<Flicker's POV>

I blinked my eyes open and groaned. That portal ride was rougher than most. I sat up and winced as I put weight on my burned hand. Stupid Hidden Ability. Why couldn't I have the normal Dratini ability?

I glanced around and saw Ruby slowly sitting up, shaking her head. Flash was already walking around and observing our surroundings. Lucky him, being a cat Pokemon. He always lands on his feet.

I also took the oppurtunity to take in our location. We appeared to be in a small clearing located in the middle of an extremely dense forest.

"Hey Flicker, Ruby. Are you two okay?" Flash inquired, noticing we were getting up.

"Yeah," Ruby and I chorused.

"I just I could land on some pillows instead of hard ground for a change," I grumbled.

"You've landed on me several times," Ruby countered.

"Well, at least I never landed on a tree over a cliff," I retorted.

"That was not my fault!" Ruby snapped.

"As cute as it is to watch you two argue, we've got bigger problems right now," a person snapped.

I glanced behind me to see the white- haired girl glaring at us with brown eyes fill with annoyance.

"You're welcome," I snarled while I stood up, being wary of my burned hand.

"I never asked you to save me," the girl growled.

"You could at least show some gratitude," Ruby replied.

"Yes, let me thank you eternally for throwing me into a swirling vortex and landing in the middle of nowhere," the girl stated sarcastically.

"It's better than fire, isn't it?" I countered.

The girl momentarily stiffened, before glaring at me. "You keep your mouth shut."

"Make me," I replied.

"Flicker, Ruby, calm down," Flash chided, "She's probably just on edge. A traumatic experience like that can do that."

The girl whirled to face Flash, rage sparking in her eyes. "Traumatic? That was hardly traumatic! That was a horrifying, near- death experience!"

Flash back up and looked away from the girl. "That's what traumatic means..." Flash mumbled.

"Are you back- talking me?" the girl snarled, advancing on Flash.

Flash backed away from the girl until his back hit a tree. Fear flashed through his eyes as the girl stalked closer. "N- no! O- of course n- not!"

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" Ruby shouted, grabbing the girl by her coat collar and yanking her way from Flash roughly.

The girl stumbled and fell to the ground, and shock flashed through her eyes.

Ruby stood above the girl and glared  at her. "You will not threaten my friends in front of me," she growled, "You will not treat us as mats for you to walk over. We are living beings just like you and deserve to be treated as such. I am going to let you off with a warning. But if you so much as think about hurt Flash or Flicker again, you will pay the price. Understood?"

The girl nodded mutely, staring at Ruby with wide eyes.

"Good," Ruby stated, "Now apologize."

"But I-" the girl started.

"Now," Ruby snarled.

"I'm sorry for the way I've been treating you!" the girl exclaimed, "I won't do it again!"

"Good," Ruby stated. She offered her hand to the girl. The girl reluctantly took it, and Ruby helped her up. "Now let's start again. Hi, my named is Andrea Blake, but you can call me Ruby."

Flash stood beside Ruby. "My name is Noah McHenry," he mumbled, "I go by Flash at the PSA."

After a moment of silence, Ruby glanced at me. "Aren't you going to introduce yourself?" she asked me.

"Nope," I replied, "I don't trust that girl."

"Be polite and introduce yourself!" Ruby snapped.

"No," I snarled.

"Flicker," Ruby sighed as the girl tensed, fury in her eyes, "Please. We don't need fighting right now."

"Fine," I relented. I grudgingly faced the girl. "My real name is Victor Silverdale, but everyone calls me Flicker."

The girl nodded. "My name is Shimmer," she stated.

"What's your real name?" Ruby pressed.

"Uh... real name?" Shimmer inquired.

"Yeah," Ruby stated, "Our nicknames were given to us by our class at the PSA, but they aren't our real names. They're our Shifter names."

"I -uh, I knew that," Shimmer replied, "My name is... uh... it's..."

"Don't tell me you've forgotten your name," I snorted.

"Flicker!" Ruby snapped, "Control your temper!"

I glared at Ruby, but opted to remain silent as Shimmer continued to puzzle over the philosophical mystery of her name.

"I thought Shimmer was my name," she mumbled, "But it can't be. However, it has to be. What else could it be? I don't remember..."

I glanced at Flash, who was watching Shimmer with keen interest. Ruby noticed this as well.

"What do you think, Flash?" she inquired.

Flash thought for a moment, then replied, "Amnesia. Possibly due to smoke inhalation."

"Can inhaling smoke really do that?" I asked.

"I'm not one hundred percent sure," Flash replied, "We would have to take her by professionals to be certain."

"We can't go back to the PSA," Ruby replied, "The portal's busted."

Ruby motioned to where the portal should have been. In its place was a small, sienged disc, with scorch marks around it.

"That can't be good," I noted.

Ruby nodded, "Now we're stuck here until we can find some human or Pokemon who knows about the Pokemon Shifter Academy to help us."

"There should be someone nearby," Flash observed, "The PSA wouldn't have left the portal unguarded."

"I don't care what we do, we just need to get out of here!" Shimmer snapped suddenly, startling everyone.

"I thought you were still in shock," Flash stammered.

"Obviously not," I grumbled.

"I heard what you said. Lose of memories due to smoke inhalation," Shimmer stated, "Well, I want my memories back, which means that we have to go back to the PSA, right?"

"We might be able to find professional help here," Flash replied, "We would just have to look."

"I thought you three were familiar with this place," Shimmer growled.

"No," Ruby replied, "The portal was in Principal Ria's office, which means it must lead to someplace special, right?" Ruby looked to Flash for confirmation.

"That's right," Flash nodded, "If we walk in one direction, we should reach society eventually."

"Great," Shimmer mumbled, "Stuck in the wilderness with three class clowns. Exactly what I want."

"We could just leave you here," I offered, "If you want to sit in this clearing moping, I would be more than happy to let you."

"Just for the record, I hate this idea," Shimmer grumbled as she unhappily followed Ruby.

We wandered around the forest for a long time. We had arrived in the morning, but by the time we finally found a town, the sun was setting, painting the sky with beautiful shades of pink and gold.

The village was relatively small when compared to most towns in the human world, consisting of only a few shops and small clusters of houses.

"This doesn't look like any town I've ever seen before," Ruby noted, "How about you?"

"I've never seen it either," I replied, "And I've played every Pokemon game in existence."

"What does that have to do with anything?" Shimmer demanded, "This is Earth, not some fantasy land!"

"You must have realized by now that everyone at the Pokemon Shifter Academy is part Pokemon by now," Flash noted, "What makes the Pokemon world itself so different?"

"The fact that it's just a cheap game made for little kids!" Shimmer snarled, "None of it is real!"

"If that's not real than neither are you!" I snapped, "You're more hard- headed than I am! Town, real. Pokemon, real. You, stupid."

"I am obviously smarter than you, if you're falling for the lie that Pokemon are real!" Shimmer exclaimed.

"Let me smack you in the face with a Twister and see if you still think that!" I retorted.

"ENOUGH!" Ruby shouted, standing between Shimmer and I, "This argument will get us no where. Shimmer, whether you believe us or not, you still need treatment. As a matter of fact, we all probably do. There must be a medical facility in this town, no matter which world it's in."

"I guess you're right," Shimmer mumbled unhappily, "But don't think this means I agree with you!"

"Wouldn't expect any less, your stubbornness," I replied snarkily.

"Be quite, loser," Shimmer snarled, glaring at me.

"Seriously, you two? Can't you stop arguing for thirty seconds?" Ruby sighed, "I'm confident that none of us are happy to be hear right now, but bickering constantly doesn't help the situation at all. Now come on."

Flash happily followed Ruby, while Shimmer and I exchanged a death glare before continuing on to the village.

After wandering around, we eventually arrived at a building that had we words "Pokemon Center" written beneath a large Pokeball.

Geez, could they make it any more obvious? I wondered.

Ruby pushed open the door and walked in. The rest of us followed her.

At the desk sat a middle aged lady with pink pigtails that curled into a loop.

"Hello," the lady smiled, "What can I do for you today?"

"Hello, Nurse Joy," Ruby smiled back, "We appear to have gotten lost in the woods. Can you tell us where we are?"

"Why, Primum Village, in the Concordia Region," Nurse Joy explained, "Surely you've heard of it? Our Champion is from this town."

"Of course," Ruby replied, "Silly me. I was foolish not to have recognized it sooner. But this friend of mine seems to be suffering from amnesia. Could you have someone look at her? We would have gone to the hospital, but we don't have those kinds of funds."

Nurse Joy nodded. "Of course. I can call in a doctor. It won't cost any money for them to look at her. But if there is a serious problem, she will have to go to the doctor."

"Thank you!" Ruby thanked Nurse Joy, "There's just one more thing I would like to ask you. How much would two rooms cost?"

"That depends on how long you wish to stay," Nurse Joy answered cheerfully, "One night is free of cost, but longer will cost you 150 Pokedollars a night."

"We'll only need one night, thank you," Ruby stated.

Nurse Joy took two keys out from under her desk. "Your rooms are 135 and 136," she stated, "I'll call you down when the doctor arrives, okay?"

"You've been really helpful, Nurse Joy," Ruby replied, "Thanks a lot."

"Anytime!" Nurse Joy exclaimed as Ruby took the room keys and handed one to me.

"Go to check our your room with Flash, and then go ahead and get some dinner. I'll meet you in the cafeteria after Shimmer sees the doctor," Ruby commanded.

"Yes ma'am," I stated, turning to a staircase located at the far left of the Pokemon Center.

Flash followed me as I walked up the stepped to the second floor of the center. I walked down the long hallway until a reached a door with the number 135 written on it. Inserting the key into the doorknob, I slowly opened the doorway and entered the room.

It was basic hotel room, consisting of a small bathroom tucked near the entrance and two beds farther into the lodging. Between the beds was a nightstand, and a TV was bolted on to the wall opposite the beds.

I promptly claimed to bed closest to the window as mine, and Flash took the other one.

"Hey, Flash," I stated, getting Flash's attention, "Have you even heard of the Concordia Region?"

Flash thought for a moment. "No, I don't believe so," he replied, "It must be a new region that hasn't been made into a game yet."

"Yeah," I sighed, "It's disappointing, though. Now we have no clue where we are, and I doubt that the PSA will find us anytime soon. They'll check all the more popular regions, like Kalos or Unova, before they ever think to look in places like this."

Flash nodded in agreement. "And that's assuming that they even think to look for us. They might believe that we died in the fire. However, we might find out more about this region by watching the news."

"Great idea, Flash!" I exclaimed. I hunted for the TV remote until I eventually located it in one of the nightstand's drawers. Pointing to the TV, I clicked the on button, and the screen flashed brightly, automatically switching to a news station.

"In inter- regional news, a strange aurora has appeared in the skies of Sinnoh. This strange occurance is baffling scientists. While it is normal to see these lights in the atmosphere of Northern Sinnoh, the appearance of this in Southern Sinnoh is truly a phenomenon. Some people believe this may be the work of an undiscovered Pokemon. Whatever the reason, we can enjoy this wonderful work of nature-"

"Blah, blah, blah," I grumbled, as I watched the broadcast, "Nobody cares about inter- regional news. I just want the regional news."

"Scientist from regions far and wide are coming to observe this strange anomaly, each eager to find the answer. Now, on to the regional news."

"Finally!" I exclaimed.

"The daughter of the high tycoon, Dr. Kurtz of Poke- Potions, is still missing. She was last seen outside of her school, Sator Middle High School, with her Skitty."

A picture of a girl with pink hair and golden eyes flashed up onto the screen. The girl was holding a Skitty and smiling cheerfully. A caption beneath the picture read Amelia Jessica Kurtz, Age 14.

"If anyone has seen Amelia Kurtz, please call the number on the screen. And award of 10,000,000 Pokedollars is being offered for her safe return. Now, on to Mr. Charter and his Castforme for the weather."

I promptly switched the TV off, and the screen went black. "That was less than helpful," I complained, placing the remote onto the nightstand.

"Let's go eat," Flash suggested, "It could still take Ruby and Shimmer some time to finish, and there' s no point in staying here."

"Fine," I agreed, "I need food anyway."

Flash and I exited the room, being careful that we closed and locked the door behind us. We then walked down the staircase and into the cafeteria. There was a verity of food their, ranging from simple breakfast cereals for the light eaters to entire pizzas over three feet wide. I made a bee- line for the pizza while Flash chose to take a lighter meal of a cheese quesadilla and salad. For the drinks, I chose a Pixie from the soda fountain and Flash took a bottle of mountain spring water.

We took all of our food to one of the many tables located around the cafeteria before sitting down to eat. I was finishing what was left of my drink while Flash nibbled on his quesadilla when Ruby and Shimmer came up to us, each holding a plate of food.

Ruby had chosen a vegetarian hot dog with a bottle of Moomoo milk, while Shimmer had some rice balls and cooked vegetables with some Dr. Spice to drink.

Both sat down at the table, and silently began eating. I glanced at Flash uncomfortably. It rarely meant something good when people were this quiet.

The silence held for several minuets, until I finally asked, "So, how did the doctor's thing go?"

The glare that I received from both girls made me wish I hadn't mentioned that.

"It didn't go so well," Ruby sighed.

"The doctor didn't know anything!" Shimmer exclaimed angrily, "Can you believe it? She said that nothing appeared to be wrong!"

"She explained that there was nothing she could place that was wrong," Ruby added, "Not even her Audino could locate the problem."

"It may be a physiological amnesia," Flash suggested.

"I think I would know if I were mentally stopping myself from remembering," Shimmer snapped.

"But if you blocked your self from remembering that you did, then how would you remember?" I challenged.

"I, uh..." Shimmer stammered.

"He has a point," Ruby stated.

"I just... Well, I thought... uh..." Shimmer started, before giving into her frustrations and shouting, "Argh! I hate this place! I just want to go back to where there are no Pokemon and people just rely on logic and machines!" Shimmer's outburst gained the attention of the people sitting at tables near by.

Ruby jumped up, then exclaimed, "Wow! That was great acting! But if you really want to make the part, you need to act like there really is a world without Pokemon!"

Catching on to her cover up, I added, "As crazy as a world without Pokemon sounds, you have to believe it! BELIEVE!"

The other Pokemon Center guests nodded, then quietly went back to eating their food. Ruby sighed with relief before sitting back down in her seat. She then gave Shimmer a withering glare. "You have to be more careful about what you say in front of other people."

"Why?" Shimmer inquired.

"The worlds can't know that other worlds exist. It disrupts the balance of space- time. Then you'll have four angry legendaries after you," Ruby explained.

"Legendaries?" Shimmer asked.

"Wow, you really do know nothing about Pokemon," I laughed. Ruby glared at me, so I swallowed my laugh, "Well, you see, there are some special, powerful Pokemon in charge of this universe. They are called Legendary Pokemon, or sometimes Mythical Pokemon. Not much is know about them, and their entire existence is shroud in mystery. If you harm their domain, they have a tendency to anger easily."

"Joy," Shimmer mumbled, "Now not only am I in a world surrounded by monsters, those monster are also above humans."

I gave her a glare and was about to counter with an insult, but Flash interrupted me.

"Hey, don't look now, but I think that Ruby's cover- up didn't as well as we thought it did," Flash cautioned, pointing to the left.

I glanced to the table he was pointing at.

A lone teenager sat at the table, a plate of noodles in front of him. He looked to be around sixteen, with deep, blue hair and piercing red eyes. He wore a simple white shirt with a red triangle on it and blue sleeves. Wrapped around his neck was a long, blue scarf, whose ends flared out behind him like wings. He wore blue pants with matching blue shoes. And, sure enough, his gaze was directed right at our table.

"We can never catch a break, can we?" I grumbled.

Noticing our table staring at him, the teenager stood and walked to where we were sitting.

"Just act like a normal trainer would," Ruby whispered as the boy approached our table.

When he reached our table, the teenager glanced over each of us, before stating, "I assume you four aren't from around here."

"You're right about that," Ruby stated, "We were exploring the region, and then got lost."

"Really?" the boy asked, "That must have been quiet an interesting experience. Care to tell me where your from?"

"Uh, we're from-" Ruby stumbled.

"You wouldn't happen to be students of the PSA, would you?" he pressed.

The four of us gasped, the 'trainer' act falling away like a curtain.

"H- how do you know about the academy?" Ruby stuttered.

The teen sat down at our table. "That's a bit complicated. Let's start with the basics," he replied, "My name is Leo."

"How do you know about Shifters?" Ruby asked more forcefully.

"You're pushy," Leo stated, "And the answer to that question is easy. I know about Shifters because I am a Shifter."

"That still doesn't explain how you know about the PSA's existence," Flash put in, "There is no PSA in this dimension, and if you are a Shifter who is from here, you should not know that is exists."

"That's why I said it's a bit complicated," Leo stated.

"Tell us how to get back!" Shimmer demanded, leaping put of her chain "I have to get back!"

"Calm down," Leo chided, "And let me explain. You see, I am here on a specific request from the PSA. I'm sure you're familiar with Celestia and Luna, the two Eeveelution twins."

"What do they have to do with getting home?" Shimmer growled.

"Sit down and shut up," Ruby snarled, glaring at Shimmer, "If you keep interrupting him, you'll never find your answer."

Shimmer looked like she wanted to argue, however one glance at Ruby, she reluctantly sat down.

"Please, continue," Flash stated.

Leo glanced at Shimmer, who was sulking at the end of the table, before continuing his explination. "You are familiar with the Eeveelution twins, I assume?"

"Of course!" I exclaimed, "They're somewhat of a legend at the PSA."

"Those two little girls?" Shimmer inquired, "Why would they be a legend?"

"Those 'two little girls' have been five since some of the high school seniors were Year Ones," Ruby explained, "There are tons of rumors surrounding those two."

"Please," Shimmer snorted, "That is ridiculous."

Leo shook his head, "From your point of view, it would appear that they never age. Truthfully, they do, and at the normal pace of this world. However, this world's time is slightly out of sync with your own, and as such it would appear that they never age."

"That is fascinating," Flash observed, "But how do you know about it?"

"I was tasked by the PSA to watch over those two," Leo explained, "Along with some others. I'm the one who keeps the closest eye on them."

"Why?" I asked, "What is so special about the twins?"

"Well, you see, they have a special ability unique to them," Leo answered, "I would tell you what it is, but I'm not sure myself."

"If you were trusted to watch over them, shouldn't you know?" Ruby inquired.

"It would seem that way," Leo replied, "But I wasn't, for whatever reason.  I could have been for their protection, but I wouldn't be certain."

"And again, what could this possibly have to do with getting us back to the PSA?" Shimmer demanded.

"I was actually just about to get to that part. You see, the two have an inexpiable link with the other world, so they can activate the portal that is located just outside of town. Which reminds me. How did you three end up here without adult supervision?" Leo asked.

"About that..." I stated, "You see, the portal is sorta... broken... and the school caught on fire... so..."

Leo looked confused by this. "The PSA was caught on fire?" he repeated doubtfully, "That's impossible."

"It is not!" I exclaimed.

"That building was built to prevent fires," Leo stated, "It's about as inflammable as buildings get."

"It still caught fire, although how we're not sure," Ruby put in.

Leo still looked doubtful. "Can you prove it?" he demanded.

"Look at our clothes!" Shimmer exclaimed, "They're not exactly what you would consider fashionable. And we certainly aren't wearing them for our health."

Leo appeared to consider this for a moment, before asking, "Let's say the PSA did burn. That still doesn't explain how you were stranded here."

"That's a rather long story," Ruby answered, "But, in a nutshell, we got trapped and found a portal in Principal Ria's office, then jumped through it as a last resort."

Leo appeared to ponder these facts for a moment, before replying, "I believe that Celestia and Luna could still get you home, with some help from- well, the details aren't important."

"Help from what?" I inquired.

Leo waved his hand dismissively. "That's not important. All you need to know is that you should be able to get home."

"And if not?" Ruby asked.

Leo shrugged. "You'll be stuck here for a month or two, until the PSA fixes the portal. You should all go to bed now," he stated suddenly, standing up, "I'll meet you in the lobby to take you to Celestia and Luna's home tomorrow morning."

With that, the older boy left, leaving us with more questions than answers.

*~*~*~*

~Author's Note

YAY!!!!!!! I finally got this chapter out! And it's pretty long, too.

Sorry it took so long. The last month of school was kinda crazy, so I had little breathing time. And although school ended over a week ago, I had to go to a tournament immediately afterwards, then traveled on a short vacation after that. I just got back home last night. So... Yeah.

Anyway, since all that stuff is over, I should be able to go back to my 'once every other week' updates. Hopefully.

And, now that that stuff is out of the way, what do you all think of this chapter? I'm pretty happy with it, primarily because I have gotten to introduce my favorite character from this book, Leo! I'm very happy with him! Although I suppose that his appearance could use some work... Granted, all my characters' appearance needs a bit of work, I suppose...

Anyway, I feel like I haven't edited this chapter quite enough, so if you see any errors or inconsistencies, please tell me!!

Other than that, please vote comment, and I'll see you next Author's Note!