I slung my bag over my shoulder as I finished my hastily made breakfast sandwich. It was only 4:30 a.m., but I couldn't go back to sleep after I had woken up. My backpack was full of necessities for a long trip away, and I packed a few meals inside my lunch box just in case. I wasn't really sure what I was getting into, but I wanted to prepare for any eventuality. I made my way to the door, put my shoes on, then headed out to my car.

As I started my drive toward the location, I went through my mental checklist to ensure I did everything I needed to. Let's see... I texted my boss saying I was too sick to come to work today, I packed spare clothes, I made sure all my bills and rent were paid so I didn't leave my roommate high and dry... I couldn't think of what else I'd need to do; I didn't even know how long I was going to be gone!

The car sailed down the highway in serene silence. Not even the radio was turned on. I sat quietly as I drove; my thoughts milling about inside of my head chaotically. My head was still spinning from the revelation I'd had both yesterday and last night, and I still am not sure if I want to accept it all at face value. I know there was some evidence pointing toward this being the truth, but there was evidence pointing toward this being false as well.

I was trapped in an impossible situation, which had me questioning every bit of conventional wisdom I knew.

I mean, a pokemon? How ludicrous that sounds! But at the same time, there was unexplainable things happening in my head, with my dreams, or memories I guess, and with these strange events recently. And all of it got me thinking about times in the past when bizarre things took place around me. I had brushed them all off as weird happenstance, like any rational human would, but now I had to view them with a new, critical eye.

Like the fact that animals never seemed to like me. And I don't mean they just ignored me or were passively aggressive toward me: I got bitten several times by several animals over the years. Whether dogs, cats, birds, rodents, or anything anyone kept as a house pet, they always seemed to single me out as a target and show hostility toward me. I was just told that there was something about me that maybe smelled off to them--something undetectable to humans. And that was the explanation I went with at the time, because there was nothing else. But now... now I was reconsidering that.

Then there was that time when I was a toddler that I had been daydreaming for hours, and when I was finally stirred out of it, I had forgotten who I was or where I was. I didn't remember much about that time, only vague details. But apparently, it scared my parents to death, because it was an hour of them consoling me and reminding me of who I was before I finally remembered. I never had another one of those episodes luckily.

Maybe even my lifetime fascination with fire could be another strange thing, since I nearly walked straight into a burn pit at one point. Heh, I remember the scolding I got from that.

And there were numerous other events like those, that in and of themselves were explainable, if not a bit unusual, but together? Together, these things all happening to me were more than just oddities. They had to be something more. Maybe these sorts of things could explain my alternative origins...?

I shook my head at the thought. It was best not to delve too deeply into that right now. At least, not while I was driving. I had to save those thoughts for later, and sort through them when I wouldn't be actively endangering my life by doing so.

I drove the rest of the way in the continued tranquility of silence, with my thoughts drifting aimlessly into the pointless corners of my mind. I actually found my eyes starting to glaze over and had to catch myself before I went off the road. I put my signal on and made a right turn, which I'd nearly almost forgotten to make.

I slowed down on the neighborhood road as I watched for where I was supposed to stop. My eyes caught a flash of movement in an alley, which made me hit the brakes immediately. I recognized the alley: it was where that woman from yesterday tried to get me to go.

And that was the location I was heading to.

I parked alongside the sidewalk, promptly got out, and equipped my backpack. I shut the door and locked the car, then looked at my car keys. If I was going to be gone for potentially a long time, possibly traveling a brand new world, then what should I do with my keys? I looked around, contemplating for a moment, then decided to reach underneath and tuck the keys inside the undercarriage of the vehicle. I would just have to hope that nobody thought to check there.

I stepped over to the entrance of the alley, then stopped. Before I went in to such a sketchy place, I wanted to make sure that this was the right place, and the person I was told would be here, would in fact be here.

I scoured the darkness in this alley from the early morning hours, then froze when I saw movement. I inhaled, then exhaled. "H-hello? It's Wyatt, um... I'm here from Eve?"

The motion in the shadows moved again, but closer toward me. I squinted to try and see who it was or what it was, but I couldn't. I felt my legs weaken as fear started taking over. "C-come on! I-if it's you Melody, just... just say something!"

The silhouette came closer, and then broke into a sprint at me. I trembled as I frantically tried to reach for my bag. I had packed a knife in there, if I could just--no, too late! I'm doomed!

I stepped back just as Melody grabbed my shoulders and yelled: "Boo!"

I squeaked in surprise at the suddenness, to which Melody cackled in laughter at my reaction.

As she hunched over and grabbed her stomach, in between laughs she said, "Oh Arceus, you should've seen your face! You were so afraid I was gonna hurt you, and stuff! Haha!"

I scowled at her, my heart still beating at a rapid pace. "I-it wasn't funny! I could've pulled out my knife and accidentally stabbed you!" Did she not know how badly that could've gone?

She wiped a tear from her eye as she sighed contentedly. "Whatever Ardor. You know a puny little knife won't do anything to me; I'll just use my psychic ability to keep you from doing something stupid like that."

I blink. Psychic? "You're a human... at least, right now you are."

She stopped as she seemed to realize what being she currently was. She scratched her head. "Oh, right. Heh. Well it's a good thing you didn't!"

I let out a large sigh. I really didn't know what I was getting myself into, did I?

She smiled, as if I hadn't nearly severely wounded her. "Well then Ardor, let's get going! If you come with me to the back of this alley, I have everything all set up and ready to take us back home!"

I huff. I was a little annoyed already. "It's Wyatt. Also, could you stop being so loud? It's barely 5 a.m.!"

She shrugged her shoulders like she didn't understand what silence meant, and I followed her back further into the alleyway. I looked around, suspicious of any and every slight noise or disturbance. Maybe I was just being paranoid, but maybe I really was walking into an extraordinarily elaborate ruse to murder me, or steal my skin, or do some other horrible thing. I wasn't sure how they'd be able to pull off such a crazy series of events to do that, or even why anyone would do that for someone as unimportant as me, but I couldn't help but entertain the thought: 'Am I about to die?'.

We reached some nook within the alley that seemed large enough for people to stand in and not be seen by anyone from the street. Melody turned to me and said, "Alright, this is where it all happens. Brace yourself, 'cause this is gonna be pretty mind-blowing."

I clenched my fists, held my breath, and waited for whatever was coming next. I tried to keep myself ready for anything: like making a mad dash out of there and back to my car. Yet I also watched as Melody walked forward to the wall itself which had nothing remarkable about it, and as she placed her hand on the wall, it glowed a soft pink color.

I blinked my eyes, then rubbed them to make sure I was seeing that correctly. Yes, Melody's hand was glowing alright. I wasn't sure what was happening, until she whipped back her hand roughly-which made me flinch-and instantly a spiraling crystal white portal opened up on the surface of the wall.

My mouth fell open at the sight of... of... whatever the heck this was! I looked at Melody, dumbstruck, who smirked back at me. "What? Purrloin got your tongue?" She gestured to the portal. "Some of the legendaries cooked this up; it's a portal connecting the human and pokemon worlds! I'm not sure exactly how it all works--except that it does! I mean, I came through it after all! And this here is what's gonna get you and me back to our world!"

I stood there for probably too long, staring at the portal. I mentally checked myself to make sure I was feeling alright and hadn't been secretly drugged. I felt fine... could I hallucinate a single, stationary object, without hallucinating anything else? Wait, was a portal considered an object? I never went to college for quantum physics!

I looked down at my person. That... this... I couldn't believe it. An unexplainable thing was right in front of my eyes. That could mean that this... that this was all...

I shook my head and set my gaze squarely forward. I couldn't be so sure yet. Certainly, this broke my perception about the world, but it didn't mean anything right now. I had to go through, and I had to be sure about all of this.

I took a step forward, then another, and another, until I was at the entrance to the portal. I looked at Melody again, and she pointed at the portal. "Go right ahead! I'll be behind you."

I started taking another step forward, when a thousand thoughts struck me all at once. Suddenly, I felt like what I was about to do was a massive mistake. I retracted my step, and said: "W-wait. I think... I think I forgot to move my car, so my coworkers don't see it later, and think something happened to me!" I moved to walk away from the portal, when something shoved me in the back, and I stumbled forward: right into the swirling mass (or lack of mass) in front of me. I grunted, and tried to recover by forcing myself backward, but it was too late; my momentum was carrying me irreversibly onward.

I fell in.