When the Hoothoot focused its eyes on me, eyes that were glowing red, my world erupted into colors.

At first the light was so bright that I couldn't distinguish a single thing; it was all overwhelming and incapable of being given a distinctive hue. But then the Hoothoot let out a low, whistling noise, and shades of gray washed over my eyes. I could see, and I could see clearly, much more clearly than ever before. I could see the other humans blatantly, the way nature intended them. Dull strands of faded light tied them together, strands that intertwined across all of the people except for me.

Brighter and stronger was the golden cord that wove between the Hoothoot and its trainer. The strands in it were woven together skillfully, beautifully, such that I could see each individual thread if I peered closely enough. The golden light seemed special, almost awe-inspiring. I wanted something like it. I wanted to see that kind of light between me and my Pokemon, even if he was a Drowzee, and I turned my head to look.

No cord existed between Drowzee and me – there was a smooth, thick line in its place.

It shone blindingly, unnaturally white, and seemed connected as a whole, not tied together in any intricate fashion. I reached out a hand, trying to touch it, but my hand passed straight through. Did that make it any less real? I hadn't noticed any sort of bond between my starter and myself; where had this come from?

The line seemed to dive into my jacket's pocket on my side, so I tucked in my hands awkwardly and wrapped my fingers around Drowzee's poke ball to see if it had changed. It hadn't. Real life works that way, most of the time.

As abruptly as it had appeared, the light shot away. I blinked rapidly, adjusting to the change better with experience, and saw that the Hoothoot's eyes were fading from a brilliant red back to a duller hue. A quick glance further up revealed that Michael's eyes were also fading from pure white back to brown. Definitely creepy. I looked back towards Drowzee to see that my Pokemon had his eyes closed and was apparently sleeping while standing up, which kind of ruined the whole mystical air of the situation.

"Well?" one of the others asked, impatience and fear coloring his voice. Fear? Really? I was just a kid with an under-trained Pokemon when all was said and done. I couldn't take on a full-grown man.

"It is... unusual." Michael frowned, rubbing his eyes with his free hand, and his Hoothoot nudged him with its beak. "The boy is not being controlled, but I cannot decipher what is between them. It is not similar to what I have seen before."

The other men erupted into talk at his words, debating several possibilities (the first being that I was actually a monster in disguise, which didn't bode well for my future). I wanted to ask what the Hoothoot had just done to make the lights all appear, but like typical adults they had forgotten that I was right in front of them, or at least that was how they acted. Florence, on the other hand, decided to poke me.

"Hey," I protested, trying to swat her hand away. She jabbed at my shoulder twice as hard in response. "Hey!"

"Well, you do not seem like any kind of ghost," she stated, frowning down at me like I was some object to be ogled over. I rubbed my shoulder defensively. "You claim to be a trainer?"

"Of course I'm a trainer." Well, technically I wasn't; my parents and I had planned to go down to the central Pokemon Center to get all the registration paperwork filled out after my starter and I officially met each other, but that had never happened due to the crazy events that had landed me in this whole situation in the first place. But whatever, I could still be a trainer in spirit.

"Then you must help me."

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"What with?" I asked automatically before I remembered that I didn't particularly like this girl, not to mention how I had plenty of my own problems to deal with. Like, you know, the adults who were going to decide whether or not to let me starve? And the fact that I was still utterly lost with no idea how to get back home?

"I need to find my partner, my majū," Florence replied loftily as she stuck her chin up into the air. "You interrupted one of my, ah, attempts out there in the wilderness. Now that Trainer Michael has tested you, however, I am sure that your intentions were noble." She glared at me, making it quite clear that she believed no such thing and would gladly tell that to anyone who asked if I didn't do what she said. I gulped. "But Trainer Michael here will not hear of me traveling to further places out in the wild. You must travel with me instead."

"Umm." Bad idea. I wanted to get out of the wild, not go back into it! "Why don't they want you to find a, uh, partner?"

She gave me a look which clearly stated that I was an idiot (again), then tugged at a lock of her hair. "Because I am female. They think I am too delicate for the calling, and –"

"That’s nonsense," I interrupted with a scowl. “No one can stop you from being a trainer ‘cause of that.”

She stared back at me, looking utterly confused, and tilted her head to the side in a clear question.

I sighed and waved my hands in the air as I dredged up some of the basic information I had learned in school the previous year as part of the preparation for starting my journey. "There have been laws in place for, oh, over a hundred years now. They were made by the Pokemon League when it was first created, and the laws specifically forbid any kind of discrimination towards beginners based on gender, background, race, whatever. Everyone's supposed to start with an equal chance, though obviously the rich kids get stronger Pokemon bought for them. I mean, just look at our Champion! She's a girl, isn't she? And no one's beaten Crystal in three years!"

I nodded sagely as I concluded my little speech. Then I opened my eyes again to find that Florence was staring at me, though now she looked flabbergasted. I didn't see why; I was making sense, after all. Sure, the people in this place didn’t know about Goldenrod City and acted weird about Pokemon, but things like Ilex Forest and Violet City had been the same. Even a weird alternate universe had to have a Pokemon League, surely. Besides, I didn’t really think this was an alternate universe; there had to be some kind of rational explanation for everything that was different.

"Trainer Monroe," Florence asked in a halting voice, "in your… hometown, for how long has the Orange League existed?"

I blinked at her, feeling more than a little thrown off. That was a weird question, but I did know the answer. "Um, almost three hundred years, I think." I smiled, remembering certain radio commercials from the previous summer. "They've been making a big deal out of it lately, something about an anniversary coming up and the Orange League being the oldest one existing. It's pretty –"

"It was just formed eight years ago," Florence said quietly.

I froze.

"We only heard about it recently through rumors from a few travelers. They say that trainers from across the globe will go there to test their bonds and their skills. Apparently other regions are thinking of starting their own local tournaments to encourage training, since it is such a useful skill."

I was grateful for the fact that Florence was still rambling; her nonsensical words kept me rooted to the world while my head was spinning. It also helped to keep me from being overwhelmed by the voice in my head that kept saying 'oh. OH.' in such a ridiculously naive way. If what Florence had just said was right, then the implications were staggering and way more intense than I was prepared to handle.

"... I had noticed that you were behind the times," Florence said quietly, tilting her head. "Perhaps you are actually ahead."

"Trainer Monroe?"

I jumped as Michael addressed me again, head still whirling from what I had just learned. First reaction: had the adults figured it out? Second: did I want them to?

"We have reached a decision." His Hoothoot had hopped its way up onto his shoulder, and the bird tilted its head to the side, cooing softly, as Michael spoke. "We will give you a chance to prove your good intentions and bond in a battle. If you win, we will assist you in whatever mission you currently travel on; if you lose, you must leave our land immediately."