Prologue:

The Day of Light,

The Shade of Night,

These are what keep the living alive.

But the balance was broken,

When the night was lengthened,

And the crime demanded retribution.

The Dusk Guardian pleaded innocence,

But the Dawn Guardian showed indifference,

And war erupted from the pits of strife.

As the madness deepened,

The stars sought out a champion,

And thus, that is how the story arrives.

Chapter 1: A Desperate Plea

"Man, I'm bored."

It was 8 pm. A twelve-year old girl was lying on the double-single bed, staring at the white ceiling. She was currently having her school holidays, but she was alone at home because her parents were working overtime. Recently, they came back late at night, which was right after she went to bed. The only time she could chat to them was in the morning, or during the weekends. Otherwise, she had nothing much to do at home, besides going to the shopping mall, or visiting her friends occasionally. She also cooked her own meal since she knew she had to support herself in their absence.

She continued to gaze at the ceiling, till she decided it was time for her to go to bed. She snuggled her Ragdoll cat plushie, and rolled onto her left side on the bed. She stroked her plushie and muttered quietly.

"I guess you are the only one to accompany me, Peanut. Ah, I missed you so much since you went to sleep for eternity…"

Peanut was not her pet. He was her neighbour's cat which she had adored. She had never failed to pet him every day. She liked to hear him purrs whenever she petted his belly. He made her day, for his presence soothed her of her troubles. But ever since he passed away, she bought a plushie so that she could "talk" to him whenever she felt lonely.

Soon, she went into a deep sleep, and found herself in a dream realm. There, for the first time, she was walking on an endless space of water. Beneath the water was a planet she had never seen before. Two continents caught her attention: a crescent-shaped one in the north, and a partial sun-shaped one in the south. The girl was amazed of what she saw. However, her admiration for it was interrupted by a voice. The voice was chanting the girl's name, and that got her started.

"Solestral… Solestral… Please listen to my request," it said.

Solestral was perplexed that the voice knew who she was. She replied, "Huh? Who are you, and how do you know my name?"

"My apologies, I cannot reveal more about myself, but I can answer your other question. I have been watching you from another dimension, where the Pokémon live. I would like you to aid me…for there is a turmoil happening in this planet."

"Okay…So what do you want me to do?"

"Defeat the perpetrator of the war."

"War?" exclaimed Solestral, "There is no way I can do this by myself! Isn't this is supposed to be an adult problem?"

"Do not worry. I am sure you will gain companions along the way." Then, the voice sounded apologetic, "However, to guarantee your safety, I will have to seal most of your memories..."

"Wait… what?" questioned Solestral in a baffled tone.

"I am sorry it has to come to this, but that is to make sure that the perpetrator will not target you immediately after you have descended upon this planet."

Solestral complained, "There is no way I can do this without knowing who I am! Argh… I really want to wake up from this nightmarish dream now."

Now the voice sounded a little hasty, "This is not a dream. Once you have woken up, you must remember to travel to the floating island in the north." It paused for a while, and then it continued, "Unfortunately, I cannot chat with you in this realm any longer, for I have to spend a substantial amount of energy to open the gate for you to enter to this world. I pray for your success…"

"Hold on a minute! You can't just shove me in there! Woah!"

A hole suddenly appeared under Solestral's feet. She fell into hole, screaming. Next, she found herself skydiving above the world she had seen beneath the water. As she tried to recollect her thoughts, she realised there were a lot of gaps in her memory. She remembered her name, but she was puzzled as to why she had black paws for hands. She knew she was not a creature with four legs before, but she could not remember what she looked like. To her surprise, she did not feel anxious of her memory loss. But, when she noticed she was getting closer to the ground, she shouted in horror.

"Ohhhhh NOOO!"

The next thing she knew, she felt a gust of wind cushion her fall. She landed softly on the ground on her four paws. She sighed in relief that she did not become a splattered furball.

She looked at her surroundings. There were trees about two stories high in the vicinity, but not in close proximity. She decided that there was no other option but to move around. She got up on all fours, and tried to walk. Like a baby attempting to crawl on the floor, she clumsily stumbled all over the place. Her frustration elevated when she heard some laughter coming from the trees. She snapped to attention.

"Who's there?"

She turned her attention to the sound of grass rustling. There, she noticed two creatures that were odd to her. One was a wood-coloured giant owl with a green leaf bowtie, and the other was a blue tortoise with big red eyes, standing on its two legs.

The blue tortoise started the conversation first. "Oh, I am sorry. It is just that, I never seen a Litten 'dance' all over the ground. But let us put this aside, are you alright?"

The huge owl responded as well, but was sluggish in his speech, "We… don't mean you harm. My friend… saw you falling down from the sky, so I saved you… using Gust."

"So, I guess I am a cat, huh? But, what does the word 'Lit' has to do with a kitten? Anyway, I think I should stand my ground against them." thought Solestral. She managed to walk over to them, and spoke to them while glaring at their faces,

"Well, I appreciate that the two of you rescued me, but that doesn't mean you can mock me for trying to walk on four limbs for the first time!"

The blue tortoise was confused. "Huh? What do you mean? You are not a baby that just came out of an egg to me."

She responded hesitantly, "I… I was talking to someone. The next thing I knew, I had arrived in this new world. In a way, you can say I am like a baby that does not know how the world works."

The big owl spoke slowly. "Hmm… If that is so, maybe… you have been brought into this world…for a reason."

The blue tortoise nudged him. "Wait, are you sure she is not insane? Maybe she is not telling the truth. You think her story can be trusted?"

The huge owl nodded and replied, "Absolutely, I… don't sense that she is a type… that lies to us." He then turned to face Solestral and continued his conversation. "I am sure… we haven't properly… introduced ourselves. My name is Normad, and my friend here… is Paul. It is nice… to meet you."

Solestral turned her head away and sulked, "I don't see why I need to tell you my name. Anyway, I need to go now. Goodbye."

"Where to?" asked Paul.

"To the floating island in the north," she answered causally.

Paul was taken aback. "What? Why do you need to go there?"

"All I know is that I have to go there! Well, I didn't ask you to come along with me. I will manage it by myself."

Normad said, "I beg to defer, you will need… to get information… on how to go there. Why don't you see… our village chief? She knows the way."

Solestral had to admit that she had no clue on how to get to the floating island. Despite the urgent feeling to reach that place, she figured that some help along the way was not a bad thing.

She shrugged and responded, "Sure, why not? Lead the way, then."

Normad bowed down and gestured to her, "Get on."

Solestral and Paul climbed onto his back. He stood up, and started flapping his wings. The gust he created uprooted the grass into the air, and was strong enough to shake the branches from the trees. Once he had warmed up, he took off into the sky, and headed in the direction of the afternoon sun.

Yay! New story and an art to boot!

art/Chapter-1-Caught-you-dancing-677465644