Zooming through the trees and between bush branches, I spared a glance behind me just to make sure I wasn't being followed. Other than a couple of young Starly and their mother who were going about their day, there was no one there. Certainly no flaming monkey or grouchy purple-haired trainers either. Only when I had confirmed that I was in fact safe, I allowed my flight to slow down.

"Wow. That was a close one!"

Paul nearly gave a heart attack (if Pokemon could even have such human health conditions), appearing out of nowhere back then. There was one single benefit that came out of that sudden encounter though. I could finally confirm that I was in the anime world. Whether that was a good thing or bad, I had no idea though.

It wasn't like I was a big fan of the cartoon. While I had watched a couple of episodes on T.V. and online, I preferred the games much more. The anime had become quite a predictable pattern with Ash and his constant banters with Team Rocket, collecting the badges from the different Gym Leaders and challenging the league; only to lose, then move on to a new region. I knew the main characters including most of the protagonist's famous travelling partners like Brock and Misty as well as some of his rivals but that was about it.

That included Paul. The only thing I really knew about him was, like all other rivals, he was a complete jerk to everyone including his Pokemon and the fact he only cared about winning the Sinnoh League.

Who cares though? There was a skinny chance that I would encounter the violent violet idiot (man, that nickname is so smart) ever again in my life as an everyday Zubat. I'd like to meet Ash sometime though; as the main character, he always seems to be coming across legendaries. It would absolutely astounding if I could ever meet Dialga or Palkia. Again, the chances of that ever happening were equally as thin.

The slight irritation on my wings pulled me out of my contemplation; ah, crap! That's never a good sign. I must have stayed out in the sun for too long. Most Zubats got severe cases of sunburn if they were vulnerable to the sun for as long as I have, however, I've always been a special case. I had gradual exposure ever since I was a pup but I still could get rashes and that was just as horrible in its own way.

After a few minutes, I found the entrance to Mt Coronet and glided through, turning several tunnels before reaching my destination; this section of the cave was filled with nothing but Zubats and Golbats. It served as a 'base of operations' type of place and was mostly avoided by trainers due to, well, the sheer number of bat Pokemon. Apparently, it was universally agreed that my species were just a pain in the butt.

I went up to my usual spot and found a place to settle by a nice crevasse in the cave ceiling. Gilbert was there as per usual, already deep asleep and I tried to stay silent as I got myself comfortable. Soon, I delved steadily into heavy thoughts.

"Marella," My mother called from the master bedroom, "Goodnight!"

"I will!" I shouted and waited until all was silent before grabbing out my phone from under my pillow. I plugged in my pink earphones and opened the YouTube app, watching the latest videos from the different people I subscribed to. When I heard the quiet tapping of footsteps, I immediately closed my screen and pretended to sleep.

The door opened, "Hey. I know you're awake."

"...How come you always find me out?" I sighed, "I can't keep anything from you, sis."

"That's because you make it too obvious," My sister bluntly stated.

"Whatever," I rolled my eyes despite knowing she wouldn't be able to see it, "Anyway, did you need something?"

Hana paused for a moment before saying, "Give me your phone,"

"Eh?! Noooooo~" I whined, "How'd you know?"

"Sister's intuition. Now give it to me," I reluctantly gave her my phone, all while jokingly muttering 'I hate you'.

"Love you too!" She sang before shutting the door and I could only curse in my head.

My eyes flew open, blinking lazily as I let out a tired yawn. That had been my last conversation with my sister and mother before the incident happened. I was still quite hazy on most of the events that happened afterwards and never fully recovered the memories that night.

Sleep came hard to me ever since I had become a Zubat; there was just no getting over the fact that I had turned into this fictional creature of a bat with large blue wings and large, pointy ears. At this point, even I knew that I was still in denial about the whole situation because despite being a Pokemon, I still had the conscious of a human. I was a person inside, not an animal.

I don't think I can keep this up. Repeating the days over and over again, I can't live the life of a wild Pokemon knowing that I would be expected to reproduce more of my kind and waste my life doing nothing. It was just... inhumane.

But, there was nothing I could do about it. No matter what I did, I wouldn't turn back into a human. I wouldn't be able to go back to my own world. I was stuck here, living the rest of my days as a Zubat in Mt Coronet, raising my own little children in this cave and become old, until I had an untimely death.

There was another option though.

Go on my own adventure. Beyond the forest, there was an entire world waiting for me. As a Zubat, the option of flying myself to wherever I wanted to be. Perhaps I'd be able to go to Snowpoint City; I've always wanted to see that view off the cliffs myself. I'd meet new friends along the way and new foes as well. I could even just let myself get captured. I wouldn't mind if it was Ash or an unnamed trainer; either way, it would be better than remaining here. There were just so many possibilities outside this little bubble of a prison and I wanted to go outside.

The problem would be leaving everybody I've met here-I'm pretty sure I won't be allowed back in once I leave. Also, the chance of me dying was something I had to think about. What happened if I died? There would be no funeral, no news report and no loved ones crying. I'd die alone, in isolation.

I'd die a death all the same if I stayed as well.

What's more important; living a long life unhappy or die a short life knowing that you at least tried to find happiness? Might even find joy, friendship, love along the way of the quest. Looking at it like that, the choice wasn't that hard to make.

It was set: I would leave tomorrow at dusk, quietly without a single word. No one would notice as Pokemon in these caves get caught on a daily basis. I didn't have anything to pack save for a couple of barries.

Out on the field, I could only rely on myself.

For food. Every Zubat also knew each type of berry and which were most useful so I had a means of healing myself out there. I also remembered that there were Pokemon Centres and if I was lucky enough, I would be on my merry way after they healed me.

For shelter. I could sleep on trees during the day and enter stray caves if the weather turned bad. I'm sure no one likes Zubats with how common they are but even then, there was nothing wrong with being caught by a human either. Of course, I wouldn't purposely let myself get caught but if my new trainer was a friendly person who took good care of their Pokemon, there was no harm in that either.

For protection. I'm actually quite confident about my battling skills. They relied mostly on speed and dodging, wearing out the opponent using Poison Fang and confuse ray to whittle down their health. Being a human also helped out; I could make battle strategies and tools that would give me the upper hand in a battle. Even then, I could use my wings and fly away when things turned sour.

Not a full-proof plan but it was something and it definitely better than nothing.

I remember there was a function in the games where you give Pokemon items and they carry it with them. Now, I wonder just how do they 'wear' it? Because I don't know how to carry anything but either storing them in my mouth as I'd rather not keep berries there for the entire trip or using my two... tails or legs, hind limbs, or whatever they are.

It was never mentioned if it had a proper purpose but I find I can grab onto things with them, a bit like claws. I wrap my tails around a Sitrus and Lum berry from the storage area before leaving the cave with the rest of the Pokemon, blending in.

Then I'm left all alone in the sky as the bats go down to collect berries. Staring at the scene which I've looked at for the past seven months, I think I might miss Mt Coronet. I won't regret leaving though. It was time to go now-

"Ella, where do you think you are going?"

I don't need to turn around to figure out who it is but I did anyway, staring at the face of my closest friend I've made here. It's Gilbert.

"Out," I said simply.

The Golbat immediately caught on, frowning as he hovered closer towards me, "...Will you come back?"

"Maybe,"

"I see..." Gilbert whispered.

There was a pang of sudden guilt in my stomach made me feel sick inside. We had become close during my time here yet I was ready to leave without even saying farewell. Just how utterly selfish was I? But I had made up my mind and I wasn't going to back out here, "You can't stop me,"

"I know. I wasn't planning to anyway," He said, tone playful as ever and I stared at him curiously. What? "I picked this up from a trainer a little while back: it's a cleanse tag and its suppose to lessen the amount of wild Pokemon you encounter,"

"Thanks, but my wings are kinda full..." I smiled sheepishly, waving the berries at him.

"Come here," He said before fiddling the item and somehow attaching the rolled up piece of paper to my right-wing with a bit of braided grass. It was comfortable and I didn't feel a thing, "Well then, you better be off,"

"...Yeah," I agreed awkwardly, "I guess... see you around. Yeah, see you later, Gilbert."

Before things started getting emotional, I flew away. Was this a bad choice? I knew it was too late for regrets but... I couldn't help but feel like I was leaving too quickly. I tried leaving without anyone noticing (and that failed) even though I knew some Pokemon would miss me and...

(It was a mere whisper but I heard the water eyes which threatened to spill as Gilbert hastily tried to dry them, "Goodbye,")

...Too late for regrets now. I made this decision and I was going to stick to it. I flew off into the night as drops of water fell from the sky.

Flying for hours at a time, uncaring about where I was going or what time I had to be back at the cave was pretty relaxing. I was going to be doing this more often, that was for sure. A night sky like this one was too beautiful to think about anything.

I made another quadruple loop in the air, gliding gracefully with the wind. It made me think if I really wanted to be captured in some round ball and tied down to a single person for life.

Just before the sun was about to rise, I saw buildings in the distance. I had bypassed another one just a couple of hours ago since I didn't feel all that tired but at that moment, it was time for a break. There were people starting to bustle about and it would be safer to stay low as well. I'm sure it would look pretty suspicious if a wild, nocturnal Pokemon was flying around in the sunlight.

As I started descending, I passed a large sign on the road which pointed in the direction I was going: Eterna City, huh? If I'm not mistaken, that's the location of the second gym which is grass-based. It's been a while since I played the Diamond and Pearl series, so I don't remember who was the gym leader.

I landed on the outskirts of town, on a nice sturdy looking tree. On a branch, I go into my standard sleep-position, hanging upside down with my wings tucked in. I had eaten those two berries I took with me on my travel and the cleanse tag Gilbert gave me was firmly in place. It was probably the reason why I had so little encounters with wild Pokemon.

I wondered what my next day would bring—if I would finally find something to brighten up my world just that little bit. Maybe make a new friend or stumble across a dangerous Pokemon.

Slowly, my senses began to fade then, I fell asleep.

"Hey,"

Go away...

"Heeeey~"

So annoying...

"Hello? Anyone in there?"

Can't you see I'm trying to sleep?!

"Come on, wake up!"

Don't wanna...

"Oh well..."

Finally! You're giving up! Now I can get some decent sleep, geez.

"...WAKE UP!"

Pain erupted from everywhere—it hurt so bad, I thought I was being fried in boiling oil alive—and I screech in shock, "Gahhhh!" I was wide awake by now, attempting to process the literal shock I had just gone through. The hairs on my body stood upright on my body and there was a faint scent of burning on my fur.

I stared at the Pokemon front of me which I presumed was the cause of my suffering. It's a Pikachu, with fuzzy yellow fur, zigzag tail and their signature red circle cheeks. I would have coo at the adorable sight if I hadn't just been electrified only seconds before.

"Heh... sorry, about that!" The Pokemon apologised mareepishly, "Just that my friend wanted to meet you and you wouldn't wake up, so..."

To his credit, he did look genuinely apologetic but I was way too sleep-deprived to care, "What,"

Seriously, why. Couldn't this be saved for later? There was no need to shock me awake either as, for one, they hurt like hell and you could have just shaken the branch or something. And also, I was tired. Really tired. Was it that hard for a poor lil' Zubat to get some decent sleep around here? Apparently, yes, it was.

Pikachu pointed downwards to a field of grass where I spotted a Piplup with a Buneary, staring at me with an equally embarrassing look. The view kick-started my brain; out of the three Pokemon, there were two starters and the other one was fairly uncommon as well. Were Pikachu even native to Sinnoh? I didn't think so and either way, they were quite rare in the wild, to say the least. The fact that all three of these Pokemon were gathered together had alarm bells ringing in my head.

Before I could continue that line of thought, there was a—

SNAP.

Not good. Not good at all.

"AHHH!" All of a sudden, I was falling straight down in the ground and in my shock, froze in place. It was like day one as a Zubat all over again before I realised that I had a pair of freaking wings and why was I so stupid? I keep myself in the air and avoid crashing into the ground but Pikachu, unfortunately, doesn't have wings. With my instincts kicking in, I flew down as fast as possible and caught the Pokemon by the tail.

"Haha, that was a close one! You saved me! Thanks," I paid no attention to his words as I swooped up in my flight, making a u-turn around the trees. How the hell did he even get up in the first place? Last time I checked, rodents were not able to climb trees. And for mew's sake, this Pikachu was heavy!

"What happened?!" Asked a familiar, deep but alarmed human voice. Fudge, there were humans! I didn't expect to encounter them so soon in my journey.

"Ash, is everything alright?!" Ash?

"We heard Pikachu shouting so we rushed here as soon as possible..." Hold on a moment.

I quickly glanced at the incoming humans and had the urge to scream right there on the spot. No one could fault me though because in front of me, the Sinnoh trio featuring Ash, Brock, and Dawn stood, looking exactly how I remembered them to be. Ash had on his symbolic cap with bits of hair sticking out underneath, dressed in his usual uniform with light blue jeans, plain white shirt and a black vest. He was hugging Pikachu, making sure that the Pokemon wasn't injured from the sudden fall. The other two, who were wearing a short dress and dull green shirt respectfully, were quick to run up to Ash and show their concern.

Meanwhile, I just stared. There weren't any words to express my utter disbelief. I swear some legendary Pokemon is pulling strings up there, how on earth did I manage to bump into them within a single freaking day?

"Did you make a new friend?" Ash said once noticing me.

"I wouldn't say that but she did save me," Pikachu informed, "She's really cool!"

Cool, huh? It was just a natural thing to do, nothing I would consider 'cool'. I did try to help a Pokemon in need of assistance whenever I could though. It ranged from a bunch little things like sparing leftover berries, fending off feral Pokemon or even serving as a mode of transport.

"Does it belong to someone? I can't see anyone here," Dawn had asked. It.

It was an innocent term, I knew she didn't mean anything about it. What else was the blue-haired girl supposed to say? She probably had no idea what gender I was even. But being called it evoked this type of irritation in me. It wasn't the first time I had been called it but every time, I couldn't help but flinch.

Before I was a human, I was a she. But now, I'm just it.

God damn it. Sighing, I shook my head and tried to not think about it. Brock must have mistaken my shaking as an answer as he said, "I think it's trying to say no,"

"Well then, if it's wild, why don't I catch it? What do you say about that, Zubat?" Ash queried rhetorically, smirking and all. The young teenager was already grabbing a spare Pokeball from his belt. Honestly, I didn't really want to be captured by Ash. I knew he wouldn't mistreat me but I'd probably be sent the lab being a common Zubat and would have to spend the rest of my days there. I didn't run away from Mt Coronet just to be sent to another 'prison' permanently.

As amazing as it was seeing a cartoon hero in real life, I couldn't let myself be caught by him. The metal sphere was thrown in the air in my direction but before it could zap me with that red beam, I turned a three-sixty, knocking it away with my large wings like a baseball.

My sports teacher would have been so proud of me.

"What the?!" Ash yelped as the ball hit flat on his face then bounced off and hit Pikachu. There was a red circle on the centre of his forehead as both boy and partner winced in pain. I cheered in delight and did a little victory dance, waving my wings oddly.

Score:
Marella - 1
Ash and Pikachu - 0

"Why you..." He squawked indigently, Pikachu just as displeased. The two of them were in amazing sync as they got up at the same time and began getting ready for a battle, "Use thunderbolt!"

Pikachu charged up and stray electric sparks hit the grass as he moved in a rapid zig-zag pattern before releasing the stored up energy. Before it could hit me, I ducked downwards and tilted my wings so the attack would just miss the target. I wasn't going to get hit by those again. Being a flying Pokemon meant having a huge handicap against lighting moves and if I wasn't careful, it would be a one-hit knock out for me.

The best way to deal with a quick Pokemon like Pikachu was to weaken them with stat-altering moves then knock them out once their defence is lower enough. In this case, Confuse Ray was the only move I could pull off.

Dodging numerous attempts (I even got shocked once and sheesh, it hurt) and two flashes of light later, the mouse Pokemon quickly became disorientated and even electrocuted himself before getting called back. I have to admit, I was pretty proud of myself for hold my own against a Pokemon that's super effective against me.

Battling was pretty thrilling as well. It was... fun, in an odd way. To fight other creatures, not for survival but for entertainment. Perhaps it was because I'm a human through mind and Pokemon through body.

"Having trouble defeating a Zubat? Pathetic," There was no mistaking that voice anywhere. It was full of arrogance and had that 'I'm so better than you' tone to it.

Paul Shinji. What earth was he doing here?

"If it isn't Paul," Dawn groaned, obviously not pleased to have encountered the other person. Her Piplup mimicked her actions, giving the trainer a dirty look.

"Hmph," He didn't even glance at the young female coordinator but instead, looked in my direction before pulling out... a Pokeball, "Chimchar. Stand by for battle,"

Oh no. Seriously? Come on! Why me?! Or rather, what the hell is he thinking, challenging a Zubat to a battle?!

"Hey! I was still in the middle of battling that Zubat!" Ash rebutted loudly. He was just as stubborn as he had been in the anime. It was Brock who stopped him, placing a hand on the youngest's shoulder.

"No offence, Ash, but that Zubat would have bet Pikachu had the fight continued. Just let Paul have his turn,"

With a begrudging, "Fine," from the raven-haired boy, the Sinnoh trio move out of the way as they step into the imaginary sidelines of the field, leaving me alone face to face with the spiteful trainer whose intentions were completely unclear.

I had two options; fly away and never look back or stay here and be beaten by Paul.

There was a part of me that wanted to stay and teach a lesson to this cold-hearted, ruthless power monger however I'd rather save my future self all the trouble. Something told me I would regret if I didn't bolt as soon as I could.

Just as I was about to flee, a burst of fire came straight at my face. That was way too close for my tastes; had been a second late in moving, I would be an over-cooked, crisp bat by now. Arceus, was he trying to kill me?!

"Get closer than use Ember again!" Paul ordered.

Damn. Doesn't look like he's gonna go easy on me. Then again, he never goes easy on anyone. The thing about trainers was they called out their orders; of course, they had no other way to communicate with their Pokemon but as a human myself, that meant I could use that fact to my advantage.

Before Chimchar could open its mouth, I charge right at it with full speed; this was a good intimidation technique to the more smaller, younger Pokemon unless they had a special ability like my Inner Focus that prevented flinching. But it worked on the fire monkey and he hesitated for a second which was enough for me to get a good Confuse Ray in.

"Scratch!"

"Here I go!" Chimchar shouted, putting all his effort into the one swipe. He managed a good hit as I could go out of the way in time but I managed to put more distance between us with a few huge flaps of my wings.

I winced at the marks in my skin. Getting injured in this world was a whole lot different compared to the games and anime; no HP bars but I definitely could bruise, bleed, break my bones, get actual Pokemon diseases and I could die. It was surprisingly harsh for a world made to be played by children though fitting all at the same time; people and animals died all the time back at home, it was only natural in this world too.

The purple-haired trainer saw his chance, "Chimchar, finish it off with an Ember!"

Before I could even register the words, I'm suddenly being roasted alive. That felt as horrible as it sounded but ten-a thousand times worst. I knew that the worst I could get from that attack was a bad burn but damn did that hurt. The last thing I see is Pokeball hurling straight at my face.

My world went black.

Quite literally, in fact, as what I presumed was the red beam enveloped me and pulled my body into the darkness. Did I get caught? Damn it, I don't want to be Paul's Pokemon out of all people. I would happily accept a peace life being caught by Ash in Professor Oak's lab or anyone else, really. Anyone would have been better than him who only cared about winning and being stronger.

I refuse. I refuse to be his Pokemon!

Break free.

Break free.

Break free!

Come on, BREAK FREE!

"The Pokemon got out of it's Pokeball!" Rushing away, I dashed out of the field with battered wings. I stumbled a lot and got caught into stray branches, too light-headed to even pay attention in my attempt of fleeing. I didn't get very far considering my injuries and I crashed into a bush when I couldn't find it within myself to fly.

Ouch. Everything from my wings to my ears to my eyes painfully ached. I can feel the sting on my tender wings which were caused by a direct hit of Ember. I also gained the status condition Burn which I could tell was slowly draining my energy away. Looks like I had taken more damage from that battle than I thought. At this rate, I would faint or even... if I didn't get help soon...

I sighed before quickly finding a bush to settle on for the time being. From the colour of the leaves and the little berries growing, I can tell that this was an Oran berry tree but most of the fruits were still unripe. Looking around, it doesn't look like there are any potential threats so I take the chance to recover my health.

Why? Is the first question that pops up. Could Paul tell I was the same Zubat since I last saw him? The only unique feature about me physically was the scar on my back. Even then, why would be the boy be interesting in battling me?

"Ugh..." My mind was getting hazier by the second. I needed to find a Rawst berry or something, otherwise, I'd be in big trouble.

The rustling of bushes could be heard nearby. At this point, I closed my eyes. Was this gonna be it? There was no way I could defend myself in this state. I still had to try though; using my echolocation, I could tell that it was getting closer, whatever it was. Then footsteps came to a sudden halt.

I assumed they've seen me as, after a momentary pause, the noises returned, much quicker and louder than previously until I had been grabbed in someone arms. It was an automatic reaction to bite down on touch and thrash around with whatever energy I had remaining—

"For Mew's sake, stay still. I'm trying to help,"

Huh...? Was that... Paul?

I stopped, half out of fatigue and half out of curiosity. There was a light cold misty spray—must've been a burn heal, no doubt—and I could immediately feel the difference. The pain subdued to a much more bearable tingling sensation and I could only sigh in relief.

He's... actually trying to help me.

Just before I lose consciousness, I tried to open my eyes. All I saw was purple before it all faded into black.

.

.

.

A/N: Yahoo, next update! Honestly took longer than expected because I'm just copying and pasting but the formatting is a pain and I've also gone over it and edited it. If you do notice any mistakes though, please tell me! I often miss those tiny typos.

Anyway, what do you guys think about the latest update? If you have any ideas or suggestions, do leave a review. I really appreciate the support. Now, I'll continue on to the important stuff.

.

.

.

Thank You for Reviewing/Favouriting/Following:
21firemario, Dapperfox101, Jn Johny Serbk, MM995, Neko hikari 16, NormalSkeleton, R156879, Regina D'Inverno, SecretGlacier, Setriel, Shadowjab17, Shiovaun, TheSwordMaster00, ultima-owner, zdeath01, Animadow, BlueSheepy1703, Flaming Fangz, Saucyboi, TheHiddenLettuce, ThePinkJirachi, jcquelindefauchy, OMG, The guest, Alolanraichu390

.

Response to Reviews:

Shadowjab17 - I'm glad you enjoyed the first chapter! Hope you stick around for the long journey :D

Alolanraichu390 - Ask and you shall receive, hehe! Thanks for reading!

.

.

.

Catch you all later!

(Pun intended, lol)