It took a minute to figure out how to lift off, but once I did, I got to feel the blissful feeling that was having such powerful wings and the wind. Pika called a warning to me, and I slowed down -- I was flying too fast and he was having trouble to hang on. "Sorry!" I called back.

Flying over the vast sea was nerve-racking for sure, knowing about my tail and even just potentially drowning, but it was so perfect. I felt free, nothing could harm or bother me.

"Pearl, what's this about you knowing why you aren't human?" Pika's voice go stolen by the wind, I almost couldn't hear him.

"I don't know," I said, semi-truthfully. Would I have been so nervous and secretive in my past life? "Something in the journal's tipped me off that who I was wasn't exactly... normal. She never mentioned it, but had mentioned problems, worrying about if... some organization would find out. I'm not sure." We seemed to be halfway there, now. I'm so fast! I thought to myself. I never want to change back to a Charmander. I can just tell them I evolved.

"Do you know to change back, or to a different form, like Charmeleon?" I heard Pika shout.

"Not a clue," I called back. "I just felt some intense emotions before the pain came..." I felt Pika shift his grip on my neck, and he grabbed onto my bag. "Might want to grab onto my neck again, I don't think the bag will hold if you lose your grip."

I felt him change his grip again. "Do you think it has anything to do with the dizzy spells? The visions?"

I shook my head. "No. Though both seem to have physical consequences, but one I have very, very limited control over."

We flew in silence from then on. It wasn't that long, really. I still marveled at my strength, and the familiarity -- I must have been in this form before. And that memory of a power surge... I wanted to know more, but the writer of the journal was adamant about not letting someone know what she was. She -- or I -- was probably worried about losing the journal, or having it stolen by whoever she was fighting against... That is you, idiot, get it through your head, I reminded myself firmly.

     We landed at Lost Wilderness, and it did seem a bit... well, lost. It looked like a normal plain -- though I had been expecting a forest -- but had an underlying aura to it that I wasn't too sure about. It was like what we were seeing was an illusion, but one not able to see through.

"Alright," I began, trying to see as far as possible. "Guess we better start, huh? Hopefully this won't be anything crazy..." But why would Hex and Kip be stopped if this wasn't something serious? I wondered.

"I guess so," Pika answered as he began walking, and I fell into step beside him. I could tell he was thinking along similar lines. "Too bad we didn't come here with them, we could have used a rollcall orb and summoned them to us."

"How would that have helped?" I asked. "We could probably use one now if we had one."

Pika shook his head. "No, the team -- or Clan, in our case," he added as a half-joke, "would have to all touch the orb and say they're part of the same explorer team. We'd all have to say, 'I, Pika, am a part of Team PokéClan,' and then the orb would be registered in a sense to us for a while."

"Okay," I said slowly. "Those are quite odd mechanics."

"They're useful," Pika replied simply.

We scanned for orange and blue blobs in the distance as we explored on foot, but we didn't see many. I saw a Lucario a few times, and the first time I had had an urge to run to him and say I was glad to see him, if it was even male, but I could tell that I didn't know him. Especially when he looked our way and appraised us, to see if we were worth a battle, and if he'd win. Maybe he thought I was stronger than I was, due to my new Charizard form.

"I wish this were easier," I commented aloud.

Pika grunted in response. Then he exclaimed, "Flamethrower!"

"Pika," I began as I turned to him in surprise, "You can't command me to use Flamethrower, and I don't--" but I saw what he was looking at. A pillar of fire that looked like a geyser just east of us. "That's got to be them!"

"I think it has to be!" Pika agreed, and he was already climbing up on my back.

I took off, flying fast toward them. with too much excitement, I stumbled in the air -- Is there a word for stumbling while flying? I thought to myself as I regained balance. In the air, I could see the colors of the Pokémon below, and they were orange and blue.

A swirl of fire shot up at me, followed by Will-O-Wisp. The later didn't affect me, but I had to get out of the way in case Pika got hit. "Hex, it's Pearl and Pika!" I yelled, though it came out in a roar. The blue blob down there, Kip, either roughly nudged or rammed into Hex, and the Fire Spin died. I hovered above for a moment, Pika looking over my shoulder as the two seemed to converse. Slowly, I began to descend. "Hey, guys?" I called.

"Hex, Kip, are you okay?" Pika asked, worried.

He was right to be worried. Both of them looked ragged, and were obviously tired. Hex's fur, usually so neat, was sticking up in places and parts dyed with a little blood. Some of the collection of stat-scarves and -ribbons on her six tails were ripped and dirty. Kip was no better, though his cuts weren't bloody, just newer scabs, but he had dirt to match Hex's.

"What in the name of Arceus happened to you two?" I asked. "You guys look like you've been through... er, something interesting.

Hex studied me warily. "You're Pearl?" she asked, hostility in her eyes. She seemed to make eye contact with Pika. "Come here, Pika," she said. When he obeyed hesitantly, unsure of what was going on, I glanced at Kip.

His eyes were wide, though with fear or awe I wasn't sure. He started toward me. "Wow, Pearl," was all he said.

"Stay away from the Charizard!" Hex ordered Kip. "Pokémon don't just evolve. You two should know better than to trust her. The only way to evolve is at Luminous Spring, and you both should know it hasn't worked in a few years."

Kip began to say something, maybe in my defense or maybe to agree, but another memory sprang forth.

There was music, and I felt a part of it. A light illuminating a grey, lifeless forest, and the white light of evolution...

"That is Pearl," Kip insisted, as if he had said it before. "Trust me, Hex."

"It really is!" Pika agreed. "I saw her evolve, but she skipped Charmeleon --"

"Guys," I rumbled. "Okay, I think I know what's going on, but I don't want to say it here with ears listening in, okay?"

Hex seemed unsure. "How many days have you spent with us now, Pearl?" she asked suddenly.

"This is the fifth day," I answered. "And I was human, I knew a Grovyle or Treecko, and you two invited Pika and I into your exploration team."

Hex was surprised. "That's quite something," she said finally. "You think you know why you did, well, that?"

I shook my head. "This happened spontaneously, with pain I couldn't understand, but I could recognize. Maybe I can find something in the journal entries, but this person was very secretive and had some nerves with this topic. If she is, in fact, me, I must have been so worried and cautious about this for a reason, and I don't plan on throwing that all away."

Hex nodded. "Makes sense, I suppose. That will make the trip home quicker, huh?" She gave a small laugh.

I nodded enthusiastically. "We set out early this morning and got here before the sun was fully up," I said. "The ride home won't be long at all. Climb on."

As they tried to get paw-holds, mainly with one of them -- Pika -- holding onto my neck, and the others holding onto each other, I lifted off slowly and carefully, flying the same way.

"I don't want to explain this at the Guild," I called back. I heard one of them respond, but I couldn't understand. "I can't hear you well, so I'll do my best to explain what I know.

"The Pearl in the journal mentions a power, and I've gotten to a part where she begins to use it -- it's like a Ditto's Transform move, apparently. She -- or maybe I -- is not entirely human anymore. I was wondering if this was a part of it, since I recognize this form, and a fragment of a memory was brought back with it, as well. A power-surge... but I won't know how that even could happen."

I heard the voice again, and I recognized it a Hex's, partly because it was too close to be Pika's.

"I want to not let anyone know this exists," I said. "When we get back to the beach, I'm going to try concentrating on being a Charmander. At first, I didn't want to change back, but either I or she was wary for a reason, and learning that it is impossible for me to evolve right now... Well, we're almost there, anyway."

The rest of the flying was pretty quiet, though behind me I heard a voice here and there. Maybe Pika was asking about Hex and Kip's mission. I didn't know.

Finally, I could see the beach. With tired and aching wings, I let myself glide -- even that was hard, though, since I had to hold out my wings and keep them there, and they were not light -- in a descent to the warm, welcoming sand that felt good in between my talons.

As the rest of the team slid or climbed down my back, they began talking. Hex was getting into the details of how they'd been ambushed by the outlaw, a Lucario, along with a few friends of his, and how they managed to escape many fire- and water-type moves later, creating a steam-screen to get away.

I began concentrating on my own body, internally trying to make myself smaller or something. When the pain from before I shifted began to start, I concentrated even more on making myself a small Charmander.

It came in full force. My bones felt like they were coming out of their sockets a bit, compacting before the extra parts seemed to dissolve. My wings slowly returned to normal shoulder blades, and the horns on my head shrunk. My muscles reset themselves, no longer needed for wings and flying, and same with my tail, as I didn't need it to keep balance in the air.

When the pain faded a bit more, Kip was by my side, saying encouraging things like, "It's almost done, you're okay." My body felt like it had been pummeled, and I just let myself fall belly-down in the sand, careful about my tail-flame.

"That is exhausting," I said. "Why on earth would I have ever wanted that?"

Kip didn't answer, and I didn't expect him to. By all rights, I didn't belong in this world. I was from somewhere else, and this ability proves that I am the author of the journal.

When I felt a bit stronger, we made our way to the Guild. Pika walked on my right side, Hex and Kip on my left, and they all glanced at me, as if to make sure I was still standing. Over the grate, in the tent, and finally down the ladder, Chatot was waiting for us. He told Pika and I to just rest, since "rookies shouldn't be going on rescue missions, you two are lucky enough I let you, you know!" I was more than happy to do that, all I wanted was to relax and let my body sort itself out, not to mention read more of the journal. If I could learn anything, I would be needing it.

❦ ✦ ❦ ✦ ❦
December 25, 2017
     Merry Christmas, guys! Sorry for the wait, and sorry for the filler chapter, like the last one I thought this would be shorter, but no... Before my winter semester begins, I'll try getting out the next chapter (thank you all for being so patient with me, I've been writing other things as well as this, which I shouldn't be doing. Especially when one is the next book, go figure).

Edit: Just a few edits, nothing has changed in the story. The next chapter will be out in a few days!