When Peter got home from work, he gave a sigh, kicking off his shoes just inside the doorway and shedding his coat on the sofa. He had the house to himself for the weekend; his parents were off on a vacation, and his brother was at a cadet camping trip. This suited him quite well; he had the next few days off, so he could relax, watch some TV, maybe get some gaming in.
The young blond man sat down at the desk off to the side of the sitting room and picked up the remote control after flicking the power switch for his computer - the old clunker could take a while to boot up. He sat and watched some TV for a while, then turned it down for background noise once the beast booted up. He opened his email first, poking through what he had - a message from mom, talking about how the vaycay was going, his weekly bank notice, a few bits of junk...and something called "The Games". How odd.
He clicked the message, assuming it to be one of his many gaming newsletters, and clicked the link inside. Nothing happened for about ten seconds, and he was about to click out of outlook to do something else, when the screen flickered, took on a yellowish tint, then went entirely black. He smacked the side of the monitor, frowning.
"Stupid thing! come on, what now?"
A few seconds after, the screen flicked to life, glowing a bright white. There was a burst of light, and Peter was gone. The computer shut itself off instantly.
----
When he came to, he was laying on his back, staring up at the sky. He stayed there for a little while, frowning and staring at the fluffy white clouds. It was warm, and sort of sunny. He pondered this for a second. It had been raining a bit and the sky had been steely grey when he had come home. This was an abrupt change. Also he had been inside.
He stood up, brushing dirt off his trousers. A quick glance around gave up only the information that he was in a forest, and there seemed to be a city in the distance. He didn't see any people in the immediate vicinity, so he chose a random direction and started to walk. He went a few metres without coming across any more than gigantic trees and rustles in the bushes, until he spotted a small blue bird with a forked tail sitting in a tree. A swallow, judging by the tail and narrow wings.
Peter gave a brief whistle in the swallow's direction, and it lifted its head and stared at him curiously. The little bird hopped a bit closer on the branch, and Peter stepped closer too. This one was a lot bolder than the other swallows he'd seen, which normally would flutter off once they caught sight of the large boy. But this one seems different somehow...larger...?
"Hey there," he said, holding up his hand but not really expecting and answer beyond the bird flying away.
Much to his surprise, the bird gave a happy tweet and fluttered down to perch on his hand. He didn't move for a second, but soon - slowly - he moved his hand so he could get a good look at the tiny avian. It had awful bold coloured feathers...and was quite large, and it was much too friendly...
This wasn't a normal bird at all.
"You're a Tail-"
"-Low!" The bird finished for him. He stared at it.
When it didn't peck his eyes out or flee or something, he moved to let it perch on his shoulder and sighed. Taillow. That was a Pokemon, he knew that much. What was a Taillow doing out here? This had to be a dream...but may as well enjoy it while it lasts, in that case.
He heard a sound a bit off - voices? - and began to move in that direction. Soon, he caught a glimpse of two people, a boy and a girl, talking. He hid behind a tree and watched as quietly as he could, but the bird on his shoulder gave a loud, cheerful tweet, which made him jump and step on a twig, snapping it.
