//------------------------------//
// Prologue 
// Story: The Rift 
// by Sparkers16 
//------------------------------//

	A light, but chilly breeze swept through the savannah. The moon was but a sliver, few stars dotting the sky. The land was bathed in inky blackness. All was silent, until the grass rustled. Then the world exploded with noise and light.
"There it is!"
"Get it!"
"Who's got the Pokéballs?!"
Three tall, bipedal figures sprinted side by side, hot on the tail of their prey, waving bright flashlights. One of the humans fished through their bag, pulling out a small red-and-white ball. "I got one!"
"Well, don't just stand there, moron! Throw it!"
The human with the Pokéball prepared to throw, but then frantically pivoted around, unable to find the Pokémon the three of them had been chasing. "I-I can't find it! I think it got away!"
The other two groaned. "For Pete's sake, Joey!" one of them growled. "We've been chasing this one forever! You just HAD to screw it up, didn't you?!"
"Wait, wait, wait!" the one with the Pokéball, Joey, said. "Rattata's picking up its scent!" He shined his flashlight on the small, purple rodent snuffling about on the ground. "C'mon, boy, where is it?"
Meanwhile, up in a large, lone, tree on the flat plains, the exact Pokémon they were chasing clenched the knotted bark with her talons, her heart pounding. They had been chasing her ever since she was spotted infiltrating a human city, over an hour ago. She would've been able to lose them easily, if it weren't for that Rattata. It had a top-percentage sense of smell, and always lead the humans in her directions. The Pokémon would fly up into the sky, but her diamond-shaped wings intensely burned from flying at top speeds for so long. She had several bruises and scratches from the Rattata and powerful attacks from the other human-trained Pokémon, that smarted and ached. She was so tired, and just wanted to stop...
She could tell from the sound of their footsteps and the ever-growing light from their flashlights that they were getting closer. She could feel the adrenaline pumping through her veins, her heart beating faster and faster in the massive effort to restore energy. But she was too exhausted. The humans had food healing medicines they could consume if they were winded. But she had nothing. Even if she exerted a gargantuan effort into taking to the air again, she still wouldn't be fast enough. She didn't want to be captured; that was the absolute worst future she could ever imagine. But she couldn't go on...maybe she should just give up... Just as she was about to close her eyes and accept her fate, she remembered the cargo she was carrying.
No! I can't stop now!
She had almost forgot about it. The precious item she had. She quickly pulled it out of the sack draped on her back. The item was about the size and shape of a loaf of bread, yet its function was anything but. It was made out of metal, with elaborate circuitry, long antennae, and numerous buttons on the front. She was glad to see it was safe and sound. After all, the materials to make it were what she risked going into the human city to get. Yes, she had made this contraption herself. It had taken years. My alternate universe portal creator.
She knew now, for sure, that she couldn't let herself be captured here. Though she had made many other inventions before, this was her passion, her magnum opus. Being captured would result in all those years of work going to waste. The humans could even find out the function of the device and use it for their own purposes. That sickened the Pokémon. No, she couldn't give up! Yet though she commanded herself to get up and away, she was still too exhausted to take to the air again. That left her with only one option.
The way the Dimension Skipper--or DS as she liked to call it--functioned was incredibly simple, especially considering the complicated wires and circuitry laying inside the contraption. The buttons on the front were all different numbers. Each universe had a different, random numerical code. Punch the code in, and it would create a portal to that universe. 
There was only one problem. She knew the DS worked. She had tested it by tying long ropes to objects and sending them out in portals, only to pull them back eventually. But she had never tested the effect of going through a portal on something LIVING. If she was really and truly going to create a portal and go through it to another dimension, she had no idea what the effects would be on her body. And she would have no idea what the universe she would travel to would be like. It could be toxic there. She could die! Yet...if it meant avoiding capture by humans and preserving her precious cargo...
Suddenly, a bright light flashed upon the Pokémon. 
"There it is!"
The smallest human's arm swung back to throw its Pokéball, and the Pokémon's mind was made up in an instant. She was willing to take the risk.
She frantically punched in a long stream of random numbers, her heart racing and her whole body trembling. When she was finished, the machine glowed. Electricity crackled and jumped up the antennae. The white-hot energy concentrated above the DS and formed a circular shape. A portal. She began to feel an invisible force sucking her in. There was no time for hesitation. The Pokémon gathered up her strength, braced herself, and plunged headfirst into the portal.
Mere seconds before the Pokéball collided with its target, the Pokémon and her machine disappeared in a flash of light.