This is a CULTIVATOR Ash story, so if it sounds a bit odd that's why. I do mention the levels and you will be seeing familiar tropes often found in the usual Wuxia novels involving cultivation. If you need a better explanation about certain terms or just have general questions about what's going on, please mention them in the reviews and I will get back to you.
Also, if Ash seems a little OOC in this story, it's because kids in cultivator novels are often a bit more mature and observant than most, especially if they take their training seriously.
With that said, enjoy!
This was it. This was the day his journey to become a Grand Pokemon Master would begin. He had waited ten long years for this day.
Too bad he overslept. Hopefully Professor Oak would still have a Pokémon left for him to bond with.
It was the dream of many children his age...to become a Grand Pokémon Master and achieve not only fame, fortune and a lifetime bond with the spirits known as Pokémon...but immortality. Both figurative and literal.
Ash clenched his fist, and once more gazed around his room. All over were pictures of high ranked masters, such as the Elite Four. All of whom were either in the Immortal Venerable level, or Immortal King.
In this world, cultivators were the norm. Children with the aptitude would partner up with the magical creatures known as Pokémon and raise their own level. Only the best of the best became Pokémon Masters, people who had cultivated their inner energies to the point they achieved more than just immortality with a single subtype of Pokémon.
True Pokémon Masters could harmonize with the inner power of actual legendaries. In fact it was a requirement that one be able to synchronize their energy with no less than three confirmed Legendaries at the same time, in a stable connection. They didn't have to be powerful legendary Pokémon, they just had to be confirmed.
He'd heard of someone trying very hard to track down Suicune for instance, in order to harmonize their soul with his.
Another requirement was that one dedicate their time and effort to building up their own physical body so that it could withstand the connection. His friend/rival Gary, for instance, was particularly smug about reaching the Gold Core realm before anyone else.
Ash had already reached the soul wandering realm a few days prior, but he was hopeful to reach the nascent stage once he had a Pokémon by his side. It was well known that the more Pokémon you had, the faster your cultivation went and the more expansive your aura sea became.
Ash had always been particularly gifted with his aura, so he found cultivating easier than Gary. A fact that incensed Gary to no end when he found Ash usually right behind him when reaching a new stage of cultivation. Then again Gary could 'cheat' in some ways by helping his grandfather out, which allowed him greater access to Pokémon he could use as cultivation tools.
He was so eager to get his first real Pokémon that he ended up oversleeping. Not exactly the best way to start his journey.
A few hours later...
Ash had the weirdest sense of deja vu, and he couldn't explain why.
And then Ho-Oh appeared, and things really got weird.
Ash had a sudden, terrible migraine as did Pikachu. Memories of a slightly different life, but still full of adventure and hope filled his brain. Images of an unbreakable bond with the Pikachu he had just gotten appeared in his head, causing the fledgling connection between him and the electric mouse to develop into a full-blown bond.
When it was over, Ash was gasping as he tried to reconcile his current memories with the info dump he had gotten out of nowhere.
Ho-Oh looked concerned...but Ash could also sense some empathy and embarrassment.
He really had only one question.
"Where exactly did Arceus get his...hands...on what I can only assume is a cultivator's novel, and why did he think it was a brilliant idea to recreate it?" deadpanned Ash. Because that is the only reasonable explanation for how the world suddenly became cultivation crazy.
Ho-Oh hanged his head in dismay.
"Lord Arceus was irritated at the rising number of factions forcibly controlling Pokémon for misdeeds and the way the trainers were barely keeping up with the demand to hold them at bay. Immortality was just a side effect of trying to equalize the burden on the Pokémon and their partners," said Ho-Oh.
Ash mulled this over.
"So basically he made it so that Pokémon could share their energy with their trainers and vice versa...because he was tired of the majority of the burden being on the Pokémon and not the humans using them as their partners," said Ash slowly.
"He showed up the time line once he was finished. The emergence of large groups attempting to exploit Pokémon for the benefit of ruling or recreating the world slowed significantly, and the humans became far more empathetic towards their partners," said Ho-Oh. "The rise of technology through use of cultivation was not our doing however. That is solely on the humans."
Ash and Pikachu sweatdropped.
"So basically I have memories of my previous life as does Pikachu...and now I have to cultivate on top of trying to be a Pokémon master?" he said dubiously.
Ho-Oh gave him a flat look.
"You have repeatedly stated in your past life that you wished to become a Pokémon master, but lord Arceus could find no records or clear indicators as to what being a 'master' actually means. So he set clear goals for the new cultivators that anyone can understand and made the accidentally immortality as the goal."
Ash had to think back on his previous life and how it seemed to have become a never-ending adventure with no clear goal besides being a 'master of Pokémon'...and had to concede Arceus point. Having an actual, clear goal as to the requirements actually helped a lot.
Besides, challenging Pokémon without having one previously was now a thing, and he was kinda eager to try it out later.
He would learn to adjust, but for now he was going to enjoy this chance at redoing things. Case in point, the failed first attempt at his first Pokémon league.
On the plus side, at least he wouldn't have to rebuild his relationship with Pikachu from scratch.
Cultivating with Pikachu was very strange...but at the same time felt familiar. They had always had a strong bond that transcended the normal one between trainer and their Pokémon, but what they had no was impossible to describe with words.
Ash was beginning to see why Arceus had set the way things up the way he had... originally, trainers would issue orders, their Pokémon would (if the bond or trust level was strong) would follow them and that would be that.
Now though, trainers/cultivators would act as regulators for their Pokémon's natural power, and they could amplify or share their own energy to boost their attacks. However in order to do that they had to train their body first, which is where the cultivation part came in.
The higher the cultivation level, the more energy a trainer could physically handle. And since some legendaries were quite literally immortal...at least when it came to the ravages of time and disease...it was only natural that shared immortality would become a side effect of this new bond.
Which was why Pokémon Masters were those who could share an immortal bond with at least seven legendary Pokémon at once, who would sustain their immortality with the share energy and could share that with at least fifteen of the Pokémon subtypes.
Pikachu sent up a lightning bolt in an experiment...the resulting surge of energy was massive, and there was an outraged scream nearby.
Ash cringed.
"Oops...I think we blew up Misty's bike again."
Pikachu said nothing, just looked to the side from embarrassment.
Misty was understandably pissed, and as predicted demanded compensation. She was a water-type cultivator who had been trying to find some strong Pokémon so that she could stand out from her older sisters, who were all at Ascension level. Misty was barely at the Ensoulment level, and her sisters never let her forget that fact.
Misty, upon learning Ash was only at the soul wandering stage was particularly snide about the whole thing.
"You do know the ranks of cultivators, right?" said Misty in a know-it-all tone.
Ash rolled his eyes, mostly because he had read a few out of boredom and thus knew enough to make a general guess. Besides, it was one of the things everyone studied up on in this world so it was something a child should know.
"Aura building, Foundation, Gold Core, Soul Wandering, Nascent, Ensoulment, Ascension, Half Immortal, Profound Immortal, Golden Immortal, Immortal Vulnerable, Immortal King, Immortal Emperor, and Divine Realm,"said Ash dutifully. "Generally speaking the higher ones cultivation, the stronger one's Pokémon is."
"That's right and my Pokémon are deeply bonded to me and I have a higher cultivation than you. Which means you owe me big time for my bike! But since I'm such a nice person I might let it slide," said Misty.
Misty was trying to act mature, but in reality she was coming off as a total brat. It was one thing that annoyed Ash about cultivation novels. The higher your cultivation the more snobby and annoying people got towards others, especially if they came from established lines.
Usually because those families hoarded all the best resources for themselves and the 'better' children to raise their own status.
Misty was acting like the spoiled brat right out of a novel...one who would either become a hated rival or a loyal ally.
Though Ash did his ardent best to forget the other side of cultivating, and the reason Riley was all too amused at loaning them out to his apprentice in the first place.
Harems were not only common in cultivation novels, but were an accepted fact in certain series. The idea of so many girls willingly pairing themselves off with a single person and not arguing about it was mind-boggling for him, and he had barely taken an interest in them in the first place.
To be honest, he only rarely paid attention to the romance aspects of the books and paid more attention to the fight scenes.
Misty twitched, clearly not expecting Ash to resist her unreasonable demand.
It was an honest training accident, and it wasn't his fault that her stupid bike was the closest source of metal to be found within range of Pikachu's discharged electrical attack!
"Look, I just started out on my journey and there's no way I'd have enough money or resources to pay you back for that bike," said Ash patiently. And how was it that he was acting as the mature one here?
Misty growled at him, and went to grab his hand. And that's when it happened. She suddenly collapsed the second her skin touched his wrist as a hellish migraine hit her like a brick.
"Ash...what in the name of Arceus did you do THIS time?!" demanded Misty, sounding far less arrogant and more exasperatingly irate with him.
"For once, this is not my fault," said Ash.
"Like hell it isn't!" swore Misty. "This sort of thing always happens around you!"
"I swear it's not my fault!" said Ash. "How do you think I felt suddenly having the mother of all migraines and finding out that somehow the entire world became something out of a cultivator's novel!"
Misty blinked.
"How do you know it's a cultivator novel, and what exactly is that?"
Ash had a sheepish look.
"My cousin Riley, the one who looks far too much like Sir Aaron to be a coincidence, had a fascination with them. He got me hooked on them while I was training my aura with him. General plotlines involve cultivating, using pills or potions to increase one's power base, and sometimes mythical creatures. I guess Arceus got his 'hands' on one and was bored enough to recreate it."
Arceus had a psychic plate and a pair of eyes. He could read books just fine as far as Ash was concerned.
Misty narrowed her eyes at him.
"You destroyed my bike. Again."
"I was testing out this whole 'amplified power' thing with Pikachu since we got our memories back, and it was naturally drawn to the closest source of metal," deadpanned Ash. "You and I both know metal attracts electricity on it's own."
Misty glared at him, Ash stared impassively back.
"I am going with you and I am getting my old team back," she said flatly.
"Fair enough," said Ash tiredly. He had expected this when Misty got her memories back.
It was going to take time for the 'arrogant, childish' Misty to merge with the 'mature, confident' Misty he had come to know.
He liked cultivator novels because they were interesting, but there were some things he could really do without.
He still blamed Riley for getting him hooked on them. At least Tales of Demons and Gods was halfway good and he really liked Doulou Dalu.