1 Chapter 1:
Have you ever felt that you didn't belong? That everything was just one sick, and twisted, joke being played on you by a higher power? That was how I felt for the longest time, and during some lonely and dark, nights, I still do.
That wasn't to say that I was unlucky, no. In fact, I would say my personal luck was amazing, however, it felt like it came at the cost of everyone around me. Whenever something lucky happened to me, something bad was bound to happen to someone dear to me, it was as if an unspoken law of equivalent exchange took place.
My earliest memory- or rather -trauma, was my dreaded fourth birthday. My therapists always asked me, "C'mon it's a birthday, it can't be that bad surely. Did you not get the gift you wanted?", it aggravated me whenever they did ask such a stupid question. I paid them to be professional, and help me, not make light of my situation.
I was much more mature than other children my age should really have been, I was hailed as a genius. So, when my fourth birthday came up as a topic of discussion in school, I avoided having anybody come over. I just felt, in my gut, that something bad would happen if they did. Something that, unfortunately, would be proven correct.
Soon after I blew out the candles on my cake, the tragedy happened.
My mother went into cardiac arrest right then and there. At the time, I knew something was wrong, I just didn't know what. My father dodged all of my questions regarding my mother's state, instead opting to send me to my room. I wanted to help so desperately, but the stern tone that laced his words quickly overpowered what little courage I had.
On the journey up to my room, I couldn't get the pained expressions my mother had out of my head. They played over, and over, and over again like a bad record. Tears escaped my eyes, hitting the hard-wood staircase with each hesitant step I took. I heard my father screaming on the phone, to what I now know was the hospital, just before I entered my room.
After a few minutes, with me waiting in my room hugging my knees on my bed, hoping that it was all just a nightmare, I heard a loud crashing noise. I couldn't bear it anymore, I just wanted it to end, so I put my hands to my ears in hopes to block out any more noises.
It worked, everything went quiet, too quiet. The silence, however, only lasted until the sirens from the ambulances came into earshot. The paramedics stormed into the building and eventually found me. They asked me if I was okay, and what my name was. Presumably, so they could confirm if I was the caller's child, or not.
The fact that they had to ask that question was sending off red flags in my young mind. Was my father not there anymore to tell them about me? Were my parents okay? I had no idea what had happened downstairs at the time, but I feared for the worst.
I was guided outside of the house, which is when I saw it, my parent's bodies were in bags. They were zipped up, but even as a child, I could make the connection. I physically couldn't cry anymore at that point, so I just looked on in tense silence. I wanted to scream, sob, and shout that it wasn't fair, and even deny that this could all be even happening, that it was just a nightmare I would wake up from soon.
They had phoned my grandmother, who was my last living relative at the time, who then explained the situation to me. The next few years I spent living with her, and my new school life was... something. Rumors that had followed me from my previous school about me being 'cursed' were spread within minutes of my arrival on the first day.
Personally, I couldn't fault them for thinking that, so I let the image of me being cursed stay in their minds. I thought that perhaps if they didn't come close to me because of that image, they would be safer. It did hurt being ostracized, but I got comfortable with my social situation quickly.
Most people believed in those rumors, but for those who didn't and tried to become my friend? It's something that I still appreciate to this day. But, unfortunately, they ended up with broken bones and muscle tears within a week's time.
That only reinforced the image people had of me being cursed, and also helped in not having anyone be affected by whatever cruel joke God was playing on me because they avoided me.
So, I spent the next few years of my school life studying and working out. Studying because I would like a decent job in the future, and working out because I wanted the best chance at living if my luck decided to turn on me. Unfortunately, my physique didn't help in the slightest when I died.
When I finished my university courses, deciding to go into the world of fashion and business, my grandmother passed away. I thought I was numb to the sensation of losing people close to me, I was wrong. It still hurt as much as it did the first time, in fact, it hurt even more because I had longer to get attached to her.
It was yet another devastating blow that was dealt to me by the world. I didn't even get to hear her last words, just like my parents. I was too busy having drunk sex with some random girl who flirted with me at a club, like an idiot, because I no longer tried to have any lasting relationship with anyone.
Whenever I tried to commit, and give my all to somebody, only for them to be dead or crippled because of my 'curse', I think anyone would have given up on relationships at that point. Not that I didn't want one, because that was all that I wanted, it was just in the best interest of everyone involved that it didn't come to be.
My grandmother had left me a hefty inheritance sum, which I found to include the money in my parent's accounts as well. It was a six-figure sum, and a rather long list of assets to boot. Yet another sick reminder that my fortunate lifestyle came at the misfortune of others.
I invested most of the money in a form of cryptocurrency known as Bitcoin. I had no idea what it was originally, but my gut told me to invest my newfound money in it when I was browsing the internet. If there was anything in this world I trusted, it was my gut feeling, or instincts, because they didn't betray me yet.
Five years later, and my investment had come back with a return of 200x more than I initially invested. I sold half of the Bitcoin I owned, and let the other half continue to grow. I had become a famous- or rather -infamous fashion designer, model, singer, and CEO in that time frame. My infamy came because of how suspicious my luck was, and how almost every scandal didn't affect me in the slightest.
Today wasn't any different.
Yet another scandal cropped up, and a large number of explicit images were leaked consisting of members of my company in compromising attire and situations. It was an entire mess that needed to be cleared up as soon as possible.
Sadly, I didn't have much in terms of influence regarding the media, so I had to inform the employees that they needed to contact the social media platforms they were leaked on and ask for them to be removed themselves.
It was a terrible thing to happen to all of those affected. They didn't want to turn up to work the day after it happened, but didn't want to quit either. I paid them better wages than they could find anywhere else, so they chose to stomach the humiliating feeling for a while, instead of going to a different company in hopes their new co-workers didn't see the pictures.
I had the head of the IT department send a canary trap from my email account to all members of the company. It had some information in it that would get a leaker some decent money from the press, even though it was completely fake. I would have to wait a few days until results show themselves, and the leaker is caught.
The two subjects being leaked have no correlation at all, but I reasoned that if a person in the company leaked the images, they would also leak the email too out of habit. If it was just an unfortunate hacking incident? Then that would have to be dealt with completely differently than a canary trap.
Right now, however, I was carefree. I had just fucked the soul out of my secretary, someone that I usually hooked up with after a scandal like this one. She would be a brilliant CEO for the company in the event I died, which I why she was mentioned in my will as inheriting my wealth and assets if she so desired. There was nobody else to choose from, and she didn't get affected by my 'curse', so she was the only option for me.
After cleaning myself up, and leaving the sleeping beauty a note on the bedside table, I left the hotel room. It was a cold winters night, and I loved the chill on my skin, it was a nice change from the usual bland weather. There was just something special about seeing your own breath in the air, or maybe I was just weird.
As I made my way down the street, the snow crunching under the weight of my foot, I was content. The feeling didn't last long, though. My gut began churning violently, and I knew something was up, but I didn't see anything nearby. In fact, the entire street was devoid of life.
For the first time in my life, I ignored my gut feeling. I took a few more steps, with my instincts screaming at me to run, before everything went dark.
- - - - - - - - - - - -
When I opened my eyes once more, I was in an endless void, and I began smiling at the sight.
"It seems as if my luck finally ran out. I didn't think I would end up in heaven, but hell looks a lot more boring than I thought it would." I expressed.
A voice called out to me in reply, startling me a lot more than I would like to admit,
"That's because this isn't hell. This is the infinite sea where souls reside, waiting for judgment." a disembodied voice replied to me.
I flipped around to try and look towards the speaker, whom I could only assume to be satan. It was a much harder maneuver than I thought it would be, but I pulled it off and got a good look at the owner of the voice. After instantly recognizing who it was, I was a little confused,
"Arceus? Why are you the one judging me? Is it because of all the Cynthia lewds I have on my computer? Are you here to punish my sinful self?"
"As disturbing the amount of it you have is, it is not why I am here. I am the one judging you because you originally were under my domain."
Hold the fucking phone, what?! I'm sure I misheard him, or that he was just a little confused, so I decided to ask for confirmation before this could go on any further,
"What do you mean by 'my domain' exactly? Like, I was born in the pokemon universe?"
"Indeed, you were born in the Galar region."
I certainly didn't expect that. But, I couldn't help but be a little pissed off at this discovery,
"Why in the fuck was I born on earth then?! Was that life just me actually being in a coma, like Ash in every Game Theory video? Did someone pull the plug on me already?"
"You were forcibly transmigrated to earth, with your memories wiped and in the body of a child, after another diety secretly intruded on my domain for some 'fun', as they called it. You were, unfortunately, the subject of her amusement for your life on earth."
"Are you fucking kidding me?! Sorry, just... give me a minute or two."
My 'luck' was the result of somebody being fucking bored?! Words simply couldn't describe how fucking angry and used I'm feeling right now. Every death, injury, hardship faced, and scandal that happened was all only because some god was bored?!
Tears began running down my cheeks, I was so frustrated. What gave them the right to fucking toy with me like that?! Surely there must be some rules regarding this type of thing! But, there was no point in being angry at Arceus, he had nothing to do with my suffering that I knew of.
"Can you tell me about my life in the pokemon universe?"
"What do you wish to know?"
"What kind of person I was? Did I die? Do I have any family that is alive? Any love interests? Any pokemon that were 'abandoned' by my forced transmigration?"
"Well, let's start with the quick answers.
You didn't die, you were sucked into an Ultra Wormhole.
You do have family awaiting your return. They are your younger brother Peony Rose, his wife Samantha Rose, his daughter Peonia Rose, and your other younger brother Alex Rose. There's also your father-in-law Samson Oak, his cousin Samuel Oak, his grandson Gary Oak, and his granddaughter Daisy Oak.
Those are all of the relatives that you have in the pokemon world waiting for your return.
You didn't have any romantic partner, however, people were interested in the position. You were just- how do you humans say it -dense?"
(A/N: I know that Rose isn't the family name of them, I just chose it because thinking of surnames is harder than forenames. Daisy Oak is from the manga, if you didn't know. And, Samantha Rose doesn't exist, I just wanted to give a name to Peonia's mother.)
The number of revelations I got from my family tree alone was ridiculous. I was related to the Oak family, and the older sister of the president of Macro Cosmos, whose name I didn't know was Alex, from Galar. My younger brother is the fucking villain, and the other is an ex-champion, of the sword & shield games!
"Wait a minute... I was a dense harem protagonist?!" I screamed in disbelief, I hated them with a passion. There was a silver lining in this, though. At least I didn't have any romantic partner waiting for me.
"Indeed, it was... painful to watch your interactions at times."
"Ugh! I can only imagine... What about the other questions?"
"You do not have any pokemon waiting for your return, no."
"Well, that's surprising. I would have assumed there would have been one... did they die?"
"No. You wanted to become the strongest trainer in the world, but went about it a unique way..."
I was dreading his next words. If the previous me was a dense protagonist, what was next? A shonen protagonist? Did I start beating up pokemon with my fists or some shit?
"You trained your body, in both aura and martial arts, before challenging pokemon in the wild area to battles by your lonesome. The older pokemon in the wild areas still have nightmares about you, even with Cresselia's treatment they still persist."
I fucking knew it!
"You were undefeated, and your most notable achievement was your final battle. The Dynamax energy in Galar went out of control and hordes of wild pokemon started rampaging, reminiscent of the infamous 'darkest day' that occurred centuries before."
My newly discovered younger brother almost definitely had something to do with that...
"And I went to fight the giant pokemon, didn't I? At least, my bizarre past self did, right? It seems like a shonen protagonist thing to do." I asked, already knowing the answer.
"Indeed... People all across the world watched as you engaged hordes of mountain-sized pokemon in hand-to-hand combat, and come out victorious. It was quite the spectacle for all of those who saw it live, including myself."
I didn't want to believe my ears, it was simply too unbelievable! Me beating up huge ass pokemon that could kill the current me by blinking?! Ridiculous! But, it was too weird for me not to believe, and Arceus doesn't seem to be the type to lie. So, I was just forcing myself to acknowledge my 'dark past'.
"Unfortunately, that was when the Ultra Wormhole opened up."
In Galar, what is going on in this timeline?!
"I had assumed that it was a naturally forming one, that had spontaneously, despite them normally happening over in Alola, formed in Galar. But, it was too late when I realized the wormhole's true nature. The diety had already taken you towards earth, where I can't operate."
"But you managed to grab my soul from earth, didn't you?"
"I didn't. I had to request control over your soul from the One Above All, like every other diety has to do in order to interact with the wandering souls of humanity inside of the infinite sea."
"Then how could that bitch mess with my life whilst I was on earth?! What was her name?"
"Her name is Sakuya. As for how she managed that feat? That is something that only the One Above All knows. He has tightened his grip around humanity, and their lives, so you needn't worry about any others being in your situation."
Well, that was something positive at least. I wouldn't have wished for anyone to go through what I did. Alright, that's a lie, there are some douchebags that I would love to have suffer, but I can't exactly do anything about that now.
"What about the type of person I was? What did my past self do apart from fighting pokemon? I refuse to believe that my past self was only a battle junky."
"You were a kind-hearted, well-respected, and a family-oriented person, and, eventually, the hero of Galar. But, you could have assumed that last part yourself, no?
You were the only person keeping your immediate family together, as Alex and Peony didn't have the best of relationships, and Samson Oak was in Alola for the majority of the time.
You founded Macro Cosmos together with your brothers before Peony sold you his stocks so he didn't have to be near Alex any longer, eventually retiring to the Crown Tundra with his newborn daughter and wife. That was the last time you had seen Peony."
"At least battle junky me managed to secure some financial stability, that's a positive from this story at least."
"You were a savvy businesswoman, and are the majority shareholder of 66% in your company Macro Cosmos. You created many great things with your intellect, and creativity, and have your own clothing line that is still popular even years after your disappearance. You are also a 15% owner in the Aether Foundation, you only invested so you could help your friend become the head.
You had left behind a large number of designs, patents, plans, and notes in your study, which has allowed the company to still develop groundbreaking technology such as the Rotom-Car, Rotom-Bike, Rotom-Drone, Rotom-Phone, Rotom-Train, and Rotom-Dex amongst many others in your absence.
As you could guess, you were very fascinated with the technological potential that Rotom held, with your crowning masterpiece being a Rotom-Sattelite that has the capability to fire a devastating orbital strike. It is also the manager of the entire Rotom-Net that you had developed, it's something similar to the internet of your world, along with controlling all of the Rotom related equipment."
"Wouldn't that mean that I do have a pokemon waiting for my return? I think that Rotom counts."
"I suppose it does in some way, however, it wasn't caught by you in a Pokeball. In fact, it wasn't caught at all. You just beat it up, tamed it, and promised it a big toy to play with, the toy being the satellite, in return for its loyalty.
Your clothing line also still has enough designs to last them for one more year, which is impressive planning on your part. Each piece that has been released has been a collector's item that many seek, especially the ones dated back to your days of being alive. They can reach prices in the millions of pokedollars, which was unheard of in the clothing industry apart from the occasional rare jewelry piece on auction."
"How long have I been missing?"
"Five years," he said casually as if it wasn't a huge fucking deal.
"Continue..."
"You have reformed Galar's previous systems, and were the main deciding factor in ushering the region into a golden age. You had even left behind designs to improve the Spikemuth slums, just as you and Alex had done to Wyndon together. Unfortunately, those plans didn't come to fruition, unlike your others." He continued, with a clear hope in his tone when it came to improving Spikemuth.
"Let me guess... Alex decided against it?"
"Indeed, he claimed it to be an unnecessary expense," Arceus said the reply I anticipated already.
"What an asshole! I'm sorry... please continue."
"There was a tight-knit friendship between yourself, Cynthia, Mohn, and Lusamine. which formed at a summer camp held by Professor Rowan in Sinnoh."
So I was friends with Lusamine, her husband, and Cynthia? In a bizarre turn of events, this isn't the weirdest thing revealed today.
"Cynthia and Mohn were the battle maniacs with their Gible and Zorua, while you and Lusamine were the level-headed people who had to reign them in. That wasn't to say that you weren't a battle-maniac, you started a fight with just about every child your age."
Yep, beating up innocent children seems like something the shonen protagonist version of me would do. She probably labeled it as training or some other thing to help her consciousness rest easy.
"When Mohn was sucked up an Ultra Wormhole, you were Lusamine's main anchor to reality, and pillar of emotional support during her grieving process. As you can imagine, she completely broke down after losing you as well. Cynthia helped her now and again, but she had just started her gym challenge seriously by then.
Overall, though, you were a person that the masses loved, and are someone the older generation dearly misses. The guiding light of the martial arts, fashion, and the technological world was snuffed out too quickly was how many people viewed your passing. "
Damn... Do I have to live up to that image now? That's certainly a huge task. I can run a company, rather easily, but I'm not exactly the most optimistic person, which I assume a hero would need to be.
"So, what happens now?" I finally asked the important question.
"I will return you to Galar, and grant three wishes of your choosing. I don't typically grant wishes, but I allowed you, life under my jurisdiction, to be toyed with. So, please accept them, as a way of me making amends.
One wish for a power unique to yourself. Another wish for your choice of partner pokemon. And, a final wish for an improvement to your quality of life. Please, bear in mind that I still hold the right to reject any wishes that I deem unsuitable."
I guess I should start with the easiest of the wishes, the partner pokemon.
"Does the partner pokemon I wish for have to be a starter pokemon?"
I needed that to be cleared up right away. I am an indecisive person, so if I was limited to what? 20+ pokemon? I would have an easier time deciding.
"No, it doesn't have to be what you refer to as a starter pokemon."
That didn't help me at all in terms of making a decision, if only there were people to make the choice for me, what a convenient thing that would have been. Anyway, I decided to test the waters a little.
"If I choose you, Arceus, as my partner pokemon, what would happen in that hypothetical scenario?"
"You would have an Arceus as your partner pokemon, specifically, an avatar of myself. I will, however, not take part in your battles until I deem you worthy of wielding my power unless your life or innocent lives are in danger. I will act more as an assistant to you instead of a tamed pokemon until you can prove yourself."
Well, I don't really want an Ash's Charizard scenario to happen, that would piss me off. I still can't believe that Charizard just decided to nap during a pivotal battle of the Kanto league. Well, I could, but it was still so angry watching that as a kid. But, that would also be a great deal for me, having the God of pokemon, even an avatar of him, being my assistant sounds wonderful.
It seems that I need to follow game rules for now, and get eight badges before he would listen to me, that should be easy enough. If that isn't the condition? I just have to not be a complete bitch, and I should earn his respect soon enough.
"That's reasonable, well, apart from the fact that I won't have any pokemon to use in battles because of that."
Arceus nodded their head and pondered something for a while. It was a tense few seconds for me, mainly because what I said could be construed as fishing for another wish. If that aggravated him? I might not even have any more wishes to use.
After coming to a conclusion, he spoke up,
"That is fair, you can select another pokemon to assist you in battle while I am still your partner pokemon."
"Oh? What brought this on? Not that I'm complaining about it! I'm just curious."
"You have been wronged while inside of my domain, that had earned you the initial wishes.
However, I would like to experience what it is like being someone's pokemon, in order to see if allowing people to catch pokemon was the correct choice. So, please allow me to fulfill this rather selfish request of mine."
For the umpteenth time in the span of a few seconds, I was shocked. Arceus, the god of pokemon, wanted to be MY pokemon in order to see whether or not pokemon should be caught!
What would happen if I was a shit trainer? Would he just erase pokeballs? Or, would he just kill humanity? I didn't know, but I also didn't want to find out.
"That sounds.... reasonable, I guess. Is there a way that I can customize the pokemon, like in a menu, or something?"
As soon as the words left my mouth, a pop-up appeared in front of me. I browsed through all of the listed pokemon before I saw Bagon. It just felt right to me, so I got to customizing the Bagon.
It was now had a black and red color scheme, instead of the previous blue and silver. I decided to store him inside of a semi-transparent luxury ball because it was a mixture of my two favorite Pokeball designs. The bonus friendship gains were also a nice addition for the future which would help power up a Return for Mega Salamence.
[[Bagon:
Level: 5
Gender: Male
Ability: Rock Head (Unlocked)
Hidden Ability: Sheer Force (Unlocked)
Moves: Ember, Leer, Bite, Dragon Rush, Thrash, Defense Curl, Twister, Dragon Dance, Zen Headbutt, Fire Fang.]]
(A/N: I'm not gonna post stats, because I'm not even sure I could list those for every single addition/update to the party with them being accurate/correct. It's also just a lot of hassle that I don't want to go through.)
I put all the egg moves I could on it, with Thrash, Dragon Rush, Defense Curl, and Twister. The three TM/TR moves are Dragon Dance, Zen Headbutt, and Fire Fang. I went to put on more, but Arceus decided to stop me, I decided to listen to him, he was already being generous enough as is.
"So, that's one wish out of the way, two more to go. What were the other wishes for again?"
"Your unique power, and a thing to improve your quality of life."
"I see... Can you grant me access to the internet of my world, you know, so I can get some inspiration for the wishes?" I requested from the kind equine diety in front of me.
A phone appeared in my hands, and I immediately began browsing the internet. He was being really generous with me, perhaps he really feels bad about not having protected me from outside interference.
"Before I choose my other wishes, will that bitch be able to mess with me in the pokemon world?"
"Not at all, she has been banished from her throne by the One Above All for breaking one of the rules regarding territories. She no longer has any power, let alone enough to pass through the dimensional barriers surrounding my universe."
"Phew! That takes a lot~ of pressure off of me... Another question if you don't mind, what is the timeline like? Is it like the game, anime, or manga? When will I be returned in terms of the anime timeline?"
"The timeline is like the Type-Moon franchise's."
"Ahhh, I see... so it's like looking down on a plate of spaghetti instead of a linear one?"
"An unusual way of looking at it, but that is correct. You will also reincarnate a year before Ash starts his journey."
"When you say a year, do you mean an earth year? Or a pokemon year that takes decades of earth years?"
"I mean an earth year."
"Then why does Ash not age as quickly as he should?"
"..."
"Oh~? Even you don't know the answer?"
"When you start your pokemon journey... you age slower?"
The uncertainty in his voice didn't help to sell his lies,
"Not buying it at all, just make sure that I age like he does unless stated otherwise, and I will never bring it up again."
"Deal."
I went back to searching through the superpower wiki when something came to my mind for a quality of life wish. I had already managed to secure Ash's eternal youth, that I can turn off if needed, so I needed something else.
"For my quality of life wish, can I have my own customizable pocket dimension that I can access with a thought? I'm going to be traveling a lot, and I don't really want to bother carrying around luggage."
It was a simple thing to ask for, but it had an infinite amount of potential, especially because I asked for it to be customizable. I could make the pocket dimension into a ranch for my pokemon so that I can store them in there, or a training course. It would also give me an option to avoid any bad weather by hiding inside of it.
After a few short seconds of silence, he acquiesced to my rather simple demand,
"That is acceptable."
My immediate thought for a superpower would be luck or probability manipulation. But, then I realized that if I could control luck, it would be meaningless. I also had enough luck being fucked around with for one lifetime? two lifetimes? I don't know at this point, but I had enough.
So, I settled on searching for a creation-based ability instead. I have a storage ability, now I only needed things to fill it. It would also help me by not forcing me to go shopping to stock up on supplies at every town I come across.
"If I ask for Skill/Ability Creation, would you allow me to have it?"
"No, it takes away the point of there being three wishes."
"Before I state my final wish, can I ask something?"
"You were always free to ask whatever you needed to."
"Will you train me in aura and martial arts before we transport over? If I am to live up to my past self in the eyes of the world, I would like to be able to protect them like I previously did. Also, certain manga events are much more dangerous than my current body could handle.
I don't want people assuming that I am some powerful protector that can beat down rampaging pokemon when they're in need, it would only give them false hope. I can maybe take on a few humans maximum in a fight, but the majority of pokemon is out of the question currently."
"I was going to restore your knowledge, and, by proxy, your body back to its former state when you had mastered your powers at age 21. I guess I shall do this now, though."
He touched his forehead against the top of my head, and I felt a large surge of information flow into me. I couldn't even have time to celebrate how I would be younger bodily-wise before I was barraged with my precious memories.
It felt like years, no, it felt like forever, but I finally had gained all of my previous life's memories and subsequent body. I finally felt complete, but unfortunately, the new memories also came with all the emotions attached to them.
- - - - - - - - - - - -
I saw my original father die from a mineshaft collapse at age 13 with Alex and his Cufant beside me. I knew that Chairman Rose's father died, but it seems that I forgot that he was also now my own father. Another parental figure was taken away from me, while I could do nothing.
Memories of my mother's downward spiral into insanity after my father died soon followed. The late nights of her drinking herself into oblivion in the kitchen were the most prominent memories of her from childhood. She reminded me of what I used to be like, and it wasn't a pleasant feeling.
Eventually, it seemed that a trip to Alola was her turning point. She found love once more in Samson Oak, which brought her back from the brink. I guess the Oak family just has a natural affinity for married women.
Then, memories of her funeral, which happened three years after her new marriage to Samson, flashed through my mind, clearly intent on making my break down more than I already was. It seemed as if this life and my earth one have a lot more parallels than I thought.
The time I found a homeless Oleana defending her Trubbish from a bunch of Zigzagoon before taking her in was one of the sweeter memories that was forced through my psyche. The light she had in her eyes, how her legs were shaking in fear, the crass language she was using. Everything was so vivid to me.
Happier memories like that one certainly helped me in recovering from all the other sad memories. They also distracted me from the numerous memories of me beating up wild pokemon with my fists. No wonder I could fight Gigantamax and Dynamaxed pokemon, I was probably a level 100 human from all the experience I should have gotten from beating up all those pokemon!
Professor Magnolia and Mustard's lectures regarding technology and martial arts respectively. Those memories also came with the long nights and days I spent in laboratories and the dojo. I could feel the phantom pains of my muscles and brain shutting down from extensive sessions.
Training in martial arts under Mustard, before passing that knowledge on to a young Bea who wanted to escape her parent's harsh training and Chuck with his top student at the time, Brawly, who wanted to study Galarian karate. It was one of the happier memories I have.
The chance meeting with Nessa and her parents over in Hulbury where I listened to her dreams of wanting to become a model and a gym leader. I encouraged her dreams, if Diantha could be the champion and a movie star, there was obviously a way that Nessa could have followed both careers. To help her with that dream? I offered her a permanent position as the model for my clothing brand, Genesis.
There were a lot more memories of chance encounters such as that, and I was a little proud of my past self. Sure, the only reason those encounters happened was because past me wanted to go and fight a pokemon, but I could ignore that for now.
Late night chats with Lusamine over the phone were one of the more common memories later on in my pokemon life. I can certainly see why Arceus said I was a dense protagonist, Lusamine wanted to move on from Mohn, but she wanted to move on to me.
I would have probably done the same if the current me were in my past self's shoes, Lusamine was in a vulnerable mental state, and I wouldn't have wanted to take advantage of that for some sex. Now, that doesn't mean I wouldn't accept her propositions if she were fully conscious of what she was asking for in the future.
It was definitely embarrassing watching my interactions, I was reminiscent of a black hole, just so fucking dense. I could have probably given Ichika Orimura a run for his money for densest moron ever, it was that bad.
The final memory that came to me was the final battle of my past life. Arceus didn't lie, it was definitely a spectacle. Then... the Ultra Wormhole opened up, and I couldn't have felt any more helpless at that moment. The end to one of my lives and the start of another, upon entering it, I was met with a quick flash of images before everything faded to black.
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
It was overwhelming, but I didn't hate it, in fact, I relished in the feeling. I was complete, and now had all of my memories intact, something that I didn't know I had lost. It was definitely worth breaking down as a hysterical mess in front of Arceus, if this was the outcome.
A box of tissues materialized in front of me, which I quickly put to use,
"Thank you..."
"Think nothing of it. If you are okay once more, I would prefer it if you could hurry up with your wish. There is only a limited amount of time one can spend in the infinite sea before they merge with it."
"Oh-Um-I didn't know? Sorry! I think I've got my last wish anyway. For my power, I would like imagination manifestation."
"That is acceptable. However, I will have to limit it so it will use your aura as fuel."
"That's fine... I guess." I reluctantly agreed.
"You were hoping to have no limits, weren't you?" He accused me rightfully.
"Naturally, I was hoping for that! But, I don't mind not being able to do so, it's still a great deal on my end anyway."
And I meant that. I didn't even know I was going to die today, let alone get the opportunity to make requests to a god, and three at that! To think that dying would be the best thing to happen to me today.
"So, how are we doing this whole journey back to the world of the living?"
I was trying to get his mind off of the phone in my pocket. I had no doubt that I could probably create one like it with imagination manifestation, but I had no idea how much energy it would use to do so.
If it managed to get a signal to earth in this void, I'm confident it would be able to get one in the pokemon world, and having access to a database with all the information about pokemon in it is too valuable of an item to pass up on not having.
"I don't really introduce people to my world, so what would you like?"
"Well, it goes a little like this...."
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
The Galar region is an expansive region with many environments containing idyllic countrysides, contemporary cities, vast plains, and craggy snow-covered mountains. It was a beautiful region, with landscapes that pokemon and humans alike enjoyed greatly.
Unlike other regions, their pokemon gyms were a celebrated part of their culture. The gyms that you would find in the regions would pale in comparison to these wonders of architecture. But, they needed to, because otherwise the signature Dynamaxing of the Galar region wouldn't be possible. Each gym battle takes place in a stadium, oftentimes filled to the brim with thousands of viewers.
There were a few exceptions to this, most notably Spikemuth, but even that gym had its own charm that was certain to lure in its own target demographic.
It was a global hotspot when it came to tourism, with Wyndom only being beaten by Lumiose city of the Kalos region for the most populated city in the world. The architecture and layout of this booming metropolis were designed by two people, the hero of Galar, Vicotria Rose, and the current chairman of Galar's pokemon league, Alex Rose.
It was filled with many locations to visit and enjoy oneself at during your stay there such as the Battle Cafe. A popular location where one can challenge the current Cafe Master Dwight in a pokemon battle for a chance at winning a prize, or a free cup of your preferred beverage.
Yet, despite all of the locations where people could go to have fun, today wasn't the day for that. Today was a day for mourning the loss of a great person whose light was snuffed out before it could truly shine at its brightest.
Yes, today was the 5th anniversary of the day the hero was lost. The weather reflected the emotions of the few closest to Victoria Rose, it was raining with thick clouds overshadowing the once illuminated city of Wyndon. The previous colorful and lively atmosphere of the city was now somber and dreary.
People who were close to Victoria Rose made a pilgrimage to the statue her brother erected of her in front of the Rose Tower. It didn't matter if they lived on the other side of the world, or if they lived right next door to it, they made the journey regardless of distance. It didn't matter if their worst enemy would be there, they put their differences aside for this one day.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Mustard and his wife Honey traveled from the isle of armor, today was the only time of year that either of them ever set foot on the mainland. They had closed the dojo for today and gave everyone the day off. Some of the newer students were questioning the rather odd behavior of their master until one of the senior students pointed towards the calendar.
They spent the entire Corvinight taxi ride in complete silence, there were no words needed between the married couple to understand exactly what they were thinking. As soon as they reached Wyndon, Honey noticed her husband's lack of movement,
"Are you sure you want to do this, dear? It's always hard on you, hard on all of us, to see her image again."
She was concerned, this happened every time for the past five years. She watched as her husband has an inner battle with himself, about whether or not he was strong enough to face the image of a student he 'failed'. She knew just how much he blamed himself for not joining her for that last fight, despite being able to. It was even worse than the time his partner pokemon passed away.
"Yes... I owe her this much, Honey."
Mustard was determined to see today through until its end before he would shut himself away for the following week.
He hated the statue, not because of who it was, but because of what it represented. It was as if everybody gave up hope that his precious student would return from wherever that hole in the sky took her to. His student was undefeated, even against himself, he had complete faith that she would overcome whatever impossible odds there were to return home.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Samson Oak wasn't having the best day.
As he woke up, his Komala fell on top of him. One wouldn't think that would be such a big deal, but the tiny pokemon weighed 20kg and carried a log with it at all times. If Komala had landed on his head, he might have died.
Unfortunately, that wasn't his biggest reason for being upset today. Today was the anniversary of his step-daughter's disappearance into an Ultra Wormhole. He had no idea how they worked, but he wanted to find out as quickly as possible. He may not have been especially close to Victoria, but he still loved her as if she was his own daughter.
Then he had the unfortunate meeting with Lusamine and her children on the plane to Galar. He didn't dislike her children in any way, in fact, he felt bad for them. Lusamine is... unstable would be the kindest way to say it.
She had convinced herself... and her children that he was their grandfather. He made sure to contact Peony and Alex right after the first time she said that, just to make sure everyone was on the same page.
He had no idea what she was up to, but he couldn't say no in the face of her children's hopeful expressions. They obviously longed for any parental figure to show them affection, so he played that role for the past five years. He felt guilty for enjoying the moments he shared with her children, as if he was replacing Victoria with them in her absence.
Samson counted himself lucky that he didn't get much sleep the night before, so he could legitimately fall asleep on the plane, in hopes of ignoring Lusamine's presence. When the plane landed at Heatmor airport, he couldn't be happier.
""Come on, grandpa Oak!"" Two distinctly different voices overlapped at the baggage collection.
"Huh? Grandpa Oak, do you have another grandchild that we didn't know about?" the male voice said.
Looking for the owner of the voice, Samson found himself staring at his cousin's grandson, Gary Oak. His only saving grace was that he told Samuel about Lusamine's delusions and how he only acts like a grandfather to Gladion and Lilie.
"No, I only have you and Daisy."
He and Samuel locked eyes, before quickly waving to each other.
"Samuel!"
"Samson!"
The both of them came in for a consensual hug, which may have lasted a little long compared to normal people's hugs, but the Oaks were family-oriented people. After breaking the hug apart Samson asked,
"Where's Daisy? I would have thought that she would have come today, even if it was just to get out of the lab."
"Hahaha! She certainly did want to come, but she has a contest finale against that Courtney girl in Hoenn today, so she decided to participate in that instead."
"Fair enough." Samson agreed with a shrug of his shoulders.
Soon enough, Lusamine, her family, and Gary Oak collected all they needed to in the baggage area. It was now time to catch a taxi to Rose Tower, otherwise, they wouldn't make it in time for the ceremony held by Alex.
"Gary, why don't you ride with Gladion and his family? You might make another male friend your age. It would be a nice change from all those cheerleaders that follow you around, right?" Samuel suggested.
"Yeah, whatever, old man. You're just jealous of me, but I'll do just that. "
Lusamine decided to ride with Gary and her family. He could only assume that was because she never wanted either of them out of her sight, in fear of losing them like Victoria. He could only sigh at her possessive and controlling tendencies as he stepped into the taxi.
"Where to gentlemen?"
"Rose Tower, if you could."
"Here to visit the statue, huh? Can't blame ya', I still remember the day the hero saved my Corvinight when he was still just a Rookidee from an Onix in the wild area, it's a cryin' shame what happened to her."
"Indeed, she went too soon."
"Damn right, she did! I'm sorry... the emotions are just running a little high today. I'll make sure to get you there as quick as the old bird can get you there."
The rest of the cab ride was done in relative silence until Samuel let it slip that they were related to the hero, which prompted a flurry of questions from the taxi driver. They both obliged and shared their own tales of Victoria Rose.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Magnolia wasn't upset, she was more worried about today.
As much as she adored Victoria, sometimes viewing her as her own granddaughter, she knew the odds of coming back from a wormhole, let alone surviving it, was close to zero. That, however, didn't mean that she didn't pray for her ex-lab partner's safe return every night before going to bed. Before meeting Victoria, she only believed that facts were the only important thing in life, she changed her views within a few weeks of meeting that ingenious meat-head.
She still looks back fondly at all the times she scolded the rambunctious teen. Despite hating Alex with a passion for his plans regarding the Dynamax bands they had worked on together with Victoria; she still had a soft spot for the girl, even if she did end up taking her brother's side.
Even if she had come to terms with the idea that Victoria may never return to Galar, let alone the land of the living, her granddaughter, and apprentice, Sonia hadn't. Magnolia wasn't oblivious to Sonia's feelings towards the battle junky, she would have to be blind and deaf before that reality could come to be.
Sonia claimed that she only admired Victoria, which Magnolia would have believed, if not for the blush that spread across her face whenever she recounts her meetings with Victoria that betrayed her words.
Magnolia always knew that Sonia was a fan of fairy tales, especially ones involving heroes, so when she met Victoria as she saved her in the slumbering weald from some pokemon? Magnolia already knew the outcome.
Victoria's disappearance really hit her granddaughter harder than most would think, she has an excellent poker face for whenever people bring her up in conversations, but at home? The first two months were just Sonia breaking down in rooms she thought were out of her earshot, and the week before and after the anniversary wasn't any better.
"Yamper, go and get Sonia, we need to leave soon. The taxi is outside, and currently waiting for us."
After receiving a few barks from Sonia's canine companion, Magnolia made her way out of her cottage and into the Taxi.
"Just you?"
"No, no, my granddaughter will be riding with me as well."
"Where are you heading to?"
"Rose Tower if you don't mind."
"Quite a long distance, that is. Why are you heading there if you don't mind me askin'?"
"Paying our respects to a dear friend who's no longer with us."
The taxi driver rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, realizing that he may have made his customer reveal something they may not have wanted to. Soon enough, the door opened once more, allowing Sonia and her Yamper to enter.
"I assume that's all of you?"
"You would be correct."
"Then, let's get this show on the road."
He pulled on a lever, which signaled for the Corvinight to take off. Seeing as they had finally gained enough altitude to where her granddaughter wouldn't escape, Magnolia addressed her,
"Sonia."
The ginger assistant looked towards her grandmother with a painfully fake smile, and over-the-top makeup to hide the bags under her eyes,
"Yes, gran?" she replied, with a clear hurt in her voice.
"You do know it's okay to cry, right? I certainly won't judge you, and I'm more than sure that Victoria wouldn't. If she could see you now, pretending to be happy, it would make her more upset than you being honest to your own feelings and crying."
"I-I don't know what you're talking about, gran, I'm perfectly fine."
"Soni-"
"I'm fine... see?"
What followed her empty words was the most forced smile that Magnolia had ever seen in her lifetime. She pulled her into a side-hug and began stroking her arm up and down in soothing motions.
"You aren't fooling anyone, girl, not even Yamper."
"I just miss her so much, gran."
"We all do, Sonia."
What followed next was the 2nd most awkward taxi ride the driver had ever given, only being beaten out by the drunk couple who tried to start fucking in his backseat. There were sobs, cries, and barks heard, he could only assume that whoever they lost was someone important.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Many others made their journeys, oftentimes in silence. There were, however, some that decided that they needed to be the ones smiling when others couldn't and forced them onto their features. They were so blatantly obvious, but nobody dared call them out on it.
They all had one thing in common, though, they were all heading to Rose Tower- or rather -the statue in front of it. As people placed their flowers against the golden statue of Victoria Rose, making sure not to obscure the plaque which had her final words on it, they read,
'I have given my life towards bettering this region and protecting its people. I have no regrets. And, if the world thinks that it can take me out permanently? Break my undefeated streak? I would like to see it try!'
It really showed what type of stubborn character she was, but it also showed that even in the face of impossible odds, she didn't waver. It also gave hope to the few who believed that she would remain undefeated and return to Galar one day.
The statue no longer resembled its previous self, it was now covered in bouquets of flowers, and pictures of her. The previously empty area in front of Rose Tower was now filled to capacity as people surrounded the statue.
Oleana couldn't believe that even after all of these years, people would still bother coming to the statue, the last known location of Victoria, the one who gave her a new life. She had devoted her life to making sure that her benefactor's legacy wouldn't be tarnished, or lost to history. So, it was nice to see that her efforts hadn't been in vain.
"Chairman, it's time for you to start your speech."
"Thank you, Oleana," Alex replied.
She held no loyalty towards Victoria's family, apart from Victoria herself, but as he was the second-largest shareholder, she had to stomach his presence. She didn't know why, but she always felt off in regards to Alex's presence. When he suggested that he take over the company, that probably was what kickstarted her dislike of him.
Thankfully, Victoria didn't only plan for the future in terms of technology and fashion, she also planned for the future regarding her brother. Victoria knew of her brother's rather dangerous interest in the unknown pokemon that could create Dynamax energy and made sure to inform Oleana about his desires.
As Victoria's assistant, she was privy to a lot of information regarding Alex. She was also listed as the person who would be in charge of the company in the event of Victoria's demise. She always respected Victoria, especially Victoria's cunning side, which was typically hidden from the public.
She had enough blackmail material from Victoria to last her years, and make sure that Alex could never get the company under his control. She managed to even cut his share of the company down to 8% and limited his control due to that information Victoria provided. He was now nothing more than a figurehead for the company that was related to Victoria.
"Are you coming or not, Oleana?" Alex's words snapped her out of her thoughts.
"I am."
"O~kay..."
As soon as he opened the door of Rose Towers, he caught everybody's attention,
"It's wonderful to see that so many people still remember my elder sister. If she saw you all gathering in front of her statue she would probably make a witty joke, or something similar. Sadly, she is not here with us today, but I'm sure she's watching over us."
Just as his mouth opened once more to start the next lines of his speech, the heavens were split open, and a ray of light shone down upon the statue. The intensity of the light grew brighter and brighter until nobody could look at it.
When it faded, there was a rather familiar person in the place of the statue, it was Victoria Rose. She was dressed in casual attire, completely different than the business suit she was last seen in. There was an unknown pokemon next to her, it was a white horse-like pokemon, but nobody focused on that.
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
(Victoria POV)
After I told Arceus my plan, which basically consisted of him smashing that damn statue of me. It would have been cool if it actually looked like me! So that was my master plan, it wasn't well thought out, but it happened.
I looked around and was met with some familiar faces, their jaws were all hanging wide open. It was a tiny bit surreal, but I couldn't bask in the appearances of some of my favorite characters for long. I needed to say something.
"Damn, you all look so old! Well, apart from Mustard, but he always looked old."
"You damn brat! The first thing you say after your stunt is an insult to me?!"
"Hahahahaha! How long has it been since I left?"
""Victoria!""
I was barraged by a large number of hugs, and I could just hear Arceus laughing at my situation. What happened to him being a kind god? He's abandoned me to the wolves! Oh well, I would be lying if I said I didn't enjoy it.
"Oi! Oi! Oi! I still didn't get an answer! Wait- Bea is all grown up now?! Aww~!"
She was the closest person and hugged my front. I held no doubt in my mind that she put all of her physical training to work and sprinted to be the first to do so. She now, however, had a tint of pink on her cheeks at my teasing, which worked wonders for her cute levels when paired with her teary eyes.
"I missed you."
"I missed you too, in fact, I missed you all!"
I used aura to send a telepathic message to Alex,
'Hey, bro, can you stop crying for a second, and get me inside of the tower? You, know? Where I'm not swarmed?'
I cut the connection and hoped he got to work. Arceus didn't get affected by the crowd in the slightest, opting to float above them. Within a few seconds of composing himself, he called out to the crowd,
"It seems as if a miracle had happened! My sister has returned to us, presumably victorious! Now, if you could all stop crowding around her, I'm sure that she's hungry. Who knows how long it took for her to get here."
His words worked wonders with the crowd parting from me. The Rotom-Phones were buzzing around me, trying to get the best picture. Still shocking to hear that I invented them. I made my way into the Rose Tower, where I was greeted by Oleana.
"It's nice to have you back, Victoria."
"It's wonderful to be back, Oleana. If you could allow family, friends, and friendly acquaintances of mine to enter the tower, I would be grateful. I'm sure that you still remember who I would be referring to. I will be in the 3rd-floor lounge area getting something to snack on."
"Of course, Victoria, I will do so immediately."
I began walking up the staircase because Arceus fit in the elevator. It was a miracle he even fit through the door with how large he is. When I made it to the lounge, I was met with the refreshing sight of a vending machine, I hadn't eaten or drank in a while.
"C'mon Arceus, let me introduce you to the wonders of a vending machine."
"You don't have any money to operate it, Victoria."
"Are you forgetting that I can make money?"
He would have been right, however, I now have my rather overpowered life-hack named imagination manifestation. I looked at the prices of the vending machine and did the math. I needed around 2000P. So, I just imagined that money into existence.
After inserting the money, I selected two bottles of water, which cost me 400P, 4 packets of Voltorbz, which was a sour candy that cost 800P, and 4 caramel chocolate bars, which cost me the remaining 800P. The candy and water were for me, the chocolate bars were for Arceus, and I would make a few oran berries for Bagon.
I pulled out my luxury ball that contained Bagon, and released him for the first time ever. He was confused initially, before seeing me with oran berries in my hand.
"I'm your trainer now, Bagon. Let's achieve our dreams together, okay?"
"Bag-Bagon!"
He was more than happy to accept my position as his trainer, which I was a little confused about, before marking it down to the effects of the luxury ball increasing his feeling of friendship towards me. He began messily eating away at the pile of oran berries soon after shaking my hand.
Bagon looked adorable munching away at the berry pile, but I didn't say that out loud. Dragons were known for their pride, and I didn't want to wound his pride by marking him down as cute. It probably wouldn't be 'manly' or 'cool' enough for the small dragon type.
I handed the unwrapped chocolate bars to Arceus, because he had no hands to peel the wrapper off in the first place, and watched as a twinkle appeared in his eye when he took the first bite.
Knowing that he had a sweet tooth was a big discovery, it makes earning his respect much easier, I just have to learn how to cook sweets, or keep imagining them into existence. The quicker that I get him as a usable pokemon in my party, the better.
However, I still have a year to get used to life in the pokemon world once more. I noticed that Bagon had completely devoured the berries, and had made a rather big mess of himself. He looked completely full, with some blue-colored berry juice staining his previously glossy black skin. I made some wet wipes, after noting that none were nearby.
"Bagon, I think that there's more berry on you, instead of in your stomach. Come here and let me clean you up."
He at least had the decency to look embarrassed at his messy eating habit. I wiped the stains off of him, and this was probably the first time I had felt a pokemon in the longest time. Arceus touching me with his forehead didn't count, because I didn't initiate the contact.
"Do you want to head back in your ball now?" I asked Bagon.
He didn't reply verbally this time, instead opting to touch his hand to the button on his ball, instantly sending himself back to it. I couldn't blame him for wanting to return. If I had a luxury room awaiting me where I would be carried to wherever I needed to go, I would probably want to go back to it as well.
I looked over to Arceus and was dumbfounded. He was using the move Telekinesis to hold the chocolate bars as he ate them. Couldn't he have used that to bypass my needing to unwrap them? How can he use Telekinesis to hold the chocolate bars, but not stop the caramel from smearing all over his face? Does he want the same treatment as Bagon got?
"Arceus, I didn't take you to be a messy eater~!"
He was started for a second, probably forgetting that I was in the room too, before swallowing his current bite.
"I had simply never eaten before, when you can sustain yourself fully by just existing, one would tend to just forgo food in general. I apologize if my appearance is unsightly after my meal."
He then used Refresh to clean himself up. It was certainly a unique way of utilizing the move, but if I had millions of years to experiment, I would probably have ended up using it for the same purpose as well.
"I think Oleana has finished with her task if the noise downstairs is anything to go by. I would like it if you went into a ball, so people would be able to focus on our reunion, instead of your presence."
"I see... well, I suppose that being caught by you doesn't go against the terms I set. It would also be nice to see just how luxurious a luxury ball is."
I made another semi-transparent luxury ball, and let him touch it with his forehead. He transformed into a red light, before going straight into the ball. It didn't shake once, presumably because Arceus wanted to be caught as quickly as possible. Him being inside of a luxury ball should also improve his opinion of myself, that is only if the inside is up to his standards, though.
A quick sequence of knocks rapped against the wooden door, I assumed it was either Oleana or one of my brothers.
"Come in!" I called from the other side of the room.
Oleana opened the door slowly, presumably so she could locate where I was before she began opening the door quicker. It was always a weird thing that she did, but I didn't bother bringing it up ever before, so I won't start now. Her eyes locked onto me, and she smiled.
If I only played the games, I would have assumed that she only had two emotions, anger, and calm. But, my memories showed me just how much she bottles up inside of herself.
"Hello, Oleana, I assume that you have completed the task I set you?"
"I would never fail you-"
"I know you wouldn't."
"Oh-I see..." her smile was much wider upon hearing my words.
"Oleana." I gently reminded her that she still had
"Yes! They are all wanting to meet with you, preferably as separate groups."
"Hm? That should be fine, Oleana, send them up here one group at a time."
"I will do so at once."
After saying her piece, I watched as she left, she added a clear sway in her hips that wasn't present earlier. It's now time to face the people I was dragged away from for 5 years in their eyes and 26 years in my own. I was dreading the Lusamine reunion the most.
I didn't have much time to stew in 'what-if' scenarios, as the knocking began once again. I called for them to come in, and I was met with the sight of three blonde-haired people, one adult, and two children. I briefly wondered just how bad my luck naturally was without any annoying gods interfering with it.
"It's wonderful to see you again... Lusamine."
