POV: ? / LOCATION: ?

I awaken to the radiance of the evening glow. Red slants of sunlight sprinkle down the window sill, casting a pulsating waterfall of light over my face.

I lie on what I presume to be a bed. Memory foam. A bit too firm for comfort, the type recommended for people with back problems.

A sharp pain spears up my spine when I attempt to sit up, accumulating in my skull like a dam about to burst. Something white glints in the window reflection, located around my head. Like a curious monkey, I poke it.

"AUUGH!" Bad idea. Bad, bad idea.

"Why are you poking your wound?!"

I spin around. "AUUGH! AN ALIEN!"

"A what?!"

"Stay back! I know your kind helped build the Relic Castle in Unova, but I won't let you probe my brains!"

"Shh! Stop yelling—"

I smash a pillow into his groin. His hand lashes out, trapping my wrist in place. Cold. Like a corpse's touch.

"I know you have questions," he growls. "But I have a few of my own as well. What were you doing in the forest?"

"What the hell are you talking about?!"

"I've no time for your childish games. Foggy Forest. Why. Were. You. There?"

I transfer all my strength into my arms to shove him aside. "I told you, I don't know!"

The spaceman slowly, clumsily, picks himself up the floor where I had tossed him. One hand grasps the other arm, as if he's in pain. There is a deep grimace on his face, but his eyes are very, very bright.

"You… aren't fibbing?" he mutters.

"No," I say for the millionth time. "I think I hit my head a tad too hard last night. It's all blank in here."

There is a pensive silence. I notice the golden "G" on his vest, and for some reason blood surges to my knuckles at the mere sight of it.

"Do you know your name?" he mumbles.

That, I do. "Cynthia."

"Occupation?"

"Um… Amnesiac."

"Hilarious. Hometown?"

Puzzle pieces are falling. Fog. Mountains. Murals. None of it makes sense, however. "No," I say. "Is this an interrogation?"

"It will be, if you're hiding the truth from me."

Then he presents a red-and-white capsule.

"A Poke ball," I blurt.

"Good. What's inside?"

"A Pokemon. Duh."

The spaceman presses the button. Out pops a large, hammerhead dragon with carved wings that resemble jet engines.

"Garchomp!" I yelp.

My beloved Pokemon jumps at its name. I hold out my arms, and it lunges forward like a puppy. Its sharp snout jabs into my bosom. I pull the dragon closer so I can hear its frantic heartbeat thumping beneath its hardened scales.

"You remember Pokemon, at the very least."

Damn. I forgot about my creepy visitor. Garchomp, however, tenses when it hears his voice. It spins around, smoke curling from its jaws, fins erect.

The spaceman smirks. "Like an amnesiac farmer picking up a hoe for the first time, perhaps a Pokemon battle will jog your memory. Crobat, standby."

A large bat bigger than the man swoops down from the ceiling, silent like a ninja. It snaps its fangs, brandishing its four wings like swords.

Instinct primes my body to act. I feel as if I've been in this situation countless times before. "Garchomp!" I call. "Giga Impact!"

Crobat swiftly evades the attack. Its Trainer merely continues to speculate in silence.

"Garchomp, Dragon Rush! Ground that bat!"

Before anything can happen, the spaceman holds up on stern hand. "Enough. Lesson 04 in Pokemon battles: Might isn't always right."

"Oh, shut up. Who do you think you are?"

He recalls his leering Crobat. I reluctantly recall Garchomp. While we wait for the other side to explain themselves, the room lights automatically turn on. The sun had set, and the moon has risen.

"Who are you?" I say at the same time he says, "Why were you in the forest?"

Gross. We're speaking in tandem.

Wait a minute. "What forest?" I say.

His gaze drifts to the darkening skies. "No one in their right minds would traverse to such a dangerous location unprepared. But then again, you are quite reckless… Still, that wouldn't make sense unless…" Something catches in his voice." There was something worth finding."

"Hey, I asked you a question."

"Perhaps I was on the right track. Yes, it can't be a coincidence… That place warrants a second investigation…"

I toss a pillow into his stupid face. At that moment, my head explodes like a firecracker. I grab at my bandages, skull pulsating, breath gurgling out of my mouth. The world spins like a colorful rondo.

Cold hands ease me down to the bed. "Rest," snaps the spaceman. "I'll prepare some acetaminophen if needed."

"Don't… tell me what… to…" My protests trail to a pathetic whimper.

A blanket is pulled over my chest, pinning me down. Strength gradually leaves my muscles. Sleep triumphantly tugs my eyelids close. Before I sink into the warmth of the bed, I hear socks padding to the door. A click. Then all is dark once again.