(Sounds of an opening coffin before the main author and publisher rises, only to hit a chandelier)

Ron the True Fan: OW! Who the hell put THAT there?! …For that matter, who put me in the coffin?!

Takeshi Yamato: No idea. Funny, though. :)


Cameran Castle, Kingdom of Rota, 1124 hours local time, Day 191 of Ash Ketchum's Pokemon Journey


"I got pretty good at it after Altomere."

Gaffery adjusted his glasses before looking at his patient. "Good at what?" he asked Ash Ketchum, Pallet Town's new pride, Heir Apparent to the Throne of the Kingdom of Rota and Chosen of Arceus.

A 35 year old man in the body of a teenager, a time traveler who saw the end of the universe as he knew it and was forced to relive all the things he had endured the first time around, good and ill. One who endured, but was tortured by his experiences.

"Acting." Ash answered, sitting on a well-padded couch. "Brock and Misty were worried about me after, but when I was acting as normal, they thought I got over it. Latios was a legendary: he'd be back eventually, right?"

Gaffery didn't bother pointing out that the cycle of legendary reincarnation did not work like that. Ash already knew.

"But I couldn't let it get me down, right?" Ash asked, suddenly chipper, excited and ready to face anything. "There were so many new Pokemon to meet, so many battles to face! Gyms to beat, places to explore, friends to meet!"

The old man would've been concerned if he didn't know Ash was acting by his own admission. It was VERY convincing.

Then the happy-go-lucky, enthusiastic Ash faded into nothing, replaced with a more dour, weary and tired young man. "You can guess I had to learn fast." he said.

Gaffery chuckled without amusement. "You were traveling with two league officials." he said, knowing if Ash was caught being depressed, they'd put a stop to his journey. And that would be…bad for his mental health. His entire being revolved on the journey. Stopping him from going would have done more harm then good. "And considering your status-"

"I'm not exactly worthy of the title." Ash cut off. "But if I'm gonna do it, I'll do it until Cyrus is dealt with. Or Arceus finally picks someone better. Whichever comes first."

Gaffery made a note of that.


Two hours later


"The kid's suffering from prolonged, systemic stress, mental fatigue, psychological trauma and a host of other problems." Gaffery said to Lance Wataru, Grand Champion of Kanto and the areas of Johto under his control, and Delia Ketchum, former Elite Four, Pokemon Mistress and the boy's mother. "Were he anyone else, I'd recommend he stay home for at least two years to rest, recover and relax to at least deal with the stress along with biweekly counseling sessions to work through his problems."

Lance sighed. "He's not anyone else." the dragon master said. "He's not just the future king of Rota, he's the Chosen of Arceus-"

"He's my son." Delia snapped, looking at her former ex-Elite. "There has to be something we can do to help him! Psychic healing or something!"

"Psychic-types look into his head and DIE." Gaffery said. "That Hypno was lucky. From what I've heard, your boy looked at the Distortion Realm without a filter. Only the dead can comprehend that place without Giratina to shield them. He's lucky to still be alive, let alone sane."

"Sanity is debatable." came a by-now unwelcome voice as the old-yet-new head of the Rotan Royal Guard, wearing his uniform with an updated coat of arms badge, a Pidgeot and Lucario supporting the Tree of Beginning with a stylized Pikachu between them, the coat of arms of his new lord. "What matters is, for the foreseeable future, his majesty is not leaving Rota."

Taggard, the bastard, had used his influence well. With the fact the URN had practically gifted Orre to them, due in no small part to their inability to govern the region with Johto still fractured, he gained influence with the parliament and the court, allowing him to 'suggest' a total lockdown of the kingdom. No one in. No one out. Ash was trapped in Rota.

Just what his overprotective guard wanted.

"You're not helping matters." Lance said flatly. "You of all people should know he can't stay in one place for long. You're only making it worse."

"Only if he doesn't indulge in another of his family line's…general traits." Taggard said. "The wanderlust is easily countered. After all, the queen dowager kept her husband around the same way."

It took a few moments to realize he was talking about Delia. Who immediately blanched. "You're not suggesting-" she started before her family's infamous temper flared. "You're disgusting!"

Taggard scoffed. "Sir Aaron's mother was twelve when he was born!" he snapped. "There is a precedent for this! My sole aim is to ensure there is an heir to the throne, no matter the means!"

"By forcing Ash to-" Delia started before Lance put a hand on her shoulder to silence her.

"Your intentions might be good, but that is beyond the pale." he said. "None of them will ever do that. You're going to have to wait, like everyone else."

The smug look on Taggard's face did not fade. "No, I won't." he said, holding up a bottle with an archaic sprayer.

Lance's eyes widened as he saw the label on the bottle. Kalosian. "You didn't." he said in disbelief. "That's illegal!"

"For the sake of the rebirth of the Royal Family, nothing is illegal." Taggard retorted with pride. "And despite being afraid of the future queen for that talk they had, Robin is more then a little curious about reviving the royal family. I gave her the tools to do that."

That little bottle was dangerous. It had a chemical cocktail that, when combined with body odor, would drive the opposite sex INSANE once they inhaled it.

It was so effective, the Kalosian government banned ANYONE from having it. How the hell did Taggard get his hands on it?!

Delia turned to leave, the guard scoffing. "Don't bother." he said. "By now, he's already in the middle of turning her into the matriarch for a new branch of the royal family."


Cameran Palace - Southwestern overlook - 1330 hours local time


"Natu." 'They're on the way.'

"I know, Natu. I can literally see them." Kyoji Akamura said as he looked through a set of binoculars, seeing a procession approaching the Kanto/Rota border.

Ferrum was a few years from dying and Orre was rebuilding with assistance, but that wasn't enough to keep ALL of the Priestesses of Arceus away.

From their ancient beginnings in Hisui, now modern Sinnoh, to their modern incarnation in Ransei, those crazy spirit channellers were consistent in both complete and utter disregard for political niceties and utter, COMPLETE devotion to Arceus.

It wouldn't matter if tanks were on the path: that was what the famed militant branch was for, to keep pace with the arms of man in the service of their god.

Kyoji knew the only thing keeping the mikos busy was their charge to bring the light to Ferrum, which was still in the middle of a civil war that would last for another couple of years thanks to his actions.

Well, that and an abomination of a Hydreigon bringing Groudon to bear.

Gods tend to ruin things.

"They're coming, aren't they?" Neesha asked, coming outside to be with her…she hadn't figured out the title yet. Sure, he was with Sabrina, but…well, it was weird.

Kyoji sighed and put down the field glasses. "I swear I can hear their chanting from here." he said. "I realy wish they weren't coming."

"You knew this was going to happen. Didn't you warn Ash?" Neesha asked before Kyoji gave her a dry look. She facepalmed as she realized. "That prick guardsman keeps you from talking to him?"

"He's constantly trying to hammer the concepts of kingship into the head of someone who only wants to be a Pokemon Trainer!" Kyoji shouted, Natu jumping off his head to perch on the railing. "Ash wasn't meant to be a king! He wants to wander the world, make friends and face rivals, discover what it is to be a Pokemon Master!"

"And deny himself the pleasures of the flesh." Neesha deadpanned.

Kyoji gave her a look. "I'd be trying to convince him his vow was stupid if I had a chance to talk to him." he retorted. "He did what he could, he fought to get to Latios and stopped them, but that ditzy airhead touched the Soul Dew and kickstarted a chain reaction of destruction."

Ash was blameless.

But he took it as a personal failure. As far as he was concerned, he wasn't fast enough, skilled enough or good enough to save all of Altomere and Latios.

Kyoji took this two ways.

One, it meant the guy was too good for this timeline and that they didn't deserve him.

On the other hand, he was a naive idiot in spite of his experience.

But the naivety came from coming from a timeline where there was no Shadow Pokemon plague, no Cipher War, no near-destruction of civilization, so he had a bit of an excuse.

"Speaking of Taggard…" Neesha trailed off, Kyoji sighing.

"He's at the whole 'get one of the girls knocked up' thing again, isn't he." he stated, not even bothering to make it sound like a question.

"Yup." she answered. "Think Ash can overpower a perfume designed to break a man's will?"

Kyoji actually had to think about that. Ash had done some impossible things.

Maybe he'd add one more to the tally?


Ash was beginning to go stir crazy.

He DID NOT like being stuck around in one place for long. Alola was less torturous thanks to him going around the region, but he was always at the Pokemon School more often then not.

Like when reality DIED.

"Ash?" came the voice of Robin, who was wearing yet another dress, but less frilly and restrictive then the one she wore two weeks ago for that degrading ceremony. She also smelled…odd.

Ash returned a now-rare smile at seeing her, given this new reality was depressing. The child soldier had been trying hard to not be…well, on edge all the time. "Robin!" he greeted. "Can I help you?"

The white-haired girl nodded. "Yes. I would like to know more about your home." she said. "I did not see much of Pallet Town before we came to Rota."

This was a trap. He knew it. Taggard had been trying to get him to sleep with the girls and make himself into a father for almost two weeks, right after the whole ceremony.

The closest he got to succeeding was Serena, but even the sex-crazed personality refused to do anything more then cuddle. Half-naked, yes. But she went no further then that. Even she had standards.

He could already feel blood flowing somewhere he didn't want it to go. Maybe talking would distract him.

"What do you want to know?" he asked.


Robin took him into a sitting room, reminding herself how her grandfather said a noblewoman would sit. In the resistance, you sat. Period. There was nothing fancy about it: you parked your ass on a spot and that was that.

Here, she had to keep her legs together, her hands on her lap, to be 'the very image of feminine grace', whatever the fuck that meant.

She was learning, though. Pallet Town was a quiet place to live, peaceful, almost boring if it wasn't the home of two of the deadliest trainers on the planet.

She had to remind herself that now that was three. Ash took down Cipher.

He succeeded where her grandparents had failed.

Worthy, indeed.

Worthy of what, though? Over the last two weeks, her thoughts had become more subservient, more submissive and…she didn't have the words for it. Until last month, she had nothing other then enough to plan an attack as a resistance member.

But those skills as a resistance member were still there. And Ash was uncomfortable, hiding something in his pants by making wide gestures with his hands.

Still, more information on the world. She briefly caught sight of her grandfather peeking into the room, his eyes wide and mouth open before making a silent scream, as if furious and unable to voice it.

"Thank you, Ash." she said, getting up, trying to…smile and look womanly before walking towards the door, finding Taggard banging his head into a wall in and often.

"Grandfather?" she asked, honestly confused.

The old man stopped before looking at her, a look of pained confusion on his face before continuing, Ash's Pikachu walking past them. Robin just walked away, confused about what happened.

Maybe a talk with Misty was in order.


Pikachu hopped onto Ash's lap, then felt something unwelcome. "Pikapi." 'That better not be because of me.' he said.

"I think Robin caused that." Ash said as Pikachu hopped off his lap. "Taggard's back at it again."

Pikachu cocked an eyebrow upward. "Pika?" 'Seriously? Again?' he said. "Pikachu-pika." 'And I thought I wanted Ashlings. At least I'm willing to wait until the girls are older and able to bear MORE Ashlings.'

"You have very skewed priorities," Ash said to his starter. A strangled scream got his attention before he recognized it as Taggard. "Will you STOP?!"

The guardsman walked in, fuming. "HOW?!" he yelled. "She was wearing a chemical cocktail that should've had you stripping her down and-"

"I took a vow, old man." Ash snapped. "I don't care if you don't like it."

"You are the crown prince of Rota, future king of this place! And even if you aren't interested in that, you STILL need to share Aura with the tree of beginning, same with your children and THEIR children!" the old man shouted. "You have a duty that supersedes any vow of celibacy!"

"You want an heir? I'll get you one." Ash said before pulling out a Pokeball.


Pallet Town - 1355 hours local time


"Why is it always ME?!" yelled Belladonna Ketchum as she clung to a lamppost, hanging upside down as she avoided a terrible fate.

"Gible!" cried the land sharks - more like land piranhas - as Ash's, Iris' and Sabrina's Gibles jumped in the air to attempt to latch on with their mouths.

It all started when she was doing her rounds, checking on all the Pokemon in the lab and in the ranch grounds.

Then she got caught in the middle of one of their training sessions. And the Gibles started chasing her.

She had been hanging there for almost two hours. Bell was fairly sure all the blood was pooling in her ass at this point.

"Cro!" came the cry of salvation, as her Crobat flew over, giving her a look.

His indignant trainer gave him a look. "Don't just hover there!" she said, tears in her eyes. "Save me from the Gibles!"

"Gible!" cried the land sharks, as if disappointed. Crobat just grabbed her by her shoulders with his feet, tossing her off the pole, making her spin just enough to make sure she would hit the ground running. Thanks to her own journey, she was well-trained in the art of parkour.

So when she hit the ground, it was feet-first, allowing her to get a running start as she fled. The Gibles all gave one another a look before burying themselves in the ground and chasing after her, the music of the sharks playing as soon as they started moving.

Vun-vun. Vun-vun.

That only encouraged her to run FASTER, leaping over the fence, all three land sharks bumping their fins into the fence posts, forcing them to back off and unearth themselves to find out what they hit while rubbing their hurt fins.

Belladonna could not stop running, the laws of momentum working against her as she had to keep running, rushing towards her own home. Or her family's home. She lived at the lab nowadays.

"Crap-crap-crap-crap-crap-crap-crap-crap!" she yelled as she ran into the building, up the stairs, and slammed into the door to her mother's study, slamming into something in the doing.

"Fuuuuuck." she groaned before opening her eyes and seeing what stopped her.

A curved beak, leading to desiccated skin, feathers of a now dull red, and empty eye sockets. She knew it all too well.

It killed her father. It nearly killed Ash.

Then her mother took a fucking axe and chopped it off in a blind rage.

It was the head of the Ho-Oh her mother killed.

Belladonna naturally screamed as she scrambled backwards, not realizing she was heading for the stairs before her hand failed to find purchase, just in time for her to fall ass over teakettle down the stairs, the carpet barely making her ordeal any more painful before landing on the ground floor.

"Fuck!" she cried, landing on her back with a hard thud.

"Language!" came the unexpected shouts from her younger siblings, as Red and Yellow looked around a corner, with…Gary Oak? What the hell was he doing here?

"Welcome back, Bell," Gary said as if nothing happened.

Belladonna groaned as she got up. "What are you doing here?" she asked him. "I thought you were in Orre or something."

Gary snorted. "With Rota taking up management and the Ranseians having their little war with Ferrum?" he asked. "I figured I'd be better off babysitting my favorite cousins."

Yellow gave him a look. "We're not your cousins," she said flatly.

"Honorary cousins." Gary amended. "What with your mom being in-Uh, Bell?"

"What?" she snapped before feeling talons on her scalp. Blunt, short and…Oh, hell.

"Natu." said the parrot now on top of her head.

She looked up. "Don't." she begged before Natu spread her wings. She KNEW this one was Ash's.

"Natu!" cried the parrot before she felt weightless for a moment, right before gravity took over again.

Belladonna looked down to see Viridian Forest. "FUCKING PARROT!" she screamed as she started falling, Natu calmly latched onto her head.

"Natu," she said before Bell felt the sensation again, only to reappear above Pewter City, about…5000 feet above it.

"THIS IS WORSE!" she screamed before Natu rolled her eyes, teleporting them again.

Over the rocks of Mount Moon.

"FUUUUUUUUUUUCK!" she screamed, terrified for her life before closing her eyes…

And hitting soft silk and padding.

"Natu." said the bird before hopping off her head and jumping onto someone else.

"Thanks, Natu." came the voice of her brother, making her shoot up in the bed she was now in, finding herself in one of the rooms in Cameran Castle. Along with Ash was an older man wearing the uniform of the Royal Guard, looking annoyed.

"You're serious. Her?" he said, gesturing to Belladonna. "She could barely light the staff!"

"You wanted an heir. You got one." Ash said, annoyed. "I'm naming Belladonna Ketchum, my elder sister, my heir."

The girl in question jumped off the bed and onto the floor. "What?!" she yelled. "You had your parrot-" she pointed at the Natu now nesting on Ash's hat-covered head. "Teleport me across the region, almost getting me killed just to-"

Ash gave her a look to stop talking for a second and that he would explain later. "She's my sister. Which means she's Sir Aaron's descendant just as much as I am." he said with conviction. "I'm going to the Tree of Beginning and getting this stupid ceremony over with."

The old man glared at him, then at Belladonna and back before throwing up his hands. "Fine!" he snapped. "We'll leave as soon as possible!" with that, the old man left, fuming.

Once he was out of earshot, Ash looked at Belladonna. "Sorry about that," he said. "He's been trying to get me to have a kid-"

"Say no more." the older sister said. "You're not old enough for that and neither are those girlfriends of yours."

Ash opened his mouth to protest that they weren't 'his' before Bell gave him a look. "They're engaged to you. I know you'd rather let them pick their future lover, but they'd pick you in a heartbeat," she said. "Just get used to it. And as for the 'heiress' thing… I'll take the job until you ARE old enough to have a kid. Now, as for your Natu…"

Natu continued to nest furiously. "Natu." she squawked.

"Well, it's not like you're a Xatu." Ash said. "But you could've teleported her onto solid ground."

…Right, her brother understood Pokemon.

"Yeah-" she started before they heard loud banging, Ash predictably running towards it. "Oh, goddamn it."


Gatehouse - 1400 hours


"I'm asking you to be reasonable!" Kyoji said to the VERY large crowd. "He's not ready for this! I haven't warned him you people even EXIST!"

"We are not to blame for your failings, Akamura." Mei Sukone said flatly. While they were no longer at each other's throats over the Natu perched on his head, they weren't exactly friends. "We have respected Rota's closed borders long enough. We WILL see the Chosen One NOW." All of the militant priestesses clicked the safeties off their weapons. "Even if we have to burn this place to the ground."

A distant roar got their attention before two Pokeballs dropped from the sky, releasing a Squirtle and Ivysaur, with a Charizard flying above.

"Oh, for Arceus' sake." Kyoji groaned as the Charizard slowly flew downwards, the shrine maidens keeping an eye on it before the draconic Pokemon stalled and fell to ground, beating his wings to slow his descent and land with a soft rather than a hard thud.

On his back…a trainer wearing jeans, a black shirt, hiking shoes, a blue jacket, and a Pokemon League hat with a Pikachu on his back, which jumped to the ground and started sparking warningly.

"What's going on?" Ash Ketchum asked, unknowingly making the situation worse, even as the mikos all eyed him as a potential threat, right before the gatehouse began to grind open.

"Who are you?" Mei asked Ash, Kyoji trying to warn Ash NOT to say a damn word, all but panicking.

Ash instead turned to face them, steel in his eyes. "Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town." he said, Kyoji facepalming. "Reluctantly the Crown Prince of Rota-"

"The Chosen of Arceus." Mei breathed, dropping her weapon to the dirt before falling to one knee…followed by the rest of the sisters.

Ash was just confused. "Huh?" he said dumbly.


Entry 84: Ash Ketchum (updated)

Born in AD 1984, Ash Ketchum has had a life that cannot be called 'normal'. He and his father were victims of a Shadow Ho-Oh attack where his father died shielding him, but he gained 3rd-degree burns over 70% of his body. He was not expected to survive, but he did.

He has, to date, been responsible for changing the political landscape of the entire planet no less than three times after he was confirmed to be the Crown Prince of Rota, his mother was brought out of retirement to wage a war against Team Rocket and his almost-one-man war against Cipher in Orre, which also led to the re-emergence of the Ranseian Empire, the de-facto collapse of the Orrean government and its' funder, the People's Republic of Ferrum, leading to the Rotan government taking control of Orre.

All while he only wants to be a Pokemon trainer.

Fear the humble ones, indeed.


Ron the True Fan: Well, I have but one thing to say. Take…when did I start writing this chapter?

Takeshi Yamato: February 27th at 9:24 AM my time.

Ron the True Fan: And what happened at around the same time?

Takeshi Yamato: Uhhh… The release trailer for Pokemon Scarlet and Violet dropped?

Ron the True Fan: Something I didn't know until over four hours later! What is WITH me and timing my shit with Nintendo?!

Takeshi Yamato: I wish I flarking knew!

Ron the True Fan: From Dragonite to Riolu. This is getting WEIRD. We're not going to be working on this much: this chapter was the result of another fic being planned and Jorn continuing to be absent. He had no involvement here, sadly: he's still Poke'd out.

Takeshi: And I'm just the beta.

Ron the True Fan: And we're not even done planning it, so…Don't expect any quick updates.

Ja Ne!