TL;DR: Life's been busy as fuck, full explanation in AN, along with shortened transcript of previous 'Quick Update'.

To the first reviewer: I appreciate your suggestion, and your pointing me to new Jumps with interesting Perks in them, but my Jumper is a bit too mainstream to justify Jumps from computer games that came out in the nineties (Secret of Evermore/Mana, on the other hand…). Also, while I'm/they're not overly-vicious, we're not pacifists who refuse to get our hands dirty. Partly because that would piss off the SponsorTM, partly because… well, if regular diplomacy isn't enough, and I have to resort to some level of mind-control (even if it's just a moderating-influence), then maybe diplomacy is the wrong answer to begin with. Sometimes, violence is the 'most correct' answer of all the available options.

And thank you for all the kind words. See the AN for my progress on everything!

To the second reviewer: I would appreciate some indication that my alterations to the Drive have made it more functional. I know I didn't respond to your PM from six months ago (I only just found out it existed, apparently I'm not getting notifications for them), but you can always leave another review with confirmation that it works now.

Pokemon: Hoenn; City Life50 (Fortree); Actual Starter: Eevee (Shiny50); Freerunning; Swarmed+100 (100)

Priority: Physical Fitness100; Survival Training100; Master Ball*3100; HM Collection50; Rebreather50; Psionics300; Savant600; Blend In300; Egg Move4 (Flail, Wish, Stored Power, Synchronoise)200; Combat Training100; Aura600; Champ In The Making300; Technician150; Mechanic300 (3250/3650)

-Day 3652-

The day started like most other: I woke up with Evan at the crack of dawn, Lugia took another fifteen minutes to rouse herself, and Marshadow rolled his eyes and helped me prepare breakfast. I got our stuff packed up and stowed in my backpack just in case something got lost in the transition, including portable hard drives full of ROMs ripped from games I'd bought and emulators to play them on my specced-out laptop if necessary, and despite some grumbling from Evan and Marshadow, the three of them remained firmly in their Pokeballs after five-thirty. Better to be safe than sorry, though I'd let them back out at six-thirty until eleven-thirty if nothing happened at six o'clock.

I'm not going to lie, I was terrified. What if I was wrong? What if this trip was a one-off, and the JumpChain pop-up was just the one separate CYOA? What else would I do, go on a catching spree and start investigating Ultra Wormholes for something interesting to do…?

Fortunately, it never came to that. Initially, nothing happened, so I let them back out, and we played some games while waiting for time to pass. Then, between one closed-eyes sip of abnormally-rich Hot Occa, and reopening them to put the cup back down at around eight o'clock (when I woke up on insertion), we were suddenly not in our house anymore.

Instead, we were all sitting/laying in a mostly-empty Warehouse of indeterminate-but-huge size (and a roof that was just out of eyesight), save for the chairs and equipment we'd been touching (which promptly went dead due to being unplugged), a nondescript table and laptop, ourselves, and a Zekrom who had been quietly snoring until the transition.

"!-what the-… Jason?" He picked me out almost immediately as he jerked awake a few meters from us, despite not having seen me in two years. "Where are we?"

"…I think, this is my Cosmic Warehouse prior to decorating." And isn't explaining this for the third time going to be a pain in the ass. At least my Companions, despite being equally-shocked by the transition, were remaining calm. "I'm not entirely sure why you're here, but my ten-year Jump is over and my Sponsor probably wants to speak to me."

Correct. A voice... somehow both emotionless and radiating power 'spoke' in my ear. Another form of telepathy, or some kind of 'air molecule/eardrum vibration'? Over the course of the last three thousand, six hundred and fifty-two days, you have not only survived, but thrived in your new world. A surprising rarity with many of my previous candidates: far too many have managed to get themselves killed in the most idiotic of ways, or spend so long whining about their families or simply failing to entertain me that they were returned home sans their memories. I'd say I felt good about that, but it mostly just confirmed what I already expected: they were holding off until I'd 'proved my worth'. I will not congratulate you for clearing the lowest bar of competency, merely confirm to you my presence and reveal your new destinations.

"Glad to finally have confirmation, I guess. So what are my options, 'boss'?" I had at least five Jumps in mind, but I wouldn't mind a 'quick' return-trip.

I place no restrictions and offer you no advice. Your story is yours to write, and your adventure is likewise yours to choose. Thus, all other settings have been made available to you immediately. I am confident, having reached this point, that you can maintain your existence regardless of where you choose to travel next. That's what I like to hear. You already have somewhere in mind, and the relevant papers have been partitioned for ease of access. You have twelve hours of remaining Jump-time to make your decision. And the answer to the question you are considering is 'yes': locating a valid 'universal variant' is of no significant effort to myself.

Good, that means I don't need to worry about in-Document options that 'change' the setting I'm about to be inserted into. "And the other question?"

While Time Flutes are relatively rare in that region, the mere fact that one was previously found abandoned in that tower makes it statistically-reasonable that there would be another. The alternative would be to construct some arbitrary scenario for you to contact Orre's Celebi, such as your inspired meeting with Johto's Celebi, and that generic option was simply prepared beforehand. Also good to know. And…? Marshadow was likewise a known variable, and his early capture was independent of my influence.

I sighed in relief. "Good, I'm glad to hear that my journey wasn't predetermined."

There would be little point to it if it were. I got a sense of 'annoyed amusement'. Not the first time this concern has been brought up to them, clearly.

Zekrom decided that now was the time to speak up. "And myself?"

You were caught partly to prove a point, and partly to prevent Ghetsis from interfering. Your fate is theirs to decide. Perhaps they will force you to follow them, willingly or not. Perhaps they will return you to your time-locked realm until further notice. Perhaps you will slight me, and I will erase you from existence for my amusement. Pray that your 'captor' has your best interests at heart: you are of minimal consequence in the long term, despite your currently-high level of relative power. …well, that seems a bit excessive…

And then the presence vanished in an instant, leaving me with my starter and three Legendaries. "…huh, I expected them to be a bit less serious for an omnipotent overdeity."

[Sounds like they're used to disappointment.] Evan noted, a slight shake in her 'voice'.

"Hard to imagine the majority buggering up such a simple task, but… I can't deny that I've gotten homesick from time to time. And it's not exactly clear what 'amuses' them."

Zekrom was less composed. "Well, I can assure you that 'being threatened' does not amuse me. Did you have any prior knowledge of this, Jason?"

"Nope. It would've made things a lot easier if I had, and I wouldn't have caught you at all if I knew it would force you in here. I'd already assumed that you weren't interested since you never got back to us-"

"I wasn't." He confirmed with a deadpan.

"-and trying to force you into my adventuring party would only make you resent me, when there are probably dozens of other Pokemon would be happy to abandon their homeland, if it meant one day being powerful enough to create their own universe wholesale." I used the simplest point of comparison: Arceus' greatest feat.

"More than likely." He conceded.

"But no, I caught you to make an important point to N, and gave you your Timer Ball afterwards so you could make your own choices. But it seems my Benefactor isn't in a very negotiable mood right now." I let that hang in the air for a moment, before continuing "You said 'wasn't', past tense. Have you changed your mind just now?"

"…possibly. While I acknowledge the likelihood that there are worlds out there full of evil to be railed against, there exists local evils that need to be rallied against as well, as proven by Team Plasma. Abandoning my own world seemed like a flawed premise, even if I will technically be gone for 'no time at all'. But now..." He swallowed his disdain. "I am not comfortable with there being a completely-unknown god, whose power can casually threaten me, my country, and my world. I'm not happy about that at all."

"Well, there's only one reasonable way to improve that." I leaned over to the pile of papers, picked up the top-most clipboard, and started giving Zekrom 'the ExpositionTM'.

"So then." What was probably half an hour later, most of which was spent clarifying things to the latter two Legendaries and explaining the finer points of the CP system to all and sundry, Zekrom spoke up with an immediately-relevant question. "What did you mean when you said you were planning on 'going right back'?"

"The rules on Pokemon Followers are special, remember: I can carry around eight Companions, and if a Pokemon is 'killed' they just return to their Pokeball for eight hours. If I were to move on to another world right now, not only would I be limited to four allies I don't have to constantly fear for the safety of, any other Pokemon I met later would have a large 'gap' in terms of experience and seniority, which I'd like to avoid. Also, while I don't have much 'unfinished business' per se, I'm sure you'd like to go back and finish whatever you were doing at the time."

"Absolutely." He nodded. "This alternative already appeals to me, but even if time is stopped while I'm not present, I'd still like to say my farewells to N properly."

"Closure is important." I agreed. "And while I'm not worried for the ability of the International Police Force to handle the rest of the would-be world-conqueror's I know are coming, I'd still like to do my part to protect my family and the friends I made this Jump, just in case I somehow fail my Chain and never get to come back."

[So what's going to happen this time? More of the same?] Evan prompted me with the obvious question. [Or do you have something special in mind?]

"Well for starters, this Jump is based on Pokemon Rangers, not Trainers, and that adds a faction of criminals in each of Fiore, Almia and Oblivia we'll have to stomp. There's also Team Flare in Kalos, the Aether Foundation in Alola, and at least one smaller-scale 'incident' in Galar, and I'm willing to bet that if the Boss dropped in a Time Flute for me, then I'll probably also have to do 'proper rematches' with Teams Magma, Aqua, Galactic, Plasma, and maybe that 'Rainbow Rocket' debacle in Alola." I recounted.

"Because from your perspective, these are all 'video game settings' like Mario and Zelda." Marshadow noted. "That still seems unbelievable, but I guess time will tell."

"It already should have." I snorted as I motioned to our surroundings. "We got instantaneously-teleported to a 'Cosmic Warehouse' with no exit, and spoken to by an entity so powerful that you could literally 'hear' some measure of their power through their method of communication."

"It still just feels, unreal, in a way. We're going to end up in Dragon Ball in a few hundred years." He thought that over and amended it slightly. "And hopefully somewhere else where the basis of 'martial arts' is skill and not just 'planet-busting life-energy laser blasts'."

"Don't ask me exactly when it'll happen, but if we keep using this setup, it'll definitely happen 'soon' in quotation marks." I reached over and picked up the Jump, whose 'first Draft' I'd already memorised and was weighing in my head thanks to Savant. What followed was a more in-depth recap of all the 'big' near-future events, including my memories of the various Teams (which drew an aggrieved huff from Zekrom as he read the Pokemon Ranger description for the Fiore region and the Go-Rock Squad) and spending a while going over the Document itself, followed by the next Documents I was planning on using (Pokemon Anime, Pokemon Mystery Dungeon, InFamous) and the 'unconnected' Documents I considered the 'big five' that would immediately follow the other four: Prototype, Animorphs, Hellsing, Fullmetal Alchemist, and Dragon Ball Multiverse.

Most helpfully, included were the 'basic' Supplements which included an ideal distribution of my 'leftover' 400 Choice Points. I suppose it saves time, I reflected as I filled out the Documents for the Body Mod (admiring the results along with at least one Companion), Cosmic Warehouse (watching systems add themselves as I did so), and Arena Supplements.

"So if we chose to join you in visiting one of these 'Gauntlet' challenges," Zekrom reasoned, "and there were no 'Companion limits', we would still be forced into human forms?"

"In most cases, yes. It depends on the setting, obviously, but most of them are 'survive a Mad Max movie', or 'survive the plot of a horror game', or 'survive on a deserted island'."

"I can't say I'm particularly interested in such an option, but I suppose I should withhold my opinion until I have a human form." He admitted, and moved past the 'future hypotheticals' to his bigger concern. "And even this next 'Jump' requires that we be 'inserted' as a different Pokemon species? How exactly would that work?"

"I'm fairly confident that becoming a Legendary species won't be allowed on a technicality, but you can swap between all the 'Alt-Forms' you've picked up from being 'inserted' on-the-fly, so a different body isn't a big deal: you can change back whenever you want, unless you're in a Gauntlet." I took a moment to carefully consider the rest of his question. "As for 'how it would affect you': when you are 'inserted' into a new Jump, you are typically given a choice of new forms and backstories appropriate to the circumstances. In most Pokemon-inhabited Jumps, there are a variety of human upbringings and at least one Pokemon 'backstory', and there are options for me to 'import' people from previous Jumps as 'Companions'. The Ranger Jump doesn't specify that I can import Companions as Pokemon, but I would be astounded if my Sponsor rejected that possibility, and since I'm going for the 'Drop-In' option, we won't actually gain any more memories than the bare minimum required to function as a new Pokemon species, and a Pokemon Ranger respectively. And while this Jump doesn't provide many Points for you guys to purchase Perks and Items with, nor are there many useful Perks or Items for Pokemon to take, you're still gaining a new Pokemon body and all the potential that comes with one: new Moves, new Abilities, even new Types if you pick a form that's wildly different from your current one."

"Alright then. What would you suggest?" Zekrom broached the million-dollar question. I suppose even in two-to-five-hundred years, he'd never encountered something like this.

"…well…" I started forming psychic 'wireframe' illusions of several Pokemon with my mind, crossing them out as I went. "There are a few Dragon-types who share your general body shape like Flygon, Hydreigon, Druddigon, Dragonite… and I guess Charizard and maybe Salamence, but they don't offer you much that's new. To cover your weaknesses you need to resist the Ground, Ice, Dragon, Steel and Fairy Types, and Steel handles the latter four and provides STAB on top of Ice and Fairy weaknesses. Metagross learns Telekinesis and Bronzong has Levitate, but you can learn Magnet Rise so Ground-type Moves aren't a big deal, same for Skarmory and Corviknight." So I moved onto the 'less-draconic' choices. "Ultimately, you want a Steel-typing with STAB against Ground-types, so part-Ice, Water or Grass. Alolan Sandslash is a slow Physical Tank, but Ice is a terrible defensive typing. Ferrothorn is a Physical Wall, but their bodies are a very different shape to yours. And Kartana is an amazing Physical Sweeper, but I highly doubt you can choose to be an Ultra Beast. That leaves Empoleon: a well-balanced Special Tank, a Water/Steel-Type with better resistances than Ferrothorn, and you have the Ability Defiant and the often-useful trait of being able to breathe underwater. Or, I guess Scizor is a good backup: amazing defensive Typing, a similar body shape, and Physical Tank stats like yours, but they don't have STAB against Ground-types. I'm pretty sure they don't even have a damaging Water, Grass or Ice-type Move they can learn, whereas Empoleon has Grass Knot and plenty of Ice-type attacks."

"…are there any otherElectric/Dragon-types?"

"Well, the only ones I know are Ampharos after Mega Evolution and Dracozolt, which is made by combining the upper half of a Fossilized Bird with the lower half of a Fossilized Drake. Granted, Bolt Beak is an incredibly-strong Move, but-"

"No, I see the issue. That does not look healthy or natural."

"And there's a very real possibility of learning Sketch like a Smeargle in the third or fourth Jumps I'm planning, so Moves aren't really the defining issue here. Even Typing can be sort-of worked around with Conversion and Conversion2. Body acceptance, Abilities, and extra traits like water-breathing and flight (or natural levitation that isn't the Ability Levitate, like what the Magnemite-line use) are vastly more important than Moves and Typing. Hell, even Stats aren't important at the end of the day. Not compared to, say, Dragon Ball Z."

"And what about Abilities?"

"A few Abilities can be emulated through Transform, but some are very powerful. Most Abilities that absorb attacks of one Type and strengthen the recipient are a big deal. So are Abilities like Magic Guard that prevent Status, or the effects of specific Status conditions. And of course, Types that grant an immunity to other Types can be useful in a pinch: most of the Dragon Ball characters can't hurt a Normal/Ghost-type, though there are some obvious considerations outside of that. Like the planet you're on getting obliterated instead."

"Does there exist a Normal/Ghost-typed Pokemon?"

"Even if there isn't, a Normal-type with Trick-Or-Treat can act like one. Hell, a Water/Ground with Sap Sipper, a Bug/Steel with Flash Fire, a Poison/Dark with Levitate, and a Fairy/Steel with Forest's Curse and Flash Fire, all have no weaknesses! It's all about understanding the balance the local rules rely on, and tilting it in your favor." I paused, and added: "And keeping in mind edge cases like Freeze-Dry: those are pains in the ass, but they help to remind you that everything has vulnerabilities, no matter how weirdly-specific."

[Like Soak, I guess, and Magic Powder.] Lugia chimed in, eyes sparkling with curiosity at the possibilities. [So what would you say is a 'good' Pokemon?]

"…well, assuming Legendaries are banned, the three 'strongest' Pokemon that come to mind rely on supplementing powerful Abilities with decent stats: Blaziken with Speed Boost, Greninja with Protean, and Aegislash with Stance Change. There are also Pseudo-Legendaries that rely mostly on their stats, Wobbuffet's Shadow Tag, Cinderace's Libero, and Galarian Darmanitan's immense Physical Attack and Speed being further boosted by their Abilities Gorilla Tactics and Zen Mode, but that one's mostly a gimmick." Um… "If I had to pick a 'good' option for you, I would say Tyranitar. A little slow, but amazing stats and Ability, and anyone who tries to exploit your Fighting, Grass and Bug weaknesses will suddenly find themselves up against a Lugia who can handle all three of them. Likewise, if you're close to the ground, you have an emergency resistance against Ghost and Dark-type moves."

[…huh. Okay, what about focusing on resistances instead?]

"All of Electric's resistances, except for Electric itself, are weak to Ice. Unless you chose the Electric/Steel Togedemaru, your best options would be… the only Dark/Ground-type Krookodile, and figuring out a solution to the Ice-type later, like the three Pokemon I mentioned earlier; or the only Dark/Steel-type Bisharp, and choosing a later form with Lightning Rod, Motor Drive or Volt Absorb. Zebstrika has the former two and Sap Sipper, I guess?" Ah, I should also mention- "Also, everyone keep in mind that we're going to be visiting two more Pokemon Jumps in close succession, and the Anime one allows any Pokemon to insert as almost any Legendary, like Rayquaza and Mewtwo. So don't worry too much about it: we've got at least a few hours to choose, so go through the Pokedex, make a list of forms that sound interesting, and take your time to chip away the less-desirable options."

"I can think of a few species that specialise in Martial Arts." Marshadow mused. "How many can you think of?"

"There are… four that immediately come to mind: Machop, Tyrogue, Chimchar, and Kubfu. If I were you, I'd skip Tyrogue because you'd have to choose between three Evolutions that each offer a different fighting style. If we end up doing another Pokemon Jump in a few centuries, you'll probably have a way to use all of the Hitmon's evolutions by then, but the Machop line are known for learning Martial Arts, Infernape has one that uses all of its limbs, and Kubfu is a Legendary who can choose between two specific ones."

"Tyrogue, right, I hadn't considered the Hitmon's." He agreed as he grabbed a piece of paper and a pen off of the desk and started checking my Pokedex and writing down options, as Lugia formed wireframes of at least three Pokemon and started adding and subtracting as she thought them over, and Zekrom visibly pondered on the idea by himself.

I shuffled over to Evan, who looked mildly put-out at being left for last, and started stroking her as I threw out ideas for her. "For you, I have something special in mind:" I pulled up one of the clipboards and located the right page with my mind to show her, "the Pokemon Anime Jump, the one I was planning to head to right after this next one, has a Perk called Mythical Achievement, which lets you do things otherwise impossible for a 'normal' Pokemon. One of the given examples is evolving back-and-forth through your possible evolution lines. So, how about another Pokemon with multiple similar Evolutions, like Rockruff or a Female!Snorunt, or an Alolan Pikachu?"

Lugia paused in her 'shuffling' to join the conversation. ['Mythical' as in actual Mythical Pokemon, or just metaphorically?]

"The latter. You could probably replicate a Mythical Pokemon's unique skills using the right Perk or combination of Perks, like Mew's Transform or Manaphy's Heart Swap, but it's meant for more than that." I got the attention of the others. "Maybe Zekrom would go for 'an arbitrarily-strong mastery of the Electric or Dragon-type', maybe Marshadow would go for 'summon the limbs of Alt-Forms for extra attacks'. For you… I'd suggest the power to assume any of your 'enhanced forms' with more control and at less cost to yourself. Mega Evolution, maybe Battle Bond as Greninja, and the big one would be more control over your Shadow state." She turned her head aside a little at the reminder. "I know it still bugs you from time to time, and there are plenty of similar Perks in other Jumps. But that's one option to work around it, while still getting a useful benefit when you need it."

Things quietened down after that for a short period, as my Pokedex got passed around and everyone refined their 'possible choices' lists.

Well, mostly everyone. Evan was perfectly happy with my suggestion of Rockruff, and didn't have much interest in a body type like Glalie or Froslass, or even the partially-bipedal Pikachu. Lugia had shrunk her options back to Tyranitar and Krookodile, and seemed more interested in the latter. Marshadow had failed to find any other noteworthy Martial-Arts focused Pokemon (that he cared about, which excluded Throh, Sawk, Mienshao and the like), and wanted to give 'being big' a try with Machamp. And Zekrom, slightly-oddly, had picked Escavalier over Scizor because 'I've seen how fast they can move', they learnt Giga Drain, Energy Ball and Razor Shell, and he wanted to test their auto-levitation 'trick'. I suppose if he was going to give learning Magnet Rise a go, it made sense to see how other Pokemon could levitate without the Ability or use of a Move.

Of course, there were downsides to having Supplements available so early. "So," I strolled over and snarked at an aching Zekrom, "what have we learned from this?"

"The so-called 'Dragonslayer' Ornstein is a joke, even with this Smough giant's powers." He huffed from his laying-down position, levering himself up. "And while that Dagon thing might not be especially vulnerable to electricity, the lesser of these 'Great Old Ones' isn't especially powerful either." He maintained his facade of bravery for a few more seconds, then sagged slightly. "Admittedly, Ancalagon and Deathwing were both significantly larger than I expected, and Kerafyrm's durability is absurd, but there was only one way I could measure myself against them, and I don't feel especially wrong or guilty for doing so."

"And you shouldn't, because the whole point of the Arena is to give you a worthy opponent to test yourself against. But I hope you understand now, that the difference between even a high-ranking Legendary Pokemon, and the 'legendary' dragons of other settings, is not an exaggeration." He grumpily nodded. "Good. Does anyone else want to use the Arena?" I was met with silence from my other three companions. "Good. Now, let's get back to the immediately-relevant situation."

I didn't need to wait more than a moment for 'the SponsorTM' to chime in, as expected. While the Pokemon Ranger Jump assumes that the user will only be bringing in a single Partner Pokemon, it would be unreasonable to limit the insertion of other Pokemon as Companions. You are also considering a Supplement that will involve paying to Import your Companions so they may benefit from several simple Perks. Either of these is acceptable, at the cost of an Origin and related discounts.

"Fair enough." And now I'm kind-of-hoping we won't be coming back to that 'Supplement', even though we should. "I did have a few more questions."

While a Generic Jump would typically be incompatible with revisiting and Supplements, the Pokemon Trainer Jump is widely treated as a 'Pokemon Video Game' Jump, and is therefore excluded. Your inability to travel to the Galar, Fiore, Almia and Oblivia regions was a result of your current range of options.

"Wait, there's a Jump specifically for Sword and Shield?"

While it was unknown to you at the time, it existed as of New Year's Day Twenty Twenty-One, and is therefore available. Jumps that had yet to be released by then, including the Pokemon Red/Green/Blue, HeartGold/SoulSilver, Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire, X/Y, Colosseum, Snap, New Snap, Masters, and Legends Jumps, have been excluded.

"…well, bollocks, I probably would've liked to have taken the Colosseum Jump as a Supplement earlier."

Caveat emptor. The Jump in question would have restricted you to the Human Origins regardless, and offers you nothing of scaling importance. A binder appeared on top of the pile, presumably for my later perusal. A Jump whose primary elements have already been used, or which would not fit within the timeline of the Jump it would Supplement, is likewise restricted without justification. They are still available as stand-alone Jumps, or Supplementing each other as appropriate.

"Fair enough, I suppose. I wasn't planning on getting too involved with Orre, anyway." To unsubtly probe for information, or not…? Ah, fuck it, why not. "Not sure where this 'Legends' Jump was going to take place. Was it a side-game, or the next mainline region?"

Technically, in the sense that the Hisui region is a millennium-past variation of the Sinnoh region. The next mainline entries take place in the local Iberian-Peninsula-equivalent.

"And I'm glad to not know about those, because I've got a full-enough plate as-is, and Kalos was awkward enough linguistically."

You had a decade to learn French, for most of which you had Savant. And no, your fears of 'that' sub-category of Jumps are unfounded with the might of two Legendaries and a Mythical, barring extremely poor decision-making within the Midara region. Outside of it, such interactions will be very unlikely.

"…I s'pose I can't argue with that…" I admitted, to no response as I perused this 'unavailable' Colosseum Jump. "Guess we're about done, then. Only one or two things left."

[I'm not gonna lie, I didn't understand or care about most of whatever that was,] Evan admitted from her position next to me, [but I've never heard of the 'Midara' region.]

"Me neither. It probably doesn't exist yet." I waited for the collective '…yet?!' from everyone else. "It's not part of the official canon by Nintendo, so much like the Holon region featured in the Pokemon Tabletop United Jump, it probably won't be added unless I choose the Jump that uses it as a Supplement."

[…and, what kind of Jump is this 'Supplement'?]

"One that, despite offering some very useful incentives, I'm not certain is a good idea." I pulled out the offender for all and sundry to see. "Specifically, the Fossil Reviver and Blank Technical Machines Items, though there are a few Perks that sound helpful like 'auto-cleanliness', stamina, and the 'Skitty/Wailord joke'. Unfortunately, the Jump and the fan-game it corresponds to are all 'sex things', and I'm not sure if everyone is okay with that, and I'm pretty sure our 'Sponsor' will expect me to actually go through the Midara region in its entirety if I select it. So before I sign off on anything, I want everyone to be okay with this, or it's not happening."

A short period of silence followed, as my Companions reviewed the Jump, and I lamented over missing out on the Shadow Pokemon Perk in the Colosseum Jump.

"…the wording used is, certainly disturbing in some areas… especially the mentions of sexual assault being 'normalised' within this Midara region." Zekrom noted, Lugia looking too embarrassed to comment while Marshadow seemed unsure how to comment.

Evan, however, had a different view on it. [Then we just have some more bad guys to mind-crush, big deal. Remember the talk we had around Breeding?]

"Yes, and I haven't forgotten that Pokemon have very different views on sex, but that's not directly equivalent to my overall problems with the Jump: the existence of Team Spirit gives us an obvious target, but the local Wilds aren't automatically 'less-violent'. Then again, the Sponsor did say it wouldn't be an issue with all five of us…"

[And, Sexually-Transmitted Diseases aren't a thing with Pokemon unless you count Pokerus, which spreads through an airborne vector anyway, but if this gives me some sort of 'always-clean' and 'weather-proof' powers, I'm all for it.] She proceeded to stop caring again, [mildly grumpy] about the lack of sunlight, but her words did a lot to make the others stop and think about weighing the logistics against the benefits, which probably helped me a lot more than she realised.

"Yeah, the first of those effectively replaces the Evercleansed Perk from the Body Mod Supplement, which is what made me remember it in the first place. Then I realised that I could teach basic versions of Pokemon Moves to humans with the right attributes, like spreading Teleport to human Psychics, and that would be a big deal to the rest of the world. Not to mention, how many Normal- and Fighting-type Moves could be taught to a baseline Human, like Refresh, Wish, Strength and Flash, especially in settings like Dragon Ball or Naruto where everyone has some measurable amount of 'life energy' with which to power certain Moves." And the Nara, Yamanaka and Aburame clans a bit more so, to name a few. "So here's a better question: does anyone have any concerns, or think the risks outweigh the benefits?"

"I am not particularly comfortable, creating an entire region out of thin air that is this degenerate," Zekrom took the moral high ground, "but if we were to spend a few months setting up some manner of local defense force, and clearing out the obvious abusers both Human and Pokemon, then I can accept this."

"Fair enough, I can live with that. Anyone else?"

"I'm a Ghost-type. I don't really have the mindset to make an impartial comment. But if this is such a huge deal, I say go for it. That PP Up Item sounds very powerful to me." Marshadow gave his not-particularly-fussed two cents, while Lugia gave me a helpless, reddened shrug and chose not to say anything out loud.

"Alright then. The Sponsor will know I want to submit the build as a Supplement to the Ranger Jump, so speaking of which, any comments on the Ranger document?"

After a few more minutes of going over the Perks, and a brief argument over whether Target Clear was even remotely as useful to a Pokemon as One With Nature, everything was sorted and filed, and I advised everyone to start sitting or lying down

"And, one last thing everyone but Evan should consider:" I remembered at the last second. "When we move on from worlds with Pokemon to worlds without, calling you by Pokemon names is going to look either suspicious or cringeworthy. So, I can help you three look at nicknames to blend in with human society if you're not sure, but you can leave it until we have a full party of Pokemon in the Jump-after-this-one. I just want to mention it now, so you all have plenty of time to get used to the idea."

[…nope, still really weird to think of humans as the dominant species in other 'settings'.] Evan mused, the previous debate having been cut short due to the very-valid-point that Pokemon had little-to-no officially-published media in this Jump, so of course humans would be 'overrepresented' by comparison.

"Because Pokemon are so cool and special." I challengingly rolled my eyes dismissively.

[Cooler than you.] She stuck her tongue out at me. [Well, maybe not you, but most humans can't move stuff around with their minds.]

"And neither can most Pokemon. Nor could you, before you evolved." I teased her, as the lethargy set in and I laid back on the couch.

[Don't make me throw something at you…] She faintly grumbled as she curled up on my legs, Lugia wrapping herself mostly around us as Marshadow silently laid against my side and Zekrom kept what he probably felt was a respectful distance.

Off to the next adventure, I guess…

Body Mod: Athlete100; Strength1^50; Endurance4^200; Speed4^100; Dexterity2; Sense4^200; Flexibility1; Winged150; Metavore100 (600+300)

Cosmic Warehouse: Electricity10; Plumbing10; Heat/A.C.10; ForceWall20; GravityLink10; Shelving; Terminal10; Housing20 (Secret Treehouse); Workshop10; Portal30; Link30; Free Space30; Food Supply10 (150+50)

Arena: What-If?40; Video Playback10; Match Modes2^20; Dark Jumper2^20; Terrain Adjustment1^20; Battle Options40 (100+50)

Pokemon Ranger: Rookie; Impeccable Posing; Fresh From The Academy; Capture Styler; Direct Import0 (Evan, Lugia, Marshadow, Zekrom); Partner Pokemon (Ralts).

Free Imports: Rockruff (Evan); Sandile (Lugia); Machop (Marshadow); Karrablast (Zekrom).
Collective Companion Perks: One With Nature200; Years On The Job100 (300).

Pokemon Ecchi Version (Supplement): Fiore; Pokemon Trainer; STD Immunity; Unexpected Genitalia0; Cleaning Up The Fun100; Environmental Protection; Trainer's Stamina100; Wailord On Skitty Action200; Starting Pokeballs; Outfit; Fossil Reviver300; Your Bed; Lucky Egg100; Blank Technical Machines200; PP Up200; Lure Scent100; Companion Import8 (Evan, Lugia, Marshadow, Zekrom)200; Starter (Ralts); No Shoes, No Shirt, No Service+100; Power Lockout+200; Warehouse Locked+200 (1500).

Collective Companion Perks: STD Immunity; Cleaning Up The Fun100; Environmental Protection100 (200).

AN: So, as mentioned in the 'Quick Update' that temporarily acted as Chapter 19, things got a bit crazy over the last 3-4 months. I earned my Provisional Driver's License, finished my Certificate IV in Accounting and Bookkeeping, spent pretty much all of December with a big family get-together (meeting my step-brother in person, Christmas, my parents' wedding, and New Years') and a lot of visiting nice local restaurants and zoo's and the like. Then two weeks ago, I had a sudden burst of dizziness/shortness of breath, and while it's not clear if it was missing my morning antidepressant or my excess weight/salt consumption, either way, the doctor says I have two more weeks to drop my blood pressure or I'm going to have to look at more pills, which I really want to avoid. And I need to watch a playthrough of each Pokemon Ranger game to understand the timeline/highlights from a first-party source, I've long since learned my lesson with Worm fanfics about ignorantly taking commonly-accepted fanon as canon.

As stated earlier, below are links to a backup Google Drive folder that contains all of my writing as of two weeks ago, and a Mediafire link for direct download. Keep in mind that the archive is at least 650mb, and that the ENEX files require EverNote being installed to open BUT the HTML files alongside them have the same data, just in a different format. This is everything to cringy MLP stuff I wrote eight years ago and never cleaned up, to more recent JumpChain and Worm CYOA stuff, Shield Hero, Digimon Quest Infamy, RWBY, and some ideas for one each of Survival/Crafting, SoulsBorne and Pokemon-Island games. And to correct myself from earlier, there is an entire JumpChain set-up Word Document and Evernote ENEX/HTML with NSFW ideas for a short JumpChain involving 'Lewd' Jumps, and a Jumper from Mogeko Castle and Katawa Shoujo fighting against the evils that come with settings such as those (the most I've written was for the Empowered Jump, which isn't as bad as most), and is limited to using 'Canon' Jumps as Supplements to 'Lewd' Jumps that take place in the same settings (mind you, Dragon Ball – Troop Of Beasts is a thing as of 2022, so no fictional cabal of sexual/capital criminals will be safe from 'Shinya' if I ever come back to it).

drive,google,com/drive/folders/1qXuUQyduthETb6hx-t48oElkUFOvNqjB?usp=sharing

mediafire,com/file/w6dl7ygf2je2gmc/Public_Writing_Backup_-2022-20230116T011212Z-001,zip/file

As usual, don't forget to swap the comma's with full stops. And while I'd always like to upload more frequently, even once/month is pushing it right now. Hopefully I'll have another Chapter by the end of March, so I can at least keep you updated on current events, but as always, no promises (though I will note that my parents will be going to Tasmania for a month-long trip/honeymoon in March, so maybe I'll have some more time/interest in writing then). And no, I haven't forgotten my MineCraft fic, the mostly-complete next Chapter of that is somewhere in the Evernote folder on my Drive (if you're okay with the 'spoilers' and just want to see where I was going with that), I just haven't finished bulking out the 'connective tissue' so the scenes are woven together properly and there's no sudden-and-constant skipping forwards (and I have time to exposit on Minecraft-mechanics-outside-Minecraft, but I'm still coming up with ideas for how to make that 'work').

Date of Chapter 19 Upload: 2023, February 4th. Final Edit: 27th.