The glowing shields stayed up even if there was a lull in the barrage, the ones holding them hunched up against the seemingly never-ending blitz. The eyes peering down from the blown-out ruins wanted only to destroy the one protected behind the energy walls, and surely, they might have succeeded in many other contexts… but their target wasn't going to give in so lightly. That tyrant commanding them couldn't keep getting her way forever.

Someplace, someplace very far away past the dimensional boundaries was another subject of interest, and with the stars twinkling out of her window, she was sound asleep. Calling out to her wouldn't require a great deal of energy, at least relatively speaking- it was just under the maximum affordable threshold of what could be expended while still holding the shield up. The girl certainly couldn't resist the attempt, not with her mind so vacant.

*Ah! There you are! Can you hear me?*

There wasn't any response, but shortly, she was stirring whether she wanted to or not, if having one's body completely reduced to a glowing sphere of energy could be called such. It startled her, but it didn't feel quite… real. This was just a strange dream, surely.

*Welcome! This is the portal that will lead you to the world of Pokémon! In just a few moments, you will be among us. You will be one of us. But first, I must ask you a few questions to determine what kind of person you are. This is a very necessary step, to ensure that your physical form is appropriate to your true nature. You will need one that is natural to you.*

That sounded… odd. No, this definitely wasn't real, but if some incorporeal voice wanted to ask her questions, then surely no harm could come of it. She'd wake up and brush it off, forgotten like the rest.

*Don't think too hard, and answer freely. Let us begin. Suppose you want to make friends with someone. What do you do? Shall you approach them?*

*A-ah… I'm not so good at… approaching people…*

*Very well; that is understandable. How do you express yourself? Are you open about your feelings, or are you more reserved?*

*Reserved- I don't like having everyone's eyes on me…*

The voice's musings felt strangely personal, and being probed about her feelings started to set her on edge. Still, nothing presented itself worth worrying about immediately.

*Imagine that you are walking along by yourself, and you hear someone call your name. However, you turn around and no one is there. What do you make of this?*

*… Probably a neighborhood kid messing with me and nothing more.*

*I see. Now, envision yourself at a friend's house, and you come across a secret passage in their basement. What will you do?*

That scenario sounded a bit outlandish, but nonetheless, she tried to imagine it. No secret passages would exist without reason, and usually those reasons were mischievous, if not outright nefarious. *M-maybe peek in if I'm feeling up to it, but probably leave it alone and forget I ever saw it.*

*A person speaking a foreign language approaches you and strikes up a conversation. They seem rather nice, but you cannot tell what they are saying. How would you respond?*

*N-nod and say yes. That always seems to be the easiest approach…*

*Oh?! Is that someone behind you?!*

Ridiculous. Yet, somehow, it was starting to feel less like a dream and more like an ethereal encounter. Something wasn't boding well, but she couldn't quite place her finger on it. *H-huh?! But how-! … Don't do that! You scared me!*

*Very well, very well; no more tricks.~ Now, if you were to see a delinquent harassing a person, what would you do?*

*W-well, I would certainly be concerned… Probably shout at them to stop… But if they came after me next, I'd probably run…*

*Wonderful. I think I'm beginning to get an idea of who you are. A few more questions, if you will. Suppose you are a castle guard in the Middle Ages. Enemy scouts are invading your land. In what manner will you fight them?*

Her honest answer probably would've been more along the lines of having never been a guard in the first place, but nonetheless, she replied, *From a distance as an archer, probably. I wouldn't be very comfortable rushing up to them- not to mention I'd probably just get myself killed in close-range like that, anyway…*

*I understand. Do you prefer the sun or the moon? Or, perhaps, the stars?*

*… Moon, it's much more calming. Stars are giant blazing balls of heat, and the sun is just the closest one to Earth… It's important for life, sure, but I'd never want to go near it… Or any other star, for that matter…*

*I'm getting a good picture of you. We're almost done here. Does the prospect of distant or other worlds frighten you? Does it intrigue you? Would you ever visit one?*

Such a thing existed, to be sure- tales were told since ages long past about Pokémon from other worlds dropping in, humans being spirited away, and ethereal visitors from all manner of galactic reaches. But nonetheless, if they existed, then thrill-seekers and expert explorers also existed for a reason, and she was neither one. *V-visit one…? I mean… It might be interesting… But it could also be dangerous… I certainly wouldn't want to go alone; I'd need more info…*

*Last question. What is your gender? Are you male, female, or something else?*

*F-female.*

*… Okay. I see who you are. Your aura… is a gentle green. Your nature… is timid. You seem to be of the cautious sort. You're afraid of things going wrong and may get a bit flustered if your plans are uprooted. You do not like to rush into things, nor be thrown into situations for which you are unprepared. You may even be a bit… insecure. You often fail to realize your own potential and you think there is always someone out there better than you. While being humble may be a nice attribute, you take it too far.*

*H-hey… That's…*

*Those close to you can see what you are truly capable of, though you may refuse to believe it. You must learn to trust yourself, trust your capabilities. To take hold of your destiny and shape it as you see fit, rather than throw yourself at the mercy of fate and merely hope things turn out fine, because this world needs you and I'm at a complete loss otherwise. You may need others to coax the power out of you, and you may need help. That is fine; there is no shame in this. But you must realize your own worth if you are to be effective in any capacity.*

It started feeling far less like a dream. If she had eyes to go slightly wide or hair to stand on end, they would've been doing so, for something wasn't adding up. Whatever this voice was, it wasn't telling her something, and she started trying to think of ways to ask, but it kept going before she could formulate a proper inquiry.

*I see your form. Someone like you, wary and gentle... is a Rowlet.*

*R-Rowlet…? I'm a… Rowlet…?*

*Yes. A Rowlet. Are you dissatisfied?*

*N-no, I don't suppose…*

*Wonderful. Then, let us be off. Let us go to the world of Pokémon! Embrace yourself! Embrace your calling! Adventure awaits you!*

… It wasn't a dream. It became all too corporeal, and she didn't like it at all.

*H-hey! W-wait! Who are you?! What's going on?! Why am I-! Th-this is-…!*

Her protests were drowned out, try as she might to voice them.


"Agh-! Ngh…!"

Something didn't feel… quite right.

Two black eyes fluttered open, the tan and white feathers of the body they belonged to ruffled up in surprise and alarm. They scanned the area, trying to get a grip- obscured skies, trees spread out in every direction dimming what faint traces of sunlight came through, not a single sign of any sentient life form to be found. This terrain was nothing familiar, but somehow everything seemed quite a bit… bigger, as if the ground was closer than it should have been and the foliage stretched taller than usual. The ferns and bushes threatened to dwarf the little figure looking around at them.

"H-hello…?"

She could've sworn someone had been there mere seconds ago, speaking to her. She didn't know who, or what they wanted, or… anything, really. If she was supposed to be in the area she found herself, she couldn't discern why.

"I-is someone there…?"

Crack!

The sound startled her.

"H-hm?!"

More frantic scanning followed, her feathers ruffling up again and her feet skittering as if unsure of the ground beneath them. The little Rowlet turned in a circle, eyeing her surroundings for the source (or anything that might jog her memory as to what, precisely, was going on). She couldn't tell what it was, but if it was a limb breaking underfoot or a branch snapping, the creature behind it must've been huge, yet she couldn't see a thing that might do so.

Crackle!

A frightened chirp came from her beak, the smallish creature stumbling about in panic. She couldn't stay in one place forever, but with her surroundings nearly identical on all sides, the exact way she should've been walking was unclear. However, amid the thick greenery, the little black eyes locked on something: a bright glow coming from behind a nearby tree, as if someone with a lantern had been hiding there the entire time and had only just slinked into view. She eyed it cautiously.

"H-hello?"

She quickly realized that it was not, in fact, a lantern.

Something akin to a hand stuck out, followed by something that seemed to imitate a human body, albeit made of a bunch of wires tied together in strategic places with a few crimped copper ribbons akin to fingers on its 'hands.' A spiked, glowing 'head' sat atop its tall form, seeming to look down on her. And look down on her it did, for the strange creature was around two and a half meters tall.

Crack!

Its body surged with sparks of electrical energy, causing the air around it to buzz with the volts. She could feel her feathers stand up just from being close to it… and she didn't like being close to it. Whatever this creature was, she didn't like any of it. If it was trying to be human, it was failing miserably, and only succeeded in looking like a twisted imitation. The electricity coursing along its form certainly didn't bode well either, yet almost as fast as she laid eyes on it, the powerful sparks died down and dissipated from view as if to lull her into security.

"There you are!" an electronic, slightly metallic voice exclaimed.

There was no one else present, thus it had to be the strange creature talking to her, yet she couldn't discern how. It had no mouth, nor did it even possess a face. Its voice certainly wasn't ringing a bell, for it sounded like none she recognized.

She'd seen enough. With a terrified squawk, the little Rowlet turned around and bolted away as fast as her tiny feet would run. She didn't care where she headed as long as she got away from that… that thing pretending to be a human.

"Hey! Wait!" the creature exclaimed again.

Skittering away along the forest floor, she turned her head backwards to look at it. One of its wired appendages- akin to a leg, perhaps- stretched out and planted on the ground, then the other, the creature apparently giving chase. Its long stride dwarfed hers with ease, and one of its crackling 'arms' reached out towards her.

"NO!" she screeched, utterly petrified and giving her wings a flap.

Her feet left the ground and she picked up speed, evading both the metallic fingers that went for her and the branches in her way. Her wings let her outpace the wired beast, shortly leaving it running haplessly after her with wild, swinging strides that might've looked ridiculous to a bystander but thoroughly startled the one being pursued.

She looked back once more, and she had put several meters between it and herself. She wasn't sure just how her tiny form was working, since something about it felt horribly amiss, but she didn't have time to care. All that mattered was getting away from the crackling creature. The trees gave way to an opening, and she went for it, bursting out of them and into the open air. There wasn't much else present, just what appeared to be a lake below that gave way to a larger sea, several cliff sides surrounding the water that were covered in more trees. Yet, in seconds, she noticed something else much more concerning- there was no ground below her.

"Hey!" the strange creature called. "Hold on!"

The little avian did no such thing, yet it shortly became apparent the creature wasn't content to just run after her, for she felt something unpleasant course through her body- an electric jolt.

A pained screech came from her as her body seized, her appendages refusing to listen to her. The ground began getting closer rather quickly, despite her frantic efforts to stay in the air that proved absolutely fruitless. She didn't have enough energy to flap her wings, and even holding her eyes open was becoming difficult. Her vision blurred over, yet, for one last check, she turned her head backwards again and noticed the black mass of cables standing at the edge of the forested cliff. It looked down at her, sparks coursing over its body, just… staring. Its hands were poised up in what she might have guessed as surprise, or perhaps aggression, but of course, she had no idea for sure. She couldn't tell what its gestures meant, but at least it wasn't chasing her.

Its figure and the forest got smaller and smaller, blurring together, all much faster than she would have liked. Try as she might, her wings wouldn't listen…

Thud.

Her vision went black.


Author's note: Hello, everyone. This is my first foray into the world of fanfiction, and I am rather looking forward to it. I have had this idea floating around in my head for around two years now, but never quite got around to writing it until a few weeks ago. At the moment, I have decided this is to be my 'weekend project'- that is, I will work on it on the weekends or when I have a break from classes and the like, so while I have no set update schedule, you will know when progress is being made.

I'd also like to give a big thanks to my friend TheDragonSaver for being my editor and lending me his expertise in the literary field. I very much value his input, and if you are reading this: thanks, dude!