How refreshing...
With unsteady hands you lift three cold and heavy marbles and roll them gently into the indentations carved into the magic floating board before you. They glow faintly twice--blue,pink, pink-- then disappear in a cloud of smoke as the genie pulls it down out of existence, the hands on his fingers bunched together as if pulling a string.
"You have chosen to be a humanoid, male Ponyta," the genie states.
<span class="female"> "What? I have to be a *boy?* Ewww!*</span>
"But, wait, what's an Arabian *genie* doing dealing with matters of Poke--TA???"
Alas, too late. Fire bursts from every pore of your body, burning away your human form, leaving you bleached white, replete with flaming tail and mane, hooves, digitigrade legs, and an equine-ish face... a male, anthropomorphic Ponyta.
(I think I'd like to take a bit of a segue here and say that the ONLY way you know you're male is because you just are, and if someone were to be, say, *looking* for *evidence* to that effect, *they would not find any* because *that's the way Pokemon work, isn't it?* You know, just as a... reminder.)
Ahem. With a feeling of falling through blankets, you land suddenly in a grassy field, in just the cutest little idyllic scene you could imagine. Go on; imagine it, except imagine it's drawn by Miyazaki's team; you're in 2D now! Pagemaster a go-go!
You're in the Pokemon universe, sure as shoot. So what does a masculine Ponyta-man-boy do around these parts?
Bingo?
Just as you're wondering if you should go and fry some Pidgeys, lo and behold a happy group of travelers is coming up the trail some hundred yards away, using Japanese expressions and looking very manga-esque. Meeting you is sure to be one of the most unusual life experiences *they've* had. But... wait... that one right there looks familiar! Could it be...?
Yes! You're sure without a doubt that that person right there is__________!
Written by Mr.Peaches on 15 November 2006
The end (for now)