The Third Challenger
Prologue
New Reality
Our story begins in the pastel coloured bedroom of a young adolescent girl. She is unremarkable in terms of looks but the happy smile on her face makes you forget that.
The game console she is playing erupts into a victory theme and the girl sighs in satisfaction. She listlessly scrolls through the remaining dialogue and sets the device down when the end credits begin to play.
She lies on her bed, staring into the ceiling. Her mind drifts off to what happened earlier that day. Subject choices. The all-important sheet laid, wanting to be forgotten, on the side of her desk on top of the other bits of 'junk' paper.
She had trouble deciding, really. There was nothing that caught her eye and made her think 'This is it!'. Whatever she happened to be good at, never sparked up her passion.
It forced her to think of what she would do in the future. It was inevitable after all, that day had to come someday.
It struck her suddenly, how utterly boring to live in this world was. You go to school everyday, graduate, get a job, earn your living and die, just like that. What fun was that? No sense of adventure at all.
Sometimes she wished that she was born in the past. At least, back then, the world was full of mystery and new places to explore. In this present day, everything was already discovered, anything that you want to know is on the tip of your finger, simply surf the internet. It was so easy that it was laughable, really.
She tuned in on the cheerful music playing on her console. This is nice, she thought, to be on a constant adventure with trusting friends and still many more to make.
She was asked when she was younger, what she wanted to be when she grew up. She had innocently replied: "I want to be a Pokémon Trainer!". The adults had laughed it off but she had truly meant every word. Now it was a bitter-sweet memory.
Alas, being good at Pokémon meant nothing in the real world. You don't make money by making fictional creatures attack other fictional creatures. It doesn't magically conjure up food to help you sustain. Nope, it just gives you demeaning sniggers behind your back.
The music cranked up into a more inspiring beat, making the girl smile despite her grim thoughts.
This is nice... I wish I could join in on the fun...
A powerful, incomprehensible being heard her thoughts. 'That can be done.'
Against her will, her eyes fluttered shut and she lost consciousness as the ending credits came to a close.
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'So, human, you wish to join our world?'
The girl woke up to be greeted with a huge shock. "A-Arceus?!" she gasped.
No, that wasn't just a remark of surprise equivalent to 'Oh my God!'. There floating before her was that magnificent pokémon that people could only dream of seeing. He was supposed to be fictional after all. But the game sprites and fan art could never do the real thing justice. They forgot to capture the raw power he seemed to effortlessly emit and the grand confidence he had with every little movement he made. He was not just a pokémon. He was Arceus. If the girl never felt overwhelmed before, she sure did now.
She took a quick glance around and saw a universe. Or something like that. She seemed to be in space, black skies all around her lit up with countless milky stars. She would have suffocated long ago, logically thinking. Therefore, she concluded that this was a dream.
She froze on the spot as Arceus's ruby red gaze fixed itself on her and found that she couldn't tear her eyes away. This was supposed to be a fantasy but this being commanded fear and obedience, no matter which world he was in. All thoughts that this was just a dream were promptly wiped away from her mind.
Arceus had no visible lips to smirk with, but the girl could sense that he was amused by her fear. 'As you may know, I am Arceus, Creator of the Pokémon World, and your master for the time being.'
His deep voice echoed everywhere in the space around her as well as the private crevasses in her own mind. It wasn't painful as one might think telepathy would be. It was comparable to a gentle breeze blowing through curtains, if that made sense.
Arceus intended to reassure the girl, and she calmed down a little. This allowed her to remember the last thing that was said.
"Wait, what do you mean by 'master for the time being'?" Then, she realised that she might come across as being rude. Not a good idea in front of a pokémon capable of destroying you by willing it. "I-if you don't mind me asking?" she tacked on, nervously.
Arceus didn't seem to mind. 'I heard your desire to be with pokémon and to take a journey along with them. Therefore, I will be granting your wish by creating a world where you can have your fun. However, it will still be a world that belongs to me and I will be in control of everything that happens in there, including you. Do you accept this offer?'
The girl considered this. She timidly raised her hand as if in a school classroom. "Could I ask one question?"
'Ask what you will, human.'
She bravely stared into Arceus's eyes, and he stared back, equally as hard. "Why are you doing this for me, when I'm just a... forgettable human?"
Arceus's eyes didn't change. 'A whim.'
The simple answer caused the girl to giggle suddenly, letting go of all the tension she had in her stomach. "Oh, I see!" She believed his words with her very soul and found that she couldn't stop smiling. "Alrighty then, I accept! Take me to the Pokémon World, please!"
'As you wish. But firstly, are you a male or a female?'
Her insides warmed up in nostalgia from the silly question. Just like in the game, she thought. "I'm a female!"
A/N: No, Arceus is not stupid (ack! forgive me for even implying that My Lord!), he's trying to make the heroine a new identity, namely Leaf. So, if she said so, she could have been male (Red). Since, Leaf hasn't had a canon personality (as in Game!Leaf) it should be okay for this character to be Leaf through and through. I'm leaving her nameless for this purpose.
Despite how dull I sound here, this fanfic will be focused on humor with just snippets of seriousness from time to time. Strictly no pairings, even if I'm an avid shipper myself, so not kissing (on the lips) or sappy mushy stuff. But there will be oodles of friendship feels, bonds and whatnot!
I've had this idea of making an OC-insert story for a while now. I thought I would be the first but I had discovered My Name? Catch M Hall by Sethera far too late (brilliant story, check it out if you haven't already). It would make my story pale in comparison but it did inspire me to make mine more realistic. Hey, well perhaps we'll create a trend (admittedly, I haven't looked into it that much, so there may be some more hidden gems out there that have escaped me).
Nevertheless, I hope you will enjoy 'The Third Challenger'!