Chapter 1

~Jack Blake~

As he was absentmindedly staring at the sight in front of him, he wondered why it didn't affect him more than the mild discomfort he felt. Beside him, Phantump looked up at him curiously while idly floating around. After resting for a while, he had asked her if she wanted to come along and she agreed enthusiastically. They then left behind the tree and braved the wild once more after a hearty breakfast of replicated protein bars.

He wanted to test them and they tasted the exact same so he happily used the absolutely broken function to nourish them. He could replicate any finished dish he himself created, no matter which ingredients it included. That was at least what the manual said. Even absolutely unique stuff could be cloned if he first included it into something he himself cooked. If that wasn't an absolutely bullshit cheat, he didn't know what was.

Back to the present. In front of him was the half-eaten corpse of a human being. It looked as if he died in agony as his face was pulled into a terrifying grimace of pain and terror. And yet, he felt no horror, no fear, no pit in his stomach that made him dread if he was going to be next.

Just a faint mourning for a life lost but also the certainty that death was a part of life and that nature obviously claimed what it was due. Objectively, he knew that his reaction wasn't a usual one but he honestly couldn't bring himself to overly care for the middle-aged stranger who was obviously underprepared to deal with the dangers of this forest.

What did catch his eyes were both, the nearly untouched backpack besides the man's body and the magnet-belt with several spheres with a red and white colour scheme. 'Pokéballs.' he realised. He didn't know what would happen with the mons that were captured within them.

There were several theories as to how those balls worked and most of them included that the Pokémon were put in a kind of reactive stasis while resting inside. It would be quite pitiful for them to just wither away while being forgotten in their balls. He decided he would grant them their freedom. But only after he returned to civilization.

He didn't want to have to face grieving Pokémon of unknown strength who were probably on a warpath after their trainer met his demise. He wasn't a genius and he had an impulsive side to him as could be seen by him wandering off without a real plan when he was shocked to his core the day before.

He wasn't an idiot, though. He could think things through. Well, sometimes. Searching through the bag, he found an ID in the form of a Trainer's license. He was a Rookie Trainer. From what he had learned through surfing while walking as Phantump sat on his head to keep a lookout, that was quite pitiful.

Civilian Trainers were those, who started early through a sponsored program like the Youngster- or the Bugcatcher-program. They learned how to handle themselves through testing those who graduated from trainer-schools and apprenticeships and earned a monthly stipend in addition to the prize money from the battles. If they performed well, it wasn't impossible to be picked up by companies or research organizations.

They were limited to a team of three at the max, one of which was gifted to them by the league. They also had to come in once a month to their local Pokécenter to make sure they weren't mistreating their mons.

The Rookie Rank was barely better. They usually either went through a sponsored program and did poorly or they flunked out of a trainer school. Even the worst schools guaranteed the Regular Rank at graduation with most reputable ones guaranteeing Advanced Rank and the prestigious Oaken Academy going as far as officially granting the Elite Rank to their graduates.

Those systems were all together too convoluted to truly understand from the short time he spent skimming through the articles and those schools homepages.

Having spread out the contents of the demised stranger's backpack in from of him while thinking those things through, he now registered what he had laying there. Three spray bottles that were most likely potions, an antidote and two Pokéballs.

He glanced at Phantump in consideration. As long as they weren't used to capture a Pokémon, they weren't registered. Once they were used, they were linked to one's DNA and could only be opened by the linked user. And, in the case of some very headstrong inhabitants, the Pokémon inside.

'He wouldn't mind if I used one of those, right? He can't use them anymore after all. Well, I'll first have to talk with her anyways.'

He lightly tapped her head as she was still curiously floating around the corpse, looking for things he wasn't able to guess.

After gaining her attention, he looked her into the eyes seriously. She reciprocated his stare, curiosity radiating from her as her eerie blue eyes flickered like the flames of a candle. He had to make sure to communicate his intent in it's entirety.

"Little one. When I found you, you were all alone. No parents in sight. I probably wouldn't have survived the encounter if they were, honestly. If my guess is correct, then you aren't a hatched member of your species but a naturally spawned one."

Her eyes flickered more intensely, probably in response to his words and the empathy he was sure she could see in his eyes.

"Alone, you will have it hard to survive. Your species isn't native to Sinnoh and you are rarer still since you are an unusual representative of your kind, making you a coveted commodity for trainers out there. You will be hunted and caught, most likely. Your choices will be taken from you and there won't be many who are compassionate enough to truly care about you."

After telling her the harsh truth, he waited for a moment to let it sink in. She turned her gaze to the ground and shivered a bit while floating in the space in front of him. He desperately wanted to just take her into his arms and shield her from all things evil but he knew he couldn't do that. If he wanted her to thrive in this cruel world, he had to make her strong instead. And he needed her to find the determination to go against the odds within herself.

When her eyes finally raised to look into his again, they were filled with just that kind of emotion. She didn't want to be robbed of her freedom of choice. There was a new hunger there. A hunger to obtain the strength to decide. A defiance against being shackled. He smiled at the cutely determined face she was showing. It took him a serious effort of will to stop himself from cooing at her. It would undermine her resolve and that was the last thing he wanted.

"I see you found a reason to fight for your freedom. Now let me ask you: Do you want to join me?"

He let the offer stand for a moment before continuing his 'sales pitch'.

"If you do, I can promise you to never take away your freedom. I will lay some rules I'll want you to follow as well as a harsh training regimen you'll need to truly shine. I will need your cooperation to make a name for myself. Only if we reach a measure of strength recognised by others will we be able to truly make strides to protect ourselves."

He collected his thoughts. There were quite a few nuances that he had to think through. He would need to dance on the edge a bit since being weak in the public's eye was just as bad as being too high profile. Already, he had read of cases where rather famous people simply vanished to never be seen again. There were undercurrents in this world even if it looked rather similar to a hybridised version of both, the anime and the games. He continued talking a little girl into joining up with him. He just hoped he wouldn't be taken in by the local or interdimensional FBI.

"If you ever think my team is not the place you want to call home anymore, I will help you find a new one. I will never force you to stay if you don't want to. In return for your cooperation, I will shelter you to the best of my ability. I will guide you on the path of the truly strong. We will reach heights together that would be utterly impossible on our own."

He tried to convey his honesty and passion to the little girl. He was serious with everything he said. Nothing was a lie. He'd be devastated if she joined up with him and left some time later but he'd wholeheartedly devote his time to finding her a new home.

She tilted her head cutely before reaching out with her little arms, demanding him to take her into his arms. Apparently, she made her decision. He regarded her seriously once again, asking her.

"Are you sure?"

She seemed irritated by his continuous questioning of her resolve because she started to ineffectively hammer her cute little arms against his chest while releasing frustrated 'Phaaaahh' sounds. He couldn't help but laugh as he pacified her with headpats and cuddles.

"Alright, alright. I get it. You want to join up."

He grabbed one of the two Pokéballs before holding it out to her. She touched the button in it's middle before being sucked in after transforming into the telltale red light. Without resistance, the ball locked in, signaling a successful capture.

He quickly released her from her prison of choice and caught her when she once again floated into his arms. Her cute and affectionate behaviour continued to raise his mood despite the morbid backdrop of a very dead trainer lying behind them. He smiled gently at her before growing serious once again. He had to continue the somewhat tasteless task to pack up the dead fellows belongings. Marley Folt was his name according to the license.

Once he was done with the backpack's content, he carefully removed the balls from the belt before putting them into one of the side-packs of his own backpack. He then contemplated digging a proper grave for the unlucky guy but he didn't have any tools to achieve that. Except for...

"Hey, Phantump. Your evolution can control trees with ease, right? Could you get this one to shift some of the soil? I want to give him a proper burial at least. He did donate the means to add you to my team after all."

She tilted her head and looked at the tree the corpse was leaning against. She then closed her eyes with an adorably scrunched up face that showed her concentration. The tree began to glow in an eerie violet light. The otherworldly shimmer made it seem as if it was a ghost itself. The roots then pushed apart with creaking sounds that wouldn't be out of place in a horror movie, shifting the ground the body was resting on with them.

She even took care to not just let it fall in but slowly shifted it from the top to the bottom, allowing for a respectful descent into the grave. After the opening had closed up again, a stone was pushed out of the ground before the tree. It had approximately the correct dimensions to be used as a gravestone.

He looked at the little girl appreciatively. That appreciation quickly turned to worry when she swayed in the air. He gently grabbed her and pulled her into his chest, feeling her slight shiver that he attributed to exhaustion.

"Don't overdo it, little one..."

He whispered to her softly, feeling guilty about giving what appeared to be a newborn such a challenging task.

"That said, I'm proud of you."

The Ghost Pokémon let out some content noises before falling asleep, surrendering to the exhaustion from performing a task beyond her capabilities. He didn't let the guilt fester. He knew he couldn't have known that it would take that much out of her. Vowing to himself that he'd be more careful in the future, he rummaged in his backpack until he found the small knife he usually kept there for emergencies.

It was a robust little thing before he crossed over. Now it was even more sturdy since it's materials also went through the adaption. He wondered about how easy it was to cut the fellow's name, Marley Folt, into the stone. Deciding to keep the knife on his person instead of packing it away, he looked at the map to learn his relative position.

If the distance they traveled was anything to go by, then the next city was still several days away. While thinking on what to do next, he noticed a slight flow of energy from his person to Phantump. Curiously, he looked down. It seemed that ghost types did indeed have the ability to consume lifeforce.

He closed his eyes and tried to get a feel for how much she consumed. 'It isn't that much, honestly. I can just eat a bit more to restore that. If it helps her recover from my blunder, I'm all for it.' Grabbing another one of his self-made bars, he consumed it sedately while pondering.

'The rough path we are following right now, if you could even call it that, would lead us to Eterna City. The Eterna Forest is way bigger than what the games portray. Kinda logical, I suppose...' They would have to continue on to Eterna City. Not just because it was closer by far if compared to Floaroma Town, but also because it was a full-blown city, making it more convenient.

He did have an ID under his name that he found earlier while searching through his backpack. That was a bit of a surprise. He just hoped there weren't too many who knew this version of him. The irresponsible dude didn't give him information on that and he didn't receive any memories from whoever this dude was before so he just assumed he was dropped into the world by his murderer.

Either that was the case and the ROB simply magicked an identity for him or the poor guy was a real breathing person who was suddenly and violently taken over by him. It was a bit unnerving to think about but since he couldn't really do anything about it, he decided to roll with the punches as they came in that regard. Worst came to worst, he'd just pretend to be an amnesiac. Wouldn't even be that far off the mark if he'd taken over a parallel version of himself.

He sighed. Taking the last bite of his bar, he stood up from the squat he performed to cut the stone and eat the much needed protein. It was time to continue their odyssey back into civilization. Finding the dead dude was a morbid windfall and he was thankful that he now had a way to protect her shiny status. But it cost quite a bit of time to search through his stuff.

'I shouldn't hurry too much really. While getting out of the forest should be my priority, I should spend some time daily to get a feel for what my body is capable of now. I also need to train Phantump up a bit. We can't stay weak if we want to make a name for ourselves'

He had a cheat that allowed him to infinitely produce food. All he had to worry about was water. Suddenly, his mind made a connection. 'Are specially prepared beverages dishes?'

Deciding to try out his thought immediately, he searched for his bottle full of isotonic electrolyte solution. It took him a good minute but when he found it he immediately placed it in the compartment that duplicated things. 'Sure enough, it counts. I have an endless source of food and drink now. We don't have to hurry. We can take the scenic route.'

He snorted at his thoughts. The only reason why he would take a detour was to avoid an obstacle. But he decided not to rush either. Living life in a hurry wasn't just a waste but dangerous too as it made one more reckless.

'One step at a time. No need to make plans past getting out of the forest. I have close to no information and I have trouble organising what I need to know so using the web to collect what I need would be possible but slow-going. Still, I will keep at it in my off-time. The useful bits are worth sifting through the worthless drivel.'

Deciding on what to do next filled him with purpose. He double-checked his map and continued on his way. He just hoped it would stay fairly peaceful. Phantump was still sleeping and he wasn't keen on tangling with a Pokémon without first testing his new limits.