Wishes aren't that Great

Author Note: I've always enjoyed reading pokemon transformation stories and so have decided to add to their growing numbers. This is the first of several I hope to write.

I'll continue to write regardless of reviews, though they will be appreciated and likely keep me enthusiastic about writing this out as much as I can. I'm not sure why anyone would flame this but they will not be tolerated. I have better things to do (I guess that's a matter of opinion really?) than read the ranting angry words of a fool that got involved in something they need not have been if they detested it so.

The first chapter is a bit odd, since there really isn't much in the way of interaction. It's mainly setting a tone so you get a feel of how Jek has lived his life until now. It's mainly one of solitude and I tried to make sure you could feel as much from the way this first part is written. Sorry that the introduction is so long and such. You 'could' skip it, but you'll be missing much of the info of Jek's background and personality. His career and how he's trained himself plays a crucial role in this story.

---Revision A/N---

It took me awhile, and I should have done it sooner, but I've completed this first chapters editing. I wish I hadn't waited a month to do it though, it really needed some love. Looking at it now, it seems such a lower quality than what I'm writing at now but then this was my launching pad so of course it'll display a skill level lower than what I'll achieve the more I write. It doesn't help that I'm OCD about a lot of my work. I could rewrite every chapter multiple times and still not be satisfied. It took me about 3 hours to completely overhaul this thing.

---END Revision A/N---

Disclaimer: I don't own pokemon in any way shape or form.

'yap yap' thought speech

"blah blah" spoken speech

Chapter 1 -Introduction and Fall

A short introduction for those who may be interested, my name is Jek Thompson. It's an unusual name, I know, at least it is to me. Perhaps you've heard odder, or it's simply a matter of perspective. A nurse named Joy runs a pokemon medical facility in my town, that could be considered a far more unusual name. Who names their child after an emotion? Is there a Vindictive or Sorrow out there?

All that aside, that's my name and I'm an aspiring Pokemon Naturalist. It sounds fancy, but all it really means is that I sneak around taking candid shots of pokemon in their natural habitat while going about their everyday business. You might think me shameful for this, acting like some sort of sneak or spy, but I do have my standards thank you. I never take shots of pokemon in their dens or other private places of that nature. I only observe and capture moments of their lives that are already open for any nearby entity to see. Satisfied a bit? No? Yes? Well, it'll have to do.

I would prefer to draw my sights rather than take pictures, but I'm completely inept at such a skill sadly. So I'm stuck with the rather limited and split moment of a camera shot. It's faster some say, but if your timing is off even by a fraction of a second, you've failed completely. Where as an artist can memorize a moment and draw it out to it's fullest in anyway. So, I'm at a bit of a disadvantage compared to many of my colleagues, but I won't give up. I draw at times when I'm able, practice makes perfect and all, but it's just a false hope that I'll get any real skill at it I've come to realize.

I've gotten a number of good shots during my escapades, most of which scientists and other interested parties were more than happy to take for their varied interests. I still have a long way to go however, hence my use of 'aspiring' when describing my would be job title. I have most of the basic principles down, such as blending in with your surroundings.

Pokemon have extremely sensitive and keen senses, they need to if they want to survive. Creeping around my home region of Kanto, I've seen plenty of the more gruesome encounters pokemon have with each other that most city folk are not privy to. I also don't take shots of these moments, so you know. I feel a creatures death shouldn't be displayed for others to gawk at. It's the end of their own private struggle and I'll not tarnish that final moment by whoring it out like that. Others don't quite see it the way I do, but maybe it's just that I respect pokemon more than an average person does.

Sorry, I get side tracked easily. Back to the main idea; blending into your surroundings to avoid detection. Trainers don't care about seeing what's out there so much as how they affect it. They go bumbling about the wilderness seeing what's to be seen of the land, not it's occupants. Though they're more than happy to see the occasional curious soul out and about despite their presence, curiosity got the meowth in a poke'ball and what not. Trainers and us Naturalist are opposites in that way. I want an undisturbed environment, leaving the local flora to those that care, I'm only out here to see the lands fauna(If you didn't know, fauna means the group of animals in an area while flora means the group of plants in an area. Time can also be a categorizing factor with these groups). I have to take measures to blend in if I'm to be at all successful in this.

First and foremost, before one makes any outing they need to stop eating meat for a month at least. The predator and prey situation in the wild is taken very seriously. If a lower food chain creature gets even a whiff of a predator on the air, they're gone. No questions or thoughts asked. In the more active area's this rule isn't as prevalent, but in the deep rural area's where all the good shots are to be had, it's very dire to keep this in mind. Prey avoid predators like they're a group of muk. If you have some extremely good prowling skills and can keep the wind and you're own scents location in mind then you're alright, but for us average Joes that's not really going to happen. I'm pretty happy just being able to avoid twigs now, after a lot of practice. So, once again, don't eat meat for at least a month. This gives your system time to process it out so you no longer smell of whatever creatures you had eaten.

Smelling of plants, berries, nuts, and other general prey type food will sometimes flag you for receiving some attention from predators though. Pokemon of all types will normally leave humans be for the most part, scientists can only guess that humans don't smell appealing taste or nutrition wise to pokemon. Something I thank the stars for every night. So an assault is highly unlikely, but they do happen at times for various error-ed reasons. A bewildered or feverish hungry predator smells food and strikes with desperation fearing for it's continued survival, is just one. So, the second thing is to always carry a high grade can of pokemon mace. Not strong enough to do permanent damage but more than enough to send them packing. When a pokemon gets hit with a face full of mace, they feel like they're going blind and thus retreat. It's simple flight or fight instinct. One day or even two days food is not worth a permanent and often lethal handicap in the wild. The next thing to keep in mind would be a flash pellet and smoke bomb for when you run into a herd of predators, an even rarer but still possible event, that want to take a bit out of your flank.

To go hand in hand with the first thing, you want to make sure to actually fit your surroundings. If you live in a city you need to really cleanse all the lingering smells and chemicals from your skin, hair, clothes etc., if you want to achieve this. If you live in a forest and you're going to a fiery mountain, make a campfire and when you've safely put it out and let the embers cool, rub some of the ash on you and your possessions. If you're from the ocean going to the forest, do the same with some dirt. A naturalist has to keep how their environment affects them and what the occupants of the environment their going to are expecting in mind.

You need to make sure you know how to survive in an area as well, so foraging is one of the main skills and also one of the hardest. You don't see many pokemon naturalist that can traverse the Orange islands in winter then head over to the Johto region to catch the spring activity. You have to know how to survive completely off the land in whatever season. Some of us just specialize in one season for a few regions and just cycle between them yearly. Others will memorize an entire region and just focus on that area. No one has yet to learn how to survive in all the different regions at any given point of time. Not to say that a handful haven't gone to each, they just have to pack a lot of rations and such. The down side to that is that you lose that local prey scent you need to see all the scenes that make your trip worth it. You also have to make a base camp and keep going back to it for your supplies. If something happens to said supplies, you're a fish up a creek that's dried up all around you, just not a good idea.

It's also a more solo job really. There are some good duos out there, but most people in this profession are more the quiet solitude kind of people. It's really just how the job is, months traversing through different environments being as quiet and unnoticed as possible. Not many social people are capable of this.

The final thing is your most important, actually being able to capture the scenes you've gone through so much trouble to find and witness. Be it a sketch pad, a canvas, a camera or even just a photographic memory (those lucky few whom I'm very envious of). I won't go into the many variants, but least to say, mine is a simple yet effective manual camera. I'm sure many of you have used one in a photo class if you've taken one. You set the speed for it's shutter, the focus and zoom, etc. Nothing fancy, but I'm not a big time guy yet, it's a training camera for the most part. Last thing I want is to break a professional high grade device while bungling about still mastering this very fine tuned art.

So that's what I'm aiming to be. I, Jek Thompson, want to be a pokemon naturalist. As I mentioned, Kanto is my home region. I live outside of Lavender town in the rural farmland. Not that I live on a farm mind you, just around them. I spent most of my youth running around the fields chasing after imaginary and real pokemon through the various vegetation. Me and my much older brother, Kevin, lived with our mother, Tsumi. My Father, Vernon, is a pokemon league referee, so he's constantly traveling around following the various leagues and tournaments. He, of course, would be home as often as he could, but it'd still only be two months out of a year at most. We were all saddened by it, but we understood it was his dream and life to follow that career and didn't begrudge him for it.

Kevin, being six years older than I, left on his Pokemon journey after he turned thirteen. He would have gone sooner but mother wouldn't let him go until he had finished middle school at least. So if his career didn't pan out, he could at least just go through high school equivalent classes. He complained and fussed about it of course, but didn't mind too much. He was anxious but agreed that being educated would make him a far better trainer than his peers. He would of course tour the Kanto region when he was free for two months in summer, but was otherwise rooted to the homestead. He wanted to hang out with his friends in school for a couple more years, before saying good bye too I'm sure. So there I was at seven with just my mother and I with two randomly visiting family members. My aunt and uncles were very sparse except every couple years for the occasional holiday.

Tsumi was a farm hand for one of our neighbors, so we spent the nights and mornings together but were fairly busy between those times. I think this is when I kind of became more quiet than your typical person. Not that I didn't go to school or anything, it was just a country classroom where the only a couple classmates live a few miles within range of you. I enjoyed those quiet afternoons with me and the gently swaying fields on the weekends. Me and a couple friends would get together once in awhile but for the most part life was pretty quiet.

I picked up my first camera when I turned eleven. My mother gave me permission to go on a summer pokemon journey as Kevin had at my age, but she didn't think I had much interest in it as he had. Which is true, I never really felt that thrilled about pokemon battling or training. I mean, I liked them a lot and loved our pet growlithe greatly. I just didn't find the prospect of traveling around capturing and battling with pokemon all that spectacular. I didn't, and still don't, have any pokemon I take around with me. A couple of my friends went on their journeys, quitting school, while a couple more simply went around like Kevin had when he was this age. I was invited to go with a couple of them, but I declined. I did leave home to golooking around though, and that first year of creeping around the underbrush of some of the closer to town woods is when I chose to follow my current career path.

I had come across Emily Thachet when we both hid in the same bush looking at a pair of spearow fighting a geodude for a patch of oran berries. She was startled by seeing a young kid creeping about like she was and asked if I was training to be a pokemon naturalist. Now, I had no idea what that was and so she described it all to me and I found myself almost shaking with excitement. I drew in every word that she shared, every concept, and ideal.

I later found out that she was a very well known and respected person of this craft. Taking many better known shots such as the 'Butterfree Mating Dance', 'Pidgeot's Grace', and even the 'Glimpse of the Past', a blurred picture of a pokemon that looks like one of the many ancient fossilized ones that are found in archaeological digs. She said it was taken while traveling in a ravine that she had fallen into on her way through Hoenn. She, like me, was inept at drawing as so many others could but more than made up for it with her skill in brandishing a lens.

She gave me a small camera that she had used when she was starting her career and we parted. I took a few blurry and poorly lit shots that summer, but I had some good ones by the end that I could show to my mother. I didn't think to much on it other than a future career and a summer time hobby until I completed my first year of high school. I told my Mother I was going to pursue this dream and left home after that. I returned after every outing of course, but I would be gone for a month or two at a time and never stay for longer than a week at most. Or for winter since I didn't feel prepared to live out in one just yet.

That's where I am now, sixteen years old(almost seventeen thank you) and currently on the prowl in the forest north of Mt. Moon, far from the usual path trainers of this region like to follow. This is where my story begins if you'll hear it. I do feel bad though, I've just told you so much about a profession that you'll find was a moot point to know after what happened to me. I guess the knowledge could be useful to you still, not for me though. None of that matters now really, I have far greater things to worry about right now before I can get back to any of that.

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The sun's reflection rippled upon the ponds surface lazily, soft light filled the small opening in the forests thick canopy allowing for the more carefree to gaze at an unobstructed view of a clear sky with a few puffy white clouds. I sat watching an interesting phenomenon that was this drinking hole. Likely supplied by an underground water source, the mountain spring was being visited by several pokemon groups at the moment. Predators and prey alike were at the spring, fascinating as it was, and they seemed to have an understanding. The prey pokemon had their side and several of them took 'shifts' it looked like guarding the others that drank. The prey were united in defense at the water hole even, 'Amazing.' Where normally they quarrel and fight for resources they unify at this location to allow for their herds to partake while eying and keeping the predators at bay from their own section of the spring. Many species were there, not in full force I'm sure, just several of each kind doing their thing on either end.

Some rattata, being scavengers, accepted by neither prey nor predators, would dart out of the bushes and get a mouth full before returning to the thicket once more every now and then. A couple sandshrew, butterfree, squirtels, bulbisuars, bellsprouts(the list goes on) and even some rarer species humans seldom see, were at the spring. Such as a wild eevee! I took a lot of shots of how she was placed and treated by the others, 'It's so rare to see one in the wild! It must be my lucky day!' Professor Oak will definitely want this himself, if my pictures turn out okay anyway. If not I can still hopefully get another researcher to take a mild interest in them. Oak has really high standards, being at the top of the whole field of research he has to.

While a few beedrills(not really meat eaters but aggressors all the same), some meowth and persians, spearows, and even a mankey made up the other side, all of them eying each other warily. Of course, this procession didn't last long, at least none of the creatures stayed very long at the water front anyway. Coming and going as quickly as possible was the best way to describe all of their attitudes. None of the pokemon that came stayed much longer than need be. For the most part it stayed tense but frictionless with only the occasional trouble maker getting 'reprimanded' as it were by either side.

This is what I come out here for, I haven't seen a better scene yet. 'I'm sure to receive some recognition after this find.' I'll of course omit it's exact location, many of us do that, we don't want the rare treasure we've just found to be spoiled or ruined. If a researcher wants to see more or get more information they hire you out for more outings to gather data for them. That's where the real money is.

If I could understand this scene or even know a bit of what they were thinking down there, any further insight at all, I'd be even better off. I'm not really an pokemon psychologist however. I know a lot about how they act just from observing them and coming to expect certain behavior, but that doesn't mean I actually know why or what they're thinking when they do it. Sometimes when I see sights like this I truly wish I could be one of them down there, instead of just an observer. Of course, I wouldn't actually want to be a pokemon, any pokemon at all, but I can't help this stray thought sometimes. I watch them so much but know so little, it's highly frustrating at the best of times, maddening at others. Like staring at a jigsaw puzzle as it's constantly mocking you.

'Hopefully I'll get contracted once I present these pictures to an interested party.' I watched this scene for most of the afternoon from my hiding spot high up in an oak tree. I had several branches and leaves strewn about me and the only sound I'm sure that could be heard is the camera's soft click with each closing of the shutter. A few pidgey's had even come and gone from the same branch I resided on, none the wiser. Despite my success I know I'm still not up to par. Emily would be stealthing in a bush on the water front or in the water, maybe even in a hidden/buried bunker under ground taking close up shots. I'm a hundred feet away trying to steady a hand as I take a zoomed in shot from this vast distance.

When hunger finally drove my fascination and professional focus to the back of my mind, I began my descent. It wasn't a loud crash or any quick movement that I left my perch. Most would think that having gotten what you wanted there was little use for pretenses anymore. 'They're amateurs.' Once pokemon know a human is around the entire area is spoiled for a time, always on guard and looking about for them. Just because I caught this moment in time doesn't mean I'm leaving just yet, I still need to keep my presence minimal. A few pokemon do notice me once in awhile of course, I don't make a loud enough racket for many to know of me is all. The occasional pokemon seeing you means little, it's when a lot see you frequently that it goes from rumor to well known. They can communicate amongst themselves after all. If one or two say they spotted a human crawling through the brush it doesn't amount to much, but if multiple start telling others how they saw you bumbling about they'll know there's more merit to the rumor than simply a tired or scared pokemon not seeing things right. It also helps to not have any visible poke'balls (I don't have to worry about that but some have one or two for personal use with them). 'A smart move really but... oh well.' Since every pokemon knows what those are and you go from odd sight to immediate threat instantly when they see them.

I reached the bottom and pulled my safety line slowly so as to recover and recoil it for the next time I'd need it. I'm not willing to catch an image with the risk of a broken neck looming over me, so I come well prepared for such things. I travel light of course, only a small day pack with various supplies in it. Flint and tinder for an emergency fire, a wind-breaker like blanket (wraps up to be very small so perfect for travel, but it doesn't retain much heat. It stops the wind from chilling you and keeps you dry though, kind of like a tarp that's a little warmer and easier to manage), an extra can of mace and a few extra smoke bombs and flash pellets. I bring one change of clothing with me and keep a small soft blue flashlight in a pouch on my belt. The less stuff you have to carry, the further you can travel.

Clothing wise, I wear a pair of dark brown and green weather resistant tights. All you can have really, when stealth is so important. I can't afford to have loose or loud clothing ruining everything with each step I took. So while I'm sure I looked less than fashionable, out in the woods the pokemon are the only ones who would care. 'They haven't said anything about it to me yet... that I'm aware of anyway.'

I started to make my way a bit south back towards Mt. Moon, whose slopes are actually many miles from me, some thickets with berries and other edible flora were this way. I made note of them on my trek inwards, which is a good thing to keep in mind as you travel. Look for anything you can forage on the path you're traveling, In this way you can take two steps forward, one back for food, then two forward again. Instead of three forward and going hungry if you don't find anything that final step ahead. You're the only one that cares about you're survival out in the woods so you have to keep it mind at all times. Not a good idea to rely on the stories of helpful pokemon giving people a hand when their in trouble if you can help it.

I was huddling my way along some bushes when movement caught my eye. This happens often and I always look instinctively to see what it is, hand going for my camera. It was typically a pidgey, meowth, spearow, rattata or whatever else the common sight chooses to be. You just never know when there will be something rare about to pass you up unless you're at ready though. As usual, it was just a rattata bouncing past causing me to sigh a bit on the inside, having my hopes of more promising things dashed in an instant. About to continue on my way, I paused and turned back for a second. A cave lie neatly inside of a hill just past where the rattata went by me. I almost wouldn't have noticed it if not for the glance. Vines grew around it's entrance and drooped from it covering it's front like drapes in a window. The mouth was rather sizable also, at least ten feet around. 'I'll definitely have to come back to investigate this place.'

That was my thought anyway, until I saw a silver and violet blur run into the cave swishing past the vines in a hurry. 'I could have sworn that was a espeon just now...' Seeing a wild one of those is completely unheard of, even trained ones are rare. 'Did it's trainer let it go and it found it's way here?' Regardless of how it came to be in the area this was too good to pass up. To see how an espeon was living in the wild would be a major find. I went as quickly as I could to the cave without being too hasty or loud. I know they have precognitive abilities, but they only use them for seeing threats in the future. 'I have no intention of attacking or causing violence in any way so I should be okay.'

The cave was very damp and dark past the entrance, I pulled my handkerchief from my back pocket and wrapped it around my face. 'I may run into some parasects in here, hopefully none will use spores on me.' I try to go in a few feet but have to end up using my flashlight lest I start to tripping and stumbling, which would make things worse than using a light could. I heard water trickling in the distance as I crept along the wall, the cave becoming a little narrower after the entrance, though stayed well past human height as it went further in.

I could see a soft light starting to creep around a bend in front of me so I turned my flashlight off and slowed even more to a crawling pace. Past the bend some illuminated moss and mushrooms grew, casting the cavern in an eery glow. There were indeed several parasect and paras's in here but they paid me no mind or didn't bother to notice me as I made my way past them. The several zubat's that inhabited the ceiling took a page from the parasects in barely noticing my passage.

The sound of water was becoming greater and I could taste moisture in the air, condensation was already beginning to soak my clothes somewhat. 'Obviously an underground stream and likely water fall.' My heart raced a bit at the thought, I may likely see one of those beautiful enchanted scenes only a few ever witness. An illuminated cavern garden with strange fauna residing in it with a waterfall sending soft wisps of mist about the cavern floor.

I tried to stay focused but I was definitely distracted by now. When I turned the corner I did in fact see what I was hoping for, though not entirely. It was indeed an enchanting scene with an illuminated garden and soft wisps of mist floating lazy along the lush flora covered terrain or a spacious cavern. There was simply no pokemon in immediate sight that I could see after I had taken a couple instinctive pictures. 'Maybe I had seen a ditto darting into here and it changed into one of those paras actually?' That seemed likely since there were no visible places for an espeon to hide, though that would mean the ditto would have had to see an espeon to duplicate to begin with. Not being daunted by the lack of subjects to view I went inside without much caution, hard to care about being hidden when there is nothing there to see you or be disturbed by your presence.

The tunnel I had come in from leveled evenly out into the river. I ended up wading through it to reach the other side (I wear aqua sock like shoes with sturdier frames for foot protection and heavier traction on the bottom. Perfect for staying quiet, getting wet, and trekking through rocky areas. About everything you'll encounter out in the woods and they work sock free. Just need to be throughly washed every other day). My shoes made little squishing noises when I drew up out of the water to walk on the land past it. There were no flowers on the ground, instead it looked like very thick moss like plants with a few of those glowing mushrooms growing about. Little specks of pollen floated about the air catching the light as they went by, flicking fires dancing past your vision. I took a couple more shots from this side for good measure before looking around the edges a bit more.

Once satisfied that there were indeed no smaller tunnels or burrows around I turned to head back out. I took one last shot of the water fall since it was a peculiar sight. A hole seemed to be in the roof of the cavern on that side and from it water gushed to fall upon several stalagmites. 'It just seems very odd. Perhaps this is connected to the spring to the north even.' Thinking on it, this cave and the direction the water is flowing is about right. The waterfall itself just put me at unease looking at it. Something was off, aside from the odd form that the waterfall had taken. I was going to write it off as nothing when I realized that I really hadn't seen the wall past it. It seemed tacky, but... perhaps there was a cave that lay behind this waterfall. The more I thought about that, the more likely it seemed to me. After all, what better place for a psychic hermit to reside in than a hidden cave behind a waterfall?

Now, I have a thing against taking shots of pokemon in their dens, but I don't know if it's a den just yet. When I go and look, if it turns out to be a den I'll leave without hesitation. I may linger around here or the mouth of the cave outside for a glimpse of the elusive pokemon as it comes and goes but that's about all. If it's not a den, but a tunnel turning into another cavern, then I'll be in luck. Sadly, I'll need more preparation if I want to get very good shots. The less light you have to work with the longer you have to hold a camera's shutter open. This leads to blurry pictures either from the subject moving about or your own hand being incapable of stabilizing the camera long enough. Either way, I can only hope there's light enough beyond here since using a flash device on the camera isn't really an option.

Taking the few steps that separated me from the water fall I began looking past it, using my flashlight. Sure enough, a small three foot tunnel lie there, just hidden behind the water. I took my pack off to hide it away from the soaking effect of the water fall, and I made sure to change out my film before preceding back to the water front. I got fairly wet making my way into the tunnel and it was covered with condensation but this was nothing compared to what I was willing to endure. You have to be willing to get dirty and uncomfortable in this line of work.

The tunnel felt like it was getting narrower the further I went, to the point that I was almost crawling to keep going forward. I was ready to call it in when finally I saw the end. It was in fact another large cavern. I was relieved at this, last thing I'd want is to be stuck in an un-maneuverable position like this with a potentially dangerous and violent claw equipped pokemon with full access to my face.

This tunnel was fairly raised up from this caverns floor, I just barely slid up to the edge of my perch to look down below me. It wasn't as nearly interesting as the last place had been, a small drizzling creek made it's way through the middle of the area and instead of many small glowing mushrooms, there were very large ones. This room was occupied however.

I had been right, that blur was in fact an espeon. She sat on her haunches looking up at one of the large mushrooms. I followed her gaze(after taking several pictures of course) to see a mass of silky white fur pooling about the top of the alien mushroom. I couldn't make out the piles shape regardless of my camera's zooming capabilities.

'It seems we have a visitor.'

Bumping my head against the tunnels ceiling from being so startled, my face flushed from shame. I rubbed at the irritant, furiously trying to alleviate the pain somewhat.

'It has been sometime since I felt thoughts like these.'

By this time I was a little more prepared and started to think on what possibilities this could mean. 'Was this the espeon using telepathy?' The espeon was indeed staring at me from where it was now. 'Psychic pokemon-'

A soft titter of a thought passed by me, 'I am no pokemon young human.'

I started to get really uneasy about this whole encounter now, since I wasn't used to having alien thoughts passing my mind or being under the scrutiny of anything psychic. It made me feel completely exposed and vulnerable, and I didn't like that at all. I had no defenses that I could think of from something like this and there was little I could do. I only hoped whatever it was wasn't hostile.

'I will not harm you without provocation. Truly you are a worrisome thing.' The pool of fur rippled from where it lay. 'Come down from there, or should we continue on like this while you're stuffed in that tiny hole?'

I could hear the mirth in her(at least I think it was a female) voice and it agitated me slightly. Despite knowing it to be a bad idea to leave my cover and move further from my possible escape route, I pitched myself over the side and hung for a moment before sliding down to the cavern floor. I dusted myself off a bit, then turned and cautiously proceeded towards the pair on the other side. Upon reaching them I stood quietly sparing a single glance to the espeon that stood a bit to my side, whom was looking at me with barely hidden indifference. Even up close I could no better discern what lay in front of me then I could at my previous distance.

'You're so quiet, do you not know how to speak?'

I was taken aback at this. I do this often and it gets rather annoying. After so many weeks of never saying anything, even a crass word after accidentally hurting myself, I've often forgotten to speak at all sometimes; my mother told me I do it often when I return from a trip. She'll hug me and say welcome home and I'll just look at her for a moment before heading inside. The first couple times she thought I was angry with her but after she mentioned it to me I was surprised and told her that I had thought I'd greeted her.

"uuueee..." I cleared my throat a bit for a second before trying again, "I know how to speak, yes." The first sentence always feels the weirdest. "I'm rather confused and surprised to say the least. I never would have imagined such an encounter as this."

'It's always the unexpected events that affect you the most. You go into them with no preparation and only your own will to keep you afloat for a good outcome'

That statement made me feel even worse. 'A good outcome? That kind of implies that this could turn into a poor encounter, despite current friendly terms. Unless my will, as it were, managed to pull through for me.'

'So worrisome... you truly remind me of a Ninetales I knew a long time ago.' She(?) seemed to grow distant at this, gazing far into a sight that danced beyond a vision she would share with me. This whole mind talking thing she was doing had me completely flat footed. I have no idea how to really process what my brain was sensing.

'You said you weren't a pokemon, but... I doubt all that fur belongs to a human...' I kept this question that I dared not ask, for fear of offending this being, to myself.

'Now that, dear boy, is a secret. Perhaps one day you'll know, but not today.'

I grimaced, realizing my thoughts were uncontrolled and completely open for interpretation without my consent. It didn't matter what I tried to hide or not think up. She(?) could delve into what I was thinking or considering just as soon as I thought it up on reflex. Like when you're playing the game where someone asks you a question and you're supposed to blurt out the first thing that comes to mind. Only this was completely true first thoughts and it was entirely one sided.

'Just like him, you're right.' This was a different, more raspy, "voice" that presented itself. I glanced at the espeon, but she was looking back up at the other again, ignoring me completely now.

'Truly... This meeting leaves me feeling nice. It has been so long since I have seen a human. You managed to find this location despite it's more secretive nature, and you remind me of an old, very dear, friend. All these things in one encounter... I'll do something nice for you.'

The pool of fur moved slightly and I thought for an instant I could see a solid blue eye staring at me from underneath... and so one was. It had no black pupil nor white surrounding an iris, it was a blue sphere peeking at me from the white depths. Despite it's haunting and alien style I felt entranced by it's beauty.

'I'll grant you a wish... the wish that you desire.' This tone, despite her having said she'd do something nice left me feeling uneasy. It held a tone of mischievousness, like she wanted to pull a prank or deliver a joke. If I did indeed remind them of a friend or person, likely I'll be on the receiving end of a joke that She(?) would pull on him.

At the thought of receiving a wish, even just having the question stated a person can't help but have thoughts to follow. My instinct said that having nothing in mind at all would be best, but alas, you'd have to be a very mentally trained individual to accomplish such a feat. Not a sixteen year old boy in a cavern with a mysterious psychic after a long day of traveling across unmolested lands filled with wondrous creatures. I had no chance.

Now, I like many others have plenty of things I'd wish for in a heart beat. For that elusive scene I'll look for till the end of my career. For a chance to work with Emily and learn from her. To see all those legendary pokemon you hear about but never encounter. Even to be able to fly around. Much to my chagrin however, the first one to be presented was the one that had fluttered past my mind earlier that day, as it had on many days. I wished I were a pokemon.

Now, we all know that I don't actually want to be one, it's just a passing thought or fancy people entertain here and there, nothing we'd like to see happen or made permanent. Many other wishes followed after that one but it was the first and I physically grimaced and drew back from her. I knew I had fallen into some kind of trap, every bone, nerve and vein in my body screamed as much at me.

'That's a marvelous wish! One I'd be more than happy to grant.' I could almost feel the sickly sugar coated cute happy smile hidden behind this sentence. I'm sure She(?) would.

"Wait, that's not really what I'd want!" I anxiously stumbled back, causing me to trip on a rock which sent me to the ground on my butt. I wanted to turn and flee but that blue sphere held me, entranced, so I sat there mouth gaping in horror at what would happen next.

'It was you're first thought... truly your hearts desire. You may say no but you cried out for it before all others.'

I could already feel the haze sinking into me, a thought muddling fog. I fought to resist the pleasant drowsy feeling that was encompassing me, but to no avail. You know being wrapped in the warm comfortable blanket will kill you but it's just so comfortable, soft and nice. You know that falling asleep while having a concussion is bad but it'd just feel so nice, and the only person there that can help you stay awake is singing you a lullaby. I crumpled without so much as a whisper of defiance.

Collapsing upon the thick floor my vision faded out, all I could see was that Blue eye staring at me. Neither malicious intent nor kindness shown from it. 'Not fair..' 'You call that nice' 'I can't believe this is happening' 'What's going to happen next' 'What will I be?' all these thoughts spread out from me at once as the darkness consumed my mind as well.

'Life is never fair... you'll learn as I did young one. Perhaps you'll gain some insight from your new perspective.' This was the last thing I heard before there was nothing.

END Chapter 1 - Introduction and Fall

Parting Author Note: The end to the chapter that begins it all. The writing style changes dramatically after this. See y'all in the future chapters!

Yee haw! (The first of many to come)