The biting cold is what finally forced Maxwell to wake. He opened his eyes to see he'd been laying in deep snow. A blizzard raged around him, making it nearly impossible to see beyond three feet of himself.

He stood up, stretching as he tried to survey the area. I certainly don't remember being here before. I... don't remember much, actually. Odd.

He shivered, pulling his hood over his head to try and combat the cold. Strangely, it felt as if the wind went right through it. Eh. It never was a great jacket anyways.

Seeing no other options, he began to walk. His battered shoes crunched through the snow, but it almost felt like he was walking barefoot.

He felt his body slowing down, getting colder by the second. That's when fear finally set in. I'm going to die out here.

He shook his arms, trying to warm them up. He ran in place to do the same to his legs. No. I can change this fate. I just have to try.

He began to sprint, channeling his fear into energy. Yet no matter how far he ran, all he could see was snow in the air and on the ground. It just keeps going.

He fell to his knees, his legs finally giving out. No. It can't end like this. "It can't end like this! I won't let it!" He screamed at the clouds, eventually faltering into a sob. He pitched forward, landing face-first in the snow.

Why?

Suddenly, the wind stopped, and he could feel warmth on his back. He pushed himself up and saw that the blizzard had disappeared. The clouds were gone, replaced by a blue sky and the sun cheerily beaming down on him.

He sat up, his eyes adjusting to the new brightness. "What happened?" he asked aloud. "Blizzards don't just go away like that."

Bringing himself back to his feet, he found that he could see very far into the distance now that the blizzard had left. He saw that he was in a valley between two massive mountains, their peaks reaching beyond the clouds. Beyond the mountains, in both directions he saw a sprawling forest, the trees only interrupted by massive boulders that rested among them. Nestled in a copse of trees about twenty feet to his left stood an igloo. Maybe someone in there can help me out.

Walking over to the igloo, he noticed just how small it was compared to others he'd seen, which admittedly wasn't many. Upon reaching it, he found that it only stood a little bit taller than him, and the hole made to enter it was far too small for him to squeeze through.

Utterly confused, he sat down next to it. "Who'd make an igloo this small?" He pondered the question for a moment. "Probably nobody who could help me." He laid back against the igloo, trying to figure out his next move. " There doesn't look like there's anything or anyone around for miles except for this thing," he said, knocking on it as if to make a point.

Suddenly, Maxwell heard muffled voices from inside the igloo. He quickly shifted to press his ear against it but was unable to make out any distinct words. Someone actually lives in there!?

He stood up as what looked like a small red fox burst from the entrance. It glanced around, eventually locking eyes with him. "Who are you and what are you doing here?"

Maxwell stumbled backward, falling on his back. That's what was talking!? Something's definitely wrong here.

As he propped himself up on his hands, the fox-thing came closer. Its eyes narrowed. "I asked you a question. I'd recommend you answer it."

"I... um..." Maxwell stammered. "M- my name is Maxwell. I don't know h- how I got here, but I came t- to this igloo to look for help."

"Maxwell, huh? Cute name. Can't say I've ever seen a Pokemon like you before though."

"A Pokemon? No, I'm a human." Maxwell stood up. "Are you a Pokemon?" he asked, confused.

The fox-thing stared at him, looking even more confused than Maxwell felt. "A human? I thought those only existed in legends." After a short pause, it added, "And yes, I am a Pokemon. A Vulpix, to be exact."

A Vulpix. I think I've heard of those. Can't know for sure with my head all fuzzy like this.

He watched as the Vulpix circled around him, examining his body from all angles. "Weird," it stated. "I didn't think humans would have tails."

"What!?" Maxwell twisted around to see what the Vulpix was talking about, and sure enough, there was a fluffy, black tail where there definitely should not have been. He reached out and touched it, and he could certainly feel it being touched. "That, uh, hasn't always been there."

The Vulpix's eyes narrowed again. "Wait a minute." Before Maxwell could even think to stop it, the Vulpix jumped up and touched his tail with a paw.

As soon as the paw made contact, a red light surrounded Maxwell, covering him completely. He felt something about him change, but it wasn't made clear until the light faded and he could see again. He was much closer to the ground, and thus much closer to the now very angry Vulpix.

"So it was just a trick! You Zorua are all the same, you despicable little cretins."

Maxwell tried walking backward but only ended up bumping into the igloo. "Wait! Please, what just happened to me? What did you do?"

The Vulpix scoffed. "Don't try and fool me again. You've already been found out. Now, I'd recommend you leave before I set you on fire."

That was all it took for Maxwell to devolve into a sobbing mess. "Please don't hurt me!" he blubbered through his tears. "I don't even know what I did!"

"Sure you don't," the Vulpix growled sarcastically. Flames began to flicker out of the Vulpix's mouth. It breathed in deeply, ready to deliver a serving of smoke-flavored death when another voice interrupted from the igloo's entrance.

"Kindri, wait!"

Maxwell and the Vulpix, who he guessed was named Kindri, looked over to see yet another Vulpix. However, this Vulpix differed greatly from the one currently threatening him. It was white rather than reddish-orange, and the fur that decorated the top of its head and its tail was much curlier. It walked over, standing near the first Vulpix.

"Kindri," it said again. "Just what do you think you're doing?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Kindri replied. "I'm making sure this vile Zorua can't bother us anymore."

Maxwell sniffled, tears still streaming down his face. "What even is a Zorua? Is that some kind of insult around here?"

Both Vulpix stared at him. For Kindri, it was a stare of fury. For the white Vulpix, however, it was a stare of concern.

"Don't play stupid," Kindri snapped. "You know what you are."

Maxwell took a deep breath, trying to calm himself against Kindri's indignance. "No, I don't. I was a human before you touched my... tail, and now I'm..." Maxwell paused to try and get a better look at himself. He found that he no longer possessed hands, instead having paws at the end of all four limbs. He saw that the same tail that had poked out of his jeans before was still there, looking exactly as it did then. "... this."

Kindri rolled her eyes. "You were never a human. I know you were just using an illusion to try and trick me!"

The white Vulpix stepped forwards, looking deeply into Maxwell's eyes. "I don't think he's lying, Kindri. He's obviously scared."

Kindri sighed, blowing smoke into the air. "Of course he's scared. I uncovered his ruse!"

The white Vulpix ignored her, now fully addressing Maxwell. "So you say you used to be a human?"

Maxwell nodded shakily. "Yes. I was a human before, but I don't remember much about being one." He drew in a shuddering breath, recalling his near-death experience from just moments ago. "I woke up near here, in the middle of a blizzard. I think I almost died from the cold, but the blizzard just went away for some reason. When it cleared up, I saw this igloo and I thought I might find help here." He turned to Kindri, who was still seething. "Obviously, help isn't what I got."

The white Vulpix closed its eyes, seemingly deep in thought. It turned to Kindri and said, "I think he might actually be a human."

Kindri looked astonished but quickly recovered. "You believe that, Luka!?"

Luka nodded. "You do remember that Zorua don't usually live out here, right? And what sane Pokemon would trek all the way out here just to rob us?"

Kindri's face relaxed, but only slightly. "I... I guess I didn't think about that."

Luka nudged at Maxwell. "Come inside. Maybe we really can help you."

The three entered the igloo, Maxwell trailing behind Kindri and Luka. Inside were two cushions, one red and one white, almost squished together, a basket filled to the top with yellow fruit that had blue spots, and in the center of the igloo, a firepit blazing away, covered with a dome of what looked like glass. He touched the dome, quickly discovering it was actually tightly packed ice.

He examined it closer, seeing his own blurry reflection in the ice. It came into focus for a quick moment, and that's when it hit him. "I.. I've seen that face before!"

Kindri snorted. "Is that supposed to be surprising?"

Luka, shushed her, urging Maxwell to continue.

"I remember now. I was trying to sleep under that bridge when some guy came up to me and gave me a DS. He gave me a game for it, too. When I played it, it sucked me into the screen! That face is the last thing I saw before I woke up out there."

Luka cocked her head. "What's a DS?"

"It's just something that humans play games on. I guess you guys wouldn't know about that, considering I'm probably not in my own world anymore."

Luka nodded, the answer sating her curiosity. Then the rest of his story set in. "Wait, you got sucked through a... screen? And the last thing you saw was your own face?"

"Yeah. I guess that's how I got here in the first place."

Kindri walked over to the red cushion and laid down on top of it, shaking her head. "This still sounds unbelievable. However, you haven't run off with any of our stuff, so I guess I can trust you. A little bit."

Maxwell looked over at her, still wary she might toast him. "Thanks?"

"Don't worry about her," Luka said, noticing his expression. "She's just got a bit of a temper. Anyways, is there anything else you can remember?"

Maxwell did his best to shrug with his new shoulders. "Not much. Just that I was homeless." He shuddered. "And something tells me I didn't need to remember that."

"Interesting," Luka replied. "I think we can help you."

"Help me with what? I was just looking to get out of the cold, really."

"Well, you see, according to legend, when a human is sent to this world, it's for a reason."

"A... a reason?"

"Yeah, usually to save the world or something like that," Kindri said from her cushion. "It hasn't happened for a while though, as far as me and Luka know. If you really are a human, that could be big news."

Luka nodded. "That's right. We should get you to a guild. The Guildmasters usually know more than most in these kinds of scenarios."

"Thing is," Kindri added, "There aren't any guilds around here, or at least any that we know of. We'd have to go a long way to find one."

Suddenly, a voice spoke from beyond the entrance of the igloo. "I think I can help you with that."