AN:

Hope everyone enjoys this. I tried writing fanfic before but school kept getting in the way. Now that it's summer, I can finally do stuff. I must warn all of you readers that I can be somewhat erratic. I like jumping around ideas. I tend not to write plot holes, but I can go from talking about personality to talking about another guy on another side of the world. It doesn't happen often, per se, and I feel that my plot at least makes up for it, but at the same time, I warn you this is my first serious attempt at writing anything. I'll go for a minimum of 3,,000 words per chapter, and try to update weekly. I'll also have an Overlord fic coming out soon enough, and I have work over summer break, so without income from it or anything, this fic comes second. If you still wanna check it out, then you have my appreciation. Happy reading!

'Where in the hell am I?' As Ryan woke up, he looked around, and noticed he wasn't in his room where he expected to be. And just like that, the information about his past life began rushing to his head. First, he regained the memories of his death. Crushed by a massive cinder block while walking through a restricted construction area. 'Karma,' Ryan supposed. Unfortunately, he had no clue where he was right then.

He did wake up in a house, but it was certainly not his. He was in a small room on a bunk bed, on the top mattress. As he moved to go down the ladder and figure out what was going on, he realized he felt shorter than normal. And he had small, barely calloused hands, which seemed odd, considering Ryan was a weightlifter.

There was a mirror on the other side of the room, and as Ryan went to check out who was in the bottom bunk, he saw himself in all of a punk child's prepubescent glory. 'Huh?'

His green, spiky hair was on full display, along with his cap and pokemon sleepwear. Ryan froze, then cringed, nearly screaming at the influx of memories from this life. Ryan—or Dust, he wasn't sure what to call himself yet—had all of a young boy's memories. While ecstatic at being reincarnated in the world of Pokemon in Pallet Town, the undead college sophomore almost felt like he was possessing Dust's body.

'At least I won't get caught.' Ryan and the original Dust had a similar personality to Naruto. Ryan had been alone for years, with no real friends in high school or college. The fitness club he called his weightlifting team disregarded him as the weakest of the group, and his Baptist fundamentalist parents abandoned him for his progressive beliefs. Ryan was looked down on, while Dust was invisible in a crowd, despite his green hair, giving him even less friends.

Ryan always put on a cheerful facade, but broke down too often for it to be called a healthy cry when alone. He was less angry about not having friends and more at himself for why he felt he couldn't get friends, namely what he considered his shortcomings. But there were two things he beat everyone he could get to play him at: Smash Bros and Pokemon battles. With a similar personality to the boy he possessed, and good knowledge of pokemon, he wouldn't be suspected of body snatching. The only worrying thing was that he was already about to become 10, and only had four months of school left. He was ranked at 18th place in his grade, but only the top four got a chance to become Oak's sponsored kids.

He already had ok grades, 86 in Math, 84 in History, 77 in Pokemon Battling, 90 on Pokemon Theory, 93 in Survival and Fitness, and 91 on Application of Technology, which was an advanced class taught by a representative of Silph Co. His average was raised by two points because of the advanced class, leaving him a 88 average. But up in fourth was a girl named Leaf, with a 97, then Ash with a 99 on account of having a 110 in battle classes (from luck, Dust presumed), a girl named Yellow with a 101, and finally, Gary Oak with a 109, all on a 110 point scale. There were 40ish kids in the class, and while the Pokemon League would give each a bit of funding for a journey, it was nowhere near as much as a professor.

The bottom bunk was empty, he recalled, as it had been since his older sister joined Team Rocket then died, so Dust, having fulfilled his original purpose in going down, immediately pulled out a notebook filled with paper, and, coding his words in Swedish, which he knew for one of his few friends, began writing a game plan and some training ideas. His mother rushed into his room at 7:45 am, yelling at him to hurry up and get to school. Dust did so, rushing out with just a wave and without his breakfast, just as the old Dust would have, grinning like an idiot as he waved. Dust remembered in the pokemon anime, the ones who got charmander and bulbasaur dropped out of their journeys, so he resolved to move up to at least third place to ensure the two neglected pokemon got taken care of.

Soon, four months were gone. An average of 103 awaited him on his report card, putting him at second. The whole class viewed him as a dark horse, since he was in 18th just months ago, and always ended up in the middle of the class at the end of the previous years.

Professor Oak, though, was both confused and disconcerted. He had already experienced time travel through Celebi almost four decades ago, and Dust was supposed to rank 11th for the year, not 2nd. Ash was still a contender at least, but that left Leaf without his sponsorship, meaning she couldn't fulfill the actions she needed to with Bulbasaur. So, Oak made a decision. The top five would be sponsored by Oak rather than the top four, and Oak would use a Hypno to make sure Dust stayed asleep until every trainer, even Ash, had gotten their pokemon.

This, however, still left a problem. 'The Pikachu goes to Ash, the Bulbasaur to Leaf, the Charmander to Yellow, and the Squirtle to Gary. But what should go to that kid? Ah, that little one could do!'

Meanwhile, all this time, Dust's mother and father, Alena and Pardis, were dumbfounded by their son's change. He was the same, but different too. He seemed more driven. They asked him what was going on, why he became so hard working out of seemingly nowhere.

Now, Dust had been expecting the question to come much sooner than a full month in, when he hit eighth place in class rankings. But he used the legendary talk-no-jutsu to convince them of his goals. "Mom, dad. I decided I want to go on a pokemon journey not just to learn more about them like big sis did, but to go to the Indigo League, and to do that, I need Professor Oak's sponsorship and a strong starter."

"The Indigo League? Are you crazy, boy? What if you get hurt far away? You could die out there and I can't handle that again. Me and your father thought you would journey around here, around home, not all over Kanto! Even your sister never went past Viridian alone, and she was first in her year's rankings!" His mother exploded like an electrode.

"Mom! Ash and Gary are doing it, and I've wanted to do it since before even they did. I know I can get to at least fourth place in the class rankings, which means a 100 average, even higher than big sis. If I get that high, can't I at least try. I could take champion from Lance and give Kanto another champion from Pallet Town for the world to see! No, even better, I'll travel all the regions, and become the strongest trainer!" 'Ash may be the chosen one, but I have the skill, while he has plot armor and something of a battle sense.' It worked.

Dust's father agreed, albeit begrudgingly, and placated his mother. Time flew, and soon enough, the day was there. The night before the top five would get the sponsorship, a Hypno teleported into Dust's room and used Hypnosis until Oak said it was ok to stop. Dust awoke to a clock busted next to him. His eyes bugged out of his skull as it read 6:30 before it was busted, meaning it was probably even later now. Immediately, he was suspicious. It was too similar to what happened to Ash. But, he set that thought aside, as he changed in 40 seconds, then rushed to Oak's place. Ash was holding a Pikachu with rubber gloves. 'Shit!' "Hey, I'm here too, wait up, is there anything left for me?"

"Ha! I'm not the latest one after all! YES!" Ash was indescribably happy about Dust's predicament, as he had less of a reason to be embarrassed. Dust was not.

Oak answered, "Ahem. Yes, come inside, Dust, and choose your pokemon." Oak led him in and Ash followed. He picked up Bulbasaur's ball with glee, then pressed the white button in the middle. Empty.

"Already taken by someone who was on time." Oak answered the ball's emptiness sheepishly.

"Oh well, I guess I'll go with Squirtle!" Dust opened it. Empty.

"That one was also taken by a kid who wasn't late." Dust was still hopeful.

"Well, Charizards are strong and cool too!" Empty. "The early bird gets the worm. Or, in this case, the pokemon." Oak was hiding a grin in a thinking position.

"Well, this pokeball is here too, so I'll assume it's the last one." Empty.

"Ah, that ball is the one for the little yellow mouse Ash is holding behind you."

A manic gleam was in Dust's eye. He worked that hard for nothing? Most of the time was refamiliarizing himself with the things that would happen and he would do on his journey, along with working out and learning history from previous grades as well as that year.

"Professor, there has to be at least one more! Even just a pokeball so I can catch something myself?" Oak coughed pointedly and answered.

"Well, there is one, but I've been using her for some experiments. I would need something back for her." 'Perfect. Hook, line and sinker.' Oak thought.

"Well, what are you thinking?" Dust was very suspicious already.

'I was thinking of a favor sometime, but he might be suspicious if I say that. Well, maybe he'll take the bait.' "I need you to answer if I call you for help one time." The manic gleam was replaced with a predatory one.

"As long as it isn't a suicide mission, you can count on me!"

"Very well. She is young and not very strong, probably weaker than the other starters. Her only moves are tackle and sand attack, but it's enough to fight a caterpie and maybe a pidgey between the both of you. I'm sorry, but this is the best thing I can do." He handed a pokeball to Dust, with a star on its front. Dust took it, frantically thanking the professor.

They went outside without giving Oak a chance to say anything, and Dust released the pokemon onto the ground.

"Eevee?" Adorable, but Oak was right. It was noticeably weak. 'For now.' Dust had to remind himself. "Hey, Eevee, want to join me on my journey around the region? You've probably been cooped up in the lab for a long time now and want to get out, right?" It nodded slowly and cautiously. "Do you like battling?" Eevee cocked it's head. "Oh, umm, it's where you fight other pokemon with your own abilities, growing stronger and closer with your trainer. It's a ton of fun!" Eevee only looked somewhat intrigued, right up until the end of the statement.

The second Dust said fun, Eevee looked up and started nodding excitedly. 'Poor thing' Dust thought, while the rest of them sweatdropped. He returned it to its ball, then went home to tell his parents he was off, while Ash began his journey with an incredibly reluctant pikachu. His parents tried and tried to convince him to stay, but they couldn't, so they both saw him out. He released Eevee, and the two began running to a place Dust had marked on his map: a hidden waterfall on the way to Viridian City, accessible only if one took a detour about a half mile to the west of Route 1. He had to sneak out at night and it took him three months to find the place, as he needed to go through a small grove past a couple vines. It lay mostly unknown because trainers tended to stay at least somewhere near the routes without exploring. Many unknown and strong pokemon lay hidden far past the well-cared for trails, after all.

When Dust reached the waterfall, it had begun raining, and he saw a young redhead under a tree at the bottom, fishing even as rain fell all around her. Looking a little closer, he saw that she had a Starmie on her head sucking up the water so she stayed dry. Dust shrugged, and jumped into the river after retrieving Eevee.

The second Misty pulled him out with her fishing rod, she threw him right back in. "I've had enough little boys come after me today already, thank you very much!"

He got onto the bank and growled at her. "Hey, what's your problem? Did some kid with spiky black hair and a Pikachu come through earlier?"

"Yeah, actually. Around three minutes ago, why?"

"Because the little prick is my responsibility in a way. He's too stupid to be out here with a pokemon that doesn't like him, like that Pikachu."

Misty replied to him with a hint of animosity. "Well, 'your responsibility' stole my bike to get away from a flock of spearows! One of you better pay for it!"

Dust rolled his eyes. "I'll deal with it when he isn't in danger from a flock of murderous Spearow!" And with that, Dust and Eevee began running to Ash, Misty screeching from behind them. 'Does she know metal sound or something?'

After three minutes of full speed running, the duo saw Ash, with a reddish colored Pikachu covered in blood and grime. 'That's not gonna be good.' Dust picked up Ash, putting Pikachu and Eevee in their balls. He began running in the direction of Viridian, until after around 15 minutes, he became too tired to run and slowed down to a walk. Ash then woke up.

"Pikachu?" He had just woken up in a bad condition, but was more worried about Pikachu than himself. Typical Ash.

"Pikachu is fine. I put him in his ball to make sure he didn't get hurt more. You need to stay still so you can walk once we get to town." They continued on in silence until around two miles out of Viridian, Dust released Eevee.

"This should be good training for you, Eevee. Try to train all the way back to town. When you get 1000 feet in front of us, run back, then do it again." Eevee started her running training while Dust carried the once again passed out Ash and began walking again. After a couple miles, a loud cry resounded from the sky. "Oh no, a Fearow!" Ash woke up to it and was worried he might end up in a negative situation, similar to the one he had been in not too long ago, but Dust knew what it really was. He dropped Ash unceremoniously and whipped out his pokedex, which merely read "No data" so he scanned it for future study. Two feathers fell from the sky, one onto Ash, the other into Dust's waiting hands. As Dust studied the feather, he looked to Ash. "Not a Fearow, Ash. That was one of the legendary pokemon originating in Johto, Ho-Oh." Ash just looked at him dumbly.

They continued on again, Dust encouraging Eevee whenever she got tired, letting her walk when needed. Soon enough, the city lights were visible even against the midday sky. Eevee was back in her ball at that point, forced to fight off a Pidgey and wounded on her leg by it. Neither trainer caught it, as it was too weak for Dust, and Ash didn't feel up to it. When they were about to walk into town, Dust let Ash down, then stretched a bit.

They both took off running to the pokemon center, which was noticeable even from outside town, but soon found themselves in midair. They both looked back to see a woman in her early twenties holding them up by their shirts. It was Jenny.

"You two are suspicious! Who are you and why are you in Viridian City?" Before Ash could speak, Dust answered, since they were in something of a hurry, while pulling out his and Ash's pokedexes.

"Ash Ketchum and Dust Stern, officer. We're here from Pallet Town on our way to Pewter City, with one heavily injured and one lightly injured pokemon." Jenny checked their IDs, nodding.

"Hop in, I'll give you a ride to the center!" Both did so, then Jenny took off faster than a Team Rocket blast-off. After around two minutes, they arrived at the center, swirls in their eyes like a Poliwag's belly.

Both recovered at around the same time, and jumped up. ""Nurse Joy! Can you take Pikachu and Eevee"" Joy looked up from the computer she was sitting behind slowly, yet her smile was anything but sweet.

"Jenny… I thought we already talked about this… STOP DRIVING INSIDE THE HOSPITAL, DUMBASS! Every time you need something, I have to deal with cleaning the floor of your tire tracks, and I'm TIRED OF IT!" Jenny, thoroughly cowed, proceeded to pick up her motorcycle in a deadlift, nod to Joy, and walk out. Joy shook her head. "Now, something about a Pikachu and Eevee?" Her smile became more genuine.

They both handed her their pokeballs, as she turned, nodded, and released them onto the examination table behind her. Seeing Pikachu's condition, she was appalled. "How could you let your Pikachu get like this? I'll have to send a message to your supporter!" She cried out, but Dust interrupted first.

"He got hunted down by a massive flock of Spearow on the way. It isn't Ash's fault." Ash looked at Dust gratefully. Joy nodded in understanding.

"Well, do your best not to upset large groups like Spearow, Beedrill, and Diglett. I don't like seeing pokemon this hurt." Both trainers saluted, while Joy brought over her Chancey and followed it with Pikachu into the emergency room. Eevee was sitting inside a health incubator at the time, allowing it to be fully healed after around an hour.

After they ate supper, Pikachu was finally given back to Ash, good as new and less aggressive, both toward Dust and Ash. While Ash was just sitting worriedly earlier and calling his mom, though, Eevee and Dust were training. She was far too young to learn something like iron tail, but quick attack was still an option. The extensive running training was not quite enough, but quick attack was honestly not quite an advanced move, and young pokemon grow quickly, so he assumed a day tops would be enough as it was more theory than more speed that she needed.

"Eevee, you're still pretty young, so you don't have an advanced moveset yet. The first move I want you to try to learn is called quick attack, and later try and improve it into another move I created called Soru. First, gather as much normal type energy as you can in your lower body. Next, you will apply it only to your muscles while leaving normal type residue behind and transform the energy on your muscles into fighting type energy. Finally, use thefighting energy to slam your legs into the ground as many times as you can to gain speed before giving one last push into it to fly at high speeds into your opponent, while using the normal residue as a speed boost. This is the Soru I want you to learn. In circumstances in which Soru is unavailable, and until you can learn it, the normal quick attack covers your whole body in the energy and it is used rather than as a power boost, sheerly as a speed boost. Quick attack is also better for dodging as there is less prep time. Do you understand?"

Eevee considered for a few moments before barking lowly and shaking her head. Dust assumed that might have been the case as it was a rather detailed explanation for a child. "Is the problem using the normal energy or converting it into speed?"

Eevee nodded at both to denote she didn't really understand how to use her energy at all. "Ok, try looking deep within yourself for a flowing feeling inside, or maybe a container of it. Eevee was impatient after around an hour, so she tackled a tree in frustration. She then opened her eyes wide and happily poked at Dust's leg, who was also concentrating to see if he had any talent with aura. He assumed he didn't. "Need any more help, Eevee?" Eevee shook her head and bent her legs. A white, faintly blue shen appeared around her as she began breathing a bit heavily. "Whoa! Good job, Eevee! Don't let go of the feeling. From my research your normal type energy is a blank slate, effectively. Channel it all over your body. Then focus on how you feel when you're running. The wind blowing in your fur, the trees whizzing by, the sting of the air in your eyes. Now replicate that feeling with your normal energy and GO!"

With every word, Eevee sank deeper into the trance and suddenly went flying at the last word. Unfortunately, she slammed into a tree. Needless to say, they still needed practice. Soru was still a long way off. Dust underestimated the difficulty of the move. No wonder many marines had such trouble with the Rokushiki. Eevee needed to learn double kick at least before trying to use Soru, as well as further develop her energy pool.

Miraculously, Eevee also was able to improve sand attack into mud slap! With tackle, sand attack, quick attack, and mud slap, Eevee was at least strong enough for Jessie's Ekans, maybe even Brock's Geodude, though he would prefer to train Eevee in double kick first.

Forward once more in time around an hour and Ash is gleefully holding Pikachu with Dust next to him, petting the purring Eevee on his lap. Suddenly an explosion rocked the center and smoke poured in. Jenny warned from the police station of a group of criminals, just as James carelessly began talking to Jessie.

"Hm, they seemed to find us out quickly enough, Jessie. Well, let's just grab some and get out of here." Jessie nodded and opened her mouth to speak but Ash interrupted her. "Who are you guys?"

Jessie grinned.

"Who are we, he asks? Well, shall we tell him, James? To protect the world from devastation!" "To unite all peoples within our nation." "To denounce the evils of truth and love!" "To extend our reach to the stars above." "Jessie!" "James." "Team Rocket blasts off at the speed of light!" "Surrender now or prepare to fight." "Meowth, that's right! We're here to steal ya's rare pokemon. Give 'em up!"

Joy gasped and jumped in at that moment. "This is a hospital, there are only resting and weakened pokemon here!" Jessie's grin widened even more.

"Oh, I'm sure there's a gem in all the trash." Dust stood up as Eevee climbed to his shoulder. His small smirk somehow contained more emotion than Jessie's face splitting grin.

"Well, there is a gem or two here, but I doubt you could get them. Jessie's grin turned into a wrathful, gritty glare. "Oh? The boy thinks he can stand against Team Rocket, does he? Let's show him just how wrong he is, James!" "Koffing!" "Ekans!" The two rushed toward Eevee and Pikachu, only for Dust to smirk.

"Use mud slap on Ekans!" Jessie looked like she was about to use outrage, but a strong sense of surprise and a hint of fear also shimmered in her eyes as her lips parted in shock. The super effective move hit Ekans as it tumbled back, dragged across the ground. It began slithering back up, just in time for a powerful quick attack to smash it into the wall behind Jessie. Her surprise overtook her anger as she froze. Eevee had used it as a springboard into a tackle without any normal energy, which pushed Koffing back a ways on account of her momentum despite her attack being non-energized. A thundershock slammed into them from Ash's Pikachu and the Pika Squad running backup electricity. The explosions sent Team Rocket flying with a cry of "Team Rocket is blasting off!"

Just then, Jenny walked in, sighed, then went and discussed the happenings with Joy, who had sent all the pokemon away for the moment. Ash was looking at Dust in surprise at how easily he manhandled both Team Rocket members, to the point that Meowth didn't even have a chance to make a move. Dust dusted off his hands, then clapped. "Well, I'm going to bed. See ya!"

Everyone nodded his way as Jenny took the time to thank him and complement him for such a good battle as a day old trainer. He then took off to bed. Ash and Pikachu followed, having regained their bearings, but Ash kept looking at Pikachu like he wanted to say something. Instead, he only looked toward him and shook his head, then laying down, the two went to sleep.