Disclaimer: I do not own Once Upon a Time or Pokémon.

Prologue: Regina's Purest Bond

It was time to add the last ingredient, the heart of the one she loved the most. There was nothing and no one she loved more than the prized horse her Daniel had helped her raise. Rocinante, her most loyal companion, her dearest friend. Tears blessed his heart with their love, sorrow, regret and determination. "Please forgive me," she whispered to her beloved partner.

Rocinante whickered softly, nuzzling his best friend in understanding. He'd see her again, someday. Gently, he guided her to the alter, where Regina composed herself to meet with evil of all kinds.

And as she entered the one ingredient Rumpelstiltskin had meant to fail, something changed. Unknown parameters of this last ingredient changed the curse. Regina's tears and Rocinante's understanding set forth a path in a world that would ease her pain. She didn't understand everything, but she would. If nothing else, she would have twenty-eight years to plan.

"The curse it's here!" Someone shouted off in the distance.

Snow's breath hitched, the stress of everything piled up inside her. "Charming," Snow White breathed, "Wardrobe, now!"

He scooped up his wife, and started running. "What if it's not finished?" He asked between breaths.

"It has to be," she prayed. "He said he'd bring it up to the nursery later today."

David's steps grew longer, louder as he ran to the workshop. He opened the doors to see Gepetto lecturing Pinocchio about going in the wardrobe. His eyes widened at the thought. It made sense really, Pinocchio wasn't a human, not until his tenth birthday, but it made no sense that - unless, no he wouldn't. "Is there something you want to tell us?" He asked blithely.

"Is it finished?" Snow asked. "I need to go before we become two."

Charming nodded absentmindedly, but set his gaze on the craftsman and his son. "Well?" Pinocchio, still being honest, brave and true, told the king everything. David was torn. He and his wife could be together, but what about Pinocchio?

"Charming, now damn it!" Snow growled as a contraction hit her.

In the distance, fighting could be heard. Cries of outrage echoed through the castle. "All of us in," he told Pinocchio. Turning to Gepetto, he said, "This should work, I think...well, I have faith." He carried his wife into the wardrobe and sat the boy on his shoulders. This was risky, if this failed, and they all died, his people would be cursed forever, but he had faith and his family was worth the risk. And he had faith.

The doors closed on them, tears staining the old man's hands. Bond between and old man and his not-quite-yet-human son. True love between a shepherd and a bandit princess and their not-yet-born daughter. Magic in its purest state, hearing the wishful emotions all pleading for one thing.

"Please let this work."

Across the realms, in a world without magic, a call was heard by one called the creator. Arceus stood and listened. "Let them come and learn," he decided. "Mew!"

A pink, glowing pop announced her arrival. "Yessir?" She asked sleepily.

"A family is about to appear in the Tree of Beginning. Take them someplace safe and guide them." He commanded sternly.

"Awww," Mew whined, "why me? The tree-mew can handle it."

He frowned. "The Tree's projection cannot go past the aura stones. The family needs a guide and you currently have nothing to do." Arceus gave the floating cat a look. "Go, and be prepared to heal them...oh! And Mew, the baby is your new charge. She has something in her that you can help her understand."

"A baby!" Mew cheered. "Why didn't you say so! I love corrup- I mean babies - I love babies!" She disappeared in a flash of pink.

Arceus sighed. "It's going to be a long and trying century, I can feel it."

A good effort of set up had been ruined because of a single tear. Baelfire would continue his uninspired, magic-fearing life without pause, eventually being caught with a case of watches and sentenced to a few years in prison. Rumpelstiltskin never got his infamous pawn shop, and in some cosmic coincidence, Lacey emerged to be quite like Belle, smart, open-minded and forgiving, though a touch more wild.

As for Regina, well, her town wasn't quite what she expected. The place was quaint, and not too far from Lavender Town. It had a large port, nice beaches, and plenty of forest. But it was home now, and she named it Storybrooke.

Regina did wonder about the animals. They were different, somehow, powerful and peaceful. And they were everywhere. Regina was lucky and unlucky that she was the only one who remembered, because while she could cook and cater the finest meals in her realm, she had no idea what to do with the creatures called Pokémon.

But at the same time, her father didn't remember her. He knew her, loved her even, but he didn't remember their past. She was alone, and the Charmings weren't even there for her to revel off their suffering.

She had time, though. To learn and adapt. And one day, maybe her curse would be broken, because it seemed that she would be the only one in town that would truly suffer.

Regret. After everything she had done, all the people she didn't care about hurting. Only now did she feel regret.

"It's funny, is it not?" Someone asked, quite amused. "How when we finally get what we want, it turns out to be something unexpected, something just a bit lackluster."

She turned around, hand raised out of instinct. She put it down when she realized there was no fireball. "Who are you? How did you get here?"

"My name is Arceus. I am what many would call the god of Pokémon. This is my realm, and I am here because you are here," he spoke kindly. "There are many paths for you to take, but there is one I hope you'll accept."

"What can I do? This world has no magic. I'm stuck here, alone," Regina sneered.

The Pokémon nodded. "This is true. My realm holds a different energy than your own. However, you will find that in any realm in any universe there is always some form of magic. But, I am not here about that.

"Not too far from here is a young girl, suffering under her gift. She is talented and brilliant, but there is no guidance for her. Her gift is not unlike your magic, albeit, not as versatile. I ask that you help her."

"Why should I help her?" Regina asked. "And how can I? No one can leave town."

"I can change that. One of my children is particularly good with spacial manipulation," he grinned. "But you should help her because she can help you. She can unlock your father's memories...if she had proper training."

Regina's eyes clouded. "If you can change the curse, why can't you just break it?"

Arceus sighed forlornly. "Do you know why you are here and not where your Dark One wanted to be?" He asked knowingly. "It is because of this."

Ashes floated before her, and instantly she recognized it. "Rocinante," she whispered.

He nodded. "This creature called out with all his heart. He wished that his sacrifice would be your last. He wanted a new life, for you. I tell you this, not to guilt you or persuade you but to explain why I cannot break your curse.

"All magic, no everything, comes with a price. Whether it is a sacrifice of power, of blood or of one's love, will or spirit, there is a price to pay. This curse's price is a heart dear to the caster's. It has been paid, so it has been cast. Your magic is strong, I can bend its rules, grant you loopholes, but if I were to break it, you and all those that reside in this town would either die or become trapped between the realms." He paused. "I pulled you here because I believe you can change. I believe you can help as you have harmed. And this young ponyta's wish would be granted."

The ashes swirled about at those words, forming into a blue flamed ponyta alive and happy. "He looks different, but he remembers," Arceus intoned. "Whether you do as I ask or not is up to you. Spend time in your town, and when you decide you wish to leave, simply call out my name. However I must warn you, the ones you call Charming and Snow White are in this world. They too will be given a chance to find happiness. Do not try to search for them as you did in the past. You will not see them for twenty-eight years. That I promise."

An instant later, he was gone.

Mew arrived moments before her guests did, having just enough time to explain what would be happening to the projection that was the Tree's consciousness. The Tree was unhappy, but allowed the humans entry into its rocky branches.

The first one that caught her attention was the woman, screaming about her baby. Instantly, Mew panicked. "No one told me about this! Gah, next time I see Arceus I'm gonna hyper beam his ass!"

"Hold on Snow," the man called out soothingly.

The woman replied, "Don't tell me what to do David Charming! This is all your fault! Ooooooh..." Her breaths hastened slightly.

The boy was out cold, he probably fainted. The man, David, took the woman's hand, mumbling reassurances.

"Oh for the love of Arceus!" Mew sighed. "Hey, you! Out of the way!" Mew transformed into a human shape and stormed up to the newcomers.

"Wait! What are you doing? Who are you?" David asked.

Mew snapped out a psychic bubble, containing everyone. "I'm taking you all to a professional. Honestly giving birth here! This is practically sacred land, if, you know, I believed in that stuff." In a blink of an eye, the scenery changed. They were in some kind of building, but the quality of everything seemed almost magical. "Right, so I stopped time for a bit. Now, before I hand your wife over to the nurse - err, I think you call them midwives?" She waved a hand. "Not important, I'm going to dump a ton of info into your minds."

"Wait, what?" The boy asked, waking from his fainting spell. "Where are we? Who are you?"

David, worried, suspicious and quite frankly, confused. Watched as the pink haired woman transformed into a...floating, pink furred cat?

"My name is Mew, I am your guardian. I know all about your journey here. Now brace yourselves for a bit of a headache. Well the two of you anyway. Miss about-to-give-birth right there will have to wait until she's a mommy."

"I don't -"

Pain, ideas, facts, biology and memories not his own crawled into his mind. Mew was - Arceus, that was so much, too much. "Okay, I don't trust you," David stated blandly, "but my wife is about to give birth and advanced medicine sounds really good."

Mew shrugged. "Eh, you'll trust me eventually...I think. I'm not very responsible though, so maybe not..." She smiled. "Either way, you're stuck with me - uh, I mean under my protection." She transformed back into a pink haired young woman. "Oh, and for everyone else, my name is Mia. Right, that's that time's going to start again...um be prepared for your wife to start screaming again."

Time restarted and soon enough a whole other kind of magic happened, but in the mean time Mew was having a conversation with a former puppet.

"Do people really let ten year olds run around with...uh..." Pinocchio wasn't quite sure how to describe some of the Pokémon he had seen.

"Cute little critters of mass destruction? Fuzzy creatures that make things go BOOM!?" Mew asked, smiling. "Yes, yes they do! But it's not that dangerous in this world. Pokémon don't hurt humans unless they're raised up really badly. There are bad people, but we have a strong police force and a lot of good people willing to protect others."

The boy smiled. "So there's no one like the Evil Queen? No evil person hurting others?"

"Good guys rule the world!" Mew agreed. "The baddies are the ones trying and failing."

"Then, I think I'll like this world, Miss Mia," he told her honestly. "But...um is my name going to be weird?"

"Yup," she replied instantly. "If you want to change that, we can do it later. Focus on the here and now, 'kay? It'll work out just fine."

The years passed on with the Charmings, who had officially taken White as their family name, settled on a plantation near Pallet Town. David and Snow ran a Pokémon Daycare and Nursery, where they raised Emma and her older brother August quite happily. They became a preferred breeder for starters, teaching each of their Pokémon to follow their instincts and to always be honest, brave and true.

Mew did eventually earn the trust of Snow and soon after, her husband. They found that while Mew was playful, absentminded and very keen on explosions, she was kind, honest and very protective. She made a great playmate for their princess, and always kept her safe.

As for Regina, well, after seeing Arceus revive her beloved steed, she was sure the path he put before her would allow her a chance to revive her Daniel. So she agreed, and met the young girl named Sabrina. They trained together, learning from each other, and in the end, Regina gained a true companion who would always be her friend.

Henry, with his memories restored, convinced his daughter to travel while he looked after her town. He promised that one day they'd travel together, but for now she needed to find her own way. He promised that she would find her happiness, and for once, without the cloud of her mother's hate or Snow White's forgiveness, Regina believed him.

Arceus chuckled as he watched a ten year old Emma chase after Mew, both on their way to Pallet Town. It was time to deliver the new starters. She had one of each, and her own. Her mother had given her an eevee, just for her.

"This is the Pokémon that reminds me of you," she spoke with a smile. "Small and cute, but with so much potential. Find your path with this one, and one day you'll be great. Just remember, no matter where you are, no matter what happens, if you need us, we'll be there -"

"Because we're family, and we'll always find each other," Emma finished for her mother. "I love you, Mama," she whispered.

"I love you too, Princess," Snow replied. "Now, I think your father has something for you. Go and see him...unless you want to stay? The ranch is a great place to be."

Emma shook her head, tossing her curls about. "Nuh-uh, I'm going. I'm going to travel far and wide, just like August!"

Her father had given her a special Pokédex he had ordered. It could make calls from anywhere in the Kanto-Johto region. He told her to be careful and to mind Mew...she still wasn't sure who'd take care of who. Her daddy had given her one final mission for Charming Ranch.

Deliver the starters and make a friend.

She'd try her best, and she'd succeed! Charmings always did.

A/N: Well, I hope you enjoyed this. I do have a few chapters written up, but the story will be mostly world-buildy. I hope someone takes my story and expands on it, but that is a wish that probably won't happen. Do let me know what you think.