*Riku's POV*

"Your eyes... They're... They're blood red!" Nathan exclaims,

"Riku...! Riku, what happened to you?! Why is...? What is...?" His voice catches in his throat, and he has no idea why his Pokemon has just turned into a freak. Frankly, I can't remember the reason for my sudden transformation, either, but I had always tried to keep it secret from Nathan. I didn't think that he would understand why this happens to me- even I don't know the reason, myself- and, based on his reaction, he's as flabbergasted as I was when I first saw my reflectionlike this.

N looks at me with concern and tentatively holds his hand out to me, like he wants me to sniff it or something, but I quickly push it away.

"Please, don't be alarmed! I'm still here! I'm still Riku! Here, I'll prove it!" I try to convey to torrent of emotions welling up inside me to the man. He ruffles a hand through his green hair, and I turn my attention to the open window.

Maxwell... I know that you're out there, somewhere. The only name that I can remember besides my own- if anyone can help Nathan and the others now, it's you!

"I'll be back as quick as I can!" I call to Nathan, leaping into the air and propelling myself towards the opening. I quickly grab and pull myself over the edge, turning to Nathan one last time.

"I'm going to go get help! Promise!" I shout so that he can hear me from so far away.

Nathan looks at me and attempts to jump up to bring me back, but, as I continue to convince him, he soon just stops and stares as the floor, slowly nodding. N stands up and places his hand on Nathan's shoulder.

"Have some faith in your Pokemon, Nathan," N tells him,

"You place so much trust in Voltflare- you two are inseparable! What's to say that you and Riku are any different?!"

"... ... ..." Nathan is clearly lost in thought.

"... You're right, N. You're right," he says simply. Turning back to me, he shouts,

"Go, Riku, and find help! We'll hold down the fort here! Our lives are in your paws, little guy! Good luck!"

I bid him farewell and leap out of the window into the outside air.

The night is just as pretty as it's always been: stars dance across the sky, while the moon beautifully illuminates the world around me like nature's personal spotlight.

"Pelipper!" a Pokemon from above me cries. I look up just long enough to catch a glimpse of the blue, large-billed pelican Pokemon slowly float across the sky. Where it's going, I have no idea, but I have a feeling it has a purpose for being out this late at night.

I do, too, and it's to find Maxwell! But where would the first place to look be...

Without warning, my gut begins to feel extremely heavy, like my insides are coated with rock-hard lead, and I start losing altitude.

Something... Urgh! I struggle against the invisible force weighing me down,

Something's trying to crash me into the ground!

"Little Shaymin, are you lost?!" a terribly ominous voice whispers into my ear. I look around in surprise. By the voice's intensity, the speaker is right up next to my ear, but I can't see anything.

Where... Where's that voice coming from?!

I'm on the verge of panic, so I cry out,

"Show yourself! Just tell me who you are!"

"Little Shaymin, are you lost?!" the voice repeats, sending a chill up my spine. Meanwhile, the ethereal weight in my stomach only continues to increase, causing immense pain across my body as I fight to keep myself airborne.

I chance a look down. The ground is about a hundred feet below me, but if I crash from this height, I'll never get going again!

"Little Shaymin, are you lost?!" the voice, now more demonic in pitch, asks again.

Finally, I break down and shout, with as much force as I can,

"I'm not lost! Leave me alone! Do you hear me- I'm not lost!"

But my cry echoes harmlessly off the blackened sky- the only Pokemon to hear me being a small flock of Pidgey just passing by in typical V-formation. My sudden outburst startles the whole group, and, with a rush of squawks and feathers, they quickly hide themselves amongst the darkness of the night. After the birds disappear, my feeling of leadened insides quickly loses its extra weight, and I can once again catapult myself higher into the sky.

I breathe a silent sigh of relief.

Is the voice gone? Or is whatever keeps asking me if I'm lost just waiting for me somewhere?!

The thought prompts me to cower in fear, but I know that if I show weakness again, the voice will probably come back to haunt me.

The gentle breeze behind me stifles my nerves and puts me at-ease. Yet, something about the draft rubs me the wrong way, quite literally. My fur begins to stand up on end like pointed needles, and a splitting headache suddenly afflicts me.

I feel a presence behind me... I'm not going to turn around... I'm not going to turn around! I'm not going to...

My intrinsic advice does nothing to stop my own curiosity. I cautiously chance a glance backwards, and I immediately regret. There, levitating in the air behind me, is a massive Pokemon, shrouded in black, that might as well be the grim reaper.

A large ebony shadow looms over me with a malicious grin on its face. Black tatters hang from its wispy shoulders, giving it the appearance of an enraged wraith. Two adumbral arms fashion themselves into claws- claws that could easily rip me to shreds at a moment's notice. A dark red scarf, of sorts, adorns its head, which crests itself with a white plume that covers one of the Pokemon's piercing blue eyes.

While the Pokemon does not have a mouth to speak, I can hear its voice clearly:

"Little Shaymin, are you lost?"

The Pokemon grins, and my blood freezes in my veins. That shadow is what had been calling me, the one that had temporarily turned my insides to lead, and the one that had tried to drag me to the ground.

"Little Shaymin, are you lost?" it asks again.

"Stop!" I scream at it,

"Go away! I don't want your help! I'm not lost!"

"Little Shaymin..." the shadow begins to say, and anger boils inside me.
"I've had enough of you! You're giving me the creeps, and you're distracting me from helping Nathan, Voltflare, and everyone else who's counting on me!" I yell, and I charge the monster, intending to slice the apparition in half with a quick Air Slash.

Time seems to slow down when I approach the Pokemon, and it calmly grabs me with one of its ghostly arms, seemingly taking pleasure in watching my terror-stricken face.

"Are you lost?! Come with me!" the Pokemon cackles, and it slowly plunges its claws into my chest, sucking the life out of me and dragging me into unconsciousness...

...

When I come to, I quickly realize that I'm in a completely different place from before. I slowly look around to get a better idea of my surroundings. Something soft and gritty crunches underfoot, and I dare to look at what it is that I'm standing on- a mixture of my own blood and...

Sand? Why am I...

Water laps at my paws, and I jump back in surprise.

I'm on the shore of an island... Where is this? Where am I?! Where is... everyone? Everything?! Anything!

My legs buckle, and I resist the urge to curl up into a ball and cry my fears away. But, as I stand there, watching the small waves hungrily devour the sand and pull it into the wake, I can't help but think how beautiful it all is. My fear begins to dissipate- being replaced by awe. Here, in this unknown place is an island- a pristine example of the beauty of untouched nature. The moonlight glitters on the water, making it sparkle more than any gemstone, and numerous marine Pokemon leap above the water far out into the ocean. But one thought still rings clear in my mind:

Where am I?

Then, the unmistakeable shadow's voice from before rings in my head, and terror overtakes me.

"Little Shaymin, are you lost?"

No... No! Where are you?! Why are you following me?!

Frantically, I look around for a way to escape this island- an avenue to get away from the haunting vocation. I try to catch a breeze and fly away from this island, but I can't seem to get myself off the ground- It's as if gravity, itself, is preventing me from leaving. Luckily, my eyes soon light upon a large clump of trees just a few yards down the barely-visible path.

Maybe I can lose it in that forest! It's my only chance!

With a burst of adrenalized speed, I take off for the mass of foliage in front of my and leap into it with reckless abandon. Countless leaves and vines fly past my vision as I brush past them. A few nocturnal Pokemon suddenly leave their nightly perches to hunt- a Noctowl's hoots disappear into the night with a rush of feathers, and a pack of hungry Ariados, the forest's resident massive red spiders, skitters across the ground on their four spidery legs. I quickly hide myself inside a small open log to avoid becoming next on the menu- I'm sure that a miniature Pokemon like me would be a delicacy to any of these night-time predators, regardless of what color my fur is.

"Little Shaymin, are you lost?!" a voice echoes through the underbrush, causing more sombra-philic Pokemon to leave their hiding places in search of prey.

No! It followed me in here! That shadow... Is this its home?! Did it take me here when it stabbed me with its claws?!

Nervously, I slowly poke my head out of my hiding place. A small black bird hops out of the underbrush and scares me half to death. I quickly ball myself up inside the log, when the bird utters a short, ominous caw:

"Murkrow!"

I breathe a sigh of relief, although my breath catches in my throat, and I practically choke on my own nervousness.

Hoping that the shadow has passed me by, I slowly reveal myself and continue walking further into the forest. Each thicket, tree, and bush in front of me houses another nocturnal creature, who all greet me hungrily as I pass. I quicken my pace to avoid lagging in any one spot long enough for a Pokemon to down me.

Finally, after about half an hour of dodging the proverbial dinner plate, I push through a small mass of branches to find the core of the forest- a rocky pit with a small puddle of water in the center. Happily, I sit down and rest my head against a small patch of granite on the outside of the pit, courtesy of my adrenaline-fueled sense of danger:

Something tells me that I don't want to be caught in that puddle by anything- I wouldn't be able to escape back into the forest if I needed to.

The hard rock isn't much in the way of comfort, but it will do for now, at least until I figure out how to get away from that Pokemon. Moonlight spills into the open area, and I look up to the beautiful night horizon, which replaces the endless canopy of green, and my thoughts slowly free themselves from my fears.

How pretty!... I gaze up at the sky, hoping that the gorgeous view would never fade.

For almost ten minutes, I stare at the stars, wondering how Nathan and the others are doing, when an all-too-familiar voice returns to bedevil me once again.

"Little Shaymin, are you lost?"

My body tenses, and I have to will myself to stand up.

I'm not scared... I'm not scared! I'm not scared! I continue to tell myself.

The accursed shadow bursts out of the underbrush, and a large scowl disrupts its ominous face.

"Enough of this game of chase. Go to sleep," the apparition laughs, and it raises its claws hands to the sky.

Immediately, a large dark hole, about seven feet in diameter, appears under the puddle of water in the middle of this rocky pit. Before my very eyes, the water is sucked into the hole, taken to the other side of the dark oblivion. I gasp- in the time it had taken to deplete the water, the hole had grown about three inches wider.

What is that black hole?! I shudder,

And is it just going to continue to get bigger?! What if it encompasses this whole island?!

Thoughts quickly fly through my mind like errant birds, and a knot forms in my stomach. Then, I begin to feel a sharp tug at my lower body, pulling me towards the hole. Not like the shore's gentler waves, but a strong suction that I know that I couldn't withstand. First, my right paw gives way, losing its footing. When another paw slips, I make a desperate grab for an overhanging tree branch and grasp it with all of my might. I dare not look down- the blackness is directly below me, waiting like an open maw to devour me.

Despite my best efforts, the hole's gravity only increases, and I begin to feel that if it can't dislodge me from my lifeline, it will pull the entire tree in with me. My fur stands up like needles, threatening to strip me in lieu of the power force on my body.

Immediately, I turn to the shadow and cry out,

"What is it you want from me?! Why are you doing this?!"

The shadow drifts towards me, close enough to stare me in the face. Its one exposed blue eye bores into my entire being, unwavering. Then, with a movement faster than the eye can see, it snaps the branch that I'm holding onto, and the dark abyss quickly swallows me.

I take one last sorrowful glimpse at the outside world, pawing fruitless at the edges of the hole, before blackness finally engulfs my vision, my body, and my consciousness.

...

"Geot! Pidgeot!" A bird Pokemon's cawing rings in my ear.

Ungh... Umm...

I slowly open my eyes again, and a Pidgeot, perched not five feet above my head, leaps from its branch in a panic of down and leaves,

"Geot! Geotgeotgeot!"

Ugh...

My head aches severely, and my joints hurt to the point that I can barely stretch.

Where... Where am I?...

My eyes attempt to adjust to the hot sun beating down on me, while a chorus of Pokemon behind me slither and squirm through the forest with ease. Swarms of Beedrill buzz overhead- on their way to an unknown mission, and I quickly duck to avoid coming in contact with their stingers. If I listen closely, I can hear what appears to be a large group of people talking behind me. They all wear the same coal-black uniform, marked with a red "R" on the front. Several of them have red hair, but much of it is concealed under small black hats. Unfortunately, I don't recognize any of the speakers' voices, so I can't tell if they're friendly or not.

Oh, no! Are they after me? My mind instantly jumps to a startling conclusion, pumping my veins full of adrenaline, and I quickly catch a breeze to soar away from them as fast as I can. Looking back on it, if it hadn't reacted right then and there, I would probably have been captured by the group on the spot.

"There's nothing here!" the shortest one complains, but another, more burly, man kicks him in the shin.

"'There's nothing here!' you complain... You won't do anything to find anything, so of course there will be nothing here! Quit being so lazy and... Wait! Look over there!"

First he, then the shorter man, then the entire group of black-garbed people turn to face the direction where I had caught the breeze. I didn't want to turn around to check, but I had the sinking feeling that they would very quickly chase me.

Fortunately or unfortunately, I'm right- as soon as the group gets over their shock, each begins to shout in alarm:

"A Shaymin!" and "Don't let it get away!" are among the cries. The entire group begins to run, full speed, towards me, and I will myself to continue zooming through the air.

No! Stay away from me! I panic and, seeing what looks a nearby city, I dash into it, hoping that I can lose my pursuers in the chaos of city life.

Buildings fly past me, and Pokemon cry out in protest when the wind carries me past them. Many of them just want to play, but I don't think that I have time to humor them if those humans chasing me don't leave me alone. I zip under a large metal gate, with the words, "Welcome to Goldenrod- A Happening Big City," printed on it.

I turn around on last time to make sure that the horde is still planning to follow me into what I hoped I could make into a trap for them. Unfortunately, this split second of not looking forward is just long enough for me to not see and crash right through another human- a tall person with navy blue eyes, black hair, and quite a lot of muscle, that had previously been walking down the city's main road.

Ungh... I wince in pain when I collide with his incredibly-sturdy body, throwing both him and me backwards. I am surprised at the force behind the collision; despite the man's stocky build- he hits the ground, hard. But I can't stay dazed for long- my pursuers will catch me!

Even though I let the wind continue to carry me past the man, I turn to check on him seconds before the mob of advancing black figures streaks past him in pursuit of me. As sorry as I feel for pushing him over, I know that if I ever get the chance to tell him in person, it will have to be later- when I'm not being chased by a crazy group of people.

Not daring to look back after that, I zip across the landscape- trees, fences, and the rest of Goldenrod City blazes past me in a blur of adrenaline. But I won't stop- I just have to keep going. I just have to get away!

A small building that looks like a gateway stands in front of me, and, luckily, the door is slightly hanging ajar. Not losing any speed, I leap for the opening, with just enough strength to wedge myself through the opening and to the other side.

The inside is quite barren, consisting of only a large messy table at one end. The young man seated there greets me when I flit inside. She seems oblivious of my terrified expression.

"Oh, hello there, little guy. Are you here to see the beauty of National Park?... Wait, where are you going in such a hurry?!"

But I can't stop to chat with him- every second that I stall is another second that the group of angry men draws closer to catching me. I give her a nervous nod and speed past her into the mesh of foliage and trees on the other side of the gate, much to his chagrin.

"Hey, wait up!" he shouts to me. He begins to stand up out of his seat to follow me when the door that I had squeezed through slams open, and the familiar mass of black-garbed people appears once again, angrier than ever. One of them immediately grabs the man by the neck and growls,

"Where is the Shaymin?! I saw it go in here! Where'd it go?!"

The citizen chokes for both words and breath in the hands of the cold-hearted criminal of a man,

"He... Agh... I... I can't let a Rocket like you have him!"

The man is visibly taken aback, but he only shows it to strike fear into the other.

"Bah!" he roars, thrusting the man back into his seat and punching him in the face. The others in the shady group also begin to move towards him.

"Useless wastes like you will never understand the ideals of Team Rocket!"

The cries of pain soon uttered by the main goad me into unconsciously shouting at them to stop, but, once the deed is done, I immediately regret it. The attention of everyone in the little room is immediately focused on me, and the man drops the enfeebled receptionist with a shout.

"There you are...!" he laughs, rubbing his hands together with glee, As if to further accentuate my impending doom, the wind dies down, making escape by flying impossible.

"Nowhere to run! Nowhere to hide! Now stand still while I take you back to HQ! Ahahaha- Giovanni will be so proud of my squadron!"

I whirl around to see that, indeed, the man's right- there isn't an exit from this forested enclosure. A large white fence encases the entire perimeter- much too large for me to climb over. Large patches of grass dot the interior of this park, centering on a large fountain of water. However, it seems to be non-operational as of now, because the stream is about as exhausted as I am.

A large rock, probably thrown by one of the men, flies through the air and strikes me on the forehead. The impact feels like all of the energy had just been sucked out of me.

"You're coming with me!" one of the men yells, lunging to grab me. I know that I don't have the strength to outpace or outmatch him, so I just decide to close my eyes and hope that, whatever they plan to do to me, it will be quick and painless. Yet, at the same time, I have a nagging feeling in my gut- nagging me to be free from the enclosing prison of skin and bones. The man's hands quickly close around me, and all I can utter is a short cry of misery in reply:

"Kyuu uuhn!"

Then, out of the corner of my eye, I notice another man step into the large green enclosure with us. I quickly recognize him as the exact same one that I had dashed into earlier- the large, muscular man with navy blue eyes and black hair. He looks considerably angrier than before, but, when I trace his gaze, I realize that he isn't angry at me- his fury seems to be directed towards my captors. Seeing that, an idea suddenly crosses my mind.

Maybe that man will help me! Maybe I'll be free if I can just get his attention!

"Kyuu uuhn!" I scream, with as much voice as I still have left, and I begin to struggle against the man's grip once more.

"Oh, put a cork in it and quit fighting me! I'm taking you back to HQ, right now!" he crows and squeezes me tighter, forcibly wrenching the air from my lungs. In retaliation, I bite down on his arm, but he just laughs it off like it's nothing. I realize that he has some sort of armor protecting his body.

No way I can penetrate that easily... What am I supposed to do...! What about... Wait, he's coming out again!

As if on cue, the burly man reveals his hiding spot and accusingly points at the criminal holding me.

"Excuse me, what do you think you're doing with my Pokemon?!" he roars, quickly closing the distance between himself and the guards. He also reveals a Pokeball in the palm of his hand, and I realize what's about to happen.

They're going to fight... Over me!

I shudder at the shady response to the man's ultimatum.

"Bah! You? Maxwell? Do you really think that a Pokemon this rare would gravitate to you for any reason?! A sorry sight of a Trainer like you should get lost while real men do their work!" he laughs.

Wait... Maxwell! That's... That's Maxwell!

"Kyuu uuhn!" I call out again, purposefully toning the sound to evoke a sense of battle- of rage and justice- in Maxwell.

"If you care that much, then I'll show you just what kind of Trainer I am! Dragonite, let's put this reject in his place!" Maxwell shouts, throwing his Pokeball to the ground and releasing the Pokemon inside.

Out of the flashing light steps a massive orange draconian Pokemon with a muscle build that rivals that of Maxwell. The Dragonite beats its massive green wings against the air, causing a great deal of dust and shrapnel to kick up, and it smiles- a sharp-toothed grin that practically emanates power. It takes one look at the man holding me and pounds its clawed fists together in challenge.

The man that Maxwell accosted, however, seems to be up to the ordeal. He grabs his own Pokeball and tosses it to the ground. In the same motion, he slams me into the arms of one of his cohorts, who gladly wraps his arms around me with even more force than the first man. By the time the man's Pokeball opens, I am struggling to remain conscious from the strain placed on every fibre of my body.

The released light dissipates, and a large, blue, bipedal, reptilian Pokemon rears its head. The Pokemon is substantially shorter than Maxwell's Dragonite, but the Pokemon does not seem fazed by this fact. The few cream-colored spots on its chest reveals to me what Pokemon this is- this is a Nidoqueen. Although I didn't remember exactly where, something tells me that I've seen this Pokemon before. The miniature fortress sizes up Maxwell and his Dragonite

Meanwhile, the man holding me continues to squeeze tighter and tighter, and I can't stand the pressure any longer. Spots begin to leap across my vision from the lack of oxygen in my lungs, while the air of battle gradually rises around me.

"Enough of this! Dragonite, use Outrage!" Maxwell yells, and his Pokemon immediately charges towards the man's Nidoqueen. The two Pokemon collide in an explosion of energy, and the Nidoqueen utters a sharp cry of pain; but I can't stay awake any longer. My brain paws for an inkling of life, and I quickly slip into a deep coma brought on by my asphyxiation.

...

Ungh... I moan, slowly opening my eyes, and Maxwell is staring at me from a few feet away. I try to open my lungs- to force air inside my starved organs, and my chest happily complies. The intake of crisp night air feels like heaven, itself, has come down to touch my insides, and I almost smile in relief, until I remember that I have no idea where I am.

Meanwhile, Maxwell stands motionless in front of me, holding a purple sphere, similar in design to the Pokeball, in his right hand. A large smile adorns his face, but, before I can ask as to the reason behind it, he quickly throws the purple Pokeball at me. I watch the object, moving towards me in what feels like slow-motion, for an eternity of microseconds, until it finally opens, and a bright light envelops me.

As the light engulfs my fur, I begin to feel weightless- like I don't even exist. But the feeling only lasts for a moment; when it passes, I feel cramped- cramped inside a little object that I know to be that purple sphere Maxwell threw at me.

Maxwell... He... He saved me... Why? I try to conjure a thought, but I am only answered with Maxwell's triumphant shout.

"With the power of this Pokemon, why do I even need to follow others, now? If I can get more of these, I'll be unstoppable! Forget Nathan! Forget this university- I'm forging my own path, starting tomorrow!"

Tomorrow... I deadpan, and another dizzy spell quickly takes me into a deep sleep.

In my unconscious state, a voice, similar to that of the shadow that had thrown me into its black void, crows,

"So, you see, Riku. You were nothing more than a pawn of Maxwell's. But all that is past us."

The image of the familiar apparition, its one exposed blue eye staring straight into my own, resurfaces in my mind. The voice continues,

"Now, you're all mine! Sweet dreams, Riku!"

My entire world fades to black once again, and I feel as if a weight has been dropped on my chest.