This is my first fanfic, so go easy on me...

'Normal thought'

'Thought speech'

"Normal speech"

"Poké speech"

Attack

Emphasis/Emphasis

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing of Pokémon, just my OC(s) and some plot twists

There can never be Order without Chaos, and Chaos without any semblance of Order; would only bring about the Universe's untimely destruction.

And thus, to ensure balance, the Bylaws were established. It is not known, how these laws came to be, only that they were absolute, governing over all the realms; past, present or future.

Within the cosmos in a realm both separate, yet inexplicably connected by the confines of space and time, slumbered an age-old entity. There was a sudden rift in space just then, creating a wave of disturbance that spread across the entire dimension.

A variation had occurred, one so powerful that it could potentially alter the entire timestream, partially arousing Arceus from his slumber.

'... It is too early' Arceus glimpsed at the rapidly crumbling timeline, 'HIS path may have numerous variants, but if he is to succeed in any of them, it is essential you live to follow in your own…'

Arceus pondered, the Bylaws prohibited any form of interference, but he was clearly planning on doing just that 'What if, the life restored… wasn't truly the one that was lost' it was a gamble, one with its fair share of consequences, but it was a risk worth taking.

Time's influence was already beginning to crumble, which only left…

Arceus consciousness searched through the cosmos, finally locking on to a particular life force 'How, intriguing... for a soul whose time was well overdue, to replace one that passed prematurely' he sighed.

'Forgive me… for not letting you move on, but it has to be done' he apologized, 'Or perhaps, this was meant to be from the very beginning… I bid you farewell, for this will be our last conversation' with those parting words, Arceus returned to his slumber.

Ever had a migraine so bad, you felt your skull's gonna split open? That's pretty much what I was feeling now. Though the voice in my head said it was a 'parting gift'

Yeah right, try having a truckload of info dumped into your head, and if that wasn't enough, my mind was also going through fourteen years' worth of memories… all in the same instant 'Damn you Arceus!'

Okay, it might not be the brightest idea cursing a deity, but I wasn't in my right mind currently, so cut me some slack.

Anyway, after a few hours (well it felt like hours to me) and a lot more cursing, the pain finally started to recede, leaving behind a blissful numbness, I even got back some feeling in my limbs.

My new body felt heavy, but otherwise seemed okay, most of my injuries seemed to have been healed, though some parts of me still felt numb 'Am in one of those Centres?' I couldn't open my eyes quite yet, but I smelt the telltale odor of a hospital.

An unfamiliar ceiling greeted me, once I'd managed to get my eyes open, and I felt something warm and furry next to me. Slowly turning to my left, I received further confirmation that I wasn't in fact, going deranged.

I gazed at the Pokémon's sleeping form, one that I had only seen previously in some. of the games and anime 'Damn, actually seeing it in real life...' I just stared blankly, my mind going back to before I ended up in a drunken stupor.

Let me back up a bit, I was previously a twenty-five-year-old single bloke named Timothy Horton (sounds awesome, I know) I'd just been laid off my job and those bastards had been kind enough to… you know what? All of that doesn't matter anymore, I'd already left that world behind, no point dwelling on it.

Long story short, Arceus had brought me here in place of someone named Derek Rivera who'd already passed on, there was something about how he couldn't interfere too much 'cause of the Bylaws or something.

So he ended up searching through other alternate universes, mainly those where Pokémon didn't exist and locked on to me since presumably, I had the same Aura signature as the kid.

You're probably like 'Wasn't Arceus supposed to hate all of humanity and all? That's like, the entire point of the first three Sinnoh Movies!'

Well… he might have offered an explanation at some point while zipping me across the cosmos, but like I said, I had a lot of information dumped onto me so you'll excuse me if I ignored some of it.

Anyway, the reason all of this happened was because this Rivera guy was supposed to play a part in the whole 'Saving the world from utter devastation' and I was like, lol which movie we talking about? Or are we going by the games? Or is it something different altogether?

If you've not already figured out, I was quite the Pokémon fan during my time, though BW kinda made me lose interest, the anime more so than the games (I gotta admit it was getting annoying af how Ash kept loosing) but XY got me right back into it (Mega Evolution rules! Though Ash lost there too...)

We're going off topic here, I asked for more details naturally, but all he said was 'We are only allowed to guide the Chosen One, had the absence of your future path not posed a threat to his own… this conversation might never have occurred' he then gave me the good old one-eyed glare.

'Fine, let him have all his damn cliches!' I grumbled 'The unprecedented amounts of luck, the Aura thing and not to mention the girls! Yeah, see if I care!'

Okay, I'm not dissing Ash or anything, but I'm the one that's been plucked out and sent headfirst into all of this, and I don't even get a basic instructions manual? (granted I did know most of what would happen from here on out but come on! Where exactly did I fit in all of this?)

I think Arceus must've heard me since the very next second I was hit with the mother of all migraines, I blacked out after that.

And well… here we are.

I still couldn't get over it, but what shocked me most of all was the Pokémon sleeping next to me. Yeah, there was a living, breathing Pokémon right next to me with some shit crazy powers no doubt, but that was the just the least of it.

The Pokémon in question was one of my all-time favorites, I always had one in my team, the rumored harbinger of disasters (though I knew better) an Absol.

But that wasn't all, it was a shiny! And not your normal red skin instead of black kinda shiny, it was what one would call a shiny swap!

Black fur instead of white; skin and claws the color of bright silver, or maybe grey, I couldn't be sure since the light entering the room was limited (there was only one window and the sky outside was overcast)

I briefly wondered if this was Arceus' way of apologizing for not being able to help me, or maybe he was trying to get in some brownie points to ensure that I wouldn't mess with Ash's journey, regardless I wasn't complaining!

Hang on a moment, I'll give you the rundown…

Derek Rivera had been a part of this group of mountaineers/miners, who'd decided to trek up the Johto mountain range in search of potential fossil sites. The members of the group had next to no relation with one another, they were just a bunch of people, that had come together with the common interest: fossils.

Why was a kid like him mining for fossils? Well his aim was to become a researcher on the subject, like his father (I think he's one of the people responsible for creating the reincarnator, or whatever those things were called)

So, much like how an aspiring Trainer could begin his/her journey after getting their Trainer's License, at the age of fourteen (yeah they got them at fourteen and not ten, thank Arceus for that!) Derek had also set off on his quest for fossils.

He'd made straight for the mountain range, where he later met and joined an exploration group, they scaled over a good part of the mountain (I think it was somewhere near Snowtop) when they came across a cavern, which was deemed a likely place to start their search.

However, hardly did one of them step into the cave, that a Shadow Ball whizzed by his head, forcing him back outside. And from within the darkness walked a growling Absol, scaring a good few of them shitless.

This was a time when people were still prejudiced against the Dark-type, though things had gotten a lot better, many still believed in the rumors surrounding it and unfortunately, these louts were clearly the latter kind.

They immediately called out their Pokémon and went on the attack, not even bothering to wonder why Absol was barring them entry.

Young Derek watched the scene unfold in horror, they might have even killed the poor thing, had the kid not put himself in the path of an incoming attack.

The force of the attack sent the two of them crashing into the cave and in the process, Absol lost control of the Shadow ball it had been preparing to fire. By sheer coincidence, it hit the cave ceiling which subsequently collapsed and sealed off the entrance.

I figured it was shortly afterward that Derek's soul passed on, and I was brought in as a substitute.

I sighed, he might've been a bit of a brat, but his actions had earned him my respect 'I swear by the time I'm done here, this world will know your name… Derek Rivera, may you Rest in Peace' and I silently prayed for his soul (I'm not much of a believer so that tells you something)

Well, coming back to the Absol I'll admit it, my curiosity almost got me killed. I tentatively reached out, against my better judgment, and ran my hands over its dark fur, which was silky smooth and soft to the touch.

Almost instantly, its eyes flew open, and there was a rush of movement as the Pokémon leaped off the bed with a growl, body tense for an attack.

'Crap!' I tried to maintain a calm expression, while inwardly cursing my stupidity 'This wasn't a dog! I can't treat them like a normal pet!' I shivered at the sudden coldness, trying my best to be as non-threatening as I could "Easy there, I mean you no harm" I tried to keep my voice steady.

Okay, I was losing my shit, fast. There was something… unnerving about those crimson eyes, and there was also the fear of knowing that I could die in a heartbeat.

I tried my best for a winning smile "I saved you remem-"

'You're finally awake…' I heard a relieved voice, echo through my mind.

Absol eased up and trotted to my side, my expression must've been priceless, because the Pokémon actually cracked a smile, okay maybe more like a smirk 'I apologize for that, but you should have known better than to startle me whilst I slumber' he (the voice in my head was clearly male) chided.

'And just when I thought, things couldn't get any weirder…' I grinned sheepishly, at least I knew the guy was a friendly.

I understood, thanks to the info dump, that Absol wasn't actually using telepathy but something more along the lines of an empathy link (kinda similar to the link between two characters in a particular book series, back in my old world)

The link was currently only one way, from Absol to me, meaning he'd been the one to initiate it and that got me wondering since empathy links could only be initiated by Aura wielders.

While it was true that all Pokémon had some degree of control over their Aura, not all of them were able to reach the level of mastery needed to initiate such a link.

Either Absol was among the few that were born with the ability to use Aura (it's happened before) or he'd been trained, or received some guidance at the very least.

"So-" I started, only for my gaze to move towards the door, I could sense someone approaching and by sense, I literally mean sense, don't ask me how... I don't know.

The door opened just then and, 'Aw hell!' I barely stopped myself from gaping, she was easily one among the most beautiful women I'd ever laid eyes on!

The person in question paused for a moment, noting that I was awake "Well it's good to see that you've gained consciousness" she commented, giving me a smile.

She looked to be around eighteen and had light blue eyes, her pink hair was tied in rounded rings, a peculiar fashion statement that oddly suited her well. She was fair skinned, with a healthy undertone, and was dressed in simple clothing: a pink and white dress with a white collar, coupled with white leggings that ended in comfortable, low-heeled pink shoes.

She and her kin were the subjects of adoration of many, but none more so than a Kanto Gym Leader who specialized in Rock-types 'Brocko… you might not be much of a ladies man, but I gotta admit, you got good taste!' I stated as Nurse Joy walked towards me.

Absol gave her a low growl when she passed by but did nothing else.

"I'm just making sure his injuries are healing properly" she assured in a soothing voice, whilst I struggled to keep my expression steady, the fact that I was currently stuck in the body of a hormonal teenager, didn't exactly help things.

"Quite the feat you've managed" she commented, oblivious to the mental torture she was putting me through, "I've seen that one a few times around the mountain, not even once did he let me approach him" she nodded to where Absol sat, his eyes wary of her every move "How you managed to befriend him is beyond me, but thank Arceus you did!"

I looked at her quizzingly "Had he not turned up at my doorstep when he did, with you passed out on his back… I doubt if either of you would've made it through the night" she explained, her expression turning serious as she began removing the many bandages that adorned my chest and parts of my left arm (I realized to my chagrin that under the covers, I was clothed only in my boxers)

"Wouldn't even let me look at his own injuries" Nurse Joy continued "Not until I was done treating you" she then went on to examine me, but I ignored her, I was trying to complete the empathy link.

It was easy for me since Absol had already laid down the groundwork. Imagine two poles, with a wire connecting them, all I had to do was wind another wire around the one already there and send it across to the other side.

And let me clarify when I said easy I meant easier, by comparison, it still took me a few tries to get it.

'Thank you…' I tried to put as much gratitude as I could into my voice (thoughts?) as possible, he'd been injured pretty badly as well, to have dragged my sorry ass all the way here from god knows where in spite of all that; I'll be frank, I was touched.

'My kind takes pride in our loyalty, and you have more than earned mine…' came Absol's simple reply, once he'd gotten over the surprise that I'd been able to complete the link.

My fist clenched at that, 'And to think, those bastards were gonna-'

'But more importantly' Absol continued 'You situation is similar to my own–' his eyes narrowed slightly, just as Nurse Joy threw a Pokéball into the air.

One more thing to note, our entire conversation which seemed to have taken a good few minutes, was barely a few seconds in actual time (reminded me of an anime, which involved a fat guy, and something about a crow… I think)

I'd fully been expecting a Chancey, but I was met with an Igglybuff instead, I sighed seeing these Pokémon in real life would take some getting used to.

I grinned at the little thing, thankful that it wasn't a Chansey, how I hated them! Those annoying pink blobs took forever to beat! And once they evolved… nope, not gonna go there.

"Heal Pulse" Nurse Joy's voice brought me out of my thought spiral, and I watched as the little pink ball of fuzz placed both of her (I'm thinking it's a her) arms on one of mine and I suddenly felt a lot… better?

I can't exactly describe the feeling, but I visibly saw myself healing. There was a nasty cut leading from just above my chest, to my lower rib cage 'Probably from the attack'

"A few broken ribs, one of which punctured through your skin" the Nurse told me "We had to deal with that first, and then check for any other internal injuries, thankfully there weren't any"

'I highly doubt that was the case…' I commented inwardly, no doubt Arceus had patched me up a bit.

Anyway, the skin around the cut rapidly sealed and pretty soon, scar tissue formed. What would've taken weeks, had occurred in a span of a few minutes, nifty.

"That's enough…" I told, when I saw that the scar slowly starting to fade as well, the pink Pokémon looked up at me with those big bright eyes that could melt even the coldest of hearts, "Thank you" I said petting it and received a happy squeak in response, now I kinda get why girls went all gushy over these things.

Nurse Joy looked me funny "You want the scar to stay?"

"Yeah, a trophy of sorts" I replied '... and a reminder' I added in as an afterthought.

"Iggy won't be able to remove it later" she warned, I merely shrugged.

She sighed "Your choice, return Iggy and thank you" she gave me another check-up, the conclusion of which earned me a clean bill.

"A little more rest and you should be fine…" and she promptly walked out of the room, stating that she would bring me something to eat.

It was only after the door closed behind her, that Absol eased up.

'What got you so on edge?' I asked Absol, noting his stance 'Don't tell me it was Iggy?' I joked.

'That one is powerful…' Absol nodded, 'You would do well not to underestimate her' his tone did not sound like he was joking.

I mentally jaw dropped 'Just look at it! What could a little thing like that possibly do–!'

'I was sent crashing halfway across the room yesterday… when I tried stopping the other human from applying some horrible smelling paste to your wounds' Absol interjected.

'It's called disinfectant, we aren't as immune as, wait WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU WERE SENT FLYING ACROSS THE ROOM!?'

Absol tilted his head to one side, unfazed by my outburst 'I believe 'Pound' was the exact word, the other human uttered'

'No… I mean what happened after that!?' I cut in, trying to picture how a teeny tiny Igglybuff, could send Absol flying.

'I was caught unawares and took the hit' he repeated, was it me or did he sound miffed?

'No I mean after that! I hope you didn't go on a rampage or–' I'd seen him battle, the guy could hold his own against two Rhyhorn no problem, getting hit like that would not have left him pleased.

'I was knocked out'

'... huh!?'

'I wasn't up to full strength yet, and since I was unprepared I took the full brunt of the attack… and lost consciousness' yup, he was definitely miffed.

Queue in a reiteration on my part, Pokémon were shit strong.

I had this strange urge to laugh but contained myself, though I couldn't resist giving him a dig 'Don't you worry big guy, I'll make sure that scary–'

"Just wait until my strength is fully restored!" he growled, since the empathy link was now complete I could perfectly understand him, as he could me "I'll show that thing just ho–"

'Why of course you will!' I nodded seriously 'We'll show that Igglybuff who's boss, and not just her but whole world eve–'

"DO NOT PATRONISE ME!" his face contorted into a snarl, he was properly pissed now.

I grinned, his reaction was just what I'd been hoping for, I recognized the look in his eyes, the guy was a fighter.

'I wasn't patronizing you or anything…' I hopped off the bed, and shakily made my way towards him, damn the floor was cold.

Anyways, I crouched until my eyes were level with his 'I meant it…' he growled, but I knew he wouldn't actually attack me 'Not about Iggy obviously, but about showing the rest of the world you're worth' my declaration surprised him.

'I know your kind has been heavily prejudiced against, and I know that they're all wrong' I made sure to let my anger show, 'I plan on walking the path of a Champion... will you help me?'

I knew he could tell if I was lying and I most definitely wasn't, true the last part was more a spur of the moment thing but I did mean it (sorry Derek, fossils just weren't my thing man)

'The link is already complete, and I have already sworn my loyalty human, so what is the point in you asking?' it made sense for him to be puzzled, an empathy link could not be broken, not unless either one of us passed away.

By all respects we were stuck together, whether we liked it or not, but I wasn't satisfied with just that, I frowned slightly 'I have no intention of forcing you, I'm not your Master nor do I want to be anything of the sort, I'm asking for your help as a friend or at least I'd like for us to be friends' I quickly straightened up and grabbed a pair of hiking pants from the neatly folded bunch of clothes, placed on the side table next to the bed.

Rummaging through the pockets I found what I was looking for and crouched back down 'So what do you say?' I asked, enlarging the Pokéball and holding it out towards him. Contrary to the normal kind, this one was entirely white except for a red colored band in the middle... in other words a Premier ball (courtesy of the old Derek)

'What do you mean when you say I am your 'friend' human? I am unfamiliar with the word' Absol enquired.

'Oh, right well you could say we're members of the same pack, training, and fighting together for a common cause… to get stronger' I grinned, giving him a pat 'And by the way, my name's Derek Rivera, you can call me Rick if you like'

Absol stayed quiet for a good minute or so, 'Members of the same pack...' he repeated my words, and then gave me an almost human-like grin 'You already had my loyalty, now you have my respect as well… I will accompany you in this quest for strength, let us take this world by storm!' and his nose touched the center button on the ball.

I cringed 'Did he have to go and sound like an Evil Mastermind just then?' one blinding flash of light later, and the Pokéball in my hand settled with hardly a wobble.

Just like that, I caught my first Pokémon, though the sweet moment was ruined when a cold breeze blew through the window. I shivered instinctively, which made me lose my balance (I was still half crouched) resulting in me landing on my rump.

Like I mentioned earlier, I was still in my boxers and the floor was cold "Gah!" I jumped to my feet and rushed to pull on the pair of pants while cursing myself for not having done so earlier.

The door to burst open just then, "I head Absol growling and I thought I–" Nurse Joy's eyes widened at my state, her face instantly turning a bright shade of red "I… ah, the food's ready and… sorry!" and slam went the door... again, it's a wonder the hinges were still intact.

I began clothing myself at top speed, no doubt my face had turned red as well 'Shut up!' I told the laughing Dark-type (the link worked even from within a Pokéball)

But I gotta say though, a part of me was entranced by her embarrassed expression 'She looked so cute!' I'd read somewhere that most of the Nurse Joy's had near zero experience when it came to romance, one of the reasons why they never clobbered Brock, I was glad to see this wasn't entirely true.

'Do you plan on taking her as your mate?'

Now, if this had been an anime I'd have slipped and hit the floor face first at his comment, this was no anime so I settled for a simple 'Take her as my MATE!? What are you on about!?'

Did he mean what I think he meant? I might be older on the inside, but my body had barely turned fourteen for crying out loud! I don't know how things work here, or if there were laws… no, no stop thinking about it! I tried to calm my thoughts, the main keyword here being tried.

'Do you not know what it means to take a mate?' Absol, who couldn't quite read the mood, asked upon my silence 'Fine, I shall explain' he suddenly took on a sage-like tone, 'A mate is–'

'I know what a mate is! And no I'm not looking… I can't believe we're even having this conversation! Shut up!'

'There is no need for being so shamefaced' he was still using that annoying tone, was this payback for before?

'I can tell that the two you are compatible, and her spirit is quite strong as well, she never once showed me an ounce of fear during the time of your treatment... I see no cause for hesitation'

'No cause for hesitation my ass! I don't even know if she likes me' I immediately added 'Or for that matter, if I like her!'

'I know not of the former though, to some degree, her reaction suggests that she finds you appealing' he grinned 'As for the latter, going by how you were drooling upon her entry, I think it safe to say that you find her attractive'

'I was not drooling! I made sure to keep my expression neutr–' and my eyes widened, I'd been played.

'So you do admit to finding her attractive' the triumph in his voice was quite evident, 'At the very least, you are not oblivio–'

'Doesn't matter! And stop trying to play matchmaker!' I yelled as I walked out of the room.

And that, Ladies and Gentledudes was how my very own Pokémon journey began, with a smart ass of a Dark-type in tow.

Hopefully, I'd be able to find Nurse Joy and get something to eat, I was absolutely STARVING!

Which reminds me, I had no idea how long I'd been out or where I exactly was… eh, go figure I want me some grub!

Since you've managed to make it this far, leave me a review! They're always appreciated, as is constructive criticism, though any and all flames will be ignored.

Until next time...

BerserkSpectre out