Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon, nor do I own Pokémon Mystery Dungeon. The rights belong to Nintendo, Game Freak, and Spike Chunsoft. This is a nonprofit fanfiction written for entertainment purposes only.

CHAPTER 1

"Where... Where am I? Ugh, my head..."

The scent of a recent rainfall and fresh grass filled Rylan's nose. He slowly opened his eyes and took a look around. A lush, green meadow stretched out as far as the eye could see, and the sky was cloaked a beautiful shade of blue and dotted with white clouds. He was lying beneath a tree, and the shade was cool and comforting.

"This place… It looks like something out a storybook," Rylan murmured to himself. "Hmph."

Rylan felt no sentimental value for this place. He didn't know why he felt this way, but he could feel contrasting emotions welling in his heart. A part of him yearned for the peace and quiet that this grassy field offered, but something inside was urging him that this place just didn't suit him.

"This feeling…" he said. "I must have a reason for why I don't like this place, but I can't think of one. Come to think of it, how did I end up here in the first place? Where the heck am I?"

Feeling a bit worn down, but also wanting to find out more, Rylan shakily got to his feet and walked away from the tree, looking around for something familiar. Moments later, the wind began to pick up. Rylan stretched a bit and yawned loudly, and then his face became acquainted with a large piece of paper caught in the wind.

"Wah!" he sputtered, removing the paper from his face and taking a look at it. It appeared to be some kind of Wanted poster. He gave it a curious glance over, taking a moment to look at the drawing of the subject.

"…A Houndour?" he wondered. "There's a Pokémon on a Wanted poster? That's-!"

Before Rylan could finish his sentence, a shade of blue caught the corner of his eye. Alarmed, he noticed his hands, seeing that there were blue paws in place of them.

"What on Earth-?" he exclaimed. He looked down at himself, alarmed as well by the appearance of his body. In addition to that, there was some kind of pendant around his neck that he didn't recognize. However, he was more concerned about his body. Frightened and shaking, he quickly looked around for a source of reflection. He soon came across a puddle in a patch of dirt close by and took a look at the face that stared back at him with his horrified expression.

"I'm a Riolu!" he yelped. "I'm a Pokémon? How could this have happened? I can't be a-!"

"Heeeeeeey!"

Startled by the sudden outcry in the distance, Rylan jumped. To his surprise, a Buizel was running towards him. A generally small Pokémon compared to humans, this Buizel was now much taller than Rylan, and… Did it just speak? No way, Rylan thought. This was all a bad dream, and he would wake up soon enough.

"Hey there," the Buizel said as he approached Rylan, who attempted to slowly back away. A nightmare, it's all a nightmare, he told himself.

"I haven't seen you around here before," said the Buizel, now mere feet away from Rylan. "I see you found that Wanted poster. The wind picked up and it escaped my grip. Thank you. May I please have it back?"

Without another word, Rylan dropped the poster and fled. Buizel tilted his head to one side and watched skeptically. "Um… Thanks," he said to the empty space where that odd Riolu stood seconds ago. He picked up the poster and started to walk around, apparently searching for something. "How much longer?" he wondered. "The mission's over already, and I don't want either of us to be late for dinner."

Rylan retreated to the tree where he first woke up, gasping for breath. Was he really a Riolu now? Did he really meet a Buizel who spoke his language? After catching his breath, he continued running. He didn't want to ask for help, but surely there were some humans nearby who could help him. He certainly didn't want to run into any more talking Pokémon. Surely, such things don't exist.

What am I doing, he wondered. What will I accomplish by running blindly into a place I don't know? I should just stop and look for something familiar— "Oof!"

By the time Rylan had considered slowing down, he tripped over something and fell flat on his face.

"Oh, gosh, I'm so sorry!" said a voice.

Rylan pushed himself up and looked around. A Vulpix behind him stood up and turned to face him.

"No, this is not happening…" Rylan whispered to himself fearfully.

"I'm terribly sorry about that," said the Vulpix. "I wasn't expecting anyone to trip over my tails," she chuckled.

"No, no…" Rylan managed to utter. "I'm the one who was running without keeping an eye out."

"Here, let me help you up," Vulpix offered, extending a paw. Rylan shook his head and backed away a little.

"I'm fine," he replied, getting to his feet. Once he stood up, however, one of his legs gave out and he fell back down.

"You must have hurt your leg," Vulpix said. "Would you like me to take you to someplace where you can rest it?"

"No," Rylan suddenly responded. "I'll be fine."

Vulpix seemed rather worried. She could see in this Riolu's eyes that he was frightened. She wanted to try and help.

"I can tell something's bothering you, Riolu," she said. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"My name's Rylan," Rylan replied. "And I'm not a Pokémon, I'm a human."

Vulpix looked surprised at this. "Human? But you're clearly a Pokémon."

"No, I'm not!" Rylan responded. "And I don't know how I can understand what you're saying! Just please, don't come near me…"

Vulpix backed up and sat back down amongst the flowers. This Riolu clearly needed help, and she intended to provide what she could. "Where are you from, then?" she inquired.

"I'm from-!" Rylan snapped. He quickly became silent and started to scratch his head. "I'm from… I…"

"Yeah?" Vulpix asked.

"I don't remember," Rylan replied. He felt disturbed by this. He remembered that he was human, yet he didn't remember where he came from? This couldn't be a dream, but how could it also be real?

"You don't remember?" Vulpix asked. "Do you even have a home to return to tonight?"

Rylan shook his head. "None that I can think of…"

Vulpix stood up. "Please, let me take you back to my Explorer's Guild. I'm sure my Guildmaster will find you a place to stay for the night."

"Explorer's Guild?" Rylan asked. "Guildmaster?"

"Yes, I work as part of an official guild," Vulpix replied, excited that Rylan was asking about it. "My partner and I travel all over this region, doing neat stuff like apprehending outlaws and saving Pokémon in danger. We get to see lot of interesting places and find awesome treasure!"

"Cool," Rylan muttered nonchalantly.

"The Guildmaster is the Pokémon in charge of our organization," Vulpix explained. "He's very strict, but also very admirable. He's a veteran explorer the likes of which are few in this region."

"Yes, that's nice," Rylan yawned. Vulpix frowned at his lack of concern.

"Please, just give it a chance, Rylan," she said. "Just one night."

Rylan sighed. He really didn't have any other option, did he? He realized that he must have been a pretty antisocial human. He was still scared of Vulpix, and he didn't want to go to the guild, but he did need food and shelter, at least until he found a way to return to his life as a human.

"Alright," he said.

Vulpix smiled softly and nodded. "You won't regret it, Rylan. I promise. Here, climb on my back. I'll carry you."

Rylan hesitantly climbed up onto Vulpix's back, reaching down to rub his sore leg once he was on. Seconds later, a sweet fragrance caught his attention. He turned his head to look at the source and saw a bunch of bright red flowers.

"You like them, too?" Vulpix asked.

"Huh?" Rylan asked, startled. His attention was still focused on the flowers.

"Hee hee… I can tell you do," Vulpix laughed. "These red flowers are my favorite. They're beautiful, and they smell so nice. I love coming here to Floral Meadow on missions just so I can stop and admire the flowers when I'm finished with work."

Rylan nodded his head. The flowers were indeed beautiful.

"Oh, gosh, that reminds me," Vulpix gasped. "I'm late for my mission report, and I bet my partner's waited on me long enough. It's almost time for dinner."

Just then, Rylan's stomach growled quite audibly.

Vulpix smiled. "Hee hee! You sound hungry, Rylan. Let's get going!"

Rylan didn't want to admit it, but he was indeed starting to feel hungry. He closed his eyes and tried to relax, hoping to push the fear from his mind as Vulpix carried him away.