-human I'm friends with. /i But then it hit me like a speeding bullet. If the things people wrote on Earth became reality in parallel universes, then that meant that Krista, Tobias, Rask, Ashlee, Damien, Dallin, Todd, Kim, and Josh- I froze in mid-thought. Josh. In the last story I had written, Team Rocket was hunting down Josh on account of high treason. And I couldn't just pick up a pen and paper and change whatever was going to happen… Well, as far as I knew. Had I put my characters in a bigger problem than they could handle? The thought haunted me slightly, just for a minute. I scolded myself for making their lives more difficult than even i I /i could imagine. All I could do was hope and pray that my visit here wouldn't be a complete disaster.

Chapter Four: New Place, New Things

"Christine!"

I blinked, and looked over at my brother, who had his hands on his hips.

"You look like you've seen a ghost or something. Now, come on, I've been calling you for the last few minutes. Jeff's gonna take us into the nearest town and show us around."

Lori prodded my cheek with one of her back legs, and I looked at her.

Who's that?

Just my older brother, Aaron.

He was looking at me shoulder. "Hey, what is that thi-"

"Caterpie. Her name's Lori." I interrupted.

He doesn't know much about Pokémon.

I stood, careful not to send Lori tumbling off my shoulder, and walked over to Jeff, who was waiting for me. "So, where to now?"

"Well, I was thinking maybe we could head into Cerulean, since that's where we're nearest."

My face immediately lit up at the thought of going into the largest city in Kanto. It couldn't be much different than New York City or something like that, only more… interesting. "Can I take Firehorse?" Firehorse was his Rapidash, second Pokémon he had acquired. He started to take out a crimson Pokéball, and then paused, eyeing me.

"You know way too much for your own good." He released the Rapidash, and Lori let out a squeal. She shot a String Shot in its face, and it whinnied in alarm, mane flaring.

"Oh my gosh, that was not supposed to happen! I'm so sorry!!" I glared at the Caterpie on my shoulder.

Sorry. Instinct.

Jeff touched the Rapidash's neck, and it looked at its trainer. It calmed down, and I could tell he was telling it about me. Firehorse's mane stopped flaring so violently, and she calmed down enough to face me.

You have an interesting past, human. But it would seen you would know a bit more about keeping one's Pokémon under an amount of control. But I won't be prejudice; hop on.

The voice was that of a young woman's, and it echoed in my mind the same way Lori's did. Only it was more pronounced, since she'd had quite a bit of practice with Jeff. I managed to hop on with a bit of help from Aaron. Lori jumped off my shoulder and onto Jeff's, still a bit nervous around the Rapidash. Riding bareback was a tad more difficult – and uncomfortable – than with a saddle, but not too bad. She had an almost replicated figure of the average horse, only a bit leaner. I nudged her in the side, almost regretting it as my muddy tennis shoe created a mark on her white hairs. She started off at a quick trot, almost a canter, and I had to balance myself as not to fall off. I nudged her again, and we went faster yet, now near a speedy gallop

Want to go faster? she inquired dangerously.

"Uh…"

I'll take that as a yes. Hang on!

"Wha-?! WAH!!"

The Rapidash put on a sudden burst of speed, nearly jolting me off. I had to lean forward racehorse-style just so I wouldn't be blasted by the wind. I dared to glance back, and almost started to gape. Her hooves were barely touching the ground, a trail of smoke behind us. If we go any faster, I thought rather excitedly, we'll be flying! Still, the ride was exhilarating, at the least. We had to be going at least sixty miles per hour, faster than even the best racehorse at the Aksarben arena.

"Hi Christine!"

I quickly looked over, and saw my brother and Jeff on top of Aero, only a few feet away and up. We finally reached the outskirts of the city, and Firehorse slowed down, finally stopping. There was sweat beaded around her neck and forehead, but she had obviously loved the ride.

Whew! Last time I had to go that fast, Rockets were chasing us with machine guns and tanks.

Her trainer obviously heard that, and he laughed. "Hey, you liked it."

Not as much as I did today. But I didn't reach the eighty-per-hour mark like I did that day…

I was slipping off, and fell on my butt. "You were going eighty miles per hour?!" Aaron had already dismounted the Aerodactyl and was helping me up.

"Different than that cheesy American TV show, eh?" he commented with a laugh. I smirked, and raised an eyebrow.

"You didn't actually think it was like that, right?"

"Well…"

I brushed the thought away, and smiled, looking at the city before me. It was a lot like New York City: restaurants, shopping malls, grocery stores, Pokécenters… I paused at that sight. Whoa, cool. Pokécenters. I knew it was kind of stupid; it was just like your average clinic, but still. And the people! Most of them, I found after looking around a bit, weren't even trainers. Most just kept Pokémon with them as pets or companions. Jeff had swapped Aero and Firehorse for Perro, his Arcanine.

"Come on, I'll give you a little tour," he offered, and I found myself grinning. Maybe getting sucked into a parallel universe wasn't as bad as I had imagined…

This place was amazing, to be short.

I knew Cerulean was one of the larger cities, that Jeff and Ashlee grew up here, and that was just about it. After a tour of the supermarkets, Pokécenters, and a few of the gyms, I was about to convince myself this was just a dream. The technology was even more astonishing than seeing hundreds of Pokémon everywhere. The cell phones weren't cell phones, they were all-in-one databases. Most of the Pokédexes had several features on them and, by far, the most popular small PC in Kanto. There was only one thing wrong: I couldn't exchange any of my money. Neither could Aaron.

"Okay, I'd like to exchange this American money." He was sliding four twenty-dollar bills underneath to the lady at the exchange counter. She looked at it strangely.

"Where did you say you were from?"

"America. Nebraska."

"What region?"

"Um… North America."

"No, sir. Region."

"Look, lady, we don't call them regions, we call them continents. Now are ya gonna give me my proper amount or not?" He was making her a little upset, I could tell. I grabbed his sleeve, and hissed,

"Come on, Aaron. Let's go!"

"Dude, we gotta have cash."

I rolled my eyes, and he snatched his twenties, giving the lady a rude look. We walked out, meeting Jeff outside.

"Whoa, what happened?" he asked.

"Apparently they don't do universal currencies…"