The green Pokemon-thing (I assumed it was a Pokemon, anyway, since it was definitely not human, looked kind of fairy-like, and had a face and stuff) seemed not to have noticed Drowzee and me. That was kind of a let-down, because my family had just been attacked and then I'd been teleported or something and it was right after getting my starter who was kind of a disappointment and it was my birthday for crying out loud. And stuff was really confusing in general, to the point that I wondered if I was just having some really strange dream.

It wasn't like there was anything else to see, either, as everything around me was gray and murky, not clearly defined. It looked like there were things – people? – standing just out of reach; I could see them from the corner of my eye, but they'd disappear when I turned my head to look. And then there was Drowzee, who looked plenty solid. He had his eyes completely closed and he was kind of sucking air in through his trunk with a really flat look on his face. The entire effect was more than a little creepy, but I didn't let go of his ear since he was the only thing that I was sure still existed.

I had nothing to lose at that point, so I decided to just go ahead and take action. "Hey – hey, you!" I shouted at the strange green Pokemon, trailing off as I realized that I didn't know what to call it.

The Pokemon heard, though. It turned toward me, twitching the tentacle things on its head, and its eyes opened wide.

Are you real, or another figment to begin a nightmare? The phrase echoed through my head in a pleasant soprano voice, light and airy, but it was backed up with millions of images and sounds and thoughts and some of them were horrible, horrible. I didn't realize I was screaming until after the voice had stopped talking. Next to me, Drowzee ignored us both as he kept breathing deeply through his trunk.

You are real! The voice had changed; well, the sound was the same, but the images and everything else were gone. I still shuddered when I heard it, though. My apologies, I wasn't shielding my mind before. How did you get here?

"Um," I said, shaking slightly, "I, I don't –"

Oh? The green Pokemon shifted slightly and looked at Drowzee. Of course. Your partner is eating my dreams, and my own power is boosting the effect enough to extend to others nearby. An interesting idea… if unconventional. Inwardly, I groaned despite my disbelief. I'd forgotten about Drowzee's most well-known ability, dream eating. Had I mentioned before how weird my starter was? Still, you are here. You are not trapped. Therefore, you must help me.

I thought about pointing out that I didn't have to do anything, but something about the little green Pokemon intimidated me. Sure, it was rather small and delicate-looking, but those eyes! At first glance they were a pure and tranquil blue, but the longer I looked the more ancient and unnatural they felt. Besides, the impressions I had gotten when I first heard the voice were still echoing in my head, and they hinted at a hidden power unlike anything I had seen in a Pokemon before.

"What do you want me to do?" I asked the fairy, trying to buy time. What I would do with that time was another question entirely.

Free me.

"… you don't look like a prisoner to me."

I am. The voice sounded almost amused. Trapped 'twixt sea and sky, ‘tween light and life; cut off from the real dimensions. In here, I cannot swim the streams of time and thus cannot escape.

I wanted to ask what it was talking about and how I was supposed to help it anyway. I was just a kid, after all. People aren't supposed to ask kids to do important stuff, at least not until you’ve gotten enough badges to take on the big fights. However, Drowzee's trunk had started swaying back and forth, and the creature was starting to fade away. I cannot hold onto both of you for much longer, it said, its wings fluttering quickly, but I can put you where it started. You must help me, human child, in any way you can... the voice trailed off, and the Pokemon tilted its head to the side. If you are capable of helping, that is. I barely caught that remark; it was like a wisp of a thought had just brushed my mind.

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I frowned, feeling disgruntled. It wasn't like I was incompetent or something. "But what –"

You must discover how to free me.

"I don't know –" I tried to protest, but then Drowzee opened his eyes and the green creature faded away entirely. As the creature disappeared the gray mist of the surroundings seemed to wisp away, revealing lush green plains surrounding us.

There was something creepy about the scene, and I figured out what it was after a few moments. There wasn't a single other person or Pokemon in sight, except for Drowzee, of course. Drowzee jerked his ear out of my hand at that point, making me drop his poke ball on the ground.

"Look what you made me do," I muttered, reaching down to pick it up again. Then I eyed him warily, wondering what I was supposed to do with him. He'd already gotten me transported to two entirely different places in the few minutes that I'd known him. Recalling him seemed like the smartest option, but I didn't know where I was, and I was pretty sure that I'd start panicking as soon as I was alone. "Look, uh, Drowzee. Stop – stop doing things that complicate stuff, okay? Or you'll have to go back in your ball."

He stared at me, not responding. Weren't Pokemon supposed to understand their trainers?

I decided (or defined, as it wasn't like I had any experience to work with) that understanding each other would just take time. "Anyway, let's figure out where we are so I can call my parents and then figure this…" I stopped talking at that point, because I had realized something important. I didn't have the cell phone Mom had recently bought for me in any of my pockets. I was stranded in the middle of an empty field with a Pokemon I didn’t really know, completely lost and with absolutely no way to contact anyone else to ask for help.

At that point, everything that had happened in the preceding five minutes finally caught up to me, and I burst into tears.

Crying doesn't solve problems, but it sure can help you feel better if you can get it out of your system. Drowzee helped with that; he only let me sit in the grass and sob for three minutes or so before he waddled over and slapped me across the head with his arm. That snapped me out of it pretty quickly.

After spending another minute chasing him around the field and yelling, I decided to sit down and figure out our situation. Drowzee actually joined me, watching and listening as I inventoried everything I had. I like making lists, after all. It's calming.

"Pants pockets: rubber band, two mints, five dollars in cash, ID, and a few berries. Nothing really useful there." I laid the items out on the grass anyway; the oran berries could serve as food, maybe. "Jacket pocket: screwdriver, flash drive, notebook, and a pen. Better." I briefly flipped through the tiny notebook, smiling at the various diagrams and pictures; all of my ideas were in there, and I always carried it around in case I thought of something new. "Glasses on my face, watch on my wrist, emergency ten dollars tucked into my shoes." I paused, then, and looked at the other two items I had, which I'd been clutching throughout this whole ordeal. "Finally, your poke ball, and this… what did that person call it? A Gee-ball?"

Drowzee snorted quietly, then shook his trunk back and forth as he held his head still. I decided that meant 'no'.

"Whatever. I wonder if there's anyone in it… go!" I tried pressing the button and squeezing the band, then tossed the ball into the air, but nothing worked; the ball just landed in the grass nearby with a thud. I glared at the useless object.

"Okay. We gotta find a town or something, or we're gonna starve eventually. Or, I am, anyway… do you only eat dreams?" Drowzee wagged his trunk up and down. "Hey, that's useful. I think." Then again, he'd be eating my dreams, probably. I shivered at the thought.

"I just wish I had some idea where we are," I mumbled, looking around again. The plains continued out into the distance, with occasional trees dotting the landscape here and there and the fuzzy sparkle of something – maybe water? – far out on the horizon. The surroundings felt strangely familiar, almost like I should know this place. But I was hopelessly lost; I could have been in a completely different region and I wouldn't have had a clue.

Also, I didn't like that I couldn’t see any other people. I was used to people, lots of people surrounding me and filling my ears with noise. All that open space felt wrong.

"C'mon, let's go down that way," I said suddenly, pointing towards the maybe-water. "Water means people, right? It's worth a shot."

Drowzee just watched me calmly as I gathered all of my things together again, then lumbered beside me as we started walking. That felt right, deep down; I was a trainer, he was my Pokemon, and we were just going exploring on a normal adventure.

Normal.

Right.