? POV

Today, something was going to change, I could feel it. I was no longer half-asleep, but neither was I fully awake. The thick walls that had surrounded me for as long as I could remember were crowding on me from all sides. I was disconcerted – they had to be as thick as concrete.

Nervous though I was, I knew the time had come. I was far too big for my current confines, to the point where I was uncomfortably hunched over. What I needed was to stretch my now aching back. So I did.

Pressing against the claustrophobic walls of my prison, I was surprised to feel them give under the pressure of my hands. They were not concrete – they were as thin as paper. The walls collapsed around me with a cracking sound, and I was immediately flooded with light.

The sensory input was overwhelming. All of a sudden, I could smell, see and feel the earth beneath me. I blinked, and opened my light blue eyes to gaze upon my new world.

The forest was a bright, happy jade color, with sunlight filtering through the leaves on the trees that towered overhead. The ground that surrounded me was covered with the cream-colored remains of my former home, which looked remarkably similar to my own fur color. The shards of… eggshell, I think… were dotted with orange highlights, the same as my hands and feet. I wondered what this meant.

I staggered to my feet, and wobbled forward a few steps. Slowly but surely, I toddled around until I found something that, like everything else in this new world, I had never seen before. It was a puddle of rainwater, pooled beneath a nearby tree from the last rain shower. I remember feeling the slight pattering of the falling water on the walls from the inside of my prison. I gazed at it in wonder, and I saw my reflection.

I registered immediately that I am small. My cream fur went from my two-toed feet to my three-fingered orange hands. My arm fur ended in a soft, cuff-like shape on each arm, with zig-zagging lines that almost marked a border between my wrist and my elbow. I had the same zigzag pattern on my waist. My inquisitive eyes were bright blue orbs, a deeper hue than even the sky above. I had a small nose, like a tiny pin, yet I could smell the flowers across the small clearing where I had hatched. My ears had my full attention – they were long, very long, and formed a V-shape on the top of my head. They were the same orange as my hands and feet.

"Victini…" I squeaked in wonder. My mind analyzed what I had just said – my species, my name.

I am a Victini. A Pokemon. A Pokemon with nothing to my name save for my instincts and the knowledge genetically passed down through generations of my kind. Thanks to that strange quirk in my genetic code that allows us to remember how to live, I knew instantly what natural dangers existed here, the extent of the power I wielded, and how to survive by using it.

But survival alone would not be enough. I wanted – needed – someone to guide me, to steer me on course through the path of this new life in the open, beautiful, dangerous world. I glanced around for some hint of life similar to my own. To my disappointment, I saw none. No siblings, no parents.

No parents… the very thought caused a strange empty feeling to grow in the pit of my stomach, reaching toward my heart; loneliness.

I extended the reach of my consciousness, hoping to find intelligent life. I sensed the minute sparks of multiple souls, dim though they were. I could only hear small snippets of what might be thoughts, but are more likely to have been the calls of instinct:

Eat… breathe… drink… eat… sleep…

I closed off my mind from the contact. These small beings would be no help.

It was at this point that some deep-rooted instinct unearthed itself in my infant mind. I barely understood it myself, but I did comprehend its meaning. This is not my home.

This place felt… different, from what I needed. The air itself was void of the vibrant energy that pulsed through the planet, at least where I came from. It was lighter here, as though a sense of despair hung in the atmosphere, a mournful keen at some tragic happening that left a permanent scar in the fabric of space. Some part of me knew that it would take drastic measures to repair such damage; perhaps not even Palkia himself could do it.

…I can help.

I perked my left ear, and I could hear something approaching messily through the undergrowth. I looked over my shoulder, my bright blue eyes blinking in hope. Perhaps it is my parents…?

I did not yet know where I came from, but I knew that the changes I had been expecting for a long time were finally here.

It was no Victini that stepped through the thick shrubbery.

…What in the name of Zekrom is that?!

The monstrosity towered over me, but was not nearly as tall as the trees. It was covered from head to toe in a thick, plated skin that was a deep navy-black color. Its single red eye flashed when it saw me, reflecting the light of the sun through the branches in a harsh glare that caused me to wince.

Curious, I employed my Psychic power to extend my consciousness, searching the mind of this thing… and found nothing. Not a spark of life to be found. Efforts at communication would be useless.

The thing clumped over to where I stood, made a series of beeping noises, and a mechanical voice sounded from what must be its head:

"Unidentified subject; Categorized as Priority Three, Forest Vermin. Directive: Capture and Eliminate in the name of Dr. Robotnik."

The monster took several more steps in my direction, and reached out its hands to grab me. Instinctively, I sidestepped out of the way, and continued to skirt the grasp of this strange, persistent being that apparently wished me harm. I had no clue why this thing was attacking me. What did it want, and who was 'Dr. Robotnik'?

Apparently, the thing understood that it could not capture me simply by nabbing my miniscule body in its cruel hands. It stopped chasing me, and raised an arm to point it at me. On its wrist, a small laser blaster emerged from the cuff.

I was not prepared for the searing burn of the tiny laser. It struck my left foot, and it stung so badly that I squeaked in pain and hopped away from the burning light. I nursed my hurting foot, and turned to look back at my attacker.

The monster had put away the laser gun, which I now understood had been used in an attempt to cripple me, and swapped it for a net. With a swift lunge, it attempted to capture me once again.

Nimbly, I used my hand to do a front flip over the net, landing on its massive wrist. I could feel the unnaturally cold surface of its skin, and shuddered. The monster, whatever it was, was certainly not blessed by Reshiram. It had been created by some other foul being, with no mind, no willpower - just emptiness. I could not imagine such a horrid existence.

Without a moment's hesitation, I scrambled up its arm and over its shoulder, leaping from its shoulder blade over its back in a hopeful attempt to escape. Surely my quick movements must be confusing it, but it was not one to be deterred so easily.

I was only a sparse few meters away from the psychotic metallic eyesore when I felt the blast of the laser again. This time, it hit my back. With a groan, I smelled singed fur. It was mine. The attack was not very powerful, and had not done much damage, but the weapon had successfully stunned me.

Once again, I could hear its monotone voice sounding in my ears:

"Subject miscalculated. Approximated threat well beyond Priority Three. Re-categorizing as Priority Two; Freedom Fighter. Requesting backup."

I was angry. This thing had startled, burned, and stunned me, but it would not take me alive. And even worse, it was not alone.

I could feel the age-old power welling inside my body as I grew more furious. I would run no more. The fire in my heart was collecting at the back of my throat, waiting to be unleashed. I did what the species my kind belonged to have been doing since the dawn of time, in the way only we can.

I attacked.