Trees towered over Chaplin, casting shadows darker than the secretion of a Tentacool. Moonlight broke through the canopy, lighting up the forest floor with patches of silvery salvation. Chaplin took wobbly steps into a spot of light, as she sat and took in her surroundings. She… didn't remember coming here. Why would she have come into the forest, especially at moonhigh? It was only common sense that anything outside of any towns or cities was dangerous territory, only to be ventured into by Exploration Teams. Chaplin, clearly, was not part of one. As she tried to determine when exactly she had gotten here, there was an unsettling realization:

It was silent.

Complete, and utter, silence. For all her life, she had never known true quiet. There was always something, or someone, making some kind of noise. But now… nothing. Not even a gust of wind, or the creak of a tree branch, or the call of a wild pokemon. Nothing.

Chaplin became aware of her own breathing, and the pounding rhythm of her heart. No, no, no, this wasn't right.

She stood and looked ahead. A straight path through the trees that stretched farther than she could see. Must have been where she was meant to go.

The trees were too plentiful to see in any other direction. This path, however, was completely devoid of them. Chaplin got an uneasy feeling, as though something were watching her. She whipped her head around, and saw nothing. Literally nothing, for everything behind her seemed to have been absorbed into the inky night. She froze, but regained her composure after a few seconds. Then she was back to walking the path.

Eventually, the path opened up to reveal an oddly circular clearing in the trees. A bare patch of earth occupied the center of it. Chaplin hesitated before putting one paw on the bare earth.

Then, there was a blinding flash of light that she had to close her eyes to avoid. When she opened her eyes again, she was surrounded by countless pokemon. Panicked, Chaplin whirled around, staring at all of the mysterious pokemon. She realized one thing: they were all transparent. The trees could clearly be seen through their forms, and yet… they still existed right there. An indescribable noise began to emanate from the ghost-like pokemon… almost like a thousand whispers crowding around Chaplin, pressuring her to do something. But what? What was it that these figures wanted her to do? The whispers only grew louder, and the ghostly pokemon drew closer, trapping her. She tried to shrink away from them, but they were everywhere. As the whispers turned into a crescendo, Chaplin dropped to the ground and put her paws over her ears in an attempt to block out the overwhelming noise. It was too much, far too much for her to handle. No, no, no…

She woke up. Quickly, she raised her head. Yes, she was back in her room. So… that must have been a dream. What an unusual experience! She stood and looked out the window. It was night… moonhigh, to be exact. Still the same day as when that thing had come from the forest. Despite that, an irresistible urge to go into that forest worked its way into Chaplin's head. She pondered whether it would really be a good idea to do so. Every reasonable cell in her body screamed that she should stay indoors, and keep living out her… relatively peaceful life. And yet… the thought of adventure! Of straying away from routine, and exploring the world! The thought terrified her.

Eh, what was the worst that could happen? She quickly made up her mind: she would go into that forest! Just as she had done earlier in the day, she snuck through the flapping door, and the wooden hall, and finally came outside.

Chaplin set off at a trot towards that wall of trees. The moon shone down on the environment, just as it had in the dream. She stopped to look around: there were not as many trees as there had been in the dream, certainly not enough to prevent travel. However, she didn't want to get lost, so she would simply stick to walking as straight as she possibly could.

It was only a matter of time before she encountered an obstacle: a river. The water rushed through its path at a… most likely dangerous speed. A pokemon as small as Chaplin would easily be swept away by the current. She sat and studied her surroundings. There were trees, of course, but Chaplin couldn't even hope to knock one over. Oh! A small rock sat on the bank. Perhaps…

Chaplin walked over to the rock. It was actually a bit larger than she had initially thought, but it shouldn't have posed too much of a challenge to push it. She threw her whole weight against the rock, and was surprised to feel it shift. Thankfully, the rock tumbled into the water, and stayed there. Now she had a way to get across. She hopped up onto the top of the rock, balancing on the very tip, and then leaped across to the other side.

The forest remained the same as she walked further into it. There was no threatening void, no ghosts. There was noise, though. Every now and again, Chaplin would hear the crack of twigs as she stepped on them, or the distant call of a pokemon. Nothing close by, though.

She soon lost herself in her thoughts: what if she disappeared? Would anybody care? What would happen if this adventure into the forest was her demise? What--

She stopped dead in her tracks, for she glanced up and realized exactly where she was. The clearing where the ghosts had appeared in her dream. Slowly, Chaplin took it in: the circle was… well, a circle. That patch of earth was in the middle, just as it had been. But what would happen if she were to place her paw there? Surely no ghosts would appear. Everyone knew ghosts only appeared to those who deserved to be punished! ...Right?

"Well, here goes nothing." She mumbled as she put a paw on the earth.

For a few seconds, nothing happened. Then, there was an odd buzzing noise. It was so faint that she almost didn't notice it at first. It suddenly grew louder, and Chaplin felt herself being lifted off the ground. Was she… floating? Impossible! There was no Flying-type Shinx! And yet, beyond all explanation, Chaplin was going higher and higher into the air. She froze in shock and could only watch as the forest grew smaller, as the night sky enveloped her vision, almost resembling the void from her dream. And then… there was a flash of light. And she hit solid ground.