“Hmm… what do we have here?”

  The sound pulled me toward consciousness, but when I tried to open my eyes, they refused to move. It felt as if they were glued shut. I attempted to lift my arms, to wipe away whatever was blocking them, but nothing happened. Panic began to rise in my chest. No matter how hard I tried, my body wouldn’t respond. I couldn’t move anything at all.

  Sleep paralysis? I had never experienced it, but I’d read enough about it to know the idea terrified me—being awake but trapped inside your own body.

  “Relax, young one. There is no need for alarm,” the voice said again, calm and resonant.

  Who are you? Where am I? I tried to speak, to shout, but no sound left me.

  “I am Arceus, and you are in the divine realm,” the voice answered, as if reading the words straight from my thoughts.

  Arceus? As in the Pokémon god? That wasn’t possible. Pokémon weren’t real. This had to be a dream. A very vivid dream. I’d always loved Pokémon as a kid—played the games constantly—and my love for them probably contributed to my career with animals later in life. But even so, this level of lucidity was unusual.

  “The divine realm?” I managed to ask, my voice small and uncertain.

  “Yes. It’s quite peculiar—souls becoming lost between worlds. It happens from time to time. Normally they slip through an Ultra Wormhole and enter a new world. The soul is resilient, you see, and upon entering real space it often forms a new body to inhabit.” Arceus sounded almost amused by the idea.

  “I’m sorry, but you’ve lost me. I don’t know what’s going on. I don’t know where I am or how I even got here.” Anxiety tightened around me like a shrinking cage. If this wasn’t a dream, then the alternatives weren’t comforting: a severe brain injury, or complete dissociation from reality.

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  “Calm yourself, young one.” A wave of invisible force washed over me, and instantly the anxiety dulled—as if it were pushed into the distance. “As I said, you are in the divine realm, where gods reside in their true forms. As for how you arrived here, that I am uncertain of, though I have my suspicions. Regardless of the exact mechanism, one thing is certain: you must have died in your old world for your soul to exist outside your body.”

  “I… died?” I croaked. Only then did I fully understand that I didn’t have a body at all—I was just a formless awareness floating in the void. It should have been horrifying, but whatever Arceus had done to me was holding my emotions in check, letting me think clearly when I absolutely shouldn’t have been able to.

  “Yes, you did,” Arceus said simply.

  “I don’t remember that. Why can’t I remember it?” My voice trembled, the emotional restraints struggling to hold.

  “That would be my doing,” Arceus admitted. “Your soul is in a very delicate state. Trauma or overwhelming emotions could destabilize it. That is why I am restricting your emotional responses. But that will not work for long, so we must get you out of here soon.”

  “That honestly gives me more questions than answers,” I said, though even the confusion felt muted and distant.

  “Questions we do not have time to address, I’m afraid.” Arceus’s tone softened. “I am going to send you to a new world—one you are familiar with. A world of Pokémon.”

  “A world of Pokémon?” I repeated. “You’re serious?”

  “Yes. And I have a small favor to ask.” A gentle warmth filled the space around me. “Would you be willing to take an egg with you on your journey?”

  “An egg? A Pokémon egg?” I asked, curiosity mingling with confusion.

  “Exactly. You will need a partner if you are to survive in your new life.”

  A sphere of blue light drifted toward me and passed into my chest, filling me with comfort—like stepping into a warm bath after a freezing day.

  “With that,” Arceus said, “it is time for you to leave. Any longer in the divine realm, and we risk your soul breaking apart.”

  “Didn’t you just say souls were resilient?” I asked, suspicion creeping in despite the emotional restraints.

  “Resilient to a point,” Arceus replied. “The power present in the divine realm is… considerable. Far more than your soul can withstand for long. Now go, young one. I wish you luck in your new life.”

  Before I could respond, a brilliant light consumed everything.