"I…I-I'm a Charmander…?"

"Yeah, why did you think you were a human? That must have been some fall to make you-" Squirtle said as it rummaged in its Berry Pouch.

Haruki began to panic again. Everything was happening so fast. "Fall?! What do you mean?! I was asleep under a tree! How could I fall?!"

Meowth was beginning to get irritated, quickly regaining its bossy composure, "Look, kid. Junior and I, here, saw you fall," it raised its paw towards the branches of a tree that hung over the stump where they had found Haruki asleep, "from up there.

Unless we just happened to imagine a Charmander falling from a tree…" Now Haruki was getting irritated. They just didn't understand…he had fallen asleep under a tree as a human; Haruki knew that much to be true. As for waking up under a tree as a Charmander, this only had to be a dream. A Charmander?! Why a Charmander? Why couldn't he have dreamed himself to be a Bulbasaur or a legendary pokémon? Anything but a Charmander!

"I'm telling you, I was tired and fell asleep under a tree," he pointed to the tree Meowth had mentioned the branches belonging to, "and I was human!"

"Well, I say," Meowth growled, getting up close to Haruki's face, "you're just one very mixed up pokémon who apparently has an identity issue that needs to be straightened out!"

Squirtle was getting nervous, looking from Meowth to Haruki and back. "G-Guys…?" It took a few steps back as Haruki got his face close to Meowth's, his forehead pressing against its. His flame began to grow slowly as his anger and frustration continued to build.

"Well, I say that it's apparent you don't believe me!"

"Because I don't! It's too wild a story to be true! I bet you made the whole thing up, expecting us to bow down and worship you!"

"I did not!!"

Squirtle hid behind the stump, barely peeking over the top at the two pokémon. "G-G-Guys…c-calm down, p-p-please…?"

Meowth extended its claws, flinging back its arm, "Scratch Attack!!!" Haruki ducked and Meowth's attack hit the ground, throwing dirt everywhere. He wasn't going to let it use an attack on him without retaliation. He took a deep breath as a smoke stream issued from his mouth,

"Ember!!!" The flames erupted from his tail and shot towards Meowth. It rolled out of the way and the attack set a nearby bush on fire. Squirtle, panicking, rushed over to the bush,

"Water Gun!!!" A jet of water burst out of its mouth and doused the flame quickly.

"Try to torch me, will you?!" Meowth screamed as it reared back for another attack.

"Tackle!!!" Haruki shouted, and he hit the pokémon in the stomach, knocking the wind out of it. Meowth rolled back, standing up shakily but ready getting ready to attack again.

"Why, you little-!"

"Bubble!!! Tackle!!!" Haruki was hit hard in the gut, falling onto his back as Meowth was hit fully with a jet of bubbles and fell onto its back as well.

"Wha-?!"

"Mmph!!"

They sat up, their eyes staring straight at Squirtle, whom looked surprised at what it had just done. Meowth stood up and shook itself dry, shouting, "What'd ya to that for?! I had everything under control!!!"

"N-Not from where I was hiding!" Squirtle said, shaking slightly. "I-I think y-you should apologize t-to C-Charmander, M-Meowth…"

"What?!" Meowth shouted, taken aback by the suggestion. "Are you nuts, Squirtle?! Why should I apologize to this fire breathing hot head?!"

"Hot head?!" Haruki growled, his flame dangerously growing again, smoke billowing from his mouth.

Meowth turned to Haruki and raised its paw again, claws extended fully. "Wanna go again, Smokey?!" Suddenly, it was doused in water, yelping in surprise. Meowth turned to Squirtle, "You're gonna defend this…this…?!"

Squirtle hesitated before firmly nodding its head. "Yes, I am. He didn't do anything to you, except tell a story that you don't believe…"

"And you believe it…?!"

Again, Squirtle hesitated, trying to choose its words carefully. "Well…I don't not believe it…"

"I CAN'T BELIEVE THIS!!!" Meowth screamed, stamping its feet like a spoiled child. Ignoring Meowth's tantrum, Squirtle turned to Haruki.

"Would you like to join our rescue team, Charmander?"
Taken aback, Haruki stuttered, "W-W-Wha-?"

"OH, NO YOU DON'T!!! I'M THE LEADER! I DECIDE WHO JOINS AND WHO DOESN'T…AND HE'S NOT GONNA JOIN!!!"

Haruki smirked and nodded once, firmly crossing his arms. "I'd love to, Squirtle." He looked at the enraged Meowth, "I'd like to very much."

"WHAT?!" Meowth screamed its jaw dropping. It shook its head in disbelief, reaching behind its neck and untied the blue bandana, showing it to Squirtle. "If he joins…then I QUIT!"

Squirtle looked from the bandana to Meowth, and then to Haruki. "Fine!" Meowth looked both surprised and furious, rolling the bandana into a ball and throwing it on the ground; it turned on the spot and stomped away, mumbling heatedly under its breath. Squirtle sighed and picked up the ball of cloth, shaking it open and patting off the dirt from it. "We'll…there goes my leader…" It watched Meowth continue to storm away, a hint of remorse playing across its face. Squirtle turned back to Haruki, holding out the bandana towards him. "Here…" Haruki turned his nose away from it.

"No way, I'm not gonna be leader…! Besides, I already told ya…blue's not my color!"

Squirtle was surprised, "But the team needs a leader! And no one's ever made Meowth so mad before…you'd be a great leader!"

"Uh…" Haruki looked at Squirtle, a little perplexed. "Isn't the job of the leader…oh, I don't know…keeping the team together?"

Squirtle laughed awkwardly, scratching its head, "Well, yeah…" It stopped, looking at Haruki with shimmering eyes, "But I'm sure you'd make a great leader! You have the right stuff! You're strong, and brave…sure, you have a bit of a temper, but as long as you keep a level head that anger can be turned into great power!"

Haruki waved a hand, knowing he was being buttered up, "Naw, too much responsibility." He walked a little ways, his fingers locked behind his head. "By the way, my name's not Charmander. It's Haruki." Squirtle cocked its head, following behind Haruki.

"That's a funny name…"

"Well, what's yours?" Haruki looked over at Squirtle, pretending to look offended.

"Squirtle." It replied happily. Haruki smirked and rolled his eyes.

"Creative and so unique."

"Thanks!"

Haruki looked at Squirtle, "Sarcasm is a foreign language to you, isn't it? Aren't you supposed to be on a mission now anyways...?"

"Well, I would, but I'm sure that someone has already gotten there before us. And I would like a nickname other than Junior. That's what Meowth called me."

Haruki thought hard. "Mmm….how about Rin?"

"Rin…" Squirtle said slowly, seeing how it felt across its lips. It smiled and said happily, "I like it!"

"Why, because it's only one vowel away from 'run'?"

"No, because it sounds a whole lot better than Junior…" Squirtle, now Rin, looked at Haruki. "Hey, you have anywhere to stay?" Haruki stopped in his tracks; he hadn't thought about where he was going to sleep. Between his transformation and the fight with Meowth, it had never crossed his mind.

"Err….no." He replied sheepishly, scratching his head. "I'm kinda new around here…so…"

Rin smiled, "Don't worry; you can stay at our base…!"

"Really…?"

"Sure, and now that Meowth's gone maybe I can get some sleep! He snored worse than a Nosepass. I can hear him all the way to the lake!" Rin began walking towards an arrow shaped sign, pointing at it. "This is the way towards the village. Our base is just outside it."

They walked for what seemed like forever, finally coming to the edge of the forest. Now, Haruki could see a fence on either side of the trail, and up ahead was what appeared to be a dome-shaped hut. "Is that it…?" he said with a mixture of disappointment and irritancy.

"Yeah," said Rin. "What did you expect?"

"To tell you the truth, I thought a rescue team base would be…bigger…and less…uh…hutty."

"It may look small, but it's roomy inside. Come on…!" Rin began to run towards the base, eager to show Haruki.

"Hey, wait up!" Haruki shouted after him, running close behind. Rin ran over to a pole that Haruki didn't notice before. Haruki looked up and saw a blue flag billowing in the slight breeze; the flag had a picture of a Meowth head. He looked back down to see Rin lowering the flag, taking it off the line and folding it, laying it on the ground. Haruki's nose twitched and he sneezed, blowing flames all over the flag and setting it on fire. "Uh oh!"

"Water Gun!" Rin shouted and a jet of water shot out of his mouth, putting out the flames. The flag was now completely charred and the face of Meowth, to Haruki's delight, was now burned beyond recognition. "Well, at least now I have an excuse to put up a new flag."

Haruki laughed, embarrassed as a thin stream of smoke issued from his mouth, "Sorry…" He looked at the hut, and realized that most of it appeared to be made of stones. At least he wouldn't have to worry about burning down the base.

"I'll show you the inside…" Rin said as he noticed Haruki looking at the hut. He opened the door and went inside, Haruki following him. Rin was right. Unlike the outside, the inside was very roomy. The Squirtle pointed over to a red cushion on top of a bed of straw in front of a makeshift fireplace. "That's where Meowth slept, so it can be your bed now…"

Haruki looked around the base looking for another bed, "Where do you sleep…?"

"Oh, I don't sleep here…" He pointed out the window. "I sleep at the lake just beyond those trees." It was starting to get dark outside, and as Haruki looked out the hole that was supposed to be a window he realized how tired he actually was. It had been a tiring day; this morning he was excited about becoming a pokémon trainer, this afternoon he woke up to the fact that he had turned into a pokémon and had gotten into a fight with a Meowth…he just wanted to go to bed.

As the sun disappeared beyond the horizon, Haruki wandered over lazily to the bed, curling up on the cushion. It was very comfy, and the sounds of the forest lulled him to sleep...but all too suddenly, he was awoken by the excited gasp of Rin.

"Haruki," he whispered frantically, "Haruki! Look! Look!" Rin was pointing out the window. Haruki rolled off of the cushion reluctantly, dragging his feet over to the window and looking where Rin was pointing. He gasped. It was a shooting star. "Make a wish!" Rin whispered, closing his eyes and mumbling, "I wish for an exciting adventure with my new friend, Haruki."

Haruki closed his eyes and began to think hard, after all, a wish made on a shooting star often came true. He mumbled, "I wish I knew why I'm a pokémon…what my purpose is…" He opened his eyes and looked up, the star flitting away in the black sky. After a few minutes of staring up at the sky, Rin said goodbye and promised that he'd return in the morning. Haruki, now alone, walked back over to his cushion, curling back up on it. As darkness fell across his eyes, his wish echoed through his mind. "I wish I knew why I'm a pokémon…what my purpose is…" There was a question too. "Why am I here…?"

Suddenly, the earth shook as Haruki continued to sleep and a loud explosion is heard, followed by a bright flash of light. He never woke up, but he could hear the screams of the pokémon in the forest…he could hear the scream of Rin calling for him. He wouldn't wake up…he couldn't. After a moment, everything went silent, and he could sense someone else inside his mind…and he heard a voice, but it wasn't his. "Help me…someone…anyone…"

"………..help?"

"Help me, please…help me find…who I am…what I am…someone…please…" the voice whimpered, echoing through the darkness. It sounded like it was crying.

"I'll…help…" Haruki whispered his reply as he slept, twitching slightly.

"Help me…help…me…" The voice trailed away into the recesses of his mind and Haruki awoke the next morning, the memory of the voice still lingering in his mind. He reached over and tore a big piece of cloth from the cushion, the fluff spilling out onto the straw. After folding it into a triangular shape, he tied it securely around his neck.

"That's more like it. Now…" he looked out the door, "to find that voice that needs my help…"