It is with great urgency that I reveal this truth up front:

Many "fictional" worlds -- whether they are from video games, TV, films, books, anime, cartoons, or all of those, exist. Some do not, granted, yet most do. They always have.

For those who live on Earth, forgive me for not coming out with this sooner. It grieves me to think of my oppressors reaching me before the entirety of the Truth is told. I shudder to think of what they would do to your world if it found out, yet recent events have forced me to act against my protective judgment.

I wasn't born knowing this secret though -- I didn't know of it until merely two weeks before I turned 14, and I'd played video games my whole life and never once made the connection. Discovering the Truth requires discovering the Mario World, which is technically called the "Mushroom World." This happened to be the world that I "lived" in throughout most of my childhood, and I came upon its existence on accident doing a simple, everyday task -- replacing a full trash bag with a new one. Perhaps it was fate. Perhaps it was my destiny. Or perhaps it was sheer luck. I wouldn't be a bit surprised if it were all three, but I'll never know for sure.

***

April 20th, 2010...I remember that day perfectly. I had just checked the time -- 10:02 A.M. -- and bent down to the wooden cabinet below the kitchen sink. Opening it, I crawled entirely inside and reached for the red, torn-up box that contained the pitch black trash bags I searched for. I breathed in a different air this time; not a physical wind or mental flow of energy, but of a deeper kind. Elusive, extraordinary, and extreme, something underneath the sink was different.

At that moment, a small panel in the floor just big enough for my small, 13-year-old body dropped from under me. I tumbled, sliding down the slippery slope I'd fallen into, sensing somehow that where I would end up would alter my life completely. The tube of sorts was enclosed, dark, damp, and mildewed; moments later, a light appeared in the distance.

Everything felt all too real to not be – that I was sure of. I knew I had arrived in the Mushroom World, as I recognized the kind of pipe I'd fallen through; it was a thick, light green, three foot wide, Warp Pipe. No question. Additionally, floating blocks; giant mushrooms that appeared to move; and creatures from straight out of the Mario games, such as brown, mushroom-shaped Goombas, surrounded the area.

Being a Mario fanatic, I remained so heavily in shock that I refused to deny what I witnessed, and instead walked around for a good while. Eventually, I stumbled upon Princess Peach's Castle, perfectly resembling its many appearances in most Mario games, with its scarlet tiles on top of each horizontal and sloped area; plain, red-and-white flags on each corner of its rectangular rooftop and at the top of the massive white tower stemming from its center; and a flowery logo of the golden-haired Princess Peach, complete with her iconic pink dress, on the castle's front.

I soon met the red-shirted, blue over-alls-wearing Mario, along with his green-shirted brother Luigi (who also wore blue over-alls) and Princess Peach.

We talked for a short time and I told them what happened; Mario and Luigi were pleased to finally not be the only ones from the Earth (which everyone here called the "Real World"), as they originally lived in New York City. The three gladly gave me a tour of the castle, ending the tour on the roof.

***

Bowser, the eternal enemy of the Mushroom World, attacked while we were atop the roof. He swiftly defeated the Mario Bros. thanks to his minions; Peach and I then assumed that there was nothing we could do about the situation, yet a rainbow-colored, glowing sphere appeared and absorbed itself into me. It was a Smash Ball, a mysterious object which opens up the user to the utmost potential they have, and sometimes presents abilities they have not even gained yet. Bowser and his allies were miraculously defeated by a massive, crackling, blue fireball emanating from my left hand.

Mario and Luigi later congratulated and thanked me, even though I knew nothing of how the event was possible. They insisted on training me to fight like they do over the course of however long it would take. I accepted, yet needed permission. After cautiously revealing the secret world under ours the next day and taking them there, my parents, surprisingly, agreed.

Six days a week, four hours a day, I was to come to the Mushroom World and receive training from Mario and Luigi The actual training the Bros. did was essentially just the practice of me copying whatever they did – after I'd gotten into shape, of course.

***

I was now 15 years old; 17 months had passed since I discovered the Mushroom World, and my training sessions had not wavered, proving to have been unexpectedly effective. Among my many combative skills, the most notable was my ability to throw red-and-orange, blazing fireballs.

I was then invited by Mario to participate in a week-long combat tournament, where highly-skilled people and characters from every Nintendo world come together and fight. It is known as the "Smash Bros. Live tournament," often shortened to the "SBL tournament." The Mario Bros. and my parents collectively convinced me to participate. While I have no need to explain in detail how each of the seven match-ups I faced went, I did win, somehow defeating Mario in the finals.

As is typical of the SBL tournament, a party was held in the Champion's honor at Peach's Castle the next day. I despised all the attention, though the video game tournaments being held inside allowed me to enjoy myself, especially the Smash Bros.-based ones.

The refreshments -- popular foods from each fighter's home world, drinks from their worlds, and a delicious punch known as the "SBL Punch" -- also interested me.

***

I needed to take a break halfway through. I took a cup of the SBL punch and headed out back to the castle's Courtyard. Much like typical courtyards of royalty, it was a symmetrical, circular garden, complete with a stone statue -- shaped like a star -- in the center of a fountain some 15 feet from the entrance to the area.

While resting there, Bowser and his wicked son, Bowser Jr., showed up. After a short talk, Jr. presented a two-foot long paintbrush with rainbow-colored paint along its bushy tip. I laughed at the two of them, thinking of the multiple skilled fighters inside, not concerned in the least about whatever Jr. intended to do, proceeding to drink of my SBL Punch some more.

Jr. then launched a blob of paint behind me as my eyes were closed. The goop morphed with and molded into the stone statue, transforming the once star-shaped structure into a rainbowy, liquid "M", sucking me into it. I grasped the edge of the M, legs dangling inside, shouting at the two cackling, bipedal, turtle-like Koopas. The pull of the M remained indefinitely, increasing in strength with every breath I inhaled. It finally drew me in.

I precariously tumbled through the tube-like portal, instantly losing focus on reality after witnessing the ridiculous conglomeration of colors. Bowser and his son continued mocking me, saying that the place I was headed to was "A whole new world, with a brand new attitude." They claimed that not even I could handle what I was about to deal with, that I would never fit in, and that getting back would prove impossible.

As a result of the hypnotic effects of the inside of the portal, I lost consciousness, infuriated that I had not attempted to stop those two, terrified of what may come.

Greens, yellows, blues...the colors were there, yet my mind was off somewhere else. Sluggishly, I managed to stand up, nearly stumbled, scarcely able to keep myself stable. I gazed around and soon gained enough consciousness to see clearly.

The yellowish-brown, dirt pathway I was standing on appeared endless in both directions. Along either side of the path was a line of lush trees and bushes, while the sky was perfectly blue. The road was clearly man-made, though the foliage -- some in the process of turning red, others yellow, others orange, and some remaining green entirely -- was entirely natural.

Just when I thought I would have a lonesome walk to wherever the nearest town was, the bushes to the left side of the path rustled. I leaned in, half-shutting my eyes. There were at least two creatures inside.

I assumed they were just some squirrels or other wild animals, or perhaps even Mushroom World creatures. If they were one of those two, I knew I would be fine. I waited patiently, without motion, not intending to start an unnecessary conflict.

Two beings – never seen by me before – darted out. They were now two feet from the bushes and five feet from me, both resembling that of a fox, cat, and a little dog all mixed into one, absolutely astounding me.

The one on the left was of a deep black color, with one golden circle on each of its sleek legs and on its head, and a golden stripe around its black tail and ears. Its bushy tail resembled the tip of a paintbrush, while its ears were a foot long and noticeably slim. Its eyes boasted a crimson-like quality to them, complete with black pupils.
The other creature was a light purple, almost pinkish color, and rather pale. It had a ruby-colored gem on its forehead, and also owned a bizarre tail. Its tail split into two tails toward the tip of it, and the two tails remained so wispy as to resemble a wave. Its eyes possessed a lavender background and solid white pupils.

The two simultaneously growled, bending inward and down on all fours, practically hugging the ground.

"Woah, wait," I said to them, holding both hands out in front, palms facing the two. "I don't want to fight. I don't mean you any harm."

The mouth of the black creature opened, and a sphere of a dark purple, shadowy substance formed just outside its mouth. Inside the sphere, some sort of purple-colored electricity-like energy existed. As the spherical attack was forming, the dark creature started grunting, and it even seemed to be speaking, saying a word resembling "umbrella."

I attempted to apologize to the two, though they ignored it, still glaring at me. The "umbrella" creature's spherical attack finished forming and fired straight at me.

In a response purely made of reflexes and my prior training, I ducked, managing to dodge the sphere of shadows. I turned and watched as the sphere flew and hit a tree behind me, hitting it so hard as to cause an explosion and create a dent in the tree. I turned back to look at the two dangerous creatures; my hands curled into fists, preparing for a fight.

The pink one growled and spoke, its statement resembling the letters "s" and "p" being said in immediate succession, leading me to believe what it said to be someone's initials. Its eyes glowed a bright light-blue, causing the same color to outline itself around me, preventing me from moving.

The aura of blue around me began to cause pain, seeming to put my life force itself at risk, draining me of all ability to fight back. "Please," I said, gritting my teeth, squinting. "Stop, whatever...you are. I...didn't come here on purpose. Not...at all."

The pink creature roared tremendously, echoing throughout the area; the pain became nearly unbearable, in spite of my resilience. Having no other options, I used what energy I had left and lit up my left hand with crackling, dancing, red-and-orange flames, engulfing the entirety of the hand in its glow, forming outside of the light-blue outline. One look at the inferno that was my hand forced my enemies to flinch.

I fired the ball of flame with little difficulty at the pink creature; the black one leaped to between us. Its eyes glowed the same shade of blue as the other one's eyes and created a light-blue shield around itself and its ally. The shield easily blocked the fireball, which pathetically dwindled on impact.

The dark one's protective shield went away, followed by a new attack which revealed itself to be forming. Coming from inside its mouth, the black being had initiated an attack which started out as another spherical endeavor. Made of a color dominated by yellow, horizontal waves of orange periodically rushed along its circumference.

With the blue field of light still rendering me motionless, the black one's attack launched. A foot-wide beam of pure, unrelenting, yellow-and-orange energy struck me, accompanied by a deafening blast. The beam struck both my stomach and chest simultaneously, and broke the bond which the pink one had on me, eliminating the light-blue glow in its eyes. The beam sent me straight into a tree behind me.

Never before had I experienced energy comparable to this attack, though I stood up, not intending to back down. The two stepped back, apparently frightened at my survival.

Without hesitation, I launched another fireball. This time, the dark one was not able to protect itself and its friend with the force field from before. The flame darted straight for the black being as I intended, exploding on impact, doing its job of demonstrating what I was capable of.

Smoke cleared to reveal the two still standing. Seeing the anger still in both of the beings' eyes, I immediately dashed to them to attack more up-close.

The "S.P." animal started up its motion-stopping attack; I was once again shut down, coincidentally the same distance from the two as I was from the beginning. The sleek, black being commenced the same beam of energy again; its yellow-orange spherical shape stayed in place longer than before, as if taunting me. I used another fireball in a desperate attempt at survival, though the pink one used its extraordinary blue attack to surround the flame and then throw it back at the same tree I had been launched to. I was unsure if I could take another direct hit and keep fighting. I prayed for a miracle.

An instantaneous flash of golden-yellow electricity stormed in from my right. It struck the two creatures with such power and thunderous presence that the hairs on my neck stood up, as if the electricity was an actual bolt of lightning. The S.P. being's hold on me again subsided, and so I turned to face my rescuers.

Running up to me were three people who did not appear much older than me. Charging in front of them was a creature which I recognized right away. It was a large yellow mouse with red cheeks, black-tipped ears, brown markings on its back, and a lightning bolt-shaped tail. It was world-renowned in the Real World and all of the Nintendo Worlds as a lovable yet powerful electricity-using creature, known as a Pokémon named Pikachu. The mystery as to where I ended up was now solved: I was sent to the Pokémon World.

The three people each asked if I was okay. I didn't give an answer. I had just been saved by a Nintendo World creature which I never had any interest in. The Pokémon World itself never seemed very appealing to me, though it certainly sparked my interest now that I was both successfully threatened and rescued by it.

The three asked again, with one in particular seeming extra concerned. I turned back to the enemies I'd made and saw them in the process of retreating back into the bushes from whence they came. Seeing the situation was now safe, I faced the three and assured them of my well-being. They walked a little closer and were now less than 10 feet from me. My eyes widened; I now understood the level of uniqueness these three contained.

From my point of view, the one who was most concerned about my well-being was the one on the left. He was seemingly around 14 or 15 years of age, though I had a feeling he was a bit older. He wore a mostly red baseball cap with what I later found out to be a blue "Poké Ball" symbol inside of a white background on the front, and his solid black hair spiked horizontally outward from under his hat. His eyes were brown, though his eyes resembled that of the usual Japanese anime style of eyes, being almost unnaturally wide. Under both of his eyes were two black, z-shaped markings which I assumed to be bizarre birthmarks.
He wore a jacket which was blue at the top with short sleeves, but shifted to white at around chest level. His jacket had a yellow zipper, and two black circular markings which curved toward his neck in the blue area, with the lower ring separating the blue from the white. His pants were black jeans, and he wore red shoes with black padding over top of where the toes would be. He also wore gloves. They were red at his wrist, and the rest was black, yet they were fingerless.

In the middle of the group stood a guy who appeared older than the leftward person. His hair was lime-green and dully-spiked in the front, yet normal in both shape and length in the back. He wore a black tuxedo with two yellow buttons, a forest green bow tie, long white sleeves, black pants, and brown shoes. His eyes, like his hair, were green, and unlike the leftward person, they weren't shaped like in Japanese anime, but were closer to the shape of Real World people's eyes, such as my own.

Finally, the person on the right was a girl of around the same age as the first. Unlike the other two, who were, like myself, Caucasian, she was medium-dark-skinned. Her hair was purple with an outrageously massive amount. Two yellow barrettes above her head caused a good amount of the follicles to shoot diagonally up and to both the left and right, while the rest of her hair went down her back in a pear-like shape. Her bizarre hair ended with another barrette (or perhaps a scrunchie) which bundled the pear-shaped hair and sent it into a smaller yet similarly-shaped amount.
The girl's eyes were brown like the first person, and like the first one, her eyes were anime-like. She wore a cream-colored shirt with long loose sleeves tipped with pink. A short pink skirt which mostly surrounded her right side followed her shirt, with a large, equally pink bow tied to the left side of her waist. She had on white Capri's ending in a band of yellow on both legs, and wore pink shoes which were white underneath and had a yellow strap to tighten them.

I didn't know whether to be confused about the three's extravagant outfits or to feel left out, considering my closet of painfully plain clothing back home. The girl's hair struck me as laughable, making it hard to sustain my serious posture.

"Thanks," I told the three, hiding my inner, humored self.

They all shrugged it off as if it were nothing – something which I probably would have done. They then introduced themselves in such a succinct way that it seemed rehearsed. The black-haired one was named "Ash," the green-haired one was "Cilan" (pronounced as "sigh-lynn"), and the purple-haired one was appropriately named "Iris."

Shortly after Iris introduced herself, an odd green creature popped out of her hair. It was about the height of Pikachu, and most of its body was a slightly dark green. The back of its rather large head was forest green, with a shark-like fin of the same color on top. Its eyes were red with a white background, and they were surrounded by the same forest green color as the fin. Two small white tusks jutted out of its mouth horizontally, one going right and one going left. It had two short arms with three pointed fingers each, and I later discovered it had two short legs with two toes each, along with a small pointed tail.

I flinched. "Wha...what is...what in the heck is that?"

"Oh," Iris answered. "This is Axew." She smiled, acting friendly.

"Wait. Axe...you?" I paused, remembering where I was. "Oh, that must be a...Pokémon, right?"

She smiled even more. "Well, yeah. What did you think it was?"

"Well I...you see..."

Cilan spoke up, "You seem rather confused. Are you, lost, maybe?"

"Uhh, ye...yeah, I...am, I think."

"Well," Ash spoke. "Are you?"

"I...yes, I..." The beam of energy was stronger than I originally thought; I could not think properly. "Is your name really 'Ash?'"

"Well, yeah. Ash Ketchum."

"That name..." I thought aloud and looked down and to the left, placing my left index finger between my nose and lip, my thumb under my chin. "That...name. I've heard that before..." I thought some more and removed my hand from my face. "Wait, you're...you're Ash Ketchum from...Pal...uhh, Pallet...Town, right?"

"Yeah, how'd you know?"

"Never mind that." There was a time a few months before the SBL tournament when I tried watching the T.V. show version of Pokémon, starting from the original episode. Neither the original nor the one after it even slightly intrigued me. I continued: "Could you all tell me exactly where we are?"

"Why," Cilan answered, "just north of Nuvema Town."

"And...where is that?"

"It's in south-eastern Unova."

"So this...Unova place. That's a Pokémon World...'region,' right?"

They all found it difficult not to laugh at this, though Cilan and Ash managed to restrain themselves. Iris, though, couldn't help but laugh and say, "You don't know you're in Unova!? What a kid."

Ignoring the "kid" remark, I responded, "No, I don't. It's...complicated."

"You're not from around here, are you?" Cilan asked.

"No, I'm not." My strength began returning.

Iris was still giggling at my naive self; Cilan told her, sighing, "Come on Iris. Something might have happened to him."

"Yeah, you could say that," I said with a half-humored tone.

"What happened?" Ash asked with curious concern.

"It's...a long story."

"Well, then..." Iris spoke, attempting to be serious. "Where are you from?"

"The Real World."

All three simultaneously shouted, in disbelief, "THE REAL WORLD!!?"

I nodded. "Yep."

"Oh dear," Cilan said. "You're not supposed...to know about all this..."

All three flinched, constantly shifted their eyes in all directions, and kept wondering aloud, in varying phrases, "What are we going to do?"

I then assured them, "Hey, woah, take it easy," and put my hands up to show there was no harm done. "I've known about the Nintendo Worlds being real for almost a year and a half. It's all good."

They each let out a deep sigh. Iris then noticed my matted up blue T-shirt, and asked, "Wait...did you get hurt by those Pokémon earlier?"

Those "creatures" that attacked me were Pokémon. Still too dazed to think about the creatures long enough to see the connection (in spite of Pikachu's presence), I sighed. Seeing Iris's concern and how the other two now looked concerned as well, I answered, "Not really. I've had worse."

After hearing this, Cilan flinched and gasped in random shock. He rushed over to me, holding up his hands clasped together, and begged, "Please, forgive me!"

"What...are you talking about?" I asked him.

"I..." Cilan sighed. "I can't believe I didn't recognize you before! I've lost my touch, for sure! You...You're Timothy Stevens, correct?"

"Umm...yes......And?"

"'And!' You're the Timothy Stevens!"

I thought for a moment. "Wait, are you talking about the SBL Tournament?"

"Yes, of course! You battled so magnificently through the whole thing; it was unreal how a newcomer could win with such ease!"

"Cilan," I said, holding up my hands. "Look. It wasn't easy, and it wasn't that amazing either."

"What...do you mean?"

"I mean that my 'skill' in all those battles only came from training from people who were better than me, by far."

"But...still, you defeated impossible opponents!"

"Look, I don't see it as that amazing. It's just..."

"A product of what you were trained to do. You still worked hard for it and you got it done, and done well. They really didn't stand much of a chance."

"Mayb--well no. I...look, Cilan, I...just please drop it. I don't see it like most people do." Memories of past events – one in particular – flooded into me. The pain of past regret began eating away at me; I attempted to ignore it for the moment.

"Well," Cilan responded. "Alright then."

"What are you talking about?" Ash asked.

Cilan flinched. "Well Ash," he answered, withholding his rage at Ash's cluelessness. "Do you remember this past week when you and Iris and I were staying in Nuvema Town? And you two chose to train your Pokémon most of the time instead of relaxing?"

"Yeah, I remember."

"Me too," said Iris.

"Well," Cilan continued, "while you were out training, I was in the Pokémon Center watching what you two missed out on – the Smash Bros. Live Tournament. Timothy here was in that tournament, and despite being a 'rookie,' he won it."

"Wait," Iris said, laughing. "YOU were the one who won? That can't be right. I've seen that event before on T.V.. You're too young!"

"Well it's not like there's an age limit," I told her. "And besides, Iris, you're not much older than me from what I can tell."

"Well, I don't...I just can't see it...happening, you know?"

"Yeah I understand. It's not easy to explain how I do what I do, anyway. I just do it." I sighed, needing to change the subject. "Umm, listen, all of you. I'm obviously not from around here, and I'm sure everyone back in the MK is wondering where I am, so..."

"The MK?" Ash asked, confused.

"It stands for 'Mushroom Kingdom,'" I answered, facing Ash, "just like 'MW' stands for 'Mushroom World.'"

"So," I continued after a brief silence, "I was wondering...could you all take me to Nuvema Town? I know pretty much nothing about this place, or this world, for that matter."

"Sure, we'd be glad to," Ash assured me. Both Cilan and Iris swiftly agreed.

I began to get the sense that these three people were friendly, perhaps a bit too much. Strangers in the Real World are not to be trusted. But these three were different. They were unique, for a different reason than I previously thought. I knew somehow that they could be counted on, though made sure to continually observe them, just in case.

I thanked them for their help; Cilan gestured for the other two and Pikachu to turn around.

"Wait," I said, noticing their motion. "Oh, right, you're coming from Nuvema Town. I...oh, never mind, then, you three keep going your way. I'm sure it's a straight path from here anyway."

"Nonsense," Cilan responded. "We don't mind. Really, we don't."

"Well, okay, but...I owe you all one."

"Nah, you don't owe us anything," Ash said.

"Yeah, it's not like we have some place we have to be," Iris agreed.

"Well...I..." Thanks in part due to my prior training, I knew each of them were not lying. They genuinely wanted to help. "Okay then. Let's go."

Cilan motioned for the other two to turn around again, and I soon joined them. My position was between Cilan and Iris; Ash stayed on the far left.

***

We began treading down the path toward our destination. A minute into the walk, Cilan asked, "What's it like, living in the Real World?"

My common response to this had become varied after all of the repeated mini-interviews which commenced the same way. The answer this time was more honest than it had ever been. "I'm not all that sure how to describe it. I guess maybe it's whatever life would be like without the Nintendo Worlds and, well, knowing they exist. A life that I don't think about anymore."

Cilan nodded, having no answer.

We continued for a good half an hour. Occasionally, there would be a discussion over what I'd do for fun in my world, where I'd been in it, who I'd met, and so on. Cilan seemed especially interested in what I'd done in the Mushroom World. It wasn't until this half-hour ended that Ash asked what Pokémon I'd met.

I told them the simple truth. "I've never personally met any Pokémon until today."

All three gasped -- Pokémon was their life, their world, their passion. The thought crossed my mind to ask what Pokémon attacked me in the first place; having no need to, I refused.

Ash responded in disbelief, "You've never met any Pokémon?"

"Well, Ash," Cilan spoke, "come to think of it, he's not from here, and he doesn't seem to have ever been here." Cilan turned to me. "Isn't that right?"

"Right. I've never been to this world before."

"Well," Iris asked, "why'd you come here?"

"Heh," I answered, grinning, hand held behind my head. "I didn't really come here on purpose."

"Well, how did you get here?" Ash asked.

"It's kind of a long–" I cut off my sentence in light of what I saw. The line of trees along the roadway ended, leaving a vast open area ahead. A small town sat cozily inside the clearing. There were five buildings, three of which were regular two-story houses with blue roofs, one was a large orange-roofed building with multiple windows and a high-tech communications tower to its side, and one building of two stories had a scarlet-red roof with a giant letter "P" which hung in place over the front glass doors; this was the first building one would encounter in this town, and the dirt pathway we walked on led straight to it.

Cilan welcomed the little village with his right arm extending forward and his palm facing upward. He faced me and addressed the name of the town with an insightful tone: "This is Nuvema Town."

Chapter 7 is finally (somewhat) done. I may post an edited (better) version sometime soon, but we'll see. Not gonna give any specific dates for chapter 8 since I didn't come anywhere near the date that I said that I'd post ch. 7.
Anyway, a note about it:
Think back to the beginning of chapter 2. There was a mentioning of Super Mario Bros. 3's Airship theme. I feel as though it'd improve the overall feeling of the story if the reader could actually hear the song mentioned (and not look it up on youtube and find the wrong one). So I've added links to youtuberepeat songs of the version for you to listen to while you're reading it. Anywho, here it is:
Obviously, make sure to open the songs in a new tab.

Apologies for the long wait, but I've hit a couple of things along the way which slowed things down a lot. But at least this time I actually have two chapters done instead of one. Just a quick note: these 2 chapters are going to probably be my two favorites overall so far (just look at my avi). There's also not just music this time; there's links to different wikis that'll explain more about any characters introduced, like Toadsworth. Also, chapter 9 is very important in regards to the rest of the story. You'll see why much later.
Anywho, here they are:

"Wow," I spoke in awe. "When you said 'town,' I didn't expect it to be so...so...small." In all my travels in the Real World and the Mushroom World, the only place resembling Nuvema Town's quaint, subtle environment was Goomba Village.

The red-roofed building nearest to us appeared familiar to me. I recalled Luigi showing me a structure similar to it, a structure which was apparently mass-produced. He mentioned a certain importance which these buildings possessed, something which wouldn't just be useful to Pokémon Trainers but to other people as well. I couldn't help but feel its importance might benefit me, so I consulted the closest thing I had to Pokémon experts.

"That building with the red roof," I began. "What is it for?"

"It's a place where you can get your Pokémon healed," Iris answered.

Cilan continued, "It's called a 'Pokémon Center,' and there are many just like it."

"So it's like a hospital?"

"Yeah, pretty much," Iris said. "But for Pokémon."

"Is there anything else that these 'Pokémon Centers' are used for?" I asked, hoping to find the answer I searched for.

"Well..." Ash said, thinking of the Center's features. "There's food, T.V., and..."

"They give you a place to stay," Iris continued.

"For how much?" I asked, stopping the flow of responses.

"What...do you mean?" Iris looked puzzled.

"Well...you know, how much does staying the night cost?"

"Nothing – it’s free."

My eyes just about jumped right out of their sockets. I shook my head to be certain I was still awake. "What do you mean free? Who pays for it?"

"I'm not really sure. Cilan?" She leaned behind me to talk directly to him. "Do you know who pays for it?"

"I...think the government does."

This surprised me more than it should have. "Figures," I said with a half-amused, half-"should have seen that coming" tone. I asked what else Pokémon Centers offered, yet no answer was given. I then decided what must be done next: if I couldn't obtain the information I needed from these three, why not go directly to the source?

"If you don't mind," I stated, "I'd like to see it for myself." I also told them I could probably handle things from here and that they should be on their way, yet they denied it. In hind sight it was good of them to do this, but back then, I regretted their decision to stay. I wished that they wouldn't let my little mishap get in the way of their trip, yet I knew they weren't going to change their minds.

We walked and soon reached the front doors. Both glass doors slid into their respective walls. The doors were clearly automatic. When we walked inside, the Pokémon Center theme from Pokémon: Black and White versions could be heard.

The main inside area of the Pokémon Center appeared much like the lobby of a nice Real World hotel. Directly ahead sat a hemispherical, wrap-around counter, which was white at the bottom, red at the top, and dark gray in the middle. Behind the counter and along the wall, a red door with the Nintendo logo was present. The logo cleverly blended into the door due to its likewise color. To our right and ten feet from the entrance were cushioned couches and chairs for tired traveling trainers. To the left in the same distance away were a few tables for eating meals. The far right of the Center contained booths with tables for more comfortable dining, and the far left held free brochures for tourists.

Behind the counter stood a kind young woman no older than 30. Her hair was a dark pink, and split at the top of her forehead with half going left and half going the opposite. It was fastened in the back in such a way as to create two strange foot-long loops, one on either side of her. From a distance, a person might assume said loops to be earrings, given their position. Her eyes were shaped akin to Ash and Iris's, yet were blue.
Her outfit resembled the usual Real World nurse's outfit – in its shape, anyway. A turtle-necked, pink, somewhat wide knee-length dress was the main getup. Its sleeves were rolled up to elbow-length and ended in a deeper dark pink than her hair. I later found out that she wore a white apron tied at her mid-section which formed a bow shape behind her, and she wore light pink dress shoes bearing an equally-colored strap. A nurse hat completed the ensemble and bore a blue "Red Cross"-shaped cross on its front.

She spoke with a gentle, friendly tone once she noticed the visitors. To me, she said, "Welcome, how may I–", but to Ash and company, she said, "Oh, you're back?"

Ash nodded, said "Mmm-hmm," and went further in. The woman who apparently played a nurse-like role asked for my name. I gave her my first name and she responded with what to call her: Nurse Joy.

Iris informed me of Nurse Joy's role. She was in fact a nurse; a Pokémon Nurse, but still a nurse. I always knew some Real World culture made its way into the Nintendo Worlds, though Joy's appearance openly shouted "nurse" so fluently that it surprised me. I suppose nurses will be nurses wherever you go.

Nurse Joy then asked if I had any Pokémon to be looked at. I replied with "No, I'm not a trainer," and she nodded. She now looked confused and asked the other three why they had returned.

"Well, see Timothy isn't from around here," Iris answered.

"And..." Cilan said, "I would assume he needs a place to stay until he can return home."

I never said I needed anywhere to stay, though he was probably right, so I didn't say anything in return.

"Well if it's a room you need," Joy stated, "there are two four-person rooms in the back. I just cleaned them so you are welcome to choose whichever one you like."

I thanked her for the offer but couldn't help but ask what the Pokémon Center itself offered. She repeated back the same features the others did: T.V., food, free rooms, and of course, Pokémon recuperation. My next question landed me exactly what I'd desired. "Do you, by chance, know how I can get back to the Mushroom World?"

"Oh, umm...well, I'm terribly sorry. I'm afraid the teleporter hasn't been installed here yet. It's Pokémon Center policy to wait three months after the Center is opened to the public before the teleporter is put in."

Yes, of course. That was what I'd been racking my brain to remember. Professor E. Gadd's "Pixelator" device was placed in every Pokémon Center in the Pokémon World. It transports people and objects to and from any desired Nintendo World in numerous cube-shaped particles, using a vast inter-connected series of what he referred to as "Pixelways." These "Pixelways" are really just natural radio waves which flow throughout the universe in a particular pattern that the Pixelator locks on to – a sort of electronic highway.
E. Gadd invented it shortly after the event which inspired the game Luigi's Mansion, an event which actually took place in early 1996 (why else would Peach's Castle's Courtyard have Boos in it in Super Mario 64?). According to Luigi, it quickly became standard practice for a Pokémon Center to house this teleporter instead of the original teleporters, since the process was faster and the coordinates were easier to set. It would not be until roughly two years after my trip to the Pokémon World that this highly useful invention of E. Gadd's would be represented in video game form.

The realization was bittersweet – Nurse Joy just said she didn't have a teleporter yet. This of course meant one of two things: either I must wait until one was installed, or travel to the nearest town with a Pokémon Center and use its Pixelator.

Having few options, I asked Nurse Joy when she'd be getting one. She told me it'd be three weeks, and I then asked how long it'd take to get to the next town. In order to answer this, Joy needed to view a map of the Unova region on her computer, which sat on a desk in a corner behind the counter and to her left. She apologized for not knowing, saying she just transferred from a different region recently, and that she'd only been in Nuvema Town for a few weeks. She also claimed she had a poor sense of direction.

I assured her it was no problem. Right after she thanked me for my patience, Cilan spoke up. "It's only a day's walk from here."

"Really?" I was surprised he knew.

"Right! I remember now!" Nurse Joy exclaimed, happy to be reminded. "It's a town called 'Accumula Town.' The Pokémon Center there has been there a while, and it has a teleporter – I'm sure of it!"

"Okay, good," I said. "That's good news." I then wondered what time it was. If it was not too late in the day, I could potentially get to Accumula Town before nightfall. Mario once informed me of the fact that the Pokémon World rotated coincidentally at the same speed as Earth, and that its size and density were the same as well. With my speed and endurance, I knew a day's trip for me would be more of around 7 hours instead of 9.

I asked Nurse Joy for the time. She told me it was 4:48 – P.M., of course. This easily rid me of any hope of returning within the same day from which I arrived. The unfortunate reality now presented an unfortunate truth: I needed to spend the night, without any sign of access to communication devices which were suitable for contacting the members of Peach's Castle. Someone back in the Mushroom World needed to know I was safe, after all.

I thought for a moment to assess the situation. A walk to Accumula Town that day would involve staying the night out in the woods. That would likely not go well if any more wild Pokémon attacked, which could perhaps get me lost in the process. Staying the night at this Pokémon Center and leaving the next morning would make for a safer plan, though I had a feeling it would entice the other three to stay as well. My next thought was just as troubling: no matter how I planned to get to Accumula Town, the others would probably want to accompany me anyway. The first plan would risk them getting injured on my behalf, while the second would make them waste an entire night at the Center.

I decided to go with the safer plan and asked Nurse Joy about spending the night. She renewed her offer for me to pick a room. I accepted it with gratitude.

As I expected, the three soon proposed the idea of them staying the night. Instead of arguing, I went with it. A part of me felt their presence to be somewhat useful, since they seemed to know how to handle Pokémon attacks, though the other part...I did not necessarily mind them helping, but their charity only met with me because of my own problem. They said they didn't have anything else to do, but I knew better. There's no possible way that these people – only a year or so older than me – would be on a day-long trip to the next town without a reason.

Nurse Joy opened a side-door, which had been installed into the counter, and walked toward our right. She then walked through two red doors, doors which never shut but swing back and forth after being used until they eventually lose momentum and stop moving. Joy told us to follow as she walked through the hallway, which was adjacent to the counter.

30 feet stood between the red doors and the doors to either of the rooms. An open area existed to the left of these doors. In the leftward area, along the same wall as the bedroom doors, a large glass wall was present; it was a window into an operating room for Pokémon. Three tables were in there, each designed for aiding nearly any Pokémon in nearly every way, from simple first aid to life-saving treatments. Machines similar to those which supply pure oxygen to humans sat in the back, later described by Cilan to be capable of making a Pokémon of any element comfortable.

Nurse Joy unlocked each room's door. Ash, Cilan, and Iris let me pick the room we'd be staying in. I looked around in the rightward one.

Four blue-sheeted double-sized beds – two along the left wall and two along the right – occupied a fair amount of the space. Each sat perpendicular to its wall and five feet from its parallel opposite. The back-left corner contained a red desk topped with a nice thin-monitored computer, while the back-right corner held a white desk with drawers and a large rectangular mirror on top. Between the desks, a gray door remained open, with the room therein being the bathroom.

I'm not sure why Nurse Joy let us choose which room to use – when I checked the other room out, it was exactly the same (even down to the logos inscribed onto the bathroom fixtures). She more than likely was simply being polite, though it could have been an unwritten code followed by Pokémon Center managers. One fact remains clear, though. My tendency to look for secrets where they may not exist had struck again.

In the end, the rightward room was my choice.

* * *

Around 10 o'clock, Cilan and I were in the room while Ash and Iris were in the lobby eating. I was deep in thought over a lot of things. How Bowser Jr. so easily sent me to the Pokémon World, how I could have easily stopped him yet seemed to not care, and how Ash and the others treated me as if they'd known me for years. Cilan interrupted my thoughts with a once again painful question.

"Timothy, if you don't mind me asking, why is it that you don't like discussing the SBL Tournament?"

I had not yet met anyone to whom I could truly tell why that is, and Cilan was no different. "Cilan, it...it's complicated," I told him. "And not important, either." My conscience flinched; that was a lie. I escaped the wrong-doing with a question. "But...Cilan...I've been wondering. What is it that Pokémon Trainers...do, anyway?"

"Hmm...well, a lot of things. Some might say the most common action a Trainer takes is training their Pokémon to challenge Pokémon Gyms."

"Pokémon...Gyms? What's to 'challenge' in a gym?" If Cilan proved to be saying what I thought he was saying, I would have easily made a comment about working out or weight loss. Perhaps it would have been too easy, yet with my corny, childish sense of humor, it would’ve been worth it.

A look on Cilan's face told me he realized the strangeness of what he said. "Oh, not that kind of gym. Think of it as a sort of...dojo – where there's one trainer who is challenged."

"Oh, I...okay, I see now." That certainly made much more sense. As Cilan then went on to explain, these trainers that are challenged are especially difficult to beat, and they're called "Gym Leaders." People who specialize in defeating challengers and are hard to beat...sure, it may not mean the hand-to-hand combat I was used to, but the Gym concept seemed to linger in my thoughts for a while. My interest in Pokémon was elevated.

What Cilan said next threw me back into confusion. "Each Gym Leader usually specializes in one type."

"Type?" I asked. "Do you mean...species? Like they use the same Pokémon very time?"

"Oh, no, that's not what I mean. You see, Pokémon Types are so much more than that. They are what you may call..." He searched for the right word for a Real World resident, then found it. "They're what you would call an 'element.' Some refer to them as 'elemental types,' to eliminate confusion for those new to Pokémon Training."

"So..." I said, still assessing what he described, "I guess a few 'types' would be...Fire, Water, and...Electricity, right?"

"Well, we usually just call it 'Electric' here and leave it at that. But you've got the right idea."

"I'm guessing 'Wind' would be one?"

"Yes, and no. It's referred to as 'Flying,' not wind. It's because most Flying-types are, essentially, what you may call 'Bird Pokémon.' I admit, it is rather confusing when you're just starting out."

"Is 'Earth' one?"

"No, we call it 'Ground.'"

"Okay, what about 'Plant?'"

Cilan laughed a bit. "No, it’s 'Grass.'"

I began to get the feeling that whoever classified the types were not from the Real World, and certainly not from the U.S. Come to think of it, the odds of the classifier(s) being from the Real World were second to none in the first place.

"Alright, so how many types are there in all?"

"If memory serves...yes, right. There are 17 known types."

"SEVENTEEN?" I shouted in sheer shock. "How on Earth are there seventeen?"

"Well, the world of Pokémon is a big place – and highly varied. Pokémon live virtually anywhere and everywhere."

"Do you...think you can name them all? The types, I mean?"

"I believe so. Let's see..." Cilan looked up at the ceiling, laid his index finger on his chin, and meditated on the question for a brief moment. As if he'd studied Pokémon his whole life, Cilan named them off while hardly ever pausing. "Fire, Water, Electric, Ground, Grass, Flying, Rock, Fighting – which I'm sure you'd relate to, and...Psychic, Ghost, Dark, Bug, Poison, Steel, Dragon, Ice, and Normal."

I stopped listening after I heard Psychic. "Psychic?" I asked, surprised, and Cilan quickly noted my look of concern.

"Oh, it's not what you think. People in the Real World often confuse 'Psychic' as something bad, but in Pokémon's case, it isn't. Some Pokémon have access to powers such as telekinesis and other things which, I agree, can be rather dangerous. But with Pokémon, the powers are entirely natural, and often come from whatever part of them acts as their brain. It usually means they have a higher level of intellect than most other Pokémon, or that they are more in tune with their surroundings."

I'd always been taught that anything "psychic"-related meant something bad, though, as I came to find out later, this was the only exception. For the time being, I chose to believe what Cilan informed me of (as he seemed to know the topic of Pokémon well) and started to move on to my next question, but Cilan unknowingly cut me off.

"That Espeon that attacked you with that blue energy...that blue energy was the move called 'Psychic.' It is, put simply, the telekinesis I mentioned."

I held back my previous question to ask what he meant by "Espeon," or, as I said it, "S...P...awn."

Cilan then responded, "Oh, right, you don't know. That pink Pokémon that attacked you was an Espeon – a Psychic-type. And that black one was Umbreon – a Dark-type."

"So...Esp-ee-awn, and Um-bree-awn, those are their names?"

"Precisely."

"Okay, but...what did you mean by the 'move' Psychic?"

"Ahh, good question. You see, all Pokémon use what are called a 'move' to attack. Each move has its own Pokémon Type as well, and each move's type deals different levels of damage against other Pokémon depending on the type of the Pokémon being hit. For example, a Fire-type would take twice the damage from a Water-type attack, yet only half the damage from a Grass-type one."

"So there's a type of Psychic, and a move called Psychic?"

"Yes. It sounds odd but it is true nonetheless. Its type is obviously Psychic."

"Alright, so what was that yellowy-orange beam that hit me? Umbreon fired it." I figured that, as long as I was stuck in this world, I might as well learn some things for my own protection.

"That was probably Hyper Beam," he swiftly said. "It's a Normal-type move, and is incredibly powerful. It does require some time afterward for the Pokémon who used it to recharge its energy before it can attack ag---WAIT!" He jumped. Cilan was wide-eyed, as if something that either he said or I said wasn't possible. "You...you were hit by Umbreon's Hyper Beam? And you're fine?"

"Yeah. Why?" I laughed. "Am I not supposed to be?"

"Well, no! It's one of the most powerful Normal-type moves! And one of the most powerful moves in existence!"

"Come on, Cilan." I laughed again. "You of all people should be aware of my...resistance to things. 'Impossible' things, you might say."

"I suppose you have a point." Now Cilan laughed as well. "Right, of course. I saw what you did, what you can do."

I quietly thought aloud while looking at the floor, "Some of it, anyway."

Cilan thankfully didn't hear me, however. He asked what I said, and got this answer from me: "Nothing – just talkin' to myself."

"Ahh. You...do that a lot?" He said jokingly.

"Heh, yeah. Never let anyone tell you otherwise, but we're all crazy in our own way."

He laughed. "Well put – words to live by there."

"Mmhmm, mmhmm," I nodded. "Exactly." One of the few friends I had in school once told me that little pearl of wisdom. He was all the time coming up with phrases such as those – smart sayings, yet usually comical. Some of that serious yet laughable personality had rubbed off on me a long time before this point.

I'd done forgotten what we were talking about, so I asked a question I'd been waiting to ask. "What is it that a person does when they've beaten these Gyms. I mean, where do they go from there?"

"Once a trainer defeats eight official Gyms in a given region," he began answering, "he or she can go to the Pokémon League tournament of said region. They'll face off against many other trainers in Pokémon battles of varying rules depending on how far into the tournament they are." Cilan paused, then went on. "If a trainer becomes the winner of this tournament, they'll go on to the Champions League, where they will face off against the five strongest trainers in the region. Over the course of four days, he or she will face the first four of the five – the Elite Four. The Champion – that is, the strongest trainer in the region – is faced a week later."

He had me at tournament.

"Did you say...'tournament?'" I wanted to be sure I heard him right. If it held true, Pokémon could very well be more appealing to me than ever before. Don't get me wrong; what we'd already discussed was interesting all on its own, but ever since discovering the Mushroom World, I had put myself up to many challenges along the way. Now that the SBL tournament was beaten, I felt obligated to accept any new kind of challenge – something fresh, unique, or even somewhat obscure. In my then-current position, Pokémon fit all three.

Cilan confirmed that he indeed said it, and then he smiled. "I suppose you like the sound of that, don't you?" Cilan could tell that, despite my dislike of the SBL subject, I did enjoy battling.

"Yeah, battling and the like is a sort of...hobby of mine."

Just then, Ash and Iris walked in. "Hey Cilan," Iris said, "Whatchya doing?"

"Just telling Timothy about Pokémon."

"Oh, cool," Ash said and turned to me. "I bet it's a lot to hear all at once."

"It is," I agreed. "But somehow...interesting."

He laughed in what I now know as a very Ash-like laugh. "Ehahaha, I know what you mean." His right hand formed a fist and he raised it up in excitement.

Cilan added the main reason why I was intrigued. "Hmm, it seems to me that he mainly became interested because of my mentioning of the Pokémon League tournament."

"Oh, yeah," Ash's fist tightened. "There's nothing like winnin' the Pokémon League!"

Iris looked at Ash in disapproval. "Yeah, except you've never beaten a single one..."

"Eheh," Ash put his hand behind his head in embarrassment. "Well, being a part of it is fun anyway."

I couldn't help but smile at Iris's blunt honesty. "So Ash, how many Pokémon Leagues have you challenged?"

"Five. I came really close the time before last, but still no luck in the end. I guess I just gotta keep working harder."

"Five, eh?" I realized then that if Ash was the main character and hero of the Pokémon anime and he still hasn't won the league yet, then Pokémon training and battling may be even more difficult than I thought. No need to let doubt hold me back, though. "So, how does a person even become a trainer in the first place?"

"That's easy," Ash answered with confidence. "You just get a Starter Pokémon. Every region has some."

Cilan elaborated deeper. "Exactly. Each region gives you the option of choosing from three Pokémon. One is a Grass-type, one is a Fire-type, and one is a Water-type.

"They all start out real cute," Iris said happily, "but they end up real powerful."

"Of course," Cilan noted, "she's talking about when they evolve."

"E...volve?" I asked. For once, something he said was familiar to me. I recalled the trophies in Brawl that talked about Pokémon either evolving or having already evolved.

Cilan cleared up any possible confusion by mentioning how it really isn't the "evolution" I may have heard of. "It's more along the lines of...metamorphosis," he told me. "The process is instant, yet you usually never know when it's gonna happen until it happens."

The more I was told about, the more I knew that I knew nothing. The thought occurred to me to look up more information about Pokémon on the internet, which led to me remembering the communications tower near one of Nuvema Town's buildings. Then it hit me: "Wait a minute...is that communications tower in town a...radio tower?"

"Yes, I believe so." Cilan responded.

"Perfect!" I was isolated from the Mushroom World no more. "If you don't mind, I need to make a call."

I fast-walked past Cilan, went into the bathroom, and shut the door behind me. I then pulled a rather special object out of my right pocket. It was a custom-made red-colored Nintendo 3DS, capable of doing many things which no regular 3DS could. A simple radio tower was all I needed to contact certain residents of the Mushroom World. I have E. Gadd to thank for the 3DS, of course.

I flipped it open with the usual one-handed motion, and it turned on (it is programmed that way to save time). Only two seconds were needed for it to fully power on. I then spoke the verbal command "3DS, call Home," and held the 3DS sideways near my ear.

The phone rang at my house and was answered by my mom. "Hello?" She spoke with a slight yet detectable tone of wishful thinking.

"Mom?"

"Oh, Timothy? Is that you?"

"Yeah, it's me. Uhh, could you turn the video phone on? You know how I am with phone calls..." There's something to be said about the importance of talking face-to-face.

"Sure, wait one second."

She opened a secret panel in the phone holder and pressed the code into the buttons inside: 42010. If spoken in date form, it'd be the day I discovered the Mushroom World -- April 20th, 2010. The wall beside her parted, leaving enough space for her to walk through. A room which used to be a simple closet was now accessible. Inside was a video phone the size of a 32" T.V., as well as a Pixelator (disguised as a security camera) and its control panel for quick getaways.

I held the 3DS out in front of me to wait for what I knew was coming. A message on the screen asked if I wanted to accept the incoming video transmission from "Home" and cancel the current call. I pressed the A button.

Static appeared on-screen for a second, and then was replaced by my mom. I said hello to her and she did likewise. Mom then asked if I was OK. I'd forgotten how long I'd been missing from the Mushroom World.

"I'm fine." I assured her.

"Where...are you?"

"I'm in the Pokémon World."

"Pokémon World? How did you get there? And...why? I thought you didn't like that place?"

"Heh, funny story about that. But...I'll tell you later, if that's okay."

"Well, alright, but when can you get back?"

"Sometime in the afternoon or evening tomorrow. I'm staying the night in this town I'm in since the closest town with a Pixelator is a day away."

"What town are you in? And...where are you staying? I thought you didn't have any money with you?"

"I don't. It's Nuvema Town, and I'm staying in something called a 'Pokémon Center.' Pokémon Centers are funded by this place's government as far as I know, and people can stay here for free. Exactly how that works, I have no clue."

"That is odd…but I'm glad you're okay." She paused. "Timothy, I know you can do a lot, to protect yourself I mean, but you did have us worried."

"Yeah, sorry about that. I only just realized--"

Mom caught a glimpse of the tattered part of my shirt. "Oh, your shirt! Were you hurt?"

"No, it didn't do all that much."

"It? What do you mean it?"

"A Pokémon -- two of them, actually. They attacked me right after I got here, but I'm just fine. Some people of about my age scared them away anyway."

"Oh, dear. You need to be more careful."

"Well, I…those Pokémon felt threatened and attacked me, but their attacks, well, you know..."

"I...oh. Right, I still keep forgetting your...resilience."

"Yeah..." The subject needed to be changed. "Hey, mom, would you mind telling Mario that I'm okay and everything for me? Not that I can't tell him myself, but I'd like to get up early tomorrow."

"I would tell him, but he left not long after you did. No one's seen him since."

"That's strange. Did he say where he was going?"

"No, and, even stranger, when he left, he went out the same door you did, but then they say that he just...disappeared."

"Huh. Well, wherever he went, I'm sure he'll be fine." I didn't want to let on that I may know what happened to him. If I told her, then I'd have to explain what happened to me, which I was saving for when I would give her a written explanation. She loves to read, so I often type my adventures on my 3DS and send them to her, instead of telling her directly (it's easier that way anyhow).

"Well, if you're wanting to go to bed and all, I understand. I'll tell your father you're alright."

"Right. If you hear from Mario, let me know."

"Mmhmm. I will. Good night."

"G'night."

"I don't need to say this, but please...stay safe."

"Heh, right, I will."

"Love you."

"Love you, too." I cut off the connection, closed the 3DS, and put it back in my pocket.

A full-body mirror stood in front of me. This again reminded me of how simple my outfits tended to be. In this case, a simple blue T-shirt, a pair of gray-blue jean shorts, and blue-and-white Nike tennis shoes was my getup, and adding to the overwhelming color of blue on me was my blue eyes. The fact that my dark brown hair was short and nothing else certainly didn't help with the simplicity, leaving me with virtually no individuality.

I left the bathroom to find everyone else preparing themselves for bed. "You're going to bed? Already?"

"Yeah," Ash answered.

"It is almost ten-thirty, y'know," Iris said.

I recalled the time-stamp on my 3DS which stated my house's current time. Apparently, the Unova region and my house were in the same time zone.

"Oh, I guess it is." Normally 10:30 would be a bit early to go to bed for me, but I planned on going to bed anyway, given the circumstances. Since I wasn't prepared for travel like I normally would be, I decided to sleep in the clothes I had on.

I asked the others where a person gets their "Starter Pokémon," and Ash told me that there are a bunch of places to get them. He then said that the closest place to get one happened to be "right here in Nuvema Town."

Cilan then asked why I wanted to know. I was going to keep it a secret until morning, yet my apparent drowsiness made me do otherwise.

I took off my shoes, and as I got in the bed and under the blankets, I said, "I think I might try out this...Pokémon training thing."

They all gasped, and then they all became excited. Iris asked why I decided this, and I said to her, "Like I said to Ash, the whole thing seems interesting, but...I still don't really know why."

"Well," Cilan added, "I think you'll really enjoy it, once you get started."

Ash made the same fist motion as before. "Yeah, Pokémon training is tons of fun!"

"Right. We'll see," I said, still not 100% convinced.

As I lay in my bed in the back-right corner, the others each took turns in the bathroom to change into their pajamas. By the time they all were done, I was asleep.

* * *

Unbeknownst to any of us, two mysterious figures quietly sat in the bushes outside the back of the Center, listening in to all of our conversations with high-tech electronic devices.

One with a female voice said to the other, "When morning comes, let's be sure to strike and strike hard."

The other said with a male yet snobby voice, "Agreed. They won't know what hit them."

The female one smiled wickedly and concluded, "We'll hit them so hard and fast their heads will spin!"

A third voice from a source much smaller than the other two spoke up with a New York City-type accent, "Yeah, with that new member of their group, they won't have a clue what to do! The boss is gonna love this!"

The three laughed evilly to each other, drowned out by the sounds of Bug-type Pokémon. They slept there that night, waiting patiently for the morning to come.