Surrendering myself to the pull of gravity I fell with a whump onto my plushy bed that my mom had lovingly prepared for me. Two years had passed since I came back home for the holidays, which I felt a little bad about to be honest after seeing how over the top Mom had gone in decorating and cooking for me. I hadn't meant to avoid home or anything... things had just been busy with traveling and competing in the different regions' pokemon contests. When my 18th birthday came though I realized that even though I had accomplished a lot in my eight-year pokemon coordinator career... I felt weirdly empty. That strange emptiness was what had finally prompted me to come back home and revisit my roots so that I could hopefully get out of my weird funk.

I was so stuffed from eating all of my mom's homemade treats that I wanted to moan out loud, but I managed to hold it in. Mom and I had ended up talking until nearly 2:00 am and I knew that she had passed out as soon as her head hit the pillow, so I didn't want to disturb her sleep. As nice as it was to be back home and to be cuddled and spoiled by my mom... the emptiness still hadn't gone away.

Turning onto my side I looked out my window to look at the stars and a small sliver of the moon. Tears began to prickle at the back of my eyes but I was too exhausted to fight them. As much as I wished I could keep being ignorant, I couldn't ignore my feelings anymore. Out of all of my friends and competitors that I was close to, I was the only one who didn't have a significant other. I physically cringed as the thought flitted through my mind and scolded myself for being so needy and childish. I had caught so many pokemon that were like true family members to me and I cherished and loved all of my friends dearly. But even with all of those solid relationships around me... I wished that there was someone in this world who would put me first. Someone that would encourage me, celebrate my wins, comfort me through my losses, and someone I could devote myself to.

"Ugh, I'm so pathetic," I grumbled to myself as I swiped at my ridiculous tears and buried myself under my covers.

Just when I was about to sink into the blessedly quiet world of sleep, a strange tingle began to travel up and down my whole body. Blinking my eyes open in confusion, I gasped when my head suddenly floated away from my pillow without any direction from me. Glancing around I yelled when I realized that not just my head, but my whole body was slowly drifting up toward the ceiling and a pale golden glow had encased my body. I kicked the blankets off me and reached out desperately, trying to snag a shelf or the headboard of my bed to keep myself from floating away.

"Espeon? If this is you then it's NOT funny!" I yelped while spinning around and searching for the source of my predicament. My chest tightened in slight panic though when I only saw Piplup sleeping soundly on his plush bed at the foot of my bed.

"Piplup?" I called out, trying to keep the fear from my voice. My trusty partner didn't even flinch from his sleep though so I tried again, this time louder and not caring if I sounded crazy. "Piplup! Hey, wake up. Piplup! Mom! Somebody!"

I flailed around as my body continued to move up toward the ceiling but nobody seemed to hear my cries. Suddenly an invisible pressure began to squeeze my entire body and I felt as if someone was trying to suck me through a straw that was too narrow for me to fit through. The next thing I knew I was no longer in my room, I was hurtling through a black space with flecks of gold the same color that surrounded my body. I screamed, yelled, kicked, and punched, but to no avail. Suddenly my sense of being flung through space came to a stop and my mouth fell open in shock when a fuzzy image of a massive pokemon began to appear in front of me. I squinted, trying to get the distorted image to become more clear, but the fuzzy blob of white and gold remained as a blob.

Please help them, a voice that was both soft and gentle yet all-consuming and cacophonous seemed to speak inside my head. I clamped my hands over my ears instinctively, but the voice continued ringing deeply inside me. I cannot interfere directly. Please soothe my children and rid the humans of their fear.

"Who are you? I don't understand." My voice echoed strangely in the vast blackness that I was in and I shook my head, feeling strangely disoriented and a little sick.

Help them. Was the only answer I got before I was once again propelled through the inky blackness flecked with gold.

Without warning, the blackness came to an end and blue sky surrounded me. Rushing wind sounded around me and with dread I twisted in the air to see that I was skydiving... Without a parachute. A bloodcurdling scream ripped from my throat as I saw what looked like incredibly solid earth rushing toward me.

"I don't want to die!" I screamed, as I desperately twisted and looked in every direction to see if there was some way, ANY way for me to survive this. A green blob below was rapidly gaining definition as a grove of trees and I could not keep a sobbing scream from escaping me as I realized I was on a collision course for the trees. An image of being impaled by a tree branch filled me with a deep fear that I had never experienced before in my life. I desperately patted at my pajama shorts just in case I had left a pokeball on me, but I was really and truly alone.

Not wanting to see the moment of impact, I covered my eyes with my arms as I desperately cried out for help. Suddenly something very solid slammed into my side. I gasped at the unexpected pain but instinctively clung to the unexpected mass that had hit me. I barely registered arms wrapping around me as I buried my head into the crook of what seemed to be my rescuer's neck, although it was completely covered in fabric. I clung to the person with all my strength when their arms moved away from my back. Suddenly we jerked and the sound of a tree branch snapping sent convulsive shudders of fear through my body. We tumbled through the trees and I could feel my rescuer trying to grab onto another branch. Our descent slowed somewhat and it almost felt like my rescuer was swinging through the trees. I was gathering my courage to peek out from my spot against their neck when another snap of wood rang out and my rescuer grunted deeply.

I yelped when I felt our bodies drifting away from each other as we fell, but I managed to keep a hold of my rescuer's shoulders as we both landed with a thud onto the grass-covered ground before rolling end over end. My elbow smacked against something hard as we rolled through the grass and I let out a gasp as my arm went numb and I lost my grip on my rescuer. I came to a stop alone after a few more rolls and I mentally took stock of my physical state. My arm felt like it was on fire, and one of my knees seemed to have gotten injured or twisted badly but the pain wasn't too terrible, my breathing was erratic and as close to hyperventilating as I'd ever gotten... but I was alive.

Tears flooded my eyes and my entire body began to shake uncontrollably. A blurry image of someone dressed all in black came into my view. Only their eyes were visible and I tried to blink away from my tears so I could at least see what color they were.

"Th-th-thank you... for... s-s-saving me," I stuttered out painfully through my lungs which didn't seem to want to expand fully and were making my breath come out in quick gasps.

Gloved hands reach out, one cupping my cheek and the other pressing down on my chest just below my collarbone.

"Breathe," a muffled voice commanded through its black mask. I closed my eyes and took in a quivering gulp of air, but I couldn't seem to recall how I used to breathe normally. "Breathe," the muffled voice that sounded distinctly masculine ordered once more.

I realized that the hand on my chest was moving up and down slowly and I tried my best to follow along with its motion. Slowly I began to calm and my breathing moved away from the panic-induced hyperventilation I had been experiencing to a much more regular rhythm. Strangely, as my breathing calmed though spots began to appear in front of my vision. My entire body began to go numb and I desperately held onto consciousness as I reached out and weakly grasped my rescuer's wrist.

"Thank you," I whispered before everything went dark.

* * * * * * * * *

"Oh my. Miss? Hello? Can you hear me?"

Pain was the first thing that registered as I slowly came back to consciousness. I gasped as my elbow flared with pain and then groaned when I reached to touch it and felt something slick which I assumed was blood.

"Oh bother, that doesn't look good," a kind male voice muttered from somewhere above me.

I blinked open my eyes reluctantly, letting out a slight whimper when a beam of sunlight nearly fried my retinas. After a few blinks though my eyes adjusted and I looked up in confusion at a middle-aged man wearing a purple beanie of all things and a white coat that looked strangely reminiscent of a professor's lab coat. Foggily I looked around to see if the person in black who had helped break my fall was around but they were nowhere to be seen.

"How do you feel, Miss? I thought I'd gone senile for a moment when I saw you falling out of the Space-Time Rift," the man said with a jovial chuckle.

Suddenly my pain was forgotten and I bolted upright. My head swam for a second and I let out a low moan as I clenched my head in my hands. I ignored the flustered man though and looked up at the sky. My jaw nearly dislocated from how far my mouth fell open when I stared up at the sky and saw what looked like a whirling portal of black with purple around the edges that looked to be at least a mile wide.

My eyes moved from the strange black swirl high above me to the man who was moving his hands all around me but not touching me, as if he was afraid of hurting me even more. I focused my gaze on the man and tried to give him a smile.

"I am really sorry to have startled you... but I have no idea where I am or how I got here," I admitted with as much calm as I could muster. The man blinked and I nearly cried when I saw sympathy and compassion flood his kind face.

"You poor thing. I'm happy to help you out. What is your name, miss?"

"Dawn. Dawn Berlitz," I introduced myself as I took in my surroundings. To my shock, I found that I was on a dirt path that seemed to lead to the ocean. Glancing behind me I saw a grove of trees, which I assumed was where I had crashed through with my rescuer, but the black-shrouded person was nowhere in sight.

"It's nice to meet you, Dawn. My name is Laventon. I'm something of a professor. I've spent my life studying pokemon and just recently settled down in Jubilife Village with the Galaxy Exploration Team," Professor Laventon explained as he gingerly held out a hand for me.

I took it and gently eased myself up, wincing slightly at the pain that lanced through my knee. Glancing down I saw some dried blood from a small puncture wound but luckily nothing seemed to be stuck in the wound.

"Did you say Jubilife Village?" I repeated, slowly looking around me once again with a growing unease.

"That's right. It's the newest settlement of the Galaxy Expedition Team who are trying to find a way to live in peace with pokemon after their previous home was burned to the ground," Professor Laventon explained as if it was the most normal thing in the world. He offered his arm to me, but I was too busy looking around me to notice. I was very familiar with Jubilife City and looking at the nearby mountains and landmarks I could sense a vague sense of familiarity... but everything seemed so... wild and unspoiled.

"Professor... Just out of curiosity... what year is it?"

I nearly laughed at my own ridiculous question and said I was just joking. Yet Professor Laventon gave me a broad smile and stated, "It is the year 1674, my dear. You must have hit your head pretty hard for you to forget that."

Professor Laventon's words echoed over and over in my head. My vision turned black and for the second time in a day, I fainted.

* * * * * * * *

After five days (and more tears than I cared to admit) I could no longer deny that, as impossible as it seemed, I had definitely traveled back in time. There was no electricity (not even pokemon powered), no cell service, no handheld pokedex, but worst of all... no plumbing. I nearly burst into sobs when they explained what a "latrine" was to me.

There were two things that I learned very quickly in Jubilife Village. First, that the Galaxy Expedition Team did NOT like outsiders, and second, almost everyone was terrified out of their minds by pokemon. Since Professor Laventon insisted, the village temporarily took me in and bandaged my wounds, but I had been told by Captain Cyllene (second-in-charge after Commander Kamado) that if I expected to be allowed in their village I would have to earn my keep. It hadn't taken long for Professor Laventon to recruit me into working for what they called the "Survey Corp" whose job was to catch every pokemon that they come across so that Professor Laventon could study them and fill in the first-ever pokedex.

I had been slightly appalled when I held the most old-fashioned pokeball I had ever seen in my life for the first time. I'd had no idea, but apparently, Professor Laventon was the one to invent pokeballs. He had constructed them out of wood and an ore called tumblestone. They were so big it was like I was throwing a grapefruit around. To my surprise though, Professor Laventon was eager for feedback, and after a few tries, we were able to get the pokeballs down to a manageable size for even the youngest survey corp member (who was 15).

"You ready to go, Oshawott?" I asked the pokemon that Professor Laventon had gifted me so I could be a true Surveyor.

I had been a little shocked when he had offered me the choice of an Oshawott, Rowlett, or Cyndaquil for my new pokemon partner since none of them were native to the Sinnoh region. (Although people called it "Hisui" instead of Sinnoh...) I had too many memories associated with my own Cyndaquil that I had raised from an egg, and even though having a water starter pokemon made me miss my poor Piplup like crazy, Oshawott's personality was so sweet and comforting that I couldn't choose anyone else.

Going on my first survey was eye-opening for me. I had been traveling since I was 10 as a pokemon coordinator, but I had never been attacked without provocation by adorable Shinxes or Buizels. Luckily Oshawott had a pretty good move pool and after trying to become a pokemon performer in Kalos for a year I was in the best shape of my life so I was able to dodge the odd attacks flung my way fairly easily.

When I came back from my first survey with all 30 pokeballs full of the pokemon that Professor Laventon was studying at the time everyone was shell-shocked. No one had gone so long without getting majorly injured by a pokemon before, and seeing how affectionate Oshawott and I were with each other was also something incredibly new and strange for everyone to see. Professor Laventon announced that he would be taking me to the Canteen for dinner that night and quickly extricated me from the crowd of admirers I found myself in.

Professor Laventon directed me to an outdoor table and then eagerly began questioning me about my strategies in catching so many pokemon. He had previously cautioned me about telling people I was from the future, since people were already suspicious enough of me, so I tried my best to explain how normal it was to catch and train pokemon where I grew up without making it obvious that I was an unwitting time traveler.

"Ah, Shinji, my boy! We're ready to order," Professor Laventon said to someone behind me.

I turned to see who he was addressing and blinked when I unwittingly made eye contact with a tall boy who looked a few years older than me. His eyes were dark and his purple hair was cut so short there was no way to style it. His gaze slid away from mine almost instantly though and I noticed that he was wearing a black apron over his blue kimono-styled outfit.

"What do you want?" he asked bluntly, his body language punctuating his disinterest.

"Two orders of potato mochi, please! And some jasmine tea. I'm celebrating our newest surveyor, Dawn's, success at her recent assignment," Professor Laventon announced with a beaming smile directed at me. I felt an embarrassed flush go across my face and glanced down at my lap to try and hide my blush.

"Don? Isn't that a boy's name?" the waiter's apathetic voice asked and instantly my spine straightened and irritation flooded me. I glared at him over my shoulder and crossed my arms.

"Not D-o-n, it's spelled D-a-w-n. You know, like the time when the sun first begins to rise? The dawn..." I wasn't sure why I was feeling so testy, but something about this guy's attitude was really getting on my nerves and the last thing I wanted was for someone to start teasing me about having a boy's name.

"Whatever," Shinji responded blandly before turning on his heel and heading back inside the restaurant.

It felt like a dormant volcano inside of me was about to erupt at how unpleasant that guy was. Just as I was about to let my emotions erupt in an angry tirade though, they fizzled out and I felt myself slump down. I buried my head into my hands and tried desperately to hold back my tears as memories of my friends and how they had teased me about my name came flooding over me.

"Dawn, are you alright? Shinji isn't exactly the most socially adept person around, but I'm sure he didn't mean to hurt your feelings," Professor Laventon offered soothingly and I could feel his gentle hand patting my shoulder.

"Osha oshawott," a sweet voice cooed from my side and I felt Oshawott press herself against my side.

I sniffled a few times to make sure my tears wouldn't fall before slowly rising and giving both Professor Laventon and Oshawott a shaky smile.

"It's not that... I just miss my home, that's all. Have you been able to come up with any ideas on how I could get back, Professor?" I asked, wincing inwardly at how desperate I sounded. Professor Laventon's face clouded over with disappointment and he shook his head sadly.

"I'm sorry, Dawn. This is such an unprecedented situation that I am not sure where to even start," Professor Laventon admitted sadly and I couldn't help but smile at him.

"It's alright, Professor. If we figure something out then great, but if not I'll just have to keep traveling through Si... I mean Hisui until I find a flying type pokemon big enough to take me up to the Space-Time Rift," I said with a sigh.

"Osha?!" I blinked over to see that Oshawott's eyes had filled with gigantic tears as she looked up at me like the world was ending.

"Oh, sweetheart, don't worry! I'd be happy to take you with me if you want to come," I said quickly as I scooped up my little friend and hugged her.

"Wott wott oshawott," Oshawott blubbered as she tried to grip me with her stubby arms. The hug reminded me of my Piplup and I nearly started to cry again, but I pulled myself together and patted Oshawott's back soothingly until she had calmed down.

When Shinji returned with the tray full of our food I set Oshawott on the table so she could eat off of my plate. Shinji's face immediately filled with disgust and he pointed firmly at Oshawott.

"Get your dirty pokemon off the table," Shinji ordered sternly. My mouth dropped open and the volcano of emotions that I had calmed earlier was suddenly boiling again.

"ExCUSE you! Oshawott is pristinely clean, thank you very much," I huffed indignantly as I glared daggers at him. One of Shinji's purple eyebrows cocked up and he smirked mockingly at me.

"I don't care how clean you think it is. Feet do not belong on the table," Shinji countered accusingly.

I was ready to argue with him some more but out of the corner of my eye, I could see how flustered Professor Laventon looked as he glanced between Shinji and me. Letting out an audible growl, I reached out and plucked Oshawott off the table then set her on my lap where I cuddled her gently against me all while glaring balefully up at Shinji.

"Next time say that first instead of falsely accusing my pokemon of being dirty," I snarled angrily before pointedly turning away from him and letting out a huff.

"It's just a pokemon," Shinji muttered and I turned narrowed eyes on him.

"SHE is my partner," I declared fiercely. "I take any insult pointed towards her personally," I stated irritably.

Shinji blinked, seeming momentarily stunned by my declaration. He didn't bother to respond though, just turned on his heel again and went back into the restaurant.

"Ugh, he's such a jerk!" I seethed through gritted teeth.

Professor Laventon gave an awkward laugh and encouraged me to try my food. By the time we had finished our meal, my irritation had basically subsided and I had to admit that the rustic potato mochi dish hit the spot. Especially after spending several days in the Obsidian Fieldlands living off of berries and the odd wild vegetable I could scrounge up.

"Alright, shall we take our nightly walk?" I asked Oshawott after Professor Laventon and I had parted ways for the evening.

"Osha!" Oshawott agreed immediately and I laughed when she began jumping up and down while stretching her little arms toward me. I caught her easily and held her so her back rested against my chest and she could see everything in front of us.

Just as I had done every day since I had fallen from the sky, I made my way through Jubilife Village and towards the ocean. The path was so familiar to me by now that I could have followed it blindfolded, but I ignored the ocean sprawling in front of me at the end of the path and instead headed towards the grove of trees nearby. Even though it had been several weeks, no matter how many times I looked for my black-clothed rescuer there was never any sign of them. On a previous search, I had found several broken branches that I assumed were from that day, but I couldn't find any sign of a human nearby except for a rock that appeared to be smeared with blood, which I assumed was what I had hit my elbow on.

"Ugh, why is it so hard to find this person? I just want to thank them for saving me," I sighed despondently as I set Oshawott down on the ground and then sat next to her. She cuddled against my side silently and we both sat in the peaceful grove without saying a word. The peace was shattered both abruptly and violently though with a sudden crack followed by a boom so loud it sent tremors through my chest.

"What the...!"

I leaped to my feet, scooped Oshawott into my arms, and ran out of the trees to try and figure out what was going on. My entire body stiffened as I exited the trees and saw a shimmering bolt of lightning shoot from the Space-Time Rift and head east towards the Obsidian Fieldlands. Another crack and boom sounded when the lightning struck and I watched helplessly as the unnatural lightning showered down from the Space-Time Rift. Many of the bolts of lightning reached so far I couldn't see where they struck, but a distant boom let me know that somewhere in Hisui the lightning had landed.

It only lasted a few minutes, but the silence that followed the unnatural lightning made me shiver uncomfortably. Not knowing what else to do, I made my way back to Jubilife Village while hoping that none of that lightning had damaged the people living there.

The next day I received an unexpected and non-negotiable summons to Commander Kamado's office. When I got there I was surprised to be introduced to two people I had never seen before. Adaman, the leader of the Diamond Tribe, led half of the original citizens of Hisui who apparently worshiped the "Lord of Time". And Irida, the leader of the Pearl Clan who led the other half which apparently worshiped the "Lord of Space". The weird thing was that they both called their gods "the Almighty Sinnoh" but it sounded very much like Dialga and Palkia to me... I didn't think it would be appropriate for me to butt in though because they seemed pretty hostile toward each other and I didn't want to make any enemies while I was stuck in the past.

As I listened to the clan leaders and Commander Kamado talk, I gathered that the lightning from last night had struck special pokemon that the clan leaders called "Noble" pokemon, which were apparently the children of Almighty Sinnoh. The lightning had caused these noble pokemon to glow strangely and they had begun to rampage and cause all kinds of havoc. So why had I been called to this emergency meeting?

"Since Dawn fell from the Space-Time Rift it only seems right that she be sent to aid you in quelling the noble pokemon's fury. After all, this could be the reason she was sent here and she owes the Galaxy Expedition team her life. You'll help us, won't you, Dawn?" Commander Kamado asked but I got the distinct impression that if I didn't go along with this that I would find myself unceremoniously expelled from the village.

Of all the ungrateful, rude, selfish, self-serving... It was with great difficulty that I reined in my anger at the pretentious man in front of me. If this was the present I would not hesitate to call him out for being manipulative and unfair, but Professor Laventon seemed to be my best chance at getting back home, so I couldn't risk alienating myself from the village.

"I don't know anything about the Space-Time Rift, but I am willing to help if you think my skills are needed," I stated as respectfully as I could. One of Commander Kamado's bushy eyebrows arched up but he didn't voice any of the obvious suspicions in his expression.

"The Pearl Clan should not have to ask an outsider for help with anything to do with Almighty Sinnoh's vast space..." Irida said while waving her hand in front of her face. Her haughtiness seemed to fade the more she fanned though and her arm slowly fell back down and she looked over at me uncertainly. "However, if you are offering, I suppose a gracious leader should accept."

"Ha. We're wasting time. I don't care who it is that's helping, we just need to aid our Noble pokemon as quickly and efficiently as possible," Adaman stated in a clipped tone. I could almost see zaps of dislike being exchanged between Irida and Adaman, but Commander Kamado dismissed us so I quietly followed after them.

It was decided that Irida would take me to Kleavor first, who was the pearl clan's noble pokemon that protected the forest on the far end of the Obsidian Fieldlands. Once Adaman had left us it turned out that Irida, who was a petite woman in her mid-twenties, was super bubbly and fun. We got along very well and I really enjoyed hearing the history of her clan and her beliefs about Almighty Sinnoh. Her clan believed that Almighty Sinnoh lived beyond the Space-Time Rift and had created Hisui through their powers of spatial control and that it was their duty to protect every living thing within that space. It reminded me of the legend of Arceus, Dialga, and Palkia who helped create Sinnoh, and I wondered if the white and gold pokemon I had fuzzily seen in the Space-Time Rift might have been Arceus.

Yah right. As if the god of pokemon would have any reason to bring me back in time... I thought to myself derisively.

It took nearly the whole day to reach Kleavor's forest and the closer we got to the center the more trees that had been chopped down and left to rot could be seen. The forest was eerily quiet, and even pokemon that were usually aggressive avoided Irida and I and were choosing to lay low.

"This forest is usually so lively. I hate to rely on someone outside of the pearl clan, but I hope you can find a way to quell our lord's anger," Irida said with obvious unease. I had no idea what I was supposed to do, but surprisingly it felt nice to be relied on... even if it was reluctantly.

We eventually reached an area that had some kind of altar built in the center. Irida introduced me to Lian, the warden who cared for Kleavor. Lian explained how Kleavor had gone into a frenzy after being struck by strange lightning and that he wouldn't even come to eat Lian's offerings. After bouncing ideas off of each other, Lian and Irida agreed that the only thing that had helped calm Kleavor in past instances of moodiness was offerings of food and flowers that have calming scents.

"So... what if we made pouches of those flowers and food and I could throw them at him?" Realizing how weird that sounded I laughed at myself and was about to take it back, but both Lian and Irida were staring at me with interest.

"You would be willing to face Kleavor to throw our offerings to him?" Irida asked with awe in her voice. I blinked and looked between Lian and her, realizing that to them Kleavor was almost a demi-deity, whereas to me it was just another pokemon. Although granted it might be more powerful than a normal pokemon.

"I'm willing to try," I agreed with a smile.

Since it was late in the day and Lian wasn't sure where Kleavor had gotten to in his frenzied state, Irida and I set up camp and started making pouches filled with offerings and crushed flowers (mainly lavender) that let out a calming scent when I threw them and they burst apart.

The next morning Lian led us to where Kleavor had fallen asleep. Watching him sleep I was shocked to see that the pokemon seemed to be an evolution of Scyther. Since it was a rock and bug dual typing I kept Oshawott out to help just in case I needed to battle Kleavor in a pinch.

Being as quiet as possible, I snuck around Kleavor's sleeping form, leaving at least ten pouches in a small stack around the large tree that Kleavor was sleeping under. Once I had my ammo at the ready, I slipped as many pouches into the sack that Irida had given me and slung it across my shoulders so that the sack rested at my hip.

Feeling nervous but knowing that I was as prepared as I possibly could be, I motioned for Irida and Lian to back up. Hunkering down behind a bush that would hopefully camouflage me for a bit, I began carefully lobbing pouches toward the sleeping pokemon that was glowing with a yellow light. The pouches burst all around Kleavor's body, letting loose the green pods that looked like oversized peas and flower petals. Even from behind the bush the scent of lavender was strong. Kleavor began to stir but I kept lobbing the pouches toward him without hitting him directly, trying to douse him in the lavender scent.

Kleavor began to snort and I instinctively ducked lower behind the bush. I watched closely, hoping that the lavender scent was enough to calm him down. Suddenly Kleavor's eyes flew open and he let out a roar, swiping with his arms that ended in the shape of gigantic axeblades made of rock and knocking dozens of pouches away from him.

Gritting my teeth, I popped out from behind the bush and slowly raised my hands up. Kleavor's yellow-glazed eyes rounded on me and I slowly began stepping towards him.

"Kleavor, it's alright," I called out soothingly as I took tiny, shuffling steps toward him. "We don't want to hurt you."

Kleavor watched me and a sudden gleam flashed across his eyes. In an instant, he had put his head down and began charging at me faster than I could hardly believe. I dove to the side just as I heard the sound of an explosion. I popped back to my feet and turned around to see that Kleavor had been knocked off his feet and was shaking his head with obvious disorientation.

I didn't have time to look for the cause of the explosion, I just reached for the remaining pouches in my sack and began tossing them directly at Kleavor. He roared his displeasure at the flowery bombardment as he staggered to his feet. He reset himself and began swinging his gigantic axe-hands toward me. I leaped back all the while smacking him with the pouches. I was about to give up when a pouch hit Kleavor directly in the nose. Flower petals exploded all around his face and for a moment the yellow glow around him began to flicker and he staggered back a few steps.

"It's working," I breathed out incredulously. My relief was short-lived though because the glow came back in full force and Kleavor lunged toward me.

Just as I was about to dive out of the way though my toe caught on a root and I fell onto my back gracelessly. Before I could even scramble back to my hands and knees though, my darling little Oshawott leaped in front of me and spewed a high-powered Water Pulse directly into Kleavor's face. Kleavor stumbled at the super effective attack, but continued his crazed charge.

I yelped and reached for my pokemon, but Oshawott boldly took the shell off of her chest and confidently raised it up. A glowing blue blade that looked to be made of water erupted from the shell and halted Kleavor's attack inches before his axe-hands got to my little pokemon. A blue glow engulfed Oshawott and I scrambled quickly toward one of the piles of pouches I had left on the ground earlier.

As Oshawott evolved into Dewott and held her ground against Kleavor's pressure, I scooped up the pouches and dashed forward. Knowing it was crazy but wanting to end this immediately, I got as close as possible and smashed a pouch directly into Kleavor's nose. Kleavor snorted but I followed it up with pouch after pouch aimed at his face, mouth, and nose.

Kleavor stumbled and fell onto his bottom from the deluge of pouches he was being pummeled with. When I threw the last pouch, the yellow light surrounding him suddenly lifted off of Kleavor and began streaming away from him. Dewott and I both backed up as Kleavor lowered his head and let out a gigantic sigh. Now that the yellow light was gone I realized that Kleavor was mainly brown and gray in coloring and when he lifted his head I was surprised to see a tired smile on his chiseled face.

"Dewott!"

I glanced down and saw that Dewott was offering one of the loose green pods that scattered the ground around us to Kleavor. With a heavy sigh, Kleavor bent down, took the pod into his mouth, and crunched away with a grateful smile.

"Incredible," Irida's voice came from behind me. I turned around and saw both Lian and Irida approaching me with wonder and fascination in their eyes.

"It's obvious that my lord Kleavor is grateful to you, Outsider. As his warden I'd like to thank you for your help," Lian said formally while bowing low to me.

"I'm glad that I could help. It looks like he needs lots of rest," I observed while looking sympathetically at Kleavor who still had his head bowed in obvious exhaustion. "Did one of you cause the explosion that knocked Kleavor over, by the way?"

Irida and Lian looked at each other but then both shook their heads. Frowning slightly, I looked up at the tree and all around me but I didn't see anybody else.

Then where did that move come from? I didn't even see what it was because I was dodging...

Knowing that I didn't have anything to go on, I decided to let it go for now. I made my way home with just Dewott for company. After I reported to Commander Kamado (who had very rudely looked surprised when I walked through the door) Professor Laventon swooped in and took me to the Wallflower for another dinner of his favorite potato mochi.

"Ah, Shinji, my boy! You're working today? How is Beni doing?" Professor Laventon asked when Shinji walked out with his typical surly scowl on his face while holding our tray of food.

"Uncle's fine," Shinji responded shortly as he placed a plate of potato mochi in front of me. To my surprise, I thought I saw him glance out of the corner of his eye at me. I quickly tightened my hold on Dewott as she was sitting in my lap and raised a defiant eyebrow at him, just waiting for a rude comment. His gaze slid away from me though and he focused on Professor Laventon as he continued speaking.

"I'm sure you're learning all the tricks of the trade from your uncle, huh? Will you be the owner of the Wallflower soon?" Professor Laventon asked with a jovial laugh. Shinji's face twisted into an expression somewhere between disgust and amusement and he let out a huff.

"I just work here to help out my uncle. Cooking is not my thing," Shinji replied emphatically. A sarcastic chuckle escaped me and Shinji turned slightly narrowed eyes on me.

"Customer service doesn't seem to be your 'thing' either," I said with a sardonic shrug. "So what is your thing?"

As much as this man annoyed me I was actually curious about the answer. Shinji's expression was strangely neutral as he glanced at me and then at Dewott in my lap. He gave a short shrug and turned partially towards the restaurant door.

"I climb trees," Shinji said casually over his shoulder before sauntering back towards the restaurant door.

When I turned a questioning look on Professor Laventon he also seemed confused by Shinji's answer, so I shrugged it off and enjoyed conversing with the professor for the rest of my meal.

Life for me got very busy after that day. It turned out there was a lot of noble pokemon that had been struck by the strange lightning. Irida and Adaman dragged me through the region so that I could help quell their noble pokemon as I did with Kleavor. All of the traveling was good in a way since it kept me occupied and I hardly had the energy to miss my friends and family from my timeline before I had fallen asleep.

I also was able to catch a few new pokemon to add to my team. Dewott was my main girl and I could tell she was close to evolving again, but I had also caught a Stantler who was well on his way to evolving into a Wyrdeer who would be big enough for me to ride on so I could hopefully cut down on my travel time. I had also caught an adorable little Bonsly that had lost its family and had bonded with me instantly. My most recent personal catch had been a Sneasel, although apparently, it was some kind of ancestor of the sneasel I knew because it was a poison/fighting dual type pokemon instead of dark ice.

I was on my way back from quelling the diamond clan's Noble Voltorb (who was a grass/electric type in this time period) when I decided to take some time out to train my pokemon. Deciding that I should get some agility practice in, I headed for a nearby forest. As I searched for a good spot for my pokemon to practice weaving through the trees though, I heard the unmistakable sound of a pokemon battle. Curiosity got the better of me and I began carefully making my way toward the sounds of pokemon grunting and moves exploding.

Peeking from behind a tree I saw a Sneasler (the evolved form of this time period's Sneasel) and a Scizor battling hard against each other. I was about to leave since it didn't seem like any surveyors had gotten caught in between the fight (which happened so many times it became natural for me to check) but just then something black caught my eye. I craned my neck around the tree and felt my mouth fall open when I saw a person dressed all in black in what looked like a ninja costume drop down from the trees. The person pointed at Scizor and it immediately let loose an Air Slash which the Sneasler had to leap up and grab a tree branch to avoid.

Throwing caution to the wind, I stepped out from my hiding spot and stared directly at the black-clad ninja. Everything about my near-fatal plummet from the Space-Time Rift was a blur, but looking at how strong this ninja-like person appeared and how they were dressed entirely in black, I thought I might have finally found my rescuer. The ninja's eyes immediately locked onto mine and I could see their muscles tense as if they were about to take off.

"No, wait!" I called out desperately. "Are you the one that saved me? When I fell through the rift?"

The ninja, who had turned away from me, paused for a moment and slowly looked back at me. His pokemon had taken protective stances on either side of him and seemed to be ready to follow their trainer in whatever way they were directed. An awkward silence stretched between us as the ninja refused to answer me, but didn't run away either.

"Umm. If you ARE the one who rescued me, I just wanted to sincerely thank you," I explained while trying not to let it show how awkward I felt. I bent at my waist until I was bowing at a 90-degree angle then straightened back up and awkwardly rubbed my ear. "Thank you very much. I would have died without your help."

The ninja blinked their dark eyes and slowly straightened up from their semi-crouched position. As the ninja turned to face me I realized that not only was the ninja really tall, but I was fairly certain he was a guy. I could feel heat beginning to gather in my cheeks as the ninja and I stared at each other but he still refused to say anything. I glanced at his Sneasler and Scizor, wondering if they might at least have some reaction, but they both had emotionless masks on their faces. Heaving a sigh, I shifted my weight and tried to smile at my odd rescuer.

"I would like to repay you if I can," I offered. "Is there anything that I can do to help you?"

I thought I saw the ninja's eyes narrow slightly at me, but after a moment he shook his head silently. My shoulders slumped as I deflated slightly from his rejection but then I let out a self-deprecating chuckle and tried my best to smile at him.

"I guess that makes sense. It's not like I have money to reward you or any special skills to help with your... Ninja-ing stuff," I said as I waved at his strange outfit.

The ninja let out a snort and I blinked as his eyes flicked away from me and he clenched his fist by his hip. He made no other noise though and the awkward atmosphere was becoming too much for me.

"Alright, well... if you think of anything I can help you with, please let me know. I'm sorry to interrupt your training," I apologized politely before turning away. "Oh," I breathed before looking over my shoulder and giving him a final wave, "My name is Dawn, by the way. Thank you again for saving me."

The ninja nodded silently to me in acknowledgment and I gave him my best grateful smile before turning and leaving him alone. Part of me was disappointed that I had finally found my rescuer but he didn't seem to want anything to do with me... yet another part of me was kind of geeking out that a NINJA had saved me.

If I wasn't convinced I went back in time before then I guess this seals the deal, I thought to myself with a chuckle as I turned my attention towards finding a good spot for some training of my own.

For the rest of my trip back to Jubilife Village I began seeing flashes of black all around me. I had no real proof, but if I turned my head suddenly towards the trees I could swear that I saw a patch of black ducking out of sight. It was probably all in my head, but imagining that I had a ninja guarding me in the shadows was kind of exciting and I couldn't help but wonder if this ninja was the one who had helped me when I was quelling Kleavor's fury.

"If he is following me I wish he would just come out and keep me company," I told Dewott with a sigh as we roasted some nanab berries we had found earlier that day over a fire.

"Dew dewott," she agreed with me as she pulled her nanab berries from the fire and blew on a spot that had begun to smolder slightly.

Something large suddenly fell down right next to me, eliciting a shriek of surprise from me. Dewott jumped in front of me, brandishing her stick with smoldering nanab berries at the unexpected intruder. My entire body felt like it was melting from relief though when the figure straightened and in the flickering firelight, I could see that it was the black-clad ninja.

"Oh my goodness, you nearly gave me a heart attack!" I complained loudly while reaching out and patting Dewott's shoulder soothingly.

Dewott pulled her roasting stick and berries away from the ninja and then plopped down to begin munching on her dinner. I smiled at her and gestured to the pile of berries that I had set on a large handkerchief on the ground. The ninja looked at the pile but shook his head and then sat down next to me. He didn't say anything though, so I decided to start the conversation.

"Was it you that made the explosion when Kleavor was charging at me?" I asked while concentrating on roasting my berry over the fire. I didn't hear a response, but when I looked over at him he met my eyes and slowly nodded.

"Pfft. Are all ninjas shy?" I asked in a teasing tone. The ninja grunted with obvious displeasure and I laughed when he turned away from me in a silent pout. "You came over because you heard me say I wanted you to keep me company, right?"

He slowly turned his head so I could see his eyes again and gave a minuscule shrug. I couldn't stop my smile from spreading and I leaned over to bump his shoulder with mine. His entire body tensed and he narrowed his eyes warily at me but I just chuckled and grinned at him.

"Thank you for looking out for me. Although I wish you would talk to me," I said with a dramatic sigh before peeking at him expectantly.

He let out a muffled huff but remained stubbornly silent, so I shrugged and began carrying on a one-sided conversation. Probably because he had saved me from certain death, I felt completely comfortable with my silent ninja bodyguard. I ended up telling him that I was actually from the future and that I had no idea how I had even made it to this time period. I told him about the future and all of the technologies that I missed, as well as about my profession as a pokemon coordinator that I was sure was a foreign concept in this world where everyone feared pokemon. I talked so long that the fire had nearly burned itself out and I was blinking heavily while trying to stave off sleep.

Dewott had long since curled up on the ground at my hip and fallen asleep. I reached down and patted her warm body with affection as I tried to keep myself awake. Movement in my peripheral vision caused me to look over and see that my ninja had gotten up and walked over to where I had left my rolled-up blanket and travel pack. One of the worst things about being in the past was that they hadn't created the storage capsules that let me travel with every conceivable luxury I wanted without feeling any of the weight. I had learned to travel light, but even then some days I collapsed on the ground and wanted to weep from how sore my shoulders and back were.

I watched lethargically as Mr. Ninja unhooked my blanket from the top of my pack and then came back over to me. My eyes were becoming increasingly heavy and I barely even reacted when he held out a hand to me. I looked at his gloved hand for several seconds before I reached out and placed my own hand in his. With surprising gentleness, Mr. Ninja helped me to my feet and led me to a safe distance from the fire. Even in my groggy state, I was with it enough to bring Dewott along with me, and as I laid down where Mr. Ninja indicated she cuddled up against me naturally. My travel blanket was laid gently over me and I forced myself to open my eyes again to see Mr. Ninja looking down at me.

"Thanks for listening," I told him with a half-smile. "I won't blame you if you don't believe me."

To my surprise, I felt a warm hand pat my head and I blinked up to see Mr. Ninja looking at me with gentleness in his eyes. Tears began to come into my eyes unbidden and I quickly rubbed at them to try and stop them from falling. A rustling sound caught my attention and I glanced over to see Mr. Ninja sitting cross-legged next to my head and his warm hand stroked my head soothingly. My grip on Dewott tightened slightly and I slowly closed my eyes and allowed myself to drift into sleep.

Mr. Ninja was nowhere to be seen when I woke up the next morning. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed, but I didn't voice any complaints as I packed up and made extra sure that my fire had gone out. I took my time going back to Jubilife Village but Mr. Ninja didn't show up to any of my campfires after that and I didn't see any flashes of black following me either, so I assumed he must have gone home.

I wonder where home is for him, I thought to myself quietly as the large wooden wall surrounding Jubilife Village came into view. And I wonder what his name is...

When I walked through the gate the guards all greeted me kindly and I was glad that at least they had come to accept me. Walking through the village there were still about half of the villagers who looked at me with distrust and even after quelling four noble pokemon from their frenzies Commander Kamado still looked surprised and even a little disappointed whenever I walked through the door to report to him. Luckily though, my friendship with Irida and Adaman had blossomed so if worse came to worse then I could probably find somewhere to live within their clans.

"Welcome back, dear girl!" Professor Laventon greeted me joyfully when I walked into his research lab which was located next to Captain Cyllene's office.

I gave him a weary smile and glanced over at the file that had my name written boldly across the front that was on the corner of his desk. Professor Laventon's eyes followed mine and he gave me a helpless shrug.

"I'm sorry, Dawn, but I still have no idea how to return you to your time... Have you asked Adaman about it?"

Since Adaman was the leader of the Diamond clan who claimed to worship a god of time, Professor Laventon suggested I explain my situation to him and see if he had any ideas. Unsurprisingly though, he had no clue how to return me to my life in the future. In fact, he told me that this must be Almighty Sinnoh's will to have me live in this time and that I should not try to go against Almighty Sinnoh's will unless I wanted to face destruction and whatnot.

"I did, but he didn't have anything helpful to say," I said with a huff as I placed one fist on my hip. Dewott cooed up at me sweetly and patted my tense fist gently. I gave her a sad smile and forced my fingers to loosen until I was holding my hip normally.

"Why don't we go get some delicious potato mochi to cheer you up?" Professor Laventon suggested with an almost fatherly expression on his kind face. I'd never known my father, but it was kind of nice to know that I had someone in this time period that seemed to care for me unconditionally.

"I guess it has been a while," I agreed with a half-smile before following Professor Laventon's cheery gait.

As always we sat at one of the outdoor tables and I was surprised when Beni, the owner of the canteen and Shinji's uncle, came out to take our order. I'd only seen Beni a handful of times but I was a little glad that I wouldn't have to deal with Shinji and his attitude today. No sooner had that thought crossed my mind than the door to the canteen opened and out walked Shinji holding a tray full of food.

Rolling my eyes, I purposely turned away from him and pet Dewott's head. Shinji didn't say anything as he placed our dishes and food in front of us. When he set a cup of jasmine tea in front of me I slowly peeked up at him. To my surprise, our eyes met. I felt my eyelids fly open and before I knew it I was standing and leaning so close to Shinji our noses nearly touched. Neither of us moved for a long second as I stared into dark eyes that seemed entirely too familiar to belong to this jerk of a human being.

"My my..." I heard Professor Laventon say under his breath and both Shinji and I blinked, cutting off our strange staring contest. He took a large step back from me and held the now empty tray in front of his chest as if to use it as a shield against me.

"What's gotten into you?" he asked in his familiar deep voice. I narrowed my eyes at him and looked him up and down, realizing that he was close to the same height as the ninja that had kept me company the other night.

But Mr. Ninja SAVED me... and he's such a sweetheart. There's no WAY that Mr. Ninja could be Shinji... right???

One of Shinji's purple eyebrows quirked up in an almost challenging expression and I let out a huff.

"Stay still for a second," I ordered him curtly before closing the distance between us once again. Reaching up, I held one hand up to cover his forehead and the other to cover his nose and mouth so that all I could see were his eyes.

I had only seen Mr. Ninja from afar or when it was dark so I couldn't be completely certain... but the more I looked at Shinji's dark eyes the more I was convinced that he really could be Mr. Ninja. A memory from the last time I came to the canteen flitted through my mind and I slowly lowered my hands.

"Didn't you say that your thing was climbing trees?" I asked suspiciously as I once again tried to imagine Shinji wearing all black.

"You know... if you want to check me out so bad should we go somewhere more private?"

My mouth fell open in aghast shock as Shinji gave me the most infuriating smirk I had ever seen in my life. An embarrassed splutter came from behind me which I ignored as I let my face fill with disgust. Folding my arms firmly across my chest I sneered up at him.

"Ha! You wish. I was just trying to see if you were masquerading as a ninja in your spare time, but there's no way a jerk like you could be him," I sniffed, feeling utterly foolish that I had actually thought for a moment that Shinji could be Mr. Ninja.

Spinning on my heel, I stalked back to my bench and sat down hard before turning my back to Shinji and taking a small sip of my tea. The sound of footsteps retreating was soon followed by the door of the restaurant closing and I let out a long sigh.

"Uh... might I ask what that was about?"

I glanced sheepishly up at Professor Laventon and gave a half-hearted shrug.

"His eyes just reminded me of someone I'm indebted to. I didn't realize he was sleazy enough to make such a comment though," I muttered as I tried to keep myself from blushing. I'd been so offended by Shinji's misunderstanding and his obvious contempt that I hadn't realized how embarrassing his suggestion was until now.

Professor Laventon gave a light cough and muttered something about being "at that age" before he urged me to eat. Deciding that I'd prefer to avoid Shinji, I ate quickly and left the professor before Shinji could come back for the dishes. Knowing that I didn't have long before I needed to head out again to quell the next noble pokemon, I skipped my nightly walk and headed home.

I'd already changed into pajamas and was curled into my futon when a faint knock caught my attention. Frowning slightly I glanced at the door of the cabin Captain Cyllene had assigned me. But when the knock sounded again it seemed to be coming from behind me. Squirming around under my covers, I looked up at the window I was sleeping near. Nothing caught my eye until what looked like a shadow reached out and tapped my window.

Suddenly wide awake, I snapped into an upright position and narrowed my eyes at the suspicious shadow. When the moon caught the shadow and revealed that it was actually a hand covered in black gloves I nearly fainted from relief before I kicked my blanket off me and scrambled up. Mr. Ninja noticed my movement immediately and pulled back slightly before motioning me to open the window.

It took me a second to figure out how this primitive version of a window worked, but I eventually got it open and Mr. Ninja deftly slipped into my room. Realizing that I had just let a grown man into my room in the middle of the night, I took a hesitant step backward and glanced at Dewott who was still sleeping soundly on my futon.

Footsteps so soft it sounded almost like a whisper caught my attention and I looked up to see Mr. Ninja closing the distance between us. I mutely blinked up at him, feeling almost angry when I saw that Mr. Ninja's eyes really were similar to Shinji's, but all coherent thought was blown away when Mr. Ninja reached out and gently touched my cheek with his gloved fingertips. I blinked up at him in confusion as I thought I saw concern flashing in his dark eyes.

"What is it?" I asked although I didn't really expect a response. Mr. Ninja didn't remove his fingertips from my cheek though and instead began lightly tracing underneath my eye. "What? Do I have bags under my eyes? Do I look sick or something?"

Mr. Ninja shook his head silently and finally pulled his hand away, but he brought a finger up to his own eye and traced a line down his cheek before looking at me questioningly. I blinked rapidly and barely held back a chuckle.

"Crying? Did you want to check if I had been crying?" I asked while trying to hold back a giddy giggle.

Mr. Ninja nodded so solemnly that I couldn't hold back a quiet laugh. Who knew ninjas were so sweet? I wondered to myself.

"I didn't cry," I answered while trying to hold back my chuckles. "Why did you think I cried?"

Mr. Ninja looked as uncomfortable as anyone wearing a mask could look. He shifted around and looked to the side before he pantomimed eating from a plate. I wondered why Mr. Ninja insisted on playing charades with me instead of talking, but it was pretty easy to guess what he was getting at.

"Did you see what happened between me and Shinji? Did you think I was upset enough to cry?" I asked to clarify and felt proud of myself when Mr. Ninja nodded. I let out a harsh sigh through my nose and waved my hand dismissively in the air. "It was partially my fault. I mean, I did get into his space because I was so shocked that your eyes are similar. I didn't expect him to make such a vulgar insinuation though. I can't believe I thought that jerk could be you."

Mr. Ninja flinched slightly but then stepped forward and gently rested his hand on my head. My mouth relaxed into a gentle smile as I looked up at this man who I knew literally nothing about except that he had saved my life and had apparently decided to become my personal bodyguard. I found it incredibly sweet that he was comforting me like this and I honestly wanted to reach out and hug him. Unfortunately, I was a little too shy to be that bold and I ducked my head down and cleared my throat to try and erase my silly thought.

"Thank you for checking on me," I whispered sincerely as I peeked back up at him. "It means a lot to me."

Mr. Ninja stroked my head twice more gently before he pulled away. Our eyes met and for half a second I thought he was going to lean in and kiss me. But then he turned away and climbed fluidly out of the window. To my surprise, he didn't disappear into the night immediately though. Instead, he turned around and gently pushed the window back into place. Our eyes met once more and he nodded to me in farewell before taking a step backward and then seemingly melting into the shadows of the night. I couldn't help but press my face against the window to try and spot him, but once I was certain there was no chance of spotting him I reluctantly crawled back into my futon and fell asleep.

Several weeks later I found myself deep in the Alabaster Icelands. This area of Hisui was covered in snow for most of the year and sported huge cliffs and mountains all around. Adaman had led me here because the last noble pokemon that I needed to quell was an avalugg the size of a small mountain. How it got so big and how I was supposed to quell something so gigantic I had no idea. Yet after meeting the warden of Braviary, a noble pokemon who had escaped being struck by the lightning that caused the pokemon the frenzy, I had become obsessed with making preparations for something very different.

Braviary in the Hisui region was twice as big as the braviary I had seen in my travels of the Unova region and the warden had actually created a device that would allow trainers to essentially hang glide underneath Braviary. The first time I had flown with Braviary through the crisp winter air had been slightly terrifying, not gonna lie, but it had been easier than I had anticipated to direct Braviary where I wanted to go.

"This is it, Samurott," I said to my newly evolved partner as I hid my travel pack in a cave we had been sleeping in the last few nights. "Are you certain that you want to do this with me?"

"Sam samurott!" Samurott responded enthusiastically in the affirmative.

Giving her head a kiss I returned her to her clunky wooden pokeball and strapped it firmly to my belt. Not being able to resist, I glanced around one last time.

"Mr. Ninja!" I called out half-heartedly since I had been calling for him for days now without any response. "I'm going to try and go through the Space-Time Rift now. If it works then this is goodbye... so if you're out there please show yourself."

Only a wisp of wind responded to my pleas and I knew that I couldn't put this off any longer. I was at the very top of the highest mountain that I could climb when I used the flute that Adaman had gifted me in order to summon Braviary. It didn't take long for him to appear and I let myself look around one last time before reaching out and taking hold of the bottom bar of the wooden triangle Braviary was holding.

Taking a deep breath, I situated myself as best as I could and then Braviary took off. It was difficult to judge distance once I was so high in the sky, but Braviary climbed steadily higher as we aimed toward the Space-Time Rift. The air was becoming even colder than it had been at the top of the mountain and I was beginning to feel a little dizzy. I shook my head though and kept Braviary pointed directly at the Space-Time Rift. The further we went though, the harder it was to breathe. Braviary didn't seem to notice since he was blissfully carrying on with his strong wings and I tried to not lose my nerve. Black spots began appearing in my vision though and my body was so cold I couldn't even tell if I was gripping the wooden bar properly.

But I'm so close! I screamed inwardly as tears began to fall down my cheeks. Mom, Piplup, Zoey... I just want to go home...

I gazed longingly at the swirling black cloud that was the Space-Time Rift and let out a high-pitched wail before laboriously tugging on the rope in my hand in the signal that meant "down". As if he had been waiting for my signal, Braviary immediately looped around and tipped into a gentle dive back towards the mountain we had come from, which was much further away than I had realized. I was shivering so badly now that I was legitimately afraid that I was going to slide off the hang glide bar. Braviary was incredible though and seemed to sense that I was struggling and made adjustments in his flight trajectory to gently push me back into the center if I began slipping.

About ten feet from the snowy ground a sudden wind blasted from my side. My frozen fingers couldn't hold on anymore and I yelped as I slipped from my perch. Braviary let out a screech as if in answer to my fear-filled yelp, but I was too exhausted to even reach out my hand to the majestic pokemon. Instead of hitting the ground though, strong arms snatched me out of the air.

My teeth were chattering so loudly I couldn't hear anything, but I forced myself to blink open my eyes. Because of my tears, my vision was blurry, but a familiar face covered in a black mask was looking down at me.

"I-i-is this g-g-gonna become a th-thing?" I stuttered tiredly through my chattering teeth.

"You idiotic girl! What were you thinking?"

My eyes widened in shock at the deep voice coming from Mr. Ninja. Before I could even grasp that he had finally broken his vow of silence in order to call me an idiot, he had spun on his heel and began running towards the mountain. The cold from my desperate flight for the Space-Time Rift seemed to be seeping past my skin and into my blood and bones. I'd never felt so cold in my life and I couldn't even gather the wits to insist that I wasn't an idiot for trying to go home.

My vision was still a little blurry so I didn't notice at first that we had left the mountain face and had come into a cave until Mr. Ninja set me down on the rocky ground. He was muttering angrily to himself and I could barely follow his movement as he somehow started a fire, retrieved a blanket, and then yanked off his mask all in what seemed to be the space of a few seconds. My breath hitched in my throat when Mr. Ninja turned around and a very familiar face greeted me, blazing anger and all.

"Shinj-ji," I exhaled in disbelief. He didn't respond though. He reached out and gripped my arms before pulling back with a hiss of disgust.

"What did you do? Fly through a rainstorm? You need to get dry or you'll freeze." Gruffness and anger I expected from Shinji... but the obvious and nearly desperate concern that was in his voice was a bit of a shock.

My mind was so numb I couldn't quite process what was going on and could only shiver and stare at Shinji as he added more wood to the fire and dug through a wooden chest before pulling out some rumpled clothes.

"Dawn, you need to get changed," Shinji insisted firmly as he moved towards me with the clothes. I flicked my gaze at the crumpled clothes that looked like they were several sizes too big for me then back into his concerned face. With a massive effort, I tried to pull at the kimono belt that was holding my thick jacket together but my fingers were so numb and cold that I couldn't seem to get a grip on the knot that had become even tighter after getting wet.

Shinji let out a low groan before he gingerly reached out and held my hands inside of his. A sharp gasp of pain left me as I realized just how ice cold my fingers were now that they were clutched in Shinji's warm palms which seemed scaldingly hot because of how cold I was. Worry lanced across Shinji's strong features and he rubbed my fingers in between his hands for a few seconds before dropping them and reaching out for my belt.

"This is an emergency, okay? If you don't get out of these wet clothes you really might die. I'm not trying to make a move on you," Shinji insisted as he pulled off first my belt, then my jacket.

The cold air in the cave seemed to sting my exposed skin, but Shinji just kept pulling off my soaked clothes until I only had my undergarments left. Just as efficiently he pulled on what was obviously his extra clothes since the pants were a whole handspan too long and I felt like I was swimming in his shirt. The clothes he had for me were not exactly warm though and as I continued to shiver a strange numbness was overtaking me and I began to blink my eyes heavily as overpowering sleepiness enveloped me.

"No, no, no. Dawn! Do NOT fall asleep like this! You need to stay awake!"

"M'awake," I mumbled half-heartedly as I tried to wrap my arms around myself to try and conserve any remaining body heat that I might have.

With my eyes half-lidded I saw Shinji wrap that large blanket he had procured around his back and then he reached down and picked me up as easily as if I were a doll. Two steps later Shinji plopped both of us in front of the fire with me sitting on his crossed legs and leaning my back against his chest and then he wrapped the blanket firmly around both of us.

"Stay awake, Dawn," Shinji said quietly as he gripped the blanket closed with one hand and then began briskly rubbing his other hand up and down my frigid arm. "You'll be warm soon, so just stay awake. Please."

I didn't have the energy to speak anymore. Wrapped in Shinji's body heat and the warm blanket though it became almost painfully clear to me that my nose and ears were still shockingly cold. Without much thought, I leaned back even further against Shinji's warm chest and turned my head so that my ear was nestled against Shinji's collarbone while my nose pressed against his neck. Shinji flinched but almost immediately he tilted his head so that his cheek was pressed firmly against my temple and his warm breath was flowing gently across my exposed ear.

"You'll be okay, Dawn. You'll be okay," Shinji murmured soothingly into my ear as he switched hands so he could rub my other arm.

I had never before felt so protected and safe. Little by little my shivering ceased and sensation began to re-enter my fingers and toes in the form of sharp pangs like pins and needles going through my flesh. I didn't bother complaining about the pain though and instead just nestled further into Shinji's embrace.

Honestly, a nap sounded really good right about now, but I tried my best to resist the almost overpowering drowsiness that had fallen on me and tried to clear my throat. Shinji shifted slightly and I was almost sad when he lifted his face from mine but I forced myself to meet his dark eyes that were still filled with concern.

"Why were you always so rude to me at the restaurant but so nice when you were in your ninja outfit?"

Shinji looked stunned, obviously not having expected that to be the first question I would ask in this situation, but he let out a breathy chuckle and moved from rubbing my arm to my lower leg all the way down to my toes that were hiding in the extra fabric of the pants he had given me.

"The whole point of wearing a mask is to keep your identity hidden. Ninjas who expose themselves are as good as dead," Shinji answered in an alarmingly monotone voice for such a shocking statement.

"So you insulted me and suggested I admire you in private because you didn't want me to figure out you were the ninja that saved me?" I asked with a disbelieving huff, yet I didn't even consider pulling away from his warmth.

To my surprise, Shinji actually looked a little embarrassed and he glanced away from me for a second before meeting my gaze again.

"I... didn't mean to insult you that first day," he muttered in what could pass as an apologetic tone. "I genuinely had never heard of the name Dawn for a girl. And I kind of panicked when you asked me if I was a ninja so abruptly. I just wanted to make sure you didn't figure it out and... I shouldn't have said that. I know you weren't looking at me for that reason but... it was the first thing that came to mind."

"Hmph," I snorted weakly. "You must be popular with the ladies if that was your first thought to distract me." Even as the words came out of my mouth a strange tightness began to clench in my chest and I realized that the thought of Shinji being with someone else was incredibly unpleasant.

"Other girls don't interest me."

Both Shinji and I stiffened at his response and I was surprised that he seemed just as shocked to have said that as I was to have heard it. A rush of heat raced up my neck and into my cheeks and I quickly ducked my head down to avoid his eyes for a minute. Does that mean he's interested in me? I wondered to myself in shock as Shinji cleared his throat uncomfortably.

"Were you seriously trying to get to the Space-Time Rift flying with Braviary?" Shinji asked in a gruff tone. I wasn't sure I wanted to change the subject, but at the same time, I wasn't brave enough to ask him to clarify what he meant so I reluctantly responded to him.

"It seemed like a good idea at the time. I didn't realize just how far up it was though. I should have been more prepared," I admitted with a dejected sigh. I had truly thought this would work, yet it was obvious I had been naive.

"Do you miss it that much?"

I blinked and looked up at Shinji, surprised at the gentleness and what almost seemed like vulnerability in his voice. He was stubbornly looking away from me, but I caught him peeking at me from the corner of his eye. Something inside me melted a little, and I shifted slightly on Shinji's lap. He flinched from my unexpected movement, but he didn't move away when I settled back down with my feet and toes snuggly under one of his crossed legs and leaned both my shoulder and my bent knees against Shinji's chest before tucking my forehead up against his neck. I could feel it when he swallowed, but he didn't say anything about our new position and simply pulled the blanket a little tighter around us.

"Of course I miss it," I said with a sigh. "I miss my mom, my friends, my pokemon... I miss the technologies I'm used to and my favorite desserts. I don't know how I came here in the first place and I have no idea how to get back."

Silence enveloped us after my admission and only the crackle of the burning wood could be heard in the small cave. Shinji's chest rose up as he took a deep breath in and I was surprised when his arms around me tightened even more.

"My parents died when I was really young," Shinji said in a voice that was barely above a whisper. "Apparently there was a really powerful pokemon that lived near our village and for some reason, it attacked and killed nearly everyone. My master managed to save me, but we were the only two people to survive. We joined Team Galaxy since it was too painful for my master to stay in the land where all of his loved ones had passed away. Even though I grew up with the Galaxy Team... I've never really felt like a part of their group. I'm different. As a ninja, I've been training pokemon since I was young to help me in missions, although my master hasn't allowed me to seek an employer since he's too worried I'll end up killing myself on a mission and then he'd be left alone."

"I'm so sorry, Shinji," I whispered, wishing I had something better to say to him. He let out a wry chuckle and glanced down at me for a brief moment before turning to look at the fire.

"Yah well, if I hadn't been feeling frustrated from being cooped up in the village all the time I wouldn't have sneaked out to train the day you fell from the rift. So maybe it all happened for a reason."

I blinked several times before I gathered the courage to lift my head and look at him. I couldn't tell since the only light in the cave was coming from the flickering fire, but it did seem like his cheeks were a little rosier than usual.

"That sounds as if you think it's destiny that you saved me," I pointed out slowly while willing my heart to not beat so quickly. Shinji only spared me a cursory glance before refocusing on the flames of his small fire and giving a minuscule shrug.

"It's not every day a guy saves a pretty girl from certain death," he mumbled. I was sure I was blushing furiously by this point but Shinji continued as if he didn't want to give me time to respond. "When we met without my ninja suit on I was a little surprised at how fierce you were and how much you seemed to care for your pokemon. My master taught me to treat my pokemon as tools and to never forget that they are capable of monstrosities. And yet you treated your Oshawott like she was a family member. And you were able to quell a noble pokemon that was in a frenzy. The more I watched you the more I wanted to get to know you... but my master would expel me from the village if I let my secret out."

"What?!" I yelped as I sat up straighter and stared into Shinji's shocked face. "But this master person is someone who raised you, aren't they? How could they threaten to abandon you like that?"

Shinji blinked in surprise at my outburst but simply shrugged.

"That's just how it is when you're a ninja. That's why I was trying so hard to keep you from figuring it out. Plus," Shinji leaned back against the wall of the cave and gave me a somewhat awkward smile, "I knew I hadn't made a good impression on you as my normal self. So I didn't want you to associate 'Mr. Ninja' with someone you disliked."

I sputtered out a giggle at Shinji using the nickname that I had come up with since he would never tell me his name as a ninja. My smile soon fell though as I looked at his face and slowly reached out my fingertips. He twitched slightly when I gently placed my fingers on his cheek but he met my worried gaze with steady eyes.

"Then why did you take off your mask? Won't you get in trouble?" I asked hesitantly. To my surprise, Shinji smiled at me and leaned forward slightly so that my palm was cupping his cheek and he was staring directly into my eyes.

"I wasn't about to let you die after I went to so much trouble to keep you alive this whole time," he said softly, his warm breath wafting deliciously against my nose and lips. A small shiver went up my spine and a much gentler version of the smirk I had come to associate with Shinji crossed his lips. I pouted gently at him but when I heard his deep chuckle something inside me melted and I couldn't help but smile.

"Well, I promise I won't tell anyone your secret," I responded softly as I gently brushed my thumb across his cheek.

Shinji gave me another teasing smirk and I sucked in a surprised breath when he suddenly turned his face into my hand and kissed my wrist. Tingles rippled through my whole body at the unexpected touch and Shinji seemed quite pleased with himself when he turned back to look me in the eye.

"Even if you did, I'd just take you with me. We'd make a good team," he said quietly, but even though his words were confident I could see the hesitance in his expression. As if he was silently asking if I would go with him.

I bit my bottom lip for a second as I realized the significance of my potentially agreeing with him, even if it seemed like a joke. My thumb slowly stroked Shinji's cheekbone as I tried to picture living in this ancient world with no one but Shinji and my pokemon to rely on.

"I... don't want to give up on trying to go home..." I started hesitantly and my heart dropped when disappointment shone brightly in Shinji's dark eyes. Taking a deep breath, I plunged on. "But... As long as I'm stuck here, I'd like to become closer to you, Shinji. The real you."

Shinji blinked down at me silently for a few seconds before a sly smile slowly began to lift the corners of his mouth.

"How close are we talking here?" he asked with obvious mirth in his voice. I blinked rapidly at this unexpected response and an embarrassing squeak escaped me when Shinji dropped his hold on the blanket and circled his hands around my waist to pull me even closer to him. "This close?" he asked with a teasing gleam in his dark eyes.

"I meant emotionally close, you jerk." I forced the words out of my throat that had gone strangely tight as I slipped both of my hands onto his chest and pushed lightly against him, trying to give myself some space before my entire face turned red.

"Are you sure?" Shinji asked with that same teasing tone that made my insides squirm pleasantly. I opened my mouth to retort but snapped it shut again when Shinji leaned down so close our noses touched and I found myself staring deeply into his dark eyes. "Because I'm pretty sure being emotionally close would lead us to become physically close, so isn't it pretty much the same thing?"

I was having a hard time swallowing as my attention was completely captured by Shinji's smoldering eyes and his hands which were beginning to softly caress my side and back. After a moment without me being able to say a word, Shinji closed the remaining distance between us and delicately captured my lips with his. I breathed in sharply through my nose at this unexpected but not entirely undesired development and Shinji retreated just enough that if I wanted to I could easily melt against his lips once again.

"I understand if you want to go back home," he said shakily and I was surprised at the depth of emotion that was coming from him. "But I hope someday you'll want to choose me... or at least bring me with you if you try going back again."

A tear dripped down my cheek at the raw emotion in his voice. I couldn't say with certainty right now that I would choose Shinji over going back home, but I knew that at this moment I wanted to be with him.

Not trusting my voice to work when I was so emotionally charged, instead, I leaned forward and pressed my lips against his. As if he'd been waiting for me the whole time, Shinji's hold on me tightened and he kissed me back more passionately than I even knew how to respond to. When I gasped at the intensity I felt something warm and firm push past my lips and suddenly our tongues were twisting around each other. Seconds passed like hours as we kissed, constantly pulling each other closer as if we were each other's only source of oxygen left in the world.

When we finally broke apart both of us were panting and I could hardly believe that I'd been close to freezing to death recently since I'd never felt so warm in my life. Shinji rested his forehead against mine and let out a sigh that seemed both content and longing at the same time. I licked my lips, surprised at how much they were still tingling after this new sensation I had experienced. I pulled my forehead back only enough to reach up and kiss Shinji in between his eyebrows. He met my eyes with a questioning smile and I couldn't help but smile sweetly at him.

"Does this mean I have a ninja for a boyfriend?" I asked teasingly. One of Shinji's eyebrows quirked up in an equally teasing expression and I gasped when he leaned forward and nipped my earlobe gently.

"If you think I'm letting you go after a kiss like that then you're crazy," Shinji whispered into my ear and a delicious shiver went up my spine.

I reached up and circled my arms around his neck and buried my face just below his jaw. Shinji seemed perfectly happy to return my hug and I was pleased when I felt an echoing shiver go through his body when I began to kiss his neck.

"I don't know what the future will hold," I said quietly after our second makeout session that had left me dizzy from lack of oxygen. "But I hope we can figure it out together."

Shinji smiled quietly down at me and leaned down. He brushed against my eyebrow with the bridge of his nose and after I closed my eyes he gently kissed both of my eyelids before leaving a soft kiss on my lips.

"Sounds good to me," he breathed out contentedly.

We fell asleep wrapped in each other's arms that night and for the first time since I had been brought to this time period, I felt truly and completely at peace.

A/N Merry Christmas! Sorry I'm a little late this year. For those of you who have a switch and have not yet played Pokemon: Legend of Arceus I HIGHLY recommend it! This was my own little spoof on the game as a one shot (which is why it's so open-ended since I needed to cut it off!) but the game is seriously incredible and really challenging. I hope you have a wonderful New Year!!!