Did some slight edits for clarity now that it's been a few years.

Italics are thoughts!

Italics are also memories when indicated!

And bold Italics are Psychic Communications!

Harvic sprinted down the winding paths that lay before him. Trees passed by in a blur as his steps hastened.

His mind was swimming, he could hardly remember what had happened. Things had been so hazy lately. They want him to 'get help' they say, yet he knew he was perfectly fine.

The forest moaned as the pattering of rain droplets began falling from the sky. The long-aged bark of the trees began to glisten under the running water. It pissed him off that the Governor wanted to cut this place down, all to build some natural gas refinery and pipeline.

Harvic could not help but clench his teeth at the thought. He had played in these woods for as long as he could remember. He slowed his pace as he found himself walking into a familiar clearing of trees. His clothes had become matted to his skin, but he did not mind, he actually liked the feeling.

Harvic leaned his back against the nearest tree, using it to support himself as he lowered himself to the ground. He didn't know why his mind was so cloudy lately. He noticed it getting worse and worse since his mom had died. His memories of her seemed to be locked away behind a wall of fog. Maybe that was for the best, it stopped him from being too sad when he thought about her. What he could remember about her anyways.

The same thing seemed to have happened when he thinks of his dad. Strangely enough he could be standing right in front of him yet feel like a stranger. There were times where they talked mindlessly, and by the end of it Harvic would have forgotten who he was speaking to.

As far as he could remember, the two of them had been living together in the middle of this sad old forest. The bark of the oldest dead trees made the foundations for the cabin in which they slept. He could remember the three of them working together on it. Laughing and spending time building a little home to live in.

A loud 'crackle' of thunder made itself known to the world. It scared the hell out of him, and he jumped up, hitting his head on a piece of bark on the tree above him. "Fucking hell."

Shaking the annoying pain away, he sighed as he looked around, a small puddle had formed near the roots of a nearby tree, and it slowly raised, devouring the small few pebbles that had been visible. Looking back to his left, he could see a much larger puddle; no, a pond.

It was almost centered in the clearing, and the rain was pushing into it from the heavens.

A sudden memory gripped at his consciousness, something that hadn't happen for some time.

He watched in his head as his mother bent over his small stature with an angelic smile, "Look, watch what I can do!" She exclaimed in a sweet and soft voice, gaining the attention of the young son she had taken to the pond. Bending down and grabbing one of the many stones around the pond, she turned and showed it to the bow, before slashing it forward like a Frisbee, sending it skipping across the pond to reach the center, before slowly drifting down under.

Bending down and retrieving another stone, slightly smaller than the last, she handed it to the young son with an encouraging smile, "Try it for yourself!" she laughed playfully.

Struggling to imitate his mother, he positioned his arms to his right, and slighted out his arm and wrist, sending the smooth dark stone skidding a few times, and sinking to the bottom a few meters away.

"Great job H-man!" A much deeper voice had emanated from behind him. Turning, he could see his father, wearing his old flannel and jeans like he always did. He went with the red, yellow, and black one today.

Looking back to the pond, a feeling of accomplishment rushed over him.

"I did, didn't I?"

The memory drained away, as his sight was replaced with the clearing once again. Reaching over the side of the tree surrounding his sides, he grasped a small smooth stone. It was oval and misshapen but not sharp like the others. He hadn't noticed, but as he relived the memory in his hand, he had stood and walked over to the pond where the memory had taken place.

Glancing down at the rock in his hands, he rotated it around a few times before dashing it forward. The stone rocketed forward and towards the shallow pool. It looked like a perfect throw, but when it reached the water it slammed directly in and did not skip a single time. Grunting in disappointment, Harvic turned away from the pond and the voice of the memory before him and began walking back towards the path he had taken here. "It's the damn rain, it's messing with the water, and maybe my head."

Another loud crack of thunder slashed out into the sky, a few seconds after he had seen a white streak dance across his peripherals. Where the hell's that lightning headed? It didn't look like it hit the ground.

As he studied and scouted the skies above him, he noticed the rain grew to be much harsher. The droplets became heavier and slapped his face with much larger force. Enough to make him flinch. He couldn't look up any longer, the rain stung his eyes, and he was forced to wipe at them with his fingers.

Unable to see under the blinding pellets of rain; confused, and lost, he slowed to a halt, having lost sight of the path that he had been taking home. "Where the hell am I?" He sounded out, muffled greatly under the sounds of the crying skies. Another flash of light danced across the sky, prompting another slow crackle to follow patiently, drowning out his thoughts even more.

Looking around panicked, Harvic shivered at the inevitable coolness that overtook his wet form. "Fuckin' cold now, my favorite."

Stepping forward, he felt a sudden loss of traction in the ground. Involuntarily panicking, he jerked back, causing a loss of footing, and inevitably a fall to the muddy grass. "Fuuuck!" He blared out, sliding across the mud face-first.

Frowning comically and shaking his head slowly in defeat, he sighs. I'm gonna get home and have o take a shower after already getting soaked in the rain.

Harvic lied there defeated for a few moments, watching as the heavy rain washed some of the lighter mud right off of him. After watching for what felt like ages, he forced himself upward in an attempt to jump up to his feet, almost immediately his feet slipped again in the opposite way. He was quickly slammed onto his back as the force launched his feet forward out form under him.

"Welp. Looks like I'll just lay out here, maybe make a mud hut and lose my mind to this FUCKING RAIN." Suddenly a large force pounded into his shoulder, knocking the wind and the rest of his thought from his body. A blinding light filled his vision instantly as his body was wracked around in pain. The last thing that he heard was the loud boom of thunder.

Looks like I found where that lightning was headed.

A feeling of dread and death filled his consciousness; it felt like his body was pulling away from him, like a piston from the chamber, only to return soon thereafter.

As time went on a small 'beep' could be heard. That was a good sign, if he could hear things then maybe; just maybe, he was not dead. The sound grew louder over time, and more pointedly annoying. Despite the repetition, Harvic focused on the sound, hoping it would bring clarity to his mind, and let him be conscious yet again.

Time flew by as the sound became all that he could encompass before him. His tries to grab the sound with his mind failed. He had all but given up, he clearly must be dead, this was the afterlife. Nothing but black and an annoying ass beeping sound.

Suddenly a blinding white light filled his vision, causing him to throw his arms up in defense, attempting to block the rays that assaulted his pupils. He yowled in agony as a sharp pain stabbed at his corneas and he harshly squeezed his eyes shut.

"Arrrrgthflth!"

Some footsteps sounded out, sounds like his girly scream alerted someone nearby.

"Oh, you're awake! At last! Are you Okay? You've been out for days!" He heard a female pitch sink into the whiteness of his vision. The voice paused for a moment before continuing, "Can you speak? Are you alright?"

Eventually growing accustomed to the light, he made out a soft slender face to his right, gaining his attention with the voice. As he tried to speak, a tension and soarness made itself clear in his throat.

"Water…please." Was all he could sound out to the faint description of a woman before him.

"The lights are a bit bright I know, but you're dilating now, let me grab you that water now." She quickly grabbed an empty glass from a nearby shelf and rinsed it out before filling it again with fresh water straight from the tap.

When he felt the glass press against his hand, he quickly brought it to his mouth and greedily drunk it down. He sat for a long few moments before the tension subsided in his throat. It was still sore but it felt good enough to speak at least.

Clearing his throat, following it with a sigh, Harvic laid his head back down to the pillow and looked to the nurse. "I can't believe I got struck by lightning, I mean seriously. What great luck I have, right?"

"Well, you're in the land of the living again, sir! So, yes, you do have great luck" She giggled, clearly proud at her own work of having kept him alive. She took this time to quickly hang her stethoscope around her neck.

"That bad huh? I guess I have you to thank for that. Thank you for your service, I mean it." Harvic's voice was hardly a whisper, his mind wandered as he looked around him at the room, "So, where am I? I get I'm in a hospital, but I don't live anywhere near a hospital like this, you've got a lot of tech here." Giving the room a quick look-around, he noticed what seemed to be a high-quality institution, filled with the first-class equipment. "Was I medevac'd to the city or something?"

Raising an eyebrow, the nurse shook her head, "You were found near route 8…by a wild Pokemon…in-fact, a Kirlia I believe, she's been waiting for you to recover…"

Blinking a few times, it took a minute for Harvic to process the information. "What?"

Spamming his eyes around the room, Harvic sighed. "Alright, alright, so I must be dreaming…Or, I might actually be dead, and you're here to torment me and give me false hope. But which is it?"

The nurse looked at him dumfounded, "No, no, I can ensure you that you are certainly alive. I mean I did spend night and day looking after you, me and my partner in crime Chansey!"

Blinking a few more times, Harvic sat up, nearly regretting it at an instant, as a sharp pain shot through his shoulder, prompting a reaction. "Ghh-fff…" He voiced out, quickly, yet gently being pushed back down by the nurse. "You still need rest before you're ready to go anywhere."

"Oh sure I will, if you tell me what's going on, or you stop joking with me."

Ignoring his plea for answers, the nurse began cycling through a list of questions that must have been on the clip-board in front of her.

"So, if you would measure your pain from zero to ten, what would you-"

"Zero, now I need to get the hell out of here before I lose my patience or my mind; or both." He spoke, attempting to get up again, yet slower and more successful this time.

"Alright…now truthfully?" The nurse asked, turning once again to look at him. He could tell by looking at her that she was truly worried, and he could imagine the way he was acting wasn't helping at all.

"Alright, alright, I'd say about a three. Only reason I couldn't get up the first time is the pain surprised me. It doesn't hurt that much…Like when someone pushes you and you go 'ow,' without thinking you know?" He motioned to the nurse what he meant, waving off a pushing motion to the air in front of him.

Ignoring his rant, the nurse smiled politely and nodded, writing something down on the pad. "Well, I think you're okay to go, as long as you take it easy, but I recommend you come back for a check-up within a few days. I do appreciate you giving me an honest answer as well."

"I don't know about a follow-up on this, I need to get home. I can tell by just looking around that I'm pretty damn far away."

"One thing that also surprises me about your predicament is that it hasn't even rained around here for weeks, so I'm not even sure how you got struck by lightning. Do you have any lightning Pokémon?"

"Ah jeez, here we go again. No, I don't have any Pokémon. I used to collect the cards but not anymore. Also, I'm tellin' you, I was nowhere near this place, I doubt you'd have seen the same storm that'd had done this to me."

Crunching her eyebrows in confusion, the nurse sighed, "Strange, route 8 really isn't too far from here, and that's where you were found." She paused for a moment and jotted another note down on her clipboard, "Do you feel any pain in your head? Do you have cloudy thoughts, perhaps?"

"My head feels fine. I always have cloudy thoughts" Rubbing his head and shaking it, Harvic felt no pain, as it should be.

"Allll-right then…" The nurse continued, unsure of his condition. "Best head off then, along with this assigned appointment with a therapist in town." She quickly wrote a date and time on a card and handed it to him, which he pocketed without giving a second thought. He figured at this point if he played along, he could get the hell out of here faster, and without getting himself thrown into a mental ward.

"Alright then," the nurse continued, "You can head along now, but first, the Kirlia that found you would probably love to see that you're okay! She has been waiting here every day for you to wake up! Oh, and you should thank Chansey for taking care of you!" She suggested, walking out of the hospital room door, note-pad in hand.

Play along, just play along. He sighed, getting to his feet; he grabbed the bag of his clothes nearby, walking into the bathroom to switch out of his hospital-gown. Its fine, but I need to get a ride home now, I know this place must be far from the town, because there is 'no' way it's around there by any means. Changing back into his old faded jeans and black t-shirt, he noticed they were clean.

He could not help but make funny faces at himself in the mirror when he changed before heading out once again. He returned out from the bathroom and paused, his hand still gripping the bathroom door.

In the middle of the room, a small Kirlia stood, its back facing him, it was seemingly playing with its hands nervously, clearly waiting for something.

"Oh fuck." He felt his knees give out beneath him and he could hardly hold himself conscious. "Ah damn am I having a panic attack? Am I crazy?" He tried holding every fiber of his body under control, but it was no use, he was panicking.

The Kirlia perked up, having noticed him, and pushed toward him as he was crumpled on the floor. She placed a hand on his shoulder and closed her eyes.

The rapidly exploding thoughts of Harvic's mind receded, leaving him to a blank and very confused consciousness.

"Wha-what? Why am I so calm now? I should be screaming right now." He said as he lifted his head out of his head and noticed the Kirlia, who quickly dashed forward, lunging to hug at his waist, causing him to stumble back in surprise and fear. "Gh-"

Standing awkwardly, he began to feel the sadness that the small Pokémon felt, it was radiating from it, and onto him, nearly knocking all thoughts from his mind. "Wha-hey it's alright."

Eventually releasing the tension in his muscles, he sighed and got to a knee, hugging the Kirlia back. I have no idea what is going on. He smiled sarcastically to himself. So I guess I really am away from home huh…

"Awwww…" The nurse let off, having walked in, another strange being at her side of which Harvic recognized as a Chansey from his days of playing the games and collecting the cards.

Eventually, the Kirlia let go from his waist and looked into Harvic's eyes, its eyes were red and watery, and seemed to look right through him. It made him uncomfortable, but somehow also made him happy.

The Kirlia moved its hands to his temples; and sitting confused, Harvic let it all happen without a thought. Suddenly thoughts and emotions flooded his mind, causing him to spasm. Anxiety and hope filled him as he tried to think clearly, and a light female voice pitched in his head.

I'm so glad you're okay, I thought you were dead! The voice startled him, causing him to take a step back. As he did so, she removed her hands from his temples.

The Hell was that!? He thought to himself, looking at the being.

Having forgotten they were there, Harvic jumped slightly when the nurse and Chansey spoke up. "Chan-Sey!"

"Yes, you're right Chansey, the Ralts evolution group can read thoughts, and contribute their own thoughts into the minds of others. Telepathy!"

Blinking a few times, Harvic smiled, silently standing to his feet, and stretching, he opened his mouth wide taking in the air around him. "Well I'm pretty sure I would have already passed out if you didn't calm me down with whatever you did little guy…uh girl." He laughed, looking down to the Kirlia in front of him.

After being sat back down into a nearby chair by the nurse, he finally looked down from the ceiling, his right foot nervously tapping on the ground, "So…You…Saved me...?" He eventually let out, looking to the Kirlia, gaining her attention once again.

Seemingly thinking about his question for a moment, the Kirlia nodded after a short moment, I guess I did! She radiated joy throughout the room, causing Harvic to smile after a while.

"Well…Thank you…err…to both of you." He thanked awkwardly, turning to the Chansey to show he was thankful to it as well. Turning to the nurse he gave a glance to the door, "So I guess I'll head out then?"

"If you want, go right on ahead, but I'd get yourself checked up on at the next Pokémon-Center you reach. That and follow the directions on the card I gave to you." The nurse nodded.

I am going to have to get used to this place and play along like I've lived here my entire life; otherwise I'll look like a Looney. Or worse, I. Will. Die. Harvic thought to himself, walking toward the door with purpose.

However, the second he passed the Kirlia, a sense of sadness fell over him like never before, so strong, it made him flinch. Turning back toward the Kirlia, He sensed her wish as if it was his own. "Ehhhh...You want to…uh, come with me?"

The Kirlia very lightly nodded, hinting that she did.

"Alright come along then!" He exclaimed with a wide grin. All aboard the Crazy Train! He thought, picturing himself jumping onto a flaming train riding into a fiery pit. Can't get any crazier!

Jumping excitedly and happily once again, the Kirlia sprung forward to land next to him, a huge smile on her face.

Suddenly the voice of the nurse cut in, it seemed she had left the room and just came back, "I thought she'd want to go with you, no-one wants to be alone...So I brought you this!" She walked over to him, handing him a red and white ball with a button on what he guessed was the center.

"Do people normally choose their companions so easily around here?" He asked, confused at her readiness for such an event to occur.

"No, but in this case, you didn't choose your Pokémon, your Pokémon chose you!" She smiled.

"Oh…well…thanks then! …And for everything else too!" He smiled awkwardly, knowing all too well that he was thanking her for what must have been the third or fourth time.

Looking back to the ball, he began examining it once again, but before he could really get a look at it, the Kirlia pushed the button on the Pokéball and was sucked into it by a beam of red light, and after a few seconds of slight rocking, the ball went still and he pressed the button as the Kirlia did; releasing her once again.

Shaking slightly, Harvic raised an eyebrow before the Kirlia explained herself; I don't like it in there…

"What? You were only in there for a second, how do you-" His question was interrupted with an intrusive feeling of sadness.

I've had one before.

"Ooooh I see, alright then."

"You may leave anytime you are ready sir! Also, for my records, may I know your name?" The nurse questioned.

"Harvic." He stated, not bothering to reveal his last name.

"Very good, have a wonderful day Harvic; we hope to see you again!" The nurse chimed, hurrying off as the sound of the front door chiming open caught her attention.

What a terrible thing to say at a hospital! His thought resulted in a giggle from the small Kirlia.

"Thanks." He spoke absentmindedly past his thoughts to the nurse, returning his attention to the Kirlia in front of him, twirling around happily.

"Alright." Bending down to one knee, Harvic chuckled, "I know you're a Kirlia, but what's your actual name? I don't want to just call you Kirlia all the time."

Well…my previous owners called me Angela, so…Angela? She spoke sadly; clearly some bad memories lay with the thought of previous people she had lived with, so he chose not to press further.

"Alright then Angela, I'm Harvic…as you heard…it's nice to 'officially' meet you!" He exclaimed, reaching out his hand out for a handshake, Angela reached out and gave a very gentle hand touch, but no more.

"…Alright, let's head out of here and to…Oh hell I have no clue where I am…You wouldn't happen to know…" He trailed off as Angela simply shook her head.

"I'm sure this place has some maps we can get…" Getting back to his full height, he began walking out to the main room when Angela grabbed onto his arm causing him to look at her questioningly before once again looking for a map.

Thinking to himself, Harvic chuckled. This is what it must have felt like when I wouldn't let go of my mom's hand when she introduced me to that new pre-school. His thoughts trailed off as he thought of his family, and to ignore the sad thoughts, changed the subject back to the map.

"Here's a small pamphlet! "The Xendar Region, home of such tails as Khan the hero, and blah, blah exposition smexposition, I'll come up with my own opinion about the Xendar region. " Harvic chuckled as he grabbed a few pamphlets and walked out of the pokécenter with a wave of his free hand to the nurse and her helper.

Walking outside, Harvic was hit by the new atmosphere and setting. He was no longer in the damp dark forests of his past. A beautiful small town was shown before his eyes. Paved walkways were filled with many kinds of people, all ages. Many of them were accompanied by Pokémon.

The color of the buildings and surroundings alone were enough to blow his mind, being so used to the dreary cream colors of apartment buildings and the dirt colored log-cabins in the woods.

"This…is going to take some getting used to, heh."

Taking a glance at the pamphlet and tracing a path on it with his finger, he made mental notes as to where to go. That place has a cool name, maybe I can do stuff there! Oh, I need food, and water, oh maybe I can be a travelling salesman of tonic! Or wait…Art! …Do they have art here?

"Alright then, we head north!" Harvic announced after a grueling five minutes, pointing his free hand out to his left.

That is south.

Blushing slightly in embarrassment, Harvic quickly swirled his arm in an arc to face north, "Yes! North! I knew that!" He announced, quickly marching off in that direction, Angela holding on to his arm. "Alright, it may be a bit longer to get used to than I thought…Hey, you're not very talkative, are you? But you're rather clingy."

Angela simply stared up at him questioningly, causing him to shrug, "I mean its fine… nothing wrong with that…Let's head to…eh…" He trailed off as a chunk of awkward got caught in his throat.

Flipping the map over a few times in his one hand, he sighed, "I feel like my brain is broken, I think I'm still in shock about all this, I mean…Look at where I am…"

Looking to Angela for a response and receiving nothing, he filled the silence with a sigh. And I have a companion who hates me.

…I don't hate you. The small voice interjected.

And can read minds…I gotta remember that.

They walked forward for a long and awkward five minutes before the kirlia spoke up again into his mind.

..D-do you hate me?

"What? No of course not, I don't hate anybody, I just dislike people…" After letting that hang in the air for a minute, he realized the implication he made, "But no I don't dislike you either, your…uhh…nice?" He thought of the correct word but hasn't been around the kirlia long enough to come up with a proper opinion. "I mean you did save my life…" He trailed off.

"Don't worry, I'm just not a people person, I'm not used to them…let alone clingy ones…not that that's a bad thing of course…eh…just not used to it." He rambled on, using his free hand to implicate his words as he spoke.

"Anyways! I think I know what we can do…or I can do…you can be my little side-kick! Unless you can paint…maybe I can teach you!" The rambling continued, and surprisingly, unlike anyone else Harvic ever opened to, she listened. "We must head off…to the art-store!" He yelled out triumphantly, pointing his finger forward as he quickened his steps, forcing the clingy Angela to do the same to keep her grip on his arm.