The trip to Hart's Woods only took a few minutes since my mom's condo was conjoined to another neighborhood of townhouses via a small road. This other neighborhood led to a cul-de-sac, which connected to the wood's trail entrance. The only problem with this however was that the entrance was behind someone's house, and I always felt weird trespassing on someone else's property, even if just for a second. Nonetheless, we crossed over the little wooden footbridge into the woods, quickly rushing past the house and into the cover of the trees.

Once we stepped inside, the air temperature seemed to drop about five degrees, making it cool and comfortable. The sun high above tried to poke through the cracks in the forest canopy, the light appearing and disappearing on the ground as the trees swayed in motion to the calm wind. In front of us were two paths; one footpath that led straight through the forest across an outlet from the Erie Canal, and another one that looped around the outside.

I let Riolu choose where to go, seeing as I'd been down both paths many times before. My old middle school backed up to Hart's Woods on the other side, so I used to walk home through the forest almost every day. Riolu looked back and forth, trying to make a decision; he eventually settled on the long path which kept to the outskirts of the forest. And so, we started walking, enjoying the cool air and quiet atmosphere as much as possible.

Just like on the way home from school, I noticed mostly the same things. The changing leaves, the Patrat and Rattata on the ground, as well as the Pidgey and Pidove darting across the treetops. There were even a few Caterpie and Wurmple wriggling around in the undergrowth now, too.

As we walked in silence, I began to dwell on my relationship with Riolu. I was slightly concerned that he and I weren't really talking to each other; it just felt awkward not speaking until we needed to. Even though we hadn't known each other for a full day, it would obviously take time for Riolu to adjust and come out of his shell. I desperately hoped that would be sooner than later, but all I could do was wait and see.

Just then, an interesting smell wafted into my nose. It was sweet like fresh picked fruit, and it got my mouth watering since I didn't get around to eating anything at school. There was also a hint of something in the scent that I couldn't put my finger on, so I asked Riolu.

"Can you smell that too, Riolu?" I questioned. He looked up at me and shook his head yes. I suddenly realized how stupid I sounded saying that, seeing as it was pretty strong. Changing the subject, I suggested, "Well come on, let's follow our noses." I pointed off further down the path. "Who knows where it will lead us?" Riolu nodded but sported a slightly confused look. I was really stretching to find something for us to do, and I guess he could tell that.

Riolu and I searched along the path for a while, following the weird aroma. We eventually settled upon an old tree stump, covered in small mushrooms and moss.

"The smell is the strongest right here," I pointed out. "Let's see what it is." Riolu nodded at me and then bounded off the path to the stump, leaves crunching under his feet. I followed after him, staying as close as I could. Riolu turned the corner around the stump and his face instantly lit up.

"Ri…" he said quietly, eyes twinkling.

"What did you find?" I asked, turning the corner of the stump too. Once I saw what Riolu was seeing, my eyes also lit up. My stomach growled too, as inside the stump was a surplus of berries.

Orans, Pechas, Chestos, Sitruses, Leppas; you name it, they were there. Riolu looked up to me, still astonished at what was before him. I smiled back at him and gave him a little nod, signaling for him to dig in. Not fully considering the situation and unsure as to where all the berries had come from (especially knowing that none of the trees in Hart's Woods were fruit bearing before the previous night), I still somehow figured that it was okay for Riolu and I to indulge on this large pile of berries.

Riolu grabbed a sweet Pecha berry first, while I went for a Leppa. It was small like a crabapple, and very firm. I bit into the berry cautiously, as to not hurt my teeth. I was presented with a satisfying crunch, as a unique flavor erupted in my mouth. Equal parts sweet and spicy, it was like nothing I'd ever experienced before; I was awestruck with the exceptional taste.

Because the Leppa berry was so small, I finished mine in a couple bites. It was so good, I grabbed a couple extras for later, saving them in my backpack. As I did this, Riolu continued to devour berry after berry. I smiled, looking over at how happy he was. Then, my mind finally began to wander. The smell from before wafted back into my nose, and the gears in my head began to turn. I finally began to question why there was a grove of berries hidden away off the beaten track. And that strange other part to the odor… Just what was it? Could it be a certain berry? Or maybe a Pokémon of some kind? Then it hit me; the smell definitely had a certain sting to it.

"Trub?" A squeaky voice came from a bush a couple feet away. Riolu stopped munching when he heard the noise. Both of us turned to where the sound came from. My suspicions were confirmed as a small Trubbish stepped out from the bush. The Trubbish was small, being only about three-fourths the size of Riolu. Once it saw what Riolu and I were doing, it grew angry. "Trub! Trubbish!"

"N-no, wait. It isn't what it looks like..." I said, putting my hands up. Riolu and I both backpedaled away from the stump, our backs to the path. Yet, the Trubbish continued to walk towards us, barring its sharp teeth.

Just then, rustling came from all around us. Another Trubbish popped out from some underbrush to my left, and one came from behind a fallen tree on Riolu's right. There was even a Trubbish behind us, circling in from the path. Riolu and I were back to back now, caught in the ambush.

"Trubbish, Trubbish!" the original Trubbish called out.

"Let me explain, guys…" I muttered nervously. "W-we didn't know that these berries were yours, and we just wanted a quick s-snack... We'll, uh, just be on our way now. Haha…" My weak apology obviously did nothing to sway them, as they all opened their mouths and backed up slightly, preparing to let us have it with some kind of attack.

My heart dropped and my mind raced, trying to find an idea or a scapegoat out of the situation at hand. I thought briefly about telling Riolu to attack, but we were outnumbered, and I didn't know any of his moves. Suddenly, a spark of genius came to me.

"Riolu, listen up!" I cried out.

"Rio!" he replied back.

"Jump as soon as they let out their attacks! These Trubbish seem small, so they're probably young; I bet they aren't good at using moves yet!"

"Rio!" he responded again, and we both set our focus on their attacks. Taking their sweet little time, the Trubbish's attack was finally almost ready. In a low hum, the Trubbish synchronized their cries.

"Trubbbbbb…" they sang in harmony, a purple goopy orb appearing in each of their mouths.

"Get ready!" I called out to Riolu. In the heat of the moment, I swear I could feel my heart racing alongside Riolu's. The adrenaline felt good, coursing all throughout my body. But I had no time to pay attention to it, as the Trubbish finally released their combo attack.

"...biiiiiishhhhh!" the Trubbish all cried, letting the purple slime fly out towards us.

"Now!" I yelped. I slightly bent down and leapt into the air as high as I could, successfully clearing all the purple sludge just in time. I landed on the ground safely, Riolu behind me doing the same. I watched as the goop splashed in the Trubbish's faces, each toppling over backwards.

As Riolu and I stood there motionless, watching the Trubbish wriggling on the ground covered in purple goo from their failed attacks, I felt weird. Seeing these Trubbish hurt first of all made me feel guilty for their pain; I almost wanted to help them up and apologize for what I'd done. Yet, something deep down inside of me burst out instead. For the first time in a while, I felt victory. I exploded with this new feeling, as joy and happiness poured in too.

"Yeah, we did it!" I cried out. Turning to Riolu, the look on his face showed he was confused at my sudden change in emotion. The feelings controlling me, I grabbed Riolu under his arms and hoisted him into the air. "We did it, Riolu! We actually did it! Whew, that was a close one!" Riolu looked a bit worried and nervous that I was holding him up, but nonetheless a smile still casted out on his face.

"Ri!" he said, happy just like me. It was then that I realized that it was the first time I'd touched Riolu. His fur was soft but felt almost durable and hard somehow; it was clear to me that he could take plenty of hits.

Just then, the ground began to shake, slowly and periodically. Riolu and I glanced around, wondering what was causing the shaking. The Trubbish were still down on the ground recovering from the attack, and there were no other Pokémon in sight.

What else could it be, I wondered before setting Riolu down. Suddenly, I caught a whiff of a new, terrible stench. I covered my nose, as my eyes began to water.

"Ew, what is that?" I said aloud to Riolu, who was also covering its nose. The shaking got more violent, which I then realized was probably footsteps… But what creature was making them?

Out of the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse of the monster finally exposing itself. An amorphous figure emerged from behind a bush with dark brown and green undertones. It had two antennae, lengthy metallic arms, and smelled absolutely horrific. No doubt, a Garbodor stood before us.

"Garrrbbb…" it called out to us in a deep, intimidating voice. Obviously, it was a warning to both Riolu and I. This certain Garbodor was massive, probably at least a foot taller than me. It sported a scar over its left eye, and its beady black pupils bore into our souls, watching our every move.

I figured this certain Garbodor must have been one of the parents of the Trubbish since they hopped off the ground and bounded over behind it the first chance they had. Once they'd regrouped, the lot of them barring their teeth at us, showing that they were definitely not pleased. I gave out a nervous smile.

"Would you leave us alone if I gave a better apology?" Garbodor backed up and opened its mouth, preparing an attack. "Run!" I told Riolu, spinning around. We bolted away as fast as we could.

Explosions of purple sludge erupted behind us as we darted away.

"Stay close to me!" I cried out to Riolu, making sure to not lose him. Riolu was faster than me, so he ran in the front, jumping over rocks and dodging roots. I tried to copy his actions as much as possible, in an attempt to lower the chance of a clumsy trip. As far as we knew, Garbodor and Trubbish were right behind us, so neither of us looked back. We just dashed as fast as we could up and down the hilly, winding path. Suddenly, the opening to the end of the trail came into sight; I could see the bounding hills outside the middle school. "There's the exit, Riolu! Come on, we're almost there!" I yelped. Just then, like a bomb dropping, a purple mass flew over my head with a whistling noise. Even with a quick look, I could tell it was headed right for Riolu.

"Watch out!" Riolu turned his head to see the Sludge Bomb approaching him at high speeds, but he had nowhere to go. As I saw the fear develop on his face, I knew I had to do something; I couldn't bear to see my partner get hurt.

I dashed forward with all my might and lunged through the air, grabbing Riolu just in the nick of time. The purple bomb smashed into the ground just behind me, nearly clipping my feet. It erupted when it hit, the shockwave sending both Riolu and I flying out of the forest. I tried to hold Riolu as tight as I could, as we soared through the air. It was a solid second or two until I hit the ground hard, bouncing once, and then beginning to roll down a grassy hill. I tumbled over myself for a while until I finally came to a stop once the slope flattened out.

"Oof…" I stammered out, releasing my grip on Riolu. He tumbled out of my arms onto the ground, a little wobbly from the roll. Once he'd regained his bearings, he bounded back over to me.

"Rio, Rio!" he said, checking to see if I was injured.

"...I-I'm alright buddy, just a little light-headed," I replied, coming out of my daze and standing up. The fall knocked the wind out of me, so it was hard to breathe, and the vertigo wouldn't go away… Not to mention my back hurt from rolling over my full backpack so many times. But I knew if we didn't move, Garbodor would catch us. "...Let's get going before Garbodor and his gang come ba-" I was cut off by another Sludge Bomb whizzing over our heads, erupting nearby. "They aren't giving up! We've got to keep running!" I cried, grabbing Riolu by the paw. I stumbled and tried to keep my balance the best I could as we dashed across the plain hilly landscape of the clearing towards the school, continuing to not look back.

This time as we ran, Riolu and I periodically made sure that the Garbodor and Trubbish were not following us since we now had a lot more open space to play with. They gave up quickly though, as they didn't want to wander too far from home.

Once the coast was clear, Riolu and I ran a distance away and tuckered out under a shady sycamore tree atop the hill next to the lacrosse fields. We both laid down against the bark, trying to get our breath back. From under the tree's leafy branches, Hart's Woods loomed in the distance, somewhat obscured behind my old middle school and the many sports fields next to it.

A solid minute went by before either of us talked. During this moment of silence, I felt something forming inside me. It wasn't the grief of hurting the Trubbish or the pangs of exhaustion. No, it was definitely the feeling of a budding friendship with Riolu; and if there was any time to work on our relationship, now was definitely the time. With a final deep breath to ready myself, I turned to Riolu who was staring out at the blue horizon.

"Riolu…" I said sternly, gaining his attention back. "Thank you."

"...R-Rio?"

"Thank you for… for sticking with me throughout that entire ordeal. I don't know what I would've done without you... Y-you gave me so much confidence... I-I…" I was blushing the entire time and was too embarrassed to continue. Riolu looked me in my eyes, searching into my soul.

"Rio, Riolu," he answered with a smile before placing his right paw onto his chest. I didn't have a clue what he said but I could tell that he felt the same way about being partners. What adventures lie ahead of us? What hardships would we have to break through? What bridges would we have to cross? There was only one way to find out, and that was to strike the match that would set the kindling of our friendship ablaze.

I stood up, the dizziness finally gone. As a smile stretched far across my face, I added,

"Come on, Riolu– let's head home. I'm thinking my mom will be back by now, so why don't we just take it easy for the rest of the day?" Riolu nodded with an ear to ear smile and eagerly hopped up. Side by side, we headed home down a path that avoided Hart's Woods.

Along the way home, Riolu and I stopped at a creek to wash up a bit and cool down. Riolu was sticky from the berries and covered in a layer of dirt and grime. I wasn't covered in berry juice, but I was sticky from dirt and sweat. I also had some cuts along my legs where I'd hit the ground hard after the sludge bomb explosion, and there was also a rash on the back on my left leg where a small amount of the purple slime landed without me noticing. As soon as I dipped my legs in the water, I felt an instant relief. I almost never wanted to leave the creek, it felt too good.

Riolu and I dried off by soaking in the sunlight. The two of us laid in the comfortable grass, staring back up at the wispy clouds. While we waited for the sun to do its thing, I reached into my bag and pulled out two Leppa Berries. We both chowed down on our snack, glad to be sharing this moment together.

When Riolu and I got back to the condo, I found that the front door was unlocked. Keen on resting for a while longer, we ran up the stairs as fast as possible and knocked on the door. To my surprise, Blastoise opened it.

"Blast," it said, greeting both Riolu and I with a smile.

"Good to see you too, Blastoise," I replied. Blastoise nodded back at Riolu and I as a friendly gesture. "Come on, Riolu. I need to put my feet up." Riolu nodded up at me and we walked in. We instantly felt the relief from the cool air conditioning in the house.

Hours later, I woke up on the couch with a thin blanket draped over my chest. Riolu lay at my feet, resting on a pillow. I sat up and rubbed my head, wondering how I got to the couch. I must've passed out when I got home after the adventure with Riolu. Riolu awoke at the same time I did, stretching out and yawning.

"Hey Riolu. How was your nap, buddy?"

"Rio, lu lu," he said, smiling at me.

"Good to hear," I said, assuming that he agreed.

"Hey there, sleepy-heads," a voice from the background called. Riolu and I turned around to see my mom and Blastoise standing behind the couch. "You boys were out for quite a while… I can't wait to hear about your journey today! I'll get dinner together and we can all talk about it!"

"Sure, mom," I answered. My mom smiled and headed into the kitchen, beckoning Blastoise to follow her in.

Riolu then bounded across the couch to sit next to me. "Hey, how about some television?" Riolu looked puzzled, probably seeing a TV for the first time. I picked up the remote and turned it on; the screen sprung to life, clicking open to the five o'clock news.

"Breaking news!" the news anchor yelped out, grabbing my attention. "Pokémon invade our world! What it means for you, our community, our state, the country, and even the planet. Newscaster Colin Hay is on this story. Hey Colin, bring us up to date on this breaking news story!" The scene flipped from a cinematic of many different Pokémon to the reporter live outside the news studio.

"Thanks, Gabby. I think everyone can say they were surprised to find real-life Pokémon in their homes yesterday. But just where did these Pokémon come from and why? Top researchers from universities and organizations across the globe are elaborating now."

The report went into detail about speculations regarding the sudden arrival of Pokémon. There were accounts from every country coming in that talked about how Pokémon 'appeared in someone's closet', or 'merely showed up out of thin air'. Strangely, nearly all Pokémon seemed to be holding a Poké Ball when they arrived, the only exceptions being animals who'd been turned into Pokémon. There were also many accounts of the Pokémon running wild and trashing the house or hurting their trainer-to-be.

This part added more questions than solving them since Riolu and Blastoise seemed pretty friendly when we'd met for the first time. Maybe some Pokémon were already trained before coming to the human world? And if Zabu really was Purrloin, was Purrloin a Pokémon before?

The reporter also talked about how many things straight up disappeared or had been changed. Like, for example, how a restaurant's ingredients were changed into berry equivalents, or the fact that everyone's phones had been changed into some other mobile device from the Pokémon World. Scientists were ultimately baffled and had no logical answers.

The funniest part of the report however was that when reporters reached out to Nintendo and Game Freak for answers on this strange phenomena, they were equally astonished at the event and simply told the press, quote, "No comment."

The report ended on a different note; the president told the press that Pokémon had plenty of military potential, and that he was deciding to make a program to test this theory. This was interesting to me, as I'd never thought to what scale Pokémon suddenly appearing could affect the world.

Around dinner that night, I told my mom about school letting out early and our adventures in Hart's Woods earlier that day. She was very worried at first, constantly asking if I was okay. Once I'd said I was alright and not hurt for the thousandth time, she finally calmed down and became interested in my story.

"I can't wait to do more of that tomorrow!" I yelped proudly at the end, surprising everyone in the room.

"Don't go so fast, honey," my mom laughed. "Eat your gnocchi and rest. You've earned it." I nodded and got back to enjoying my meal.

That night, Riolu played around with Blastoise and Purrloin while I did my homework and took a shower. I watched some more TV with my mother and the Pokémon after that, but it soon came time for bed.

"Goodnight, Riolu," I announced, finally crawling under the covers.

"Riooooolu," he said sleepily, yawning and turning over on his blanket atop the wardrobe to face the wall. I closed my eyes tight and smiled, happy to have such an amazing Pokémon partner. Tomorrow, I figured that Riolu and I would train a little, and maybe go on another adventure after school. Thinking about this filled me with so much excitement, the anxiety almost kept me awake. Nonetheless, I quickly drifted off to sleep, tuckered out by the wonderful trip from earlier that day.

I jolted awake instantly in a cold sweat, my heart racing a mile a minute. Immediately, I pieced together that I was no longer inside my bedroom. Instead, the familiar walls of my room had been replaced by ones of a rainbow hue. Wherever I looked, I could not tell where the space started or ended. It was like I was in some sort of real life dreamscape or computer program. The colors of the walls continued to shift haphazardly, almost creating a wave-like pattern similar to moving water.

"Where… where am I?" I said aloud. I went to move, but there seemed to be something shackling all of my body down except for my head. "Wh… Why can't I move? Hello?" Just then a figure materialized before me. It was small, gray with yellow accents, and looked like some kind of fairy; it was floating a foot away from me with a small set of tails encrusted with red jewels.

The fairy looked to be staring at me, but its eyes were seemingly shut. Its face was partly yellow which led into its rounded yellow head, and it had another red jewel set in its forehead. I felt weird as the creature gazed at me, as if it was inspecting my very being.

"Wh-who are you?" I called out to the creature, still a little startled by it all.

"Human… Do not be alarmed…" a stern feminine voice called out. The words echoed and reverberated throughout the space, almost like we were in a cave. The creature's mouth hadn't moved when the voice came out, so I became confused as to where the noise was coming from.

"Did... Did you say that?"

"Tell me… You are the one known as Lukas, correct?" the voice echoed out again. The fairy floated in closer, now only a few feet from my face; I tried to stay still as it looked me over.

"...Y-Yes. My name is Lukas," I hesitantly muttered, unsure why or how it knew my name.

"Hmm… You will do nicely," it added before flying around me quickly and returning to a hover in the same spot. I didn't know whether to be flattered or worried about its statement.

"Very well. I am the one known as Uxie, the being of knowledge." My heartbeat began to fluctuate as I finally overcame my fear and recognized who was before me. It's… it's the real Uxie! I thought. But... How does she know my name? And what does she want with me?

"Human, Lukas… I have come here today because I have a task for you," Uxie began again.

"A… task?" I asked, still anxious from seeing a real legendary Pokémon up close.

"I need you to lend us your strength… and help me save the Pokémon World."

"...W-wait. What?" My mind went blank and my heart jumped out of my chest. Now I was sure I must've heard wrong. Nonetheless, it was another dream come true hearing those words, like something straight out of a video game! But as much as I was happy and awestruck that Uxie was sharing this with me, I was equally confused.

"I… I don't know how to react to your offer, Uxie," I started, still trying to sound as polite as possible when I spoke my mind. "But I need to know something… Why me? I'm just a normal kid. Sure, I've been a fan of Pokémon since I was young… But isn't there someone out there who is more qualified to help you?"

"...It is unwise to doubt yourself as you do, but only time can tell the truth." I didn't exactly know how to react to that, but her response only made the questions bounce around faster in my head. Yet when I opened my mouth to say something, nothing came out.

"Lukas... Head to Kinzua Valley… Only there you will find the portal to the Pokémon World. You must leave as soon as possible; the Prismatic King and his army grow stronger at the minute…" As soon as Uxie's words stopped, she tilted herself in the air, as if to look around me. I turned my head around only to see the same rainbow hued surroundings. In a second, she looked back and stared me in the eyes again.

"I must go now, and so must you. Head to Kinzua Valley at once; time is running out for both our worlds as we know it…" Suddenly, Uxie began to fade away in front of me.

"Wait, Uxie! Come back, I need to know more!" I cried out. But it was no use, as Uxie continued to fade into thin air before me. Just before it became fully transparent, I heard it call out to me,

"Deep in a forbidden place, surrounded by friends, you will find a key to your success…"

As soon as Uxie was gone, my vision faded out to black and I woke up on my bed with the covers strewn about. I sat up in a flash, heart pounding out of my chest, wondering what had just happened. As I began to recognize the familiar sights and sounds of my room, I started to calm down.

"It… it was only a…?" I whispered, trying not to wake Riolu. I turned over and looked at the clock; it was 5:37 AM. I was about forty minutes shy of my alarm going off. Letting out a small groan, I rolled over onto my side; there was no way I'd be able to fall asleep again after that. I decided my best use of time was to recollect on my crazy dream from moments before to make sure I didn't forget anything.

I started off by running through some questions. Why would Uxie be contacting me for help? And just what did they see in me? Like I'd told her, I was a common high school student, and there was nothing extraordinary about me. Even if I was capable, where would I find the time to help anyways?

After that, Uxie told me to, 'head to Kinzua Valley'. I had no clue what or where that place was. I didn't even know how to spell the word properly; I could only picture her voice saying the word aloud. They also told me about the 'Prismatic King' and his growing army. The name sounded particularly daunting, but that's all the info I had, so I decided to push it aside for now.

And then finally, Uxie told me, 'Deep in a forbidden place, surrounded by friends, you will find a key to your success,' right before the dream ended. I also couldn't figure out what that meant; what 'forbidden place' would I need to head to, and what friends would I need to meet up with?

Just then, Riolu woke up with a start. He sat up fast with a bewildered look on his face like I had moments before.

"R-Rio?" it said, gazing around the room; he seemed relieved a couple seconds after briefly glancing around.

"Hey, Riolu," I said to get his attention once he was finished. I guess he didn't realize I was awake, so he jumped in response to my voice. He then turned towards me, giving me his attention. "I just had the craziest dream… Did you have one too?" I asked. It seemed like a reasonable question, as he'd jerked awake so suddenly. Riolu looked surprised and slowly nodded yes back at me. "Why don't you hang out with me a little bit before the alarm goes off… Jump up here and we can talk about it?" Riolu nodded again and carefully got down from atop the dresser. He bounded over and hopped up onto the side of my bed, sitting next to me. "Alright, here we go. I'll start," I said, eager to tell someone about my crazy dream.

Throughout the story, Riolu looked very taken back and even sported a worried look at times. Once I was finished, I asked him if he knew anything about Kinzua Valley, how Uxie'd contacted me, or the quote she'd left me with, just to see if they meant anything to him. But, this was to no avail, as Riolu didn't know the answer to any.

"Hmm…" I muttered, a bit frustrated that I couldn't figure anything out. I could tell Riolu was also trying to think about the significance of the dream too, as he stared up blankly into the ceiling.

"Rio…" he then said, turning my attention back to me.

"What is it, Riolu? Did you just think of something?" He was about to say something when my alarm clock went off, scaring both of us. I hit the snooze button as quickly as possible so Riolu wouldn't be startled. "Welp, I guess it's time to get ready for school, Riolu. We can talk more about the dream later. Let's get some breakfast before the bus comes, okay?"

Riolu nodded his head yes, looking a bit down that he'd been interrupted. I felt bad that I'd pushed off what he wanted to say and more so Uxie's cry for help, but I had my own responsibilities to attend to. Riolu would get whatever he wanted to say off his chest later in the day, and I told myself that the dream I had of Uxie was just my hyperactive brain being overly tired.