Glimmer

"Tied between light and dark, the heart is fickle. A push in one direction directs its path."

'Fear, Strength, Love, Lust, Desire, Passion, Pain, these are all things that guide the heart.

What guides you?

How strong is your heart?

These are things that a Pokémon Master must ask himself. None have made it thus far. Could it be a boy as young as you?'

'Who are you? Why can't I see you?' thought Ash for the voice was inside his head.

Ash looked around for the first time. At first glance, he didn't recognize where he was. After a while, the place had a vague familiarity to it. There was a single room, no doors. The room was huge. There was a vaulted ceiling that stretched towards the heavens. The most defining thing about the ceiling was the immaculate painting. Ash took a minute to take in every detail. It depicted a battle field. Ash didn't really know his Pokémon, since it wasn't taught in school, but all of the Pokémon had something in common; they all looked strong. Snarling flames coming from the mouths of dragons, torrents of water gushing from beasts, tornados of winds slicing through the chaos all motioned towards a raging ocean. In the middle of the ocean was a calm section. Poised motionlessly, above the calm, almost as if standing on the water, was the most graceful looking Pokémon Ash had ever seen. The Pokémon stood almost tip toed on the water with its hands clasped together and its head slightly bowed. Its body was almost like a long flowing dress, white in color, and hints of teal at the curves.

Ash turned away. The sight of the painting brought back memories. They were right at the tip of his mind, but he wasn't able to quite remember them. He pushed the thought out of his mind. Maybe, if he didn't try too hard to remember, it would come to him later.

"Tied between light and dark, the heart is fickle, A push in one direction directs its path.

How will your path be directed?

Which will you choose: light or dark?

Mysterious is the future, and narrow is the path to the Pokémon Master."

…^_^…

"Ash! Ash! Are you ok?"

The room seemed to be spinning for Ash. He was lying on a bed. The room became still allowing him to recognize where he was, his bedroom. How did he get here? Wasn't he at Professor Oak's Lab? He was going to get his first Pokémon. Professor Oak gave him a Pikachu. Then there was a flash of yellow light and that dream… What was that?

"You're starting to scare me. Ash," said Sarah with concern in her voice, "You were shocked by your Pikachu and knocked unconscious when you hit your head on the floor. Professor Oak used a potion that he made to stop the bleeding. He said that you should be fine and that you would wake up in a few hours."

"Oh, so that's what happened," he said, slightly more coherent now, "Wait! I need to go. I just got my first Pokémon, and Gary already has a head start on me! I can see it now, "'look Ash, I just got my first gym badge! Where have you been this whole time?'"

"Wait, Ash," Sarah said grabbing his hand and blushing slightly, "Professor Oak told me to give you these."

She handed him something red. It was something mechanical. The device was well crafted. It had a weightiness to it that felt expensive. The front had a black Poké Ball, which pulled back to reveal a screen with multiple buttons. There was a single camera in the front, two cameras in the back, and a small black hole with a silver lining in the back. The second object, that she gave him, was a belt. The belt was made with leather and had six metal clasps to hold Poké Balls and a pouch, which looked like it held the red object that was just given to him.

"The red machine is a Pokédex. We learned about them in class. They are used as your identification, to identify Pokémon, to record data, to talk on the phone, and many more things. I hear Professor oak invented it himself. He also told me to tell you that by taking this, you are agreeing to see as many Pokémon as you can. He wants us to record the data in it for his research. Don't worry, it's not too hard. You just point it at the Pokémon and it records the information for you. It also gives you a handy tip about the Pokémon. Alright, Ash, I'm off. I plan to see many things on my adventure!"

Ash stared as she jumped up and down and then bolted through the door.

Sarah's always been that excited, Ash thought. Fantastic! Now I have a goal!