When I first became a trainer, the world was a much simpler place to be. It was just me and charmander – alone. We trained together, and grew stronger without the help of others. I didn't even bother catching other pokemon, because charmander himself was enough to defeat most trainers. At the time I thought I was heading down the road to being the greatest trainer ever, but I couldn't have been more wrong.
Charlie (that's charmander) grew incredibly powerful, it wasn't long before he grew into a Charizard. We moved out of our home town and went in search of gyms, and eventually the pokemon league. We fought alone, we needed no one, or at least we thought we never would.
I liked it that way though, back then I found other people, other trainers anyway, to be an unnecessary distraction. They were irritating and besides, they only wanted to defeat me in the end.
And I stayed that way, with such a mindset for a very long time, until the day came (as I knew it would) that I had to face a water gym. I knew me and Charlie were in trouble. However, I wasn't about to go about trying to capture a new pokemon such as a grass or electric type. I thought a new addition to the team would upset Charlie and throw us off balance. So I fought with only Charlie on my side, and we lost.
Charlie was in bad shape, the flame on his tail was flickering more feebly as the evening progressed. Nurse Joy was doing everything in her power to save him, but the situation was looking grim.
"Alice, I'm sorry – but I don't know how much we can do," she said, her chancey nodding sympathetically beside her.
I was a person of few words, but upon hearing this news I let out a string of swears that I won't repeat here. I began shaking, almost uncontrollably, my head full of words and thoughts that didn't make sense. My heart was a stone in my chest, my mouth suddenly a useless hole, I felt torn apart and incomplete.
The gym leader's face kept popping up in my mind. He'd said that using charizard was a dangerous move, but I hadn't thought he meant this. I blamed this man for Charlie's fate, and I silently vowed revenge.
"You have to keep trying… to save him," I muttered before I ran out into the night...
It was raining heavily outside as the evening slid away and the night crept in to take its place. My head was too clouded with worry and despair to do much in the way of productive thinking. I ran far, far away from the town. My feet carried me deep into the woods, through the mountains and caves, the valleys and rivers. I must've kept running all night, but I don't really remember much.
I awoke to sunshine breaking through the foliage of trees, and somewhere close by rushing water could be heard. I was too disoriented to think of Charlie just then, confused as I was about my whereabouts.
My eyes slowly adjusted to the light, and as I took in more and more of surroundings I found myself feeling a little creeped out. It was eerily silent, not even the sound of a pidgey twirping could be heard. I checked my map and found that somehow I must have wandered off the edge, onto some other regions territory. I rubbed my temples and tried to think. Kanto and Johto were close to my region (Barsho) but not so close that I could reach them by foot. There were rumors of course of a area in between the three regions, in the middle of the mountains which no man or government owned.
Rumors claimed that this territory was about as large as a town, but had not been claimed as it housed no pokemon. No one could understand why such an occurrence would happen. So while some thought it perhaps had something to do with the soil, most claimed the area didn't exist at all.
Looking around however, I couldn't help but wonder if the rumors had been true. For a moment I searched for Charlie's pokeball, thinking he could help me, before I remembered.
The grief was sudden and overwhelming; I knew that I'd been away at least one night on my crazy rampage, if not more. And Charlie, my little charmander, my fierce charizard was gone, or at least would be by the time I found my way back. Making matters worse this left me without any means of defense; I didn't even own another pokeball as I'd never thought I'd need anyone else.
Not that it looked like anyone; least of all me could catch a pokemon in such a place.
I stayed put for a long time, until once again night descended upon me. I began to wander, not really taking in my surroundings, only hoping to find some way back to the pokemon center. The silent trees and the tall mountains in the distance gave me little comfort on my journey. I felt more alone than I'd ever felt in my life, and also a little afraid.
Despite knowledge that this no-man's land existed, no one had ever successfully traveled there, at least, no one in recent memory. So how had I found it? There was no doubt in my mind that this lonely place was the same one the rumors stemmed from, but with no map or pokemon to guide me out my chances of seeing Charlie before he was gone seemed slim.
I wandered for a long time, feeling increasingly weak and hungry.
Then as if to answer some of the questions swimming in my mind, I saw a light appear over the trees. Curious as well as naïve, I walked towards it, my heart beating faster at the thought of finding someone else. Maybe even someone who could help me find a little food.
"You shouldn't be here," he said as I approached. He was a slim boy, with large slanted green eyes and shoulder length blonde hair. "How did you find me?"
"I'm lost, please help me."
"How did you find me?"
I felt a little delirious from the lack of food; it almost looked as if he had a tail coming out from underneath the ragged robes which he wore. "You don't understand," I said. "I'm only trying to find my way out of here."
"No one's ever found me here."
His large eyes looked at me, utterly perplexed and if I read his expression correctly – afraid. "Listen, my charizard is dying; I need to find my way back to him before it's too late. You have to help me," I explained.
"Who are you?"
"I'm Alice. Just listen to me. I don't know who you are, or where I am, but I need your help. I've got to get back to the pokemon center."
He was silent for a moment. "You're very far from home little girl."
"I know."
"This is not a place for you to find, this is my home. You're an invader."
I was perplexed by this last statement, but too tired to look into it. "Will you help me get out of here?"
"I'm not sure I should…" he trailed off. "Do you really not know who I am? Are you truly lost?" I nodded. "My name is Eric, and it's been a very long time since I've seen anyone else. You'll have to excuse me for my behavior. But I can help you, if you promise me something."
"What is it?"
"You must not tell anyone I exist, or that this place exists."
"Fine, just help me get out of here!"
Eric came a little closer, close enough for me to make out more of his features. His face was pure angles, sharp and intelligent looking. But as he spoke, I saw his teeth which were pointed and sharp. Eric's skin also seemed to have a slightly eerie glow to it. I couldn't spot the tail anymore, but suddenly I knew it was there – and what he was.
"You're a morphe," I said.
"Yes… and a rare sort at that. I've been on the run for quite some time."
"They stopped creating morphes years ago," I said. "How long have you been here?"
"A very long time, when they stopped creating my kind we became a rarity and a favorite of pokemon collectors. I was captured for a time, and used for experiments. I'm no ordinary morphe anymore… and I suppose that's what helped me escape. In any case, I hope you understand the importance of keeping myself, and this land a secret. I do what I can to keep people out, but I can only do so much."
"I'll do my best… but please, my charizard is hurt somewhere. And he's all alone, I can't let that happen. I've got to find him."
"Do you think you can save him?"
"No," I replied. It felt awful to say, but I felt as if I had to be truthful with Eric if I were to gain his trust and find my way home.
"At night we will never find our way out of here," he explained. "This forest plays tricks on you. It's more ancient and powerful than you can ever understand. So we must rest for now, and I'll help you tomorrow."
"But time's running out," I said.
"You wont survive the night here, little girl. Unless you take my advice and rest. It will do your charizard no good if you die."
Knowing I had no way of convincing Eric otherwise, and also knowing that I would not find my way home on my own, I took his advice, and I slept.