Awaken, my champion… Into a world of your own design…

Light flashed into the room. The curtains barely stopped the lightning from blinding her as she rolled over in her bed, the covers wrapping tighter around her. She closed her eyes shut, mumbling to herself.

You will bring peace to a world you know so well, yet so blindly neglect… A world that you only dream about…

She shuddered as the light grew brighter outside of her window, the sound of the rain hitting the roof slowly dying down as it did. The girl mumbled more to herself, pulling the blankets tightly around her and covering her head, shaking slightly as she mumbled. "What's the point…? Why do I have to keep hearing you…?"

Goodbye. Awaken.

The light flashed once more, leaving behind an empty room as the rain began to patter down onto the roof once more.

The stagnant air assaulted her sense of smell as she awoke and rolled over slightly as she attempted to stand up. Shock ran throughout her body as she began to sit up, leaving her to collapse back onto the straw under her and her mind was spinning. She could only glance at the stone ceiling as she lay on her back, not gaining any feeling aside from the sharp pain coursing through her body.

"Where am I…?" She mumbled to herself, shaking slightly as she cried out. From behind her, she heard the sounds of someone entering the room, the footsteps heavy against what sounded like a cobblestone floor. She attempted once more to roll to her feet, but made no progress as the sounds entered the doorway.

"Oh… Finally awake it seems, good. You've been out for quite a while young miss… A fall like that would have been fatal for many not as lucky as you." The low voice moved to her side as she turned her head to gaze towards the male, only catching a set of what appeared to be paws in place of a normal set of feet.

W-what…?

"I've been working on trying to bring you back to reality for a long time now young one, don't go falling off anymore cliffs or I'll have wasted my time on you." The paws turned to her, as she cast her gaze up, the paws turning into blue fur on a canine figure. Black streaks of fur bordered the blue and cream colored the rest of the jackal. His fur was shifting as he bent down and poured a blend of juice into her mouth. The brew left her sputtering slightly as she choked it down and looked up at him. Her eyes were wide in shock as his gaze hardened on her.

"Now, young Mareep, I think it's time to explain what you were doing up in these mountains anyway… It's not a safe place for one like you."

With that, the young girl passed out, her new blue eyelids closing over her black eyes, electricity crackling throughout her wool as she rolled over onto her side.

The sun was beginning to rise as a flock of Spearow flew over the rocky mountain terrain, a windowless wooden door being illuminated as the light grew brighter. Inside the cave, large crashing sounds could be heard.

Inside of the cave, down in a side room, a small Mareep rested as dust began to blow into the room she was in. Her breathing grew quicker as she coughed from it and jolted awake, quickly rolling onto her four feet as she hacked onto the stone floor. The crushing sounds grew louder as she stumbled her way out of the room, small bits of dust clinging to her wool as electricity crackled lightly in it.

A Mareep… T-this isn't right, what happened here…?

She tripped slightly as she looked down at her feet, the blue skin shining lightly as she walked into the light streaming in from the doorway. Her chin quickly grazed against the ground, leaving her face bruised and bleeding lightly as she shakily stood back up. A larger jolt of electricity flashed in her fur, causing a loud sparking sound to echo through the tunnels both behind her and to her right. As soon as the sound echoed its way down the right tunnel, the crashing sounds stopped as the Lucario stepped back into the main room, frowning slightly as he held his paws up.

"Ah… You're awake again, and it looks like you've injured yourself. Come on, we'll get you patched up." He motioned for her to follow him down the tunnel behind him, quickly turning and leading her into another room off of it. The cool stone layered with dust as small rocks tumbled from the walls of the tunnel.

"I… Don't want to be rude, after all you've done for me, but why do you live in this cave…?" The young girl looked up at the jackal, her eyes slightly wide as he turned to her.

"Why… It's been a while since I've had to think about it. I came out here to be alone for a while, and I just never needed to go back. Plenty of room to expand my home, so I visit town every now and again to purchase supplies." The Lucario turned to the table and sighed, picking up a stone cup, placing some berries into it and beginning to crush them as he turned back to her.

"We'll have to get you back to town shortly young one, it isn't safe for you to try and get back yourself." The Lucario looked down at the sitting Mareep, watching as she looked down at the ground. The wool surrounding her crackled with electricity as he turned back to his table, crushing berries and mixing juices together. The sounds of the stones he was holding mashing the berries was all that filled the room until she looked up to him, shaking her head.

"I-I didn't come from the town, I don't know how I got here… I don't know where I am!" Tears began to form in the Mareep's eyes, slowly dripping down onto the stone floor as the Lucario bent down to pat her head lightly.

"Now calm down… We'll figure something out for you. Now what should I call you, young one? It appears we'll be together for a while now." The Lucario smiled down to her, wiping her eyes and getting her tears out of her eyes.

"Adela… What s-should I call you sir…?" Her wool began to crackle a little more as she looked up, the orb on her tail glowing and casting more light around the room.

The Lucario stood up and turned to the table, picked up a small jug of water and mixed it into the stone cup. He turned back to Adela, and motioned for her to open her mouth and poured it into her mouth, before sitting down next to her. "Rashad, young Mareep. Now… If you wish to go now, we can get you to town before nightfall. It's not a large town, but there are places you could stay until we know more about what to do with you."

Adela nodded to him, standing up quickly as dust swirled below her, "T-the sooner we go, the sooner I can find out what's going on! But, um… What should I be expecting when we get to the town…?"

Rashad began to lead her out of the cave, his eyes hardening. "The town itself is safe, but… Never leave town without an escort at your side. The world is changing, times are hard for many of us. Very few Pokemon live outside of the towns scattered around as the wilds are restless. It was already dangerous for us, but something has agitated the world more than usual. There is a guild trying to determine what the cause is, but the leaders of it refuse to allow me anymore information unless I join them."

His voice quieted and slowly trailed off after he finished, leading Adela out of the cave and motioning to a footpath carved down the side of the cliff face. A large expanse of forest sat at the base of the cliff, with twinkling lights visible far in the distance. "We'll be following this trail I made… It's not the safest, but it's far better than the alternative. If anything comes near us during the trip, get behind me right away. These woods can be very dangerous, and you aren't in any shape for a fight."

Adela nodded and walked next to the Lucario, her wool crackling constantly as she shook her head a bit. The two began their walk down the cliffside path, Adela noting that Rashad seemed increasingly on edge as they made their way down close to the forest. The sounds of their feet hitting the stone dulled as they made it down to the grassy terrain below. The wind began to pick up around the two as they walked, small skittering being heard around them. Adela jumped slightly and moved closer to the Lucario, her wool expanding around her. "W-what was that…?"

"Nothing young one, the forests are filled with smaller wild Pokemon, those who don't accept society as the rest of us have in some way… But they won't attack us. They know they wouldn't be able to stand up to me. I've walked this path many times."

The skittering in the bushes grew louder as they shook, purple eyes peeking out from the bushes as the duo made their way past. As the duo made their way farther down the path, a number of webs shot out of the bushes from all sides, creating a cage of web, trapping the two inside. Rashad jumped into the air, grabbing Adela as he did and launching them into the trees. He quickly dodged another web as it shot out, narrowly avoiding it grazing his fur as he landed on the opposite side of the web cage.

Once he landed, another silk cord shot out and wrapped around his foot, tripping him and causing him to drop Adela onto the ground. She landed roughly on her side, static crackling in her wool as she quickly jumped to her feet. As she did, more webs shot out from the bushes and stuck to the yellow wool around her, trapping and leaving her unable to move.

Meanwhile, Rashad had tore the webbing from his feet and was back standing, scanning the surrounding area. As he did, his paws began to glow bright blue, illuminating the forest around them and exposing their attackers. Small green spiders began to retreat further back, as larger pink ones moved to the front. Five pink spiders with black stripes surrounded them, while there was a sixth purple one. The purple one hissed slightly, causing it's companions to scutter back slightly. "These woods belong to us, you cannot travel through here anymore, Lucario."

As it spoke, the other five spiders quickly shot out more webs at Rashad. As the webs drew close to him, a large blue sphere expanded around him, halting them and causing them to fall to the ground. He quickly cut the bindings holding Adela down with the spike on the back of his hands, then grabbed her and jumped once more into the trees. This time, the spiders were stunned by the sphere of light as he jumped and were left behind as he quickly fled from the scene with Adela held by his side.

He glanced back at the clearing they had fled as he jumped away, watching as the group of spiders quickly closed it off with webs, sealing the path back to the mountain. The trees were covered with webbing, the silk strands covering the path entirely. He sighed as he resumed his run to the two, Adela barely conscious as his pace quickened. She whimpered slightly as she shook her head, slowly focusing her eyes ahead of her. "W-what happened…?"

Rashad set her down as they neared the edge of the forest, the sun going down behind them as he sighed, "I'm not entirely sure, young one… Normally the forest is active, but not dangerous, the wild Pokemon are growing bolder, the forest is angry. In any case… We near the town now, we'll have to find lodging, it doesn't seem that I'll be returning home anytime soon."

The pair walked into the town, homes and businesses were beginning to close up as they did. Rashad led Adela through the town, motioning to various buildings as they did. The dirt and stone road wound throughout the town, in a grid pattern. Large wooden homes and small stalls lined the streets. At the far end of the town, in the path of the main road, stood a larger building. The building had two wings on either side of the rounded entrance, with banners depicting what appeared to be a wheel with spokes sticking out of it fluttering in the wind.

Rashad motioned to this building, drawing Adela's gaze to it. "That… Is the guild. I need to visit the guildmaster later, she'll want to know about what just happened in the forest. If the Pokemon in there are beginning to attack me, then the town will need to be protected. The guild will gladly see to it."

Adela nodded and walked close by his side, stumbling slightly as she winced. Her legs were bruised from their encounter in the forest, and she could only slightly stand to continue walking. Shortly after, Rashad brought her into a building close to the guild hall, with a large egg sign hanging outside the door. As they did, a large pink Pokemon came walking over to them. "Welcome to the first aid building, we'll be able to help you shortly!"

After a short wait, Adela and Rashad had their bruises and cuts healed, and although they were still sore, they began to walk towards the guild hall. Large totems stood on either side of the path, facing it. As they approached the door, Rashad quickly grabbed Adela and held her still, "You cannot just enter the guild, they've had to increase security measures as of late."

As he spoke, the eyes of the totems began to glow, a small buzzing sound coming from them as the door to the guild opened for the duo. As they entered the building, the door shut tight behind them, causing Adela to jump slightly. Rashad smiled down to her as a creature began to descend down to them, flying. The spherical body was adorned with strange glyphs, causing Adela to be unable to focus on it, instead noting the bright yellow wings that were tipped with blue and red stripes. The creature hovered in front of the duo, motioning for them to follow it up the stairs in front of them.

"W-what the…?" Adela stuttered slightly as she began to follow Rashad up the dimly lit stairs, shaking slightly as the orb at the end of her tail began to glow. They continued to follow it up the stairs and to a closed door, where it motioned for them to enter. Rashad nodded to it and it flew higher up into the building. He turned and knelt down to Adela.

"I need to warn you now, so you know, but do not speak out of line while around the guildmaster. She's a good Pokemon, but she does not tolerate less than perfection in most endeavors. The guild has a good standing due to his effort in her recruits, and while you may not be one, I will be working with her to find out what's going on. Since you'll be with me, you need to make a good impression as well." Rashad stood back up without waiting for her reply and marched into the room, with Adela slowly tagging along behind him.

"What have I been forced into…?"