Chapter 1: Flung Forward
Akari smiled as she remembered the beginning of her journey. She was so afraid… so alone. But now, she was happy. Several months had passed since she caught Giratina and saved the Hisui region from the anomaly. She had spent her days in Jubilife Village with her friends and filling out her pokedex, even spending her sixteenth birthday on the field. In fact, she was out on the field, finishing the last few entries.
Alright… just one more entry on Electrode… she thought.
"Thanks Wyrdeer," Akari said as she patted the Noble, who nodded and vanished with a gust of wind. The young woman crouched down in the grass and examined her target. The Electrode was rolling around with a smirk on its face.
Just one more… Akari thought to herself as she grabbed an ultra ball from her satchel. One step… two steps…
The Electrode turned to face Akari and there was silence. The Electrode then cried out and started to charge an explosion.
"Crap! Typhlosion!" Akari threw the pokeball of her trusted partner and threw it at the pokemon and dived to the side.
Akari's trusted partner appeared in front of the Electrode, its pokeball flying back into Akari's hand.
"Typhlosion, keep it distracted!" Akari commanded. The Typhlosion turned to give Akari a lazy smirk and charged at the Electrode with fire coursing around it. As the two started to fight, the Electrode utilizing moves like Thunder and other special attacks, Typhlosion took a more hands on approach. Typhlosion knew Akari didn't want it to defeat its adversary, so it stuck to weaker attacks.
Alright… Akari thought as she took the same ultra ball she initially grabbed and snuck behind the dueling Pokemon. Akari and Typhlosion made eye contact and Akari traced her finger across her throat.
The Typhlosion's smirk widened and it jumped back. It opened its mouth and a fire blast started to change in its mouth. Before the Electrode could attack, the attack was launched and collided with the Electrode. As the Pokemon flew, Akari threw the ultra ball in her hand. It hit the Electrode and it vanished into the ball, falling into the ground. The ball shook once and was still.
"Yes!" Akari whooped and jumped in the air before grabbing the ball.
"We did it, Typhlosion!" Akari ran over and hugged her partner, who simply smiled. The two were interrupted when they heard the sound of a large cry. They turned to see an alpha Luxray aiming a wild charge straight at them.
"Crap! Let's get out of here!" Akari shouted as she returned Typhlosion to its pokeball. She then spent the next hour being chased by a rabid pokemon.
"Whew!" Akari heaved a sigh of relief as she plopped down on the sleeping bag. She finally had a minute to finish that last electrode log. Most people had problems with the pokedex because they had to study the Pokemon, but whenever Akari did a certain action, such as catching enough of the same pokemon, the Arc Phone would automatically come up with a log for Akari to write.
Was it cheating? Maybe. Did Akari care? No.
"Ah, welcome back Akari!" The woman in question looked up to see Laventon approaching her. "How have you been?"
"I've been good, professor," Akari said as she finished jotting down the last bits of info she needed to.
"I told you to just call me Laventon," The professor's face scrunched up. "We've been through too much for you to address me in such an informal manner."
"Whatever you say professor," Akari smiled. Even after all they went through, Laventon would always be the professor to her. It was more out of respect than anything. "Anyways, I've finished up my pokedex."
"You mean… the entire thing?" Laventon's eyes widened.
"See for yourself," Akari said as she handed the thick notepad to the professor. The man flipped through the notebook, his eyes widening even more as he did.
"This is wondrous!" Laventon exclaimed. "Quick, we must report this to Cyllene at once! Guards"
Laventon hoisted Akari up as the stationed guards ran up to Laventon.
"Would you be so kind as to escort Akari and me back to Jubilife? We have some very important news for Cyllene," Laventon said.
"Of course," The guard, Alvin, said. With that, they made their journey back to Jubilife.
"I see…" Cyllene said as she closed the book and closed her eyes. Akari and Laventon looked at each other in anticipation.
"You've done well, Akari," Cyllene nodded her head. "Your contributions will benefit both the Galaxy Team and humanity as a whole. I commend your efforts."
Akari and Laventon smiled at Cyllene's words.
"Now, it seems that there isn't much left for you to do," Cyllene stood up and put her hands behind her back. She walked in front of her desk and stared at Akari. "You are our best member. As much as I want you out on the field as much as possible, you need your rest too. As such, I will give you full jurisdiction on what you will do from now on. I trust your judgment. Even if you want to retire and relax for the rest of your days, you may do so. You've earned it."
"Thank you, Cyllene!" Akari beamed.
"This is a cause for celebration!" Lavention exclaimed. "Come, Akari! To the Wallflower!"
"Here's a serving of potato mochi for our star member of the Survey Corps," Beni said as he placed the dish in front of Akari. He then dipped his head towards the young woman. "Back when you first got here, I was so judgemental, yet you've done so much for us. Thank you so much."
"It's nothing, Beni," Akari smiled at the ninja. "Your potato mochi is good enough for me to continue."
The group shared a laugh at that.
"Well, I'll leave you to it," Beni nodded to Akari, Laventon, and Rei, who Laventon had called over before they arrived. He then turned around and walked back into the Wallflower.
"So you really completed the entire pokedex?!" Rei looked at Akari with pure admiration. "That's amazing!"
"I can't believe I did it, honestly," Akari smiled and shook her head.
"No kidding," Laventon chuckled. "Survey Corps is a dangerous job. It's amazing that you've done so much."
"Yeah," Akari smiled as she took a bite of her potato mochi. She remembered the final message she got when she caught Dialga. She had caught every pokemon… filled out every entry… what now?
"Hey Akari," Rei snapped Akari from her stupor. "It's getting late, but… I want to battle you one more time. Tomorrow."
"Of course," Akari smiled. Usually, she would use this opportunity for some banter, but the longing smile on Rei's face… it felt like there was more going on.
"Finally going to do it, huh lad?" Laventon smacked Rei's back with a laugh. "Bout time, kid."
"I have no idea what you're talking about," Rei said a little too quickly.
"Whatever," Laventon sighed.
"Rei, your face is red," Akari pointed out. "Are you alright?
"Fine," Rei shook his head. "Now that you think of it, I'm a bit tired. I'm going to head off to bed."
Rei then stood up and ran off.
"He seems awfully antsy," Akari said nonchalantly as she finished up her dish.
"Well, you have the rest of the night off, Akari," Laventon said. "Perhaps you should turn over early. I'll pick up the bill today. You've earned that at least."
"Maybe," Akari said as she stood up. "Thanks, Professor."
"My pleasure," Laventon smiled. Akari nodded to the man before walking back to her room.
It had been several hours and Akari hadn't fallen asleep. The message from her phone all those months ago plagued her mind and it repeated in her mind as she tossed and turned in bed.
Maybe a walk will clear my mind, Akari thought. She stood up and stretched before making it outside of her room. She smiled as the soft breeze and the crisp night air brushed upon her face.
Akari looked both ways and saw a woman standing by the river, looking up at the moonlight. Akari walked up to the woman and stopped next to her.
"You're up late, Cottonwood," Akari looked up at the moon. Dr. Cottonwood was a middle-aged woman with scarlet eyes and black hair. Her hair was obviously dyed and tied in a ponytail, but something about her red eyes seemed genuine. She wore the standard guard uniform, but the bottom half was torn off to show off her defined muscles. Akari didn't know if Cottonwood was an actual doctor, but she referred to herself as such.
"Yeah, just thinking," Cottonwood had a sad smile on her face. "Couldn't sleep."
"You too, huh?" Akari mused.
"Hey Akari," Cottonwood turned to look at the young woman. "The wormhole you fell out of… do you think it could be from the future?"
"Hmm…" Akari pondered the question. She didn't have any memories of her previous life, but the clothes she had on at the time were definitely weird. Not to mention the futuristic Arc Phone. "Maybe. It's hard to tell."
"I see," Cottonwood turned her eyes back to the moon. "Thank you."
"For what?" Akari asked. Cottonwood just shook her head.
"It's nothing," Cottonwood turned around. "Goodnight, Akari."
"Goodnight…" Akari's confused eyes followed Cottonwood as she walked off. After she disappeared from sight, Akari made it back to her room. This time, though, she had no trouble going to sleep.
"Akari," A booming voice forced Akari's eyes open. Before her was a massive light shining in front of her. "You have done well in your journey."
"Who… who are you?" Akari asked. She had to avert her eyes due to the brightness of the light.
"I am the one you refer to as the Almighty Sinnoh, but my name is Arceus," The voice replied. "I am also the one who sent you here."
"You…" If this happened six months ago, Akari would have been furious with the deity. He took her from her life, wiped her memories, and threw her into a world she had nothing to do with. But now… she had friends… she had a family…
"Now, as a reward, I offer you a choice," Acreus continued. "Do you want to resume your previous life, or do you want to keep the memories you have made on this journey?"
To Akari, it wasn't even a question. The friends she had made… the Pokemon she had bonded with… the adventures she had gone on. Akari wouldn't trade it for the world.
"I want my memories," Akari said with a determined look. "They are my treasure, and I won't give it up for anything."
"Treasure…" Arceus muttered, almost as if he were musing. "Very well. Your memories shall remain intact. I wish you luck on your next adventure."
"Adventure? What do you—" Akari was cut off as the light began to glow brighter.
"We shall meet again, Akari…" Arceus spoke once more before Akari's world was fully enveloped in white.
"Ah," Nemona stretched as the door to her house closed behind her. Today was the first day of school and her excitement was palpable. She was going to have a new neighbor, but apparently, something happened and they had to postpone their move for a year. Even though Dr. Clavell was initially heading to visit the neighbor, he informed Nemona that he would still come to offer Nemona a pokemon to raise as extra credit.
"Well, before that, I wanna get some training in," Nemona said to herself. She went around her house and made her way down the steps to the battlefield on the beach. As she stepped down, she saw something she had not seen the day before. Something indiscernible was in the center of the field.
"What is that…?" Nenoma narrowed her eyes. As she stepped closer to the battlefield, the figure became more and more recognizable.
Is that… a person?! Nenoma's eyes widened. She ran over to the field, only to confirm her suspicion. In the middle of the battlefield was an unconscious woman around her age. She had weird clothes… something she would see at a cultural fair. Nemona put two fingers on her neck.
Good, she's breathing, Nemona thought. She flicked a finger forward and her Rotom phone flew from her shirt pocket.
"Call Dr. Clavell," Nemona commanded the phone. She then lifted the woman and stood up. Due to the physical training she did with her Pokemon, caring a person wasn't much trouble for her.
"Hello?" Dr. Clavell's voice spoke through the Rotom's speakers and his face appeared on the screen. "Nemona, what are you doing?"
"Thank goodness Professor!" Nemona turned to the phone with a relieved smile. Dr. Clavell appeared to be outside, so Nemona assumed he was walking to her place. "This girl just appeared overnight. I don't know what's gThaoing on, but she's unconscious. I'm taking her to my place so she has somewhere to rest."
"I see…" Dr. Clavell stopped walking and rubbed his chin. "Good job on taking initiative. I shall make haste so we can discuss the situation in person."
"Thank you, Professor," Nemona nodded and the Rotom phone flew back into her pocket. She then looked at the young woman's unconscious face. "I don't know what's up, but I'm gonna get you help, okay?"
Nemona then made her way back to the stairs with newfound determination to make sure the girl in her arms was alright.
Thank you for reading! I'm really excited to get started on this fic. Please do leave reviews if you are so inclined. I would love to read and reply to your thoughts. Also please join my Discord! I would love to talk to you all and answer all your questions! The url is CpVs7R8KXz. Unfortunately you'll have to type the rest of the url in manually because I'm not allowed to post links. Thank you for reading and I'll catch you on the flipside.