Creation began on 02-27-17
Creation ended on 07-28-17
Neon Genesis Evangelion
Work and Play
"…Based on what we were able to get so far when Palkia woke up and the interdimensional monitoring resumed, it looks like young Ikari caught himself another Pokemon last night," Antonio informed Misato through the tablet as she sat at a console on the bridge in Central Dogma. "Or rather, this creature made him catch it."
Viewing the footage, she saw the floating, cat-like creature tap the black and yellow ball Shinji had before becoming a ball of light and getting transported into the ball. It was then picked up by Shinji before disappearing from his possession.
"And judging from Shinji's reaction, this Pokemon was one that wasn't seen very much by the world at large," Misato responded to Antonio, now as close to up to speed on the happenings with Shinji in the Pokemon world. "Probably another extremely-rare and very powerful one."
"That's what my people down here suspect. We're trying to pick up completely where we left off now…so view what you can for now, Ms. Katsuragi." He told her, and the communique between the two ended there.
Misato sighed and tapped onto an icon on the touchscreen and hoped to see what was going on with Shinji and the other teens.
-x-
"Meet my newest Pokemon, everyone," Shinji told his friends, opening his Ultra Ball up and unleashing a small wad of light that solidified into a small, pinkish, cat-like creature.
"Mew," the new Pokemon went, yawning as it stood up in front of them.
"Oh…my…gosh…" Kensuke quietly gasped. "Shinji, is this what I think it is?"
"Yeah, Kensuke," he responded. "This is it."
"What is it?" Hikari asked them, finding this Pokemon cute, but very confusing.
"This is Mew, an extremely-rare Pokemon. Considered to be the most powerful in the entire world." Kensuke explained, having seen a picture of this Pokemon once before.
"The most powerful?" Asuka questioned. "This little thing?"
"Don't let its size deceive you, Asuka," Shinji told her. "Not every Pokemon needs to be massive in order to be strong."
Asuka then recalled the video footage of his battles against other trainers with Pokemon, how they would unleash various types that were of different sizes, and Shinji would either face large opponents with either Misato or another small creature, relying on their petite forms and nimbleness over their strength to win. It wasn't just the type advantage or disadvantage, but the level of the Pokemon that helped to decide the outcome of the battle, and Shinji's were often at high levels because of his style of training for each Pokemon.
"Size doesn't matter," she sighed.
"Yes…and no," Shinji replied. "I mean, it depends on the situation you're in, like a building on fire and you have Water Pokemon with you to aid in putting it out. Large fires, large Pokemon. Small fires, smaller Pokemon. Or…even when I have larger Pokemon, I still have Misato to provide an edge whenever necessary."
"Eevo," Misato added.
Asuka then looked back at Mew, asking if Shinji was going to be using it in the conference with any of his other Pokemon.
"It's possible, but that's a long time from now. For the time being, I'll want to train and decide which ones I'll have and rotate. I don't expect to win this region's Pokemon League."
"But with all the Pokemon you have caught, you're sure to be capable of winning any Pokemon League you participate in," said Hikari and Toji to him, trying to encourage his efforts.
"Thank you, you two."
"Mew," Mew chirped, looking at Rei, who looked at it.
"What type of Pokemon is Mew?" She asked Shinji.
"Um, a Psychic-Type," he answered her. "Common…but among the strongest."
Mew raised its left arm and levitated towards Rei, making contact with her nose.
"Mew," it went, its body glowing the same blue outline that Shinji saw last night. "Mew."
Rei felt like this Pokemon was examining her mind, looking at every memory she had, every experience she ever took part in, every conversation she was ever engaged in with whoever she spoke with. And all she ever saw in this creature's mind were images of being underwater and a mountain shrouded in fog and surrounded by wilderness. While the underwater images felt somewhat saddening, the mountainous image felt somewhat tranquil and was able to make one forget about things that weren't so easy to forget.
You're so alone, even when surrounded by others, she heard a voice inside her head, and felt that it was coming from Mew. Be more open to others. Be more than what you are already.
Mew then let go of her nose and then floated over to Asuka and touched her nose.
Asuka felt like this creature was exploring her past that she kept buried for personal reasons, with her being shown underwater scenes and a mountain shrouded in fog. But as much as she wanted to yell at this Pokemon for invading her privacy, she couldn't after being shown a memory that she had forgotten about that was from before the Eva that she cast aside her childhood for. It was her mother, before the accident, sitting in a small garden, in a rocking chair, and she was being cradled by her as a baby. There was no sense of pride, no desire for recognition, not even a random thought about the Eva, just her mother thinking about her.
What you pride yourself over never truly mattered to her, she heard the same voice that Rei heard in her head. Why focus on burying the painful memories that hide the ones that carry only peace…when you should look past them and focus only on the happiness?
Because they hurt too much? Asuka thought of her suggestion.
Not every memory is one filled with pain. The only true pain in any memory…is the pain of trying to forget what caused the memory to become so painful. Anger and vanity doesn't do anything but numb painful memories, not make them any better.
Mew then let go of her nose.
"Mew," it uttered, floating over to Shinji and touched his nose.
"What was that about?" Toji asked.
"Not right now, stooge," Asuka responded, not wanting to discuss what she went through because of this Psychic Pokemon. "Later."
"I saw a mountain covered by fog," said Rei, "and some place underwater."
"Probably Mew's memories."
When Mew removed its arm from Shinji's nose, the trainer looked over at Rei and Asuka, but then gave them both a small smile.
"Uh, I'm used to giving my Pokemon nicknames," he told them. "Can any of you think of an interesting nickname I haven't used so far since I'll be using Mew in the conference?"
-x-
"…Incredible," went Fuyutsuki, being shown the recording of the new Pokemon Shinji had acquired. "It looks like that humanoid cat he caught earlier in his history and time there, only smaller and pink."
"Mewtwo," Misato, showing him the footage. "Though, Shinji calls him Master, as in the master of his own destiny. This one is Mew, believed to be the most powerful Pokemon in the world."
"And Shinji was able to catch this creature?"
"He didn't capture Mew. Mew chose him as its trainer. Apparently, some Pokemon can see something within select people that others can't or something of the sort, and they can choose to either make themselves known to the few they see potential in…or make finding them difficult for them. Difficult…but not impossible."
"Suddenly, he seems almost invincible."
"No, he's faced other trainers, many much stronger than he, and he's only barely managed to defeat them. He's had nearly four years to improve and build up his experience. It's only because of his time and wanderlust there that he's become as close to an experienced veteran of sorts, able to teach others that were just starting out as trainers, even explaining to the others what goes on in that world. But he's still learning new things there himself, from these different regions he has yet to venture out to."
Fuyutsuki then saw the recently-acquired Mew touch the heads of all three Eva pilots.
"Any names you haven't used for your Pokemon yet?" Kensuke asked Shinji, referring to the naming of the new Pokemon.
"Several, Kensuke," he answered him. "I haven't used Dr. Akagi's name, the Sub-Commander's name, Mr. Kaji's name, Misato's family name, not even… I will never nickname any of my Pokemon after that man."
"He must be talking about his father," Misato suspected.
"Why not a gender-neutral name?" Hikari asked him.
"I tried to make sure a nickname is gender-specific," he explained to her. "They have to be meaningful, otherwise, there's really no point in using nicknames at all."
"Well…um, Mew here looks…probably female, based on its coloring."
"You'd be right, Hikari, but not because of the coloring. Many Pokemon, including the common variety and the ones that seem so rare that you would only see them just a few times, look similar, but you can tell them apart by specifics in their looks. Lengths of their horns, shapes of their tail ends, dentition, wingspan, etc. Or…as I've come to learn from most Psychic-Type Pokemon…just letting them into your minds and peering into theirs. This Mew is female, so she deserves a nickname that's often associated with women."
"Mew," the Mew chirped.
-x-
"…This should count as interference on the part of the Giovanni Corporation," Gendo tried to convince SEELE in their latest meeting how the remaining Evangelion pilots were all absent from NERV and subconsciously displaced in another dimension (even though it was temporarily) where the Third Child was currently. "Even if they say only three days is the permitted time they keep the pilots under because of the dangers involved in inducing temporary comas, the fact that they did so without asking NERV places this world in danger against the Angels over a simple, meaningless experiment with interdimensional travel."
"Yet, there has been no sign of danger so far from of the Angels because of this," SEELE 01 expressed. "Should there come a time where there is danger and their interference is a potential hindrance, we shall deal with them. Until then, we shall not interfere with this…minor setback they have taken advantage of due to the temporary incapacitation of the Fourth Child. If they only require them for the remaining two days, since, as you yourself have stated, Ikari, that they started this the previous day, and if by that time no Angels attack, this matter shall be overlooked and ignored."
Gendo couldn't believe this! SEELE was willing to disregard this concern if there was no Angel attack and the pilots were returned after two more days.
"Also," went SEELE 10, "if, by some chance of their success in their attempts, they achieve the feat of bringing the Third Child back to this dimension safely and he is able to resume his duties as the pilot of Unit-01, it is likely that the Giovanni Corporation may have an unexpected use in our plans for the Instrumentality Project, Ikari, as they're the only ones pioneering the research in opening doorways to other worlds."
Gendo was not pleased to hear this at all. Just because there was no danger so far from the Angels, the old men were willing to let this little…predicament be overlooked. Worse was that they were willing to try and find a potential use with this corporation that sought to achieve interdimensional travel.
"Also, we've seen and reviewed the footage taken of this other world the Third Child has been displaced in that it would seem the other pilots have found a way to travel to subconsciously," said SEELE 06 to Gendo. "What we've seen so far from what the Fourth Child has posted onto the Internet has been very…fascinating."
Now Gendo was worried about his own plans.
"Such creatures, like the ones the Third Child has either seen or obtained, would be incredibly useful as biological weapons against potential threats," SEELE 06 continued, explaining the council's interest in Pokemon. "Massive jellyfish, mythical dragons, insects as large as people. Oh, my… And he has acquired so many during the time he has been there."
If SEELE had an interest in Pokemon as similar as his own, then things were going to get difficult if they ever worked out with the Third Child finding a way back to this world.
-x-
"…Ha-ha-ha-ha!" Shinji laughed as he ran with his chosen Pokemon for training around the practice field behind the buildings in town as his friends watched them.
His Eevee, Charizard, Mewtwo, the Aggron he caught to protect his friends, Entei and Mew ran as fast as they could with him, but it was mainly Misato, Asuka, Master and Pyro that were able to keep up with their trainer. The Aggron and Mew were slowed down due to their weight and large feet, respectively, but they tried to keep up.
"It's okay, you two," Shinji told them. "Just do your best. It's not a competition."
"Grr," went the Aggron, having been nicknamed Soko-Yama (which meant "Armored Mountain"), still getting used to his new trainer that took him from his territory.
"Mew," said the New Species Pokemon to the Iron Armor Pokemon, assuring him that they could trust this young man that wasn't from around anyplace associated with this realm of existence. "Mew."
"Grr…"
When Shinji stopped running in order to catch his breath, he called a break for rest, and his Pokemon sat on the ground, though Master used his psychic abilities to raise the ground up beneath him to form a small slab to sit on.
"I was kinda expecting you to make them fight each other, Shinji," said Toji to him as he and the others got up from a bench and approached the trainer and his Pokemon.
"Not yet on that," he responded to him, petting Misato's head. "Exercise first before being pitted against one another to improve your abilities. If one expects to last even five minutes against someone else, they need to be in top shape. Train the body to sharpen the mind."
Toji nodded in the positive from this informative detail. It didn't seem all that complicated to train Pokemon, but then had to accept that each trainer's methods were different for each of their Pokemon.
"You're bound to be a shoo-in for winning the Sinnoh League," he told Shinji.
"I don't get my hopes up when it comes to winning any region's Pokemon League," Shinji iterated. "And it's not always a good thing to win. I mean, sometimes, it is, but if you boast about it, if you let even a single victory go to your head, you become prideful. You start to feel that you're invincible, that there isn't another trainer anywhere in the world that could stand a chance against you. But nobody's all-powerful in the profession. Even the greatest of trainers will find something and someone new that will take them off their cloud of self-indulgence."
-x-
Two days later, when the pilots and students were revived from their induced coma, they each had a degree of sadness on their faces.
"What's wrong with y'all?" Misato asked them.
"We have to wait until we can go back to the Pokemon world just to watch Shinji participate in the Sinnoh League," Toji explained. "I don't want to miss anything."
"But he's still training his Pokemon before the conference begins," said Antonio to them.
"Three days there and it feels a little awful being back here," Kensuke expressed his opinion. "I know the last time, I was out cold here for only two days while I spent three-and-a-half years with Shinji there, but when you're there…everything just feels good."
"Everything was good there," said Rei. "Ikari-Kun has…fit in there."
"How soon until we're allowed to go back?" Asuka asked.
"You need to straighten out for around two-three days," Antonio explained. "But for the time being, we'll still be monitoring and recording footage of him there."
"Of course he'll still be in the Sinnoh Region," said Hikari. "Where else would he go until he finished with their Pokemon League?"
"Unova?" Toji suggested. "Or back to Hoenn, Johto or Kanto to retry the Pokemon Leagues there. It's a completely new world he's living in. I mean, he's really living in it."
Misato couldn't help but admit that the Pokemon world was becoming a place where Shinji really seemed to live, even if he did so by following the standard profession of an animal trainer and participated in these tournament leagues where the strongest, smartest and most adaptable of men and women were crowned for their recognition and skill set with the best of creatures they assembled.
"So, what did he nickname that Mew that was self-caught?" She asked them, as they didn't get any footage of such details.
"He decided to call her Hikari," answered none other than Hikari. "Because of the way she glowed whenever she used her psychic abilities."
"Hikari of Light," added Rei, detailing the powerful Pokemon's full nickname. "Light from the stars at night…light up the darkness."
"If we're lucky, by the time you get back, he'll have just started his first match in the conference," Antonio stated, trying to give the kids a sense of hope in seeing Shinji begin his stint in the Sinnoh League matches.
-x-
It had been a long time since Shinji had ever been put up in a hotel room during his participation in the Pokemon League. In front of him on the tabletop were the five Poke Balls of the six Pokemon he would try to use as much as possible during the conference while rotating them with the rest while Misato would remain as his potential trump card. He had chosen Master, Rei, Asuka, Hikari and Sandabado (which meant "Thunder Bird"), his one-of-a-kind Mewtwo, Shiny Gyarados, handicapped Charizard, newly-christened Mew and shocking Zapdos with his lithe and nimble Eevee.
"Maybe we'll get lucky this time, Misato," he told his Eevee as she laid on the bed away from the table.
"Eee," she responded; she cared about his beliefs of potentially winning the conference, but she really wanted to relax on the bed, as it was so soft.
"Bitter work…but worth the results," he sighed and then got up. "I'm going to go get us all dinner for later, so…do behave yourself, okay?"
"Eevo."
He left out the room and shut the door.
Five minutes later, the Ultra Ball bearing his Mew's nickname jiggled and popped open, releasing the rare and powerful Pokemon into the suite.
"Mew," Hikari went.
"Eevo," Misato responded, still trying to sleep. "Eee."
Hikari flew over to the bed and sat on it.
"Mew," she yawned, and laid back on the pillow.
-x-
"…Rei," went Gendo to the albino girl once she was summoned to his office, "it was brought to my attention that you went to the facility used by the Giovanni Corporation with the Second and Fourth Children and participated in an observation experiment of theirs. Why did you go?"
"Major Katsuragi requested that Pilot Soryu and I, along with Pilot Aida and two of our classmates, Toji Suzuhara and Hikari Horaki, come to the facility after receiving a revelation from the non-Angel creature they called Palkia," she explained, "which further explained on how Ikari-Kun needed to find his way back here."
"Which was?"
"He would need to catch two Pokemon that represented time and space, the latter of which is a Palkia. The former is a Pokemon called Dialga."
"Another powerful Pokemon?"
"Unknown, only that it and Palkia are considered rare."
"And were you able to see the Third Child?"
"Yes, sir."
"And has he made any progress in finding these Pokemon?"
"No, sir. He has come to accept that finding such Pokemon that are viewed as rare is not something one can simply rush into and expect results. In addition, he has entered another Pokemon League to showcase his progress as a Pokemon Trainer and be recognized as one of the best. However, he has acquired a different Pokemon, involuntarily, though, that has been considered by many in their world to be the most powerful."
Now Gendo was beyond displeased.
"How did he involuntarily acquire a powerful Pokemon?" He asked her.
"It…no, she chose him as her trainer," she explained.
He then dismissed her, but ordered that she not go back to the Giovanni Corporation's facility, no matter what the circumstances were.
He hasn't caught either creature he needs in order to get back here, he thought, sitting at his desk, upset as his son's would-be success in the short amount of time he's been displaced from this world and in another world, yet, he catches a creature that is considered to be the most powerful in their world? Is he even trying to get back here?
Unfortunately, however, despite being ordered to stay away from the Giovanni Corporation, Rei felt no need to actually obey that order, which surprised her, mentally and emotionally. She suspected it had something to do with her contact with Shinji's Mew…and her telling the albino to be more than what she was already and to be more open towards others if she was to overcome her sense of loneliness. She had the feeling that the Psychic-Type Pokemon nicknamed after the class representative knew her more intimately than only less than a handful of select individuals at NERV did…and she had even confided in Shinji of this. But all she really knew for certain…was that she wanted to see the boy again.
-x-
"…Hello, how are you doing?" Asuka asked her stepmother over the collect call to Germany; she decided to try Shinji's Mew's advice and deal with her bad memories properly. "You probably haven't heard, but there's a small phenomenon over the Internet. A boy disappeared a few weeks ago and he's currently in another universe."
She decided to let her relatives know about Shinji's current predicament and how his involvement with NERV had resulted in him being in a world full of these…Pocket Monsters (she discovered during the time spent on the last day in the other universe that the universal designation for all these creatures was an abbreviation/amalgamation of two words). Viewing the footage of the Charizard nicknamed after her due to her rather-violent personality and prideful nature that mellowed out during the time spent with Shinji, the redhead found the boy's willingness to put up with her all the more saddening because she was cruel to him when he did absolutely nothing to deserve it. And she was starting to suspect that his Mew confided in him about her past, but he never said anything about it.
"…He's not my boyfriend or anything," she explained to her stepmother. "He just had a mishap one day…and it ended up being good for him. And I'll admit it when I say this: I miss him around here. There, I said it. I miss Shinji."
-x-
"…My father and sisters were pretty upset that I was there for three days unexpectedly," went Hikari to Toji the next day at school; the principal had been informed by the Giovanni Corporation of the whereabouts of their students and had allowed their absence to be overlooked because their request in their experiment, while unexpected, was helping them get closer to their goal. "They almost didn't believe me when I told them that I got to see the Pokemon in person."
"My sister believed everything I told her when I went to see her last night," Toji told her. "I brought a tablet with me to the hospital when Kensuke posted the footage he had with him in his backpack. We kept looking at the videos of him training and participating in the gym battles and Pokemon League, and she likes his Eevee and Gyarados. She wants to know if I'll be going back to see Shinji so I can try and bring her back some form of proof that I was there."
"But…if she believes you were there, why would she need proof that you were there?"
"She wants to see me next to Shinji and one of his Pokemon."
"That would be convincing."
"I'm glad that I was able to go there, even if it was only in mind and not in body. I really want to go back there."
"You're not the only one."
The rest of the students came into the room and soon class began…or a semblance of class began when the teacher began asking about Pokemon. Several students insisted on lectures about the regions and territories where select Pokemon dwelt.
Asuka, Rei, Kensuke, Toji and Hikari all found today to be quite exhilarating.
"Kensuke," went Asuka to the otaku, "you're going to need more footage of where Shinji is…and as soon as possible."
-x-
He stood in the center of the primary stadium that was vacant; sleep eluded him as the anticipation of the upcoming tournament escalated with each passing day, so Shinji would find himself just wandering out every other night when he couldn't stay in bed, always coming to the stadium just to visualize the battles. The moonlight served as a sufficient source of illumination for him, allowing him to feel like he was actually being viewed by thousands of spectators, the referee, fans and admirers, even people he either knew or saw back in his world if they had the means. He turned to his left and pretended that there was a rival trainer across the field from him; for some odd reason, he saw the trainer called Paul, who had participated in the conference the previous year.
"Shinji Ikari," he thought, pretending that Paul was speaking to him again. "I've improved since our last battle. I will beat you for certain this time."
Shinji pretended that he had one of his Poke Balls in his right hand and smiled happily. It was nothing more than friendly competition because the rival trainer had been treating his Pokemon with trust and love, something he hadn't been doing during the time before he met and fought against the trainer Shinji knew as Ash Ketchum and lost to him.
"I just want to be one of the best there is," he told himself, stating of his reason for participating in the Pokemon League, "not the best there is. When I trust my Pokemon to do their best, I give my all in supporting and encouraging them to never back down in any shame or fear. I'm always proud of their success and want to do right by them."
"Eevo!" He heard something nearby, and turned to the rows of seats where the audience would be on his right, seeing his Eevee and Mew, floating over towards him.
"Mew," Hikari chirped, glowing bright blue once more as she used her psychic powers. She says she's proud of you, Shinji. We all are.
"We?" He questioned.
Pop! Suddenly, his Gyarados, Mewtwo, Charizard and Zapdos appeared around him, a result of psychic power being exercised, each creature looking at him with encouragement and acceptance.
"Do…all of you think we'll do well in this tournament?" He asked them, just wanting their opinion.
"We do," said Master to him, and the rest agreed with him. "You're a good trainer. You bring out our best…and make us feel as though we are among the best."
"Thank you," the boy praised each of them. "We'll give it our all."
"Eevo!" Misato cheered him on.
To be continued…
A/N: Don't know when the next chapter will be, but I want to know what you think of Mew, now nicknamed Hikari after the Class Rep., having some influence in what Asuka and Rei did after returning to the Eva universe. Impressed?