Prolouge: The Place Between Worlds

Darkness. Nothing but darkness.

 

That was the only thing that Hope Aberdeen could see right now. She could see herself just fine- her pale skin, her chocolate-brown hair resting on her shoulders- but everything else was pitch-black. She looked around anxiously, trying to find some hint, any hint, of a speck of light.

 

Hope was well-known amongst her family and friends for having very vivid dreams. Her dreams were so detailed and organized that she could outline the basic events of one more than six hours after she had woken up. But this wasn’t a dream. And if it was somehow a dream, it definitely wasn’t a normal one.

 

Is this what the afterlife is like ?, she thought to herself. A shiver ran down her backbone as the idea came and went through her mind. But she couldn’t be dead. She was an average, healthy, fifteen-year-old teenage human girl. And healthy teenage girls didn’t just drop dead in their sleep.

 

All of a sudden, a shrill laugh pierced through the infinite void. It sounded almost like a little girl, but the pitch and suddenness of the laugh was enough to make Hope’s hairs stand on end.

 

“Heeheeheeheehee! Look at her, just standing there like a headless Torchic! She looks so funny! ”

 

Hope’s head wildly whipped back and forth, trying to find the sound of the mysterious voice. But there was nothing to indicate another person there, not even the faint outline of a shadow. “Hello?” she called out. “Where are you?”

 

The shrill voice echoed out again. “ Man, this is so fun! I love seeing humans so confused like this! ”

 

Hope barely had time to process those last sentences before a different voice rang out, this one serene and motherly.

 

“Oh, Lele, can you please knock it off? The poor girl’s already confused out of her wits. She doesn’t need you bullying her on top of that. ”

 

“But Fini! ” the first voice whined. “This is the first time that we’ve judged a human in over 800 years! Can’t I have a little fun with her? ”

 

Judging humans? 800 years? Now Hope was just straight-out confused.

 

A third, tired-sounding voice rang out. “ Can we please get to the quiz already? I want to go back to my shrine .” it whined. 

 

“Bulu, stop complaining .”, a fourth voice, one tinged with a hint of arrogance, replied. “ But he’s right: we should get to the quiz soon. We’ve been keeping this girl waiting for far too long. ”

 

Now Hope was just fed up. “What the hell is this ‘quiz’ you all keep on talking about? And who even are you guys, anyways?”

 

For a few brief seconds, the deafening silence returned. Then the arrogant voice chuckled. “ Oh, have we been staying invisible all this time? Our bad. Just give us a second or two .”

 

Suddenly, a large, multicolored burst of light engulfed the void. The brightness almost caused Hope to fall backwards. Then the light faded, and where the light came from, four creatures stood.

 

They had shell-like markings in bright colors and vaguely resembled real-world animals: a rooster, a butterfly, a bull, and a dolphin, respectively. Hope didn’t know exactly who they were, but she had an idea of what they were.

 

“Are you guys… Pokemon?” she asked them.

 

The pink butterfly-like Pokemon let out another shrill laugh. “That’s right !”

 

Hope was astounded. She didn’t have any connection to Pokemon herself, but she had seen her little brothers and their friends trade cards and watch the show enough times to know a little bit about them. “B..but I thought you guys were just fictional” she stammered.

 

The yellow rooster-like Pokemon made what Hope could only assume was a smirk of some sort. “ Well, we exist, alright. But not in this dimension. Which brings us to our main agenda. ”

 

“Another dimension?” Hope raised one eyebrow.

 

The purple dolphin-like Pokemon made a swishing motion with a skinny, small, hand-like appendage. “ That’s right . But that dimension may soon be no more. And that’s why we need your help .”

 

“My help? But why?” Hope exclaimed. The red bull-like Pokemon huffed. “ There’s a prophecy that states that when the world of Pokemon is in danger of destruction, there will be a human who will turn into a Pokemon and stop the calamities. And you’re that human, I guess. ”

 

“I’m the chosen one in a prophecy?” Hope said. “I mean, that’s actually kinda cool, I guess. A lot of my favorite books center around prophe-” A big realization suddenly struck Hope. “Wait a minute, did you say ‘TURN INTO A POKEMON’?”

 

“ That’s right !” the pink Pokemon giggled.

 

“But why?” Hope protested. “Why can’t I stay a human?”.

 

“Well, the thing is, the Pokemon world is only inhabited by Pokemon. ” the purple Pokemon responded. “ You’d kinda stick out like a sore paw if you were to stay a human .” the yellow one said.

 

Hope looked down at her feet. That did make a lot of sense.

 

“That’s why we’ve been sent here. We’re going to give you the quiz that determines what Pokemon you’ll become. ” said the red one.

 

“Why a quiz? Why can’t I just pick what Pokemon I’ll become?” Hope asked. She didn’t know many Pokemon, but Pikachu was really cute. She would love to be a Pikachu.

 

“Because it’s more entertaining for us that way! ” the pink Pokemon chortled.

 

“Alright, I think you’ve got the gist of everything now. So are you ready to start the quiz ?” Hope was about to reply, but the purple one interjected. “ Hold on! There’s one more thing you should know before you start the quiz. ” it cried out. “And that is?” Hope asked.

 

“When you go to the Pokemon world, all of your memories except for your first name will be erased. ” the purple one responded.

 

Hope’s eyes widened. Lose her memories? That was one of her biggest fears! But just before she could say anything, the purple one interjected again. “I know, I know. It’s scary. But we don’t want your memories as a human conflicting with your duties as a Pokemon.”

 

Why do these Pokemon have to make so much sense? Hope thought to herself. She looked into the eyes of the yellow one. “Alright. Let’s start the quiz.” The purple one let out something that Hope assumed was a smile. “ I knew you’d come through, honey .”

 

The quiz that followed took probably only ten minutes, but for Hope, it felt like forever. She thought that half of these questions were nonsensical. What did her favorite ride at the carnival or what she would say to a new student at school have to do with what Pokemon she became, anyways?

 

Just as she was about to fall asleep (while already being asleep), the pink one looked up and smirked. “ Alright. The quiz is over .” It snapped its “fingers”, and a swirling portal opened up right in front of Hope’s eyes. “ The portal to the world of Pokemon is right there. Hop in. ”

 

“Right now? But you didn’t even tell me what Pokemon I’ll become!” Hope protested. The yellow one smirked. “You won’t know until you get there. Don’t you love a good surprise? ”

 

Hope sighed. Well then. I guess this is it. she thought to herself. She walked up to the swirling, blue-and-purple portal. But just as her hand touched the portal, a question popped into her head.

 

She turned back to the four Pokemon. “Hold on a minute!” she called out. “Who exactly are you guys?”

 

The yellow one chuckled. “We’ll run into each other again eventually. We’ll properly introduce ourselves to you when that time comes.”

 

“Hey, come on! That’s not fair!” Hope yelled. She tried to run back towards the four Pokemon, but the force of gravity from the portal pulled her back. She struggled feebly, but soon she fell through the portal.

 

And then she was falling, falling, falling… Her head was becoming foggy- as if her memories were being leached out of her as she was falling- and a white light was slowly clouding over her field of vision.

 

And then she blacked out.