Creation began on 02-21-19
Creation ended on 04-18-19
Neon Genesis Evangelion
Elite One
People on the streets and in the buildings of Tokyo-3 were watching the new broadcast of Shinji's third Elite Four match of the Sinnoh League. Those of whom that couldn't watch it right now were hoping they could watch it later.
"Oh, my goodness," A little girl gasped as Flint, who was now three Pokemon away from being defeated by Shinji, recalled his Magmortar and summoned an Infernape in its place, going up against Shinji's Tyranitar. "It's a fire monkey!"
Several children out and about stopped playing ball on the sidewalk to watch as Shinji continued to advance with his Tyranitar.
"And Flint has chosen his Infernape as his fourth Pokemon!" The announcer yelled. "What does Shinji intend to do?!"
"Use Earthquake, Toji!" Shinji commanded, and the Tyranitar slammed its right foot and tail to the ground, creating a tremor that shook the ground.
The Infernape lost its footing and fell to the ground.
"Counterattack with a Fire Blast, Infernape!" Flint commanded, and the Flame Pokemon unleashed a Fire Blast against Shinji's Tyranitar.
-x-
"…How strong is that Tyranitar of Shinji's now?" Antonio asked as they watched Shinji's Pokemon take the full force of a Fire Blast from Flint's Infernape.
"Being nicknamed after this stooge," went Asuka, watching as the Tyranitar stood strongly, only slightly singed but still full of strength, "Toji's a powerhouse that has no limit to his strength. And only shows more power when that happens."
On the screens, they saw the Tyranitar glow intensely as his Mega Evolution took place, revealing to now be bigger and more brutal-looking than ever, like his power had somehow erupted from out his back and couldn't be put back inside.
"Incredible," Toji gasped at how the Pokemon nicknamed after was so much more menacing than previously perceived by many for the first time.
"Grrrrrrah!" The Mega-Tyranitar roared, causing the ground to shake from the intensity of his would-be malice.
"Goodness gracious!" Flint gasped.
"Okay, Toji, let's show Infernape your Fissure strike!" Shinji called out.
His Mega-Tyranitar raised his left leg up…and slammed down with such force that it shook the ground more intensely than his Earthquake move did.
Flint's Infernape stumbled around and was struck several times by rising pieces of the ground that came back down.
"Fissure?" Misato asked Kensuke.
"One-hit K.O.," he explained, "but the craziest thing about it was that none of the evolutionary states of Larvitar were reported capable of being able to do it. Shinji's is the rarity due to how he trained him. He's quite possibly the only one in existence that knows it."
"Pokemon that can perform moves they shouldn't be able to do?" Hikari questioned. "Isn't that a rule or something?"
"Pokemon surprise everyone with what they're capable of doing, Class Rep. Sometimes, they'll even perform moves that are simply improvised."
On the screens, Flint's Infernape fell to the ground, completely beaten by the Fissure attack.
"Ah, my Infernape!" Flint groaned, unable to believe that a Tyranitar was capable of knowing how to do Fissure.
"Infernape is unable to continue," the referee announced. "Tyranitar wins the round!"
The people in the audience cheered for Shinji as he praised Toji.
"You're amazing, Toji!" He cheered.
"Eee!" Misato added in.
"Grr!" Toji growled.
-x-
"…Hmm?" A young girl, dressed in a predominantly-white outfit with shorts, long sleeves and a pink cloth wrapped around her purple hair, accompanied by a dark-furred Meowth and a Skitty, went as she stood just outside the central stadium, where it sounded like a big Pokemon League match was heating up.
"Kemi, Mata," she expressed to her two Pokemon, "it looks like something big is going on. Let's go see."
"Meowth!"
"Skitty!"
The three ran into the building and down the halls.
-x-
Flint, after watching his Houndoom fall to Shinji's Mega-Tyranitar, had only one Pokemon left, and he hated to admit, even if it was only to himself, that it was no match for the trainer's Pokemon at all. His Steelix, Rapidash, Magmotar, Drifblim and Houndoom all fell at the strength and versatility of Shinji's Moltres, Golduck, Gyarados and Tyranitar, and he wasn't sure which Pokemon he had that filled the sixth slot as his Eevee was part of the roster.
"You're a lot stronger than I expected you to be," he told Shinji.
"You're strong, too," Shinji responded. "You caught me off guard twice since this match began, with your Steelix and Houndoom. You definitely deserve your place in the Elite Four. I'm glad to be here with my Pokemon up against you and yours."
Flint then threw his sixth Poke Ball onto the field…and out came his final Pokemon, a Flareon.
"Grr!" Toji growled as he glared down at the Flareon.
Shinji noticed how the enhanced Tyranitar seemed to be wearing down a little, even with Mega Evolution power coursing through him.
"Hey, Toji, are you alright?" He asked him. "Do you need to rest?"
Toji turned to face his trainer…and nodded that he did.
"Okay, Toji," he expressed and recalled his Pokemon back into his ball. "You want to go up against Flareon, Misato?"
The Eevee looked at the Flareon, seeing that it was strong and no doubt had more experience than she did…but wasn't going to let her keep from proving her continued worth as her trainer's first Pokemon.
"Eevo!" She cheered and ran onto the battlefield.
"Flare!" The Flareon growled.
An Eevee going up against one of its evolved relatives, and it was anyone's guess how this would turn out.
-x-
Gendo was unimpressed by his son's decision to substitute a powerful beast with an animal no different from a lowly pet. As the new round against the Pokemon Trainer and the third member of the Sinnoh Elite Four began, the commander of NERV frowned ever so more at how a battle like this could go to show that his son was completely incompetent in showing off the true power of a powerful creature that could make a man a veritable fortune as a bio-weapon.
He subbed a powerful animal for a pet, he thought. How pathetic can you get, Shinji?
Unfortunately, the rest of the personnel, particularly the female members, didn't agree with Gendo's silent opinion. In fact, when many of them saw the Eevee nicknamed after Major Katsuragi, they could only squeal at how cute she appeared with her purple and green scarf that was worn almost like a cape on her neck and back.
"…If I had an Eevee like Shinji that was as pretty as his, I wouldn't want to evolve it, either," Gendo heard one of the male personnel members say.
And his stupid sentimentalism, he thought angrily, it's pathetic! What kinda person has a creature that can be evolved to become stronger…and keeps it as it is?! That's like finding a dinosaur and not mutating it just because it looks nice.
But even if he had reviewed the other videos posted on the Internet that had Shinji with several Pokemon that were evolved, either before or after he caught them or were able to do so with special stones required, Gendo showed more disgust towards how his son refused to evolve this Eevee that hung around him like a cat or a dog…or some dependent child.
-x-
The girl and her Meowth and Skitty found a way out onto the row of audience around the stadium as they saw an Eevee slam a Flareon on its back.
"Whoa!" She gasped, and then saw the person she couldn't believe was here. "It looks like I've finally found you…Shinji Ikari."
The Flareon got back up, glaring at the Eevee whose purple and green scarf appeared partially singed by fire attacks used against it…and then it collapsed onto its left side.
"Flareon is unable to continue," she heard someone say to everyone. "Eevee wins! Victory goes to Shinji Ikari!"
The crowd went wild in excitement as the Pokemon Trainer that won the match picked up his Eevee happily.
"Skitty," went the girl's Skitty to her.
"Yeah," she responded. "He's gotten stronger than ever. His Pokemon are stronger than ever."
"Meowth," her Meowth added.
"Un-huh… There is a strength to him that is impossible to measure just yet."
-x-
"Three Elite Four members down," went Kensuke, "and one more to go before he can face the Sinnoh League Champion in an attempt to become the new champion."
"Shinji's clearly more powerful than he used to be when he trained his Pokemon for this league," said Asuka as they watched Shinji shake hands with Flint on the screens.
"You might've beaten me, Shinji," Flint uttered, "but it may take everything you have and more just to defeat Lucian, the fourth and final member of the Sinnoh Elite Four, our master psychic."
"I look forward to facing him," they heard Shinji respond. "This was a good match, Flint."
"Eevo!" Misato added in.
"Yes, it was," Flint agreed. "Good luck to your Pokemon and yourself in your next match, Shinji Ikari. You're going to need it."
"If we weren't forced to wait until we can go back there, I'd hug Shinji for his success right now," said Toji, slightly irritated.
"Do you actually think Shinji would let you or any of us risk our health just to see him when he knows we're watching him?" Hikari asked him. "I don't think so, buster. We'll be able to see him in two more days."
"Who is that?" They heard Rei speak, pointing to a young girl that appeared to be following Shinji on his way to the Pokemon Center, followed by a dark-furred Meowth and a Skitty. "Is she after him?"
Kensuke looked…and couldn't believe his eyes.
"I don't believe it," he uttered. "That's Hanmyo."
"Who's Hanmyo?" Antonio asked him.
"She's also a displaced person from another universe."
"What?!"
"No way!" Misato gasped, pointing to the girl. "She's really from another universe?"
"Really, and that's not the best and worst part of her displacement."
"And what is her best and worst part of her universal displacement?" Palkia asked Kensuke.
"Somehow, the two cats she showed up with, Kemi and Mata, were transformed into Pokemon versions of themselves," he explained, "and she's from a universe where people have advanced space travel and encountered alien races."
"You're quite the celebrity, Shinji Ikari," they heard the girl, Hanmyo, say to the trainer, catching him off guard as he stopped in front of the Pokemon Center and turned around. "I saw your Eevee defeat that man's Flareon."
"Hanmyo? Why, we haven't seen you in almost a year since we parted in Hoenn. How have you three been?"
"We've been surviving," the girl answered him. "You've gotten stronger since we last saw each other, and I think your Eevee has grown a little, too."
"Thank you."
"Eee," his Eevee greeted them.
"But…I don't see Kensuke with you. Where is he?"
"Oh, he's, uh… He's back in the universe we're from for a little while."
"You mean, he found a way to return to your world temporarily?"
"No… His extended stay was due to a glitch in the experiment he was participating in. It turns out a blackout messed with things during the whole experiment and he'd been in a medically-induced coma for only two days there instead of the recommended three. Somehow, that was how he was able to stick around for almost four years."
"But…but you still see him, right?"
"Yes, but not just him. The experiment he's participating in, it opened doors for some other people I know to come here and see me for a while like him. I don't know how long, but I do expect to see them all again in a while. I'd like to introduce you to them."
"I'd like that, too."
"So…where have you been on your journey?"
"After we left you and Kensuke, Mata, Kemi and I decided to explore Kanto…then Johto. It's so strange to be grounded on one planet and unable to venture off into space like I used to."
"But…nothing is ever still where you go, you know. I mean, nothing stays still. The leaves fall from the trees, the snow covers the ground, even an aurora borealis appears every now and then at night, giving it an unearthly beauty."
"You know it, Shinji."
-x-
"…Wait a minute," Ritsuko heard Maya say upon watching an older video post of Shinji during his time in the Hoenn Region. "I don't think anyone asked, not even once, about this girl that was with Shinji and Kensuke in the Hoenn Region for a while."
"Yeah, who is she, anyway?" Shigeru wondered aloud, "and what's with those two cat Pokemon with her?"
"One of them looks like a Meowth, but it's dark-furred," stated Hyuga. "The other looks like a regular Skitty, but both Pokemon have collars on them."
Ritsuko noticed this, as well, and couldn't help but wonder if the girl that Shinji and the Fourth Child were with in the video was another Pokemon Trainer that only specialized in Pokemon related to felines.
"…Hanmyo…" She heard Shinji say, possibly the girl's name.
-x-
"…So, she was a member of a group of seven assassins?" Misato asked Kensuke as everyone at the research facility continued to watch the footage being recorded.
"Shinji and I gave her the benefit of not holding her past as an assassin against her," he sighed as they watched Shinji sitting around the cafeteria of the Pokemon Center while Shinji's Pokemon were getting treated, enjoying a meal together. "Who she was and what she did was her business. And it wasn't like she was out to get anyone here or there. She was more akin to an assassin-for-hire, not a person ruled by greed or malice."
"What is an assassin-for-hire?" Rei questioned, confused.
"That means Hanmyo was among a group of people that kill other people," explained Antonio to her, "when they're contracted out and paid to. Assassins are contract killers, taking out other people's enemies in exchange for money or something similar."
"But," said Asuka, "you two said that she said she…died in her universe?"
"Or came close to it," Kensuke stated; he had to be open to other possibilities. "Universal displacement is still a phenomenon we have no clue as to how it occurs. Whether or not Hanmyo died or came close to it, it doesn't change that she and her cats were displaced as a consequence of other factors."
"The same applies to Shinji," Antonio agreed with him.
"So, one more member of the Elite Four gets defeated by you, and you'll be able to face the champion," they heard Hanmyo say to Shinji. "That's very impressive, Shinji. I've also been hearing that you've caught some Pokemon that are hard to find lately."
"Some, but I was just lucky," Shinji said as he barely touched his meal. "I recently found out how much further I need to go in order to find my own way back to my world from my friends, but I…I don't put much expectation in pulling it off any time after the conference here."
"Why is that? I mean, if you know what you have to do, what harm is there is trying to pull it off for the sake of returning to your home?"
"Legendary Pokemon representing time and space, Dialga and Palkia, respectively, are part of the way to return to my world. Like any rare Pokemon, they're hard to find and can often only be found in one region or so some believe. Even if I were to invest all my time in finding both, there's no guarantee that I'll find them in any timely fashion."
"So, then…what will you do about finding them?"
"The same thing I do about finding and catching any Pokemon: I travel, I search and I catch at my own pace. I have to work at the pace that best suits me, not the pace of others."
"Everyone operates at their own speed…and you can't force them to go any faster or slower for you. You can either accept that…or walk away."
"Heh-heh-heh, yeah, that's exactly right. Thanks, Hanmyo.
Ding-ding! They heard a sound that indicated someone's Pokemon were fully recovered.
-x-
"…So, Shinji met a fellow displaced stranger from another universe that ended up connected into some way to the Pokemon world," went Fuyutsuki to Gendo in the latter's office later that day. "It's not like she has anything to offer NERV that would improve our cause if all she really has…are her cats that were turned into Pokemon and she was in a situation she either almost died or did die and was stranded in another universe as a result, Ikari."
"The fact that he was able to meet someone of this sort…and helps them to get setup without expecting any sort of proof or compensation in return…is a sign that he's too trusting in others around him. He is far too trusting."
"He may be too trusting, but it's his life…and he can only go at his speed to achieve anything. There is no forcing him to be deceptive, to work his Pokemon to the bone, cast them aside when they're useless, and there's no telling him who he can or can't be trusting of or what he can or can't do just because you want him to pilot the Eva, which he may or may not be capable of should he ever return. The same applies to having him surrender his Pokemon, too. They only obey the one that cares about them, whom they care about in return."
Gendo looked at him like he had crossed a line.
"If you ever want a Pokemon of your own, you have to put in the effort to bring out their true strength. It's a two-way street between the Pokemon and their trainers; when one suffers, the other suffers, reminding them that there's a bond to be cherished and respected."
"You've been spending too much of your time watching those video posts," Gendo uttered.
"Maybe so, but it's only because I haven't made any attempts to go to the Pokemon world myself to see Shinji. If I want to reach out to him, to establish a positive connection like the children and Major Katsuragi have, I have to want to see him for the sake of seeing him, not to remind him that NERV expects him to return to pilot the Eva, but to remind him that there are people waiting for him to return just to live his life. Maybe it's around that time I gave it a go for myself to see if I can."
Turning to leave, Fuyutsuki meant every word he said to Gendo; if he could establish a positive connection with Shinji, then he could go to the Pokemon world himself like the others could.
Gendo, however, was furious to hear that Fuyutsuki was actually attempting to go to that world subconsciously. It felt like a betrayal of everything Yui sacrificed for, just to watch a brat waste his time trying to win a lousy tournament to be remembered for years to come on how he showed off to the world that he was a winner or something when he should've did what was required of him to return to his world.
When he returns, he thought, and he'd better return, he will be thrown in the brig for wasting so much of NERV's time playing around. If he can't pilot the Eva, anymore, then he's useless.
-x-
With a Poke Ball floating in front of him, Lucian could barely contain his excitement over facing another Pokemon Trainer that had managed to best his three Elite Four comrades. It was quite a find to meet a strong person with a knack for overcoming adversity with versatility. Honestly, he was wondering how powerful this Shinji Ikari fellow truly was to get this far.
Sabrina and Tate and Liza informed me of this trainer should I ever meet him, he thought as reached out and plucked the ball from the air. A powerful trainer… He might even be someone's reincarnation from a long time ago. Someone who was also powerful.
Lucian, from having read several books that dealt with myths and legends, started to suspect that this young man either had to be descended from a monarch or was a reincarnation of one. As the Pokemon world was a big place and full of many mysteries, there was no way of knowing whether this was true or not…unless he faced the trainer himself and saw his power.
If he is, then he may be among those deserving to be called a Pokemon Master. He may have a strength to him that simply cannot be defined by any craft that we possess.
-x-
"…So, tomorrow's your match against the final member of the Elite Four," Hanmyo expressed as she and Shinji watched Misato play with Mata and Kemi by some trees. "Do you have your Pokemon picked for facing Psychic Pokemon?"
"Yep," Shinji responded; he had selected his new roster of Pokemon to face Lucian two hours ago to be as prepared as possible for the upcoming match. "Everyone will be in for a treat when it begins and ends."
"And as with your previous battles, you don't expect to win until after the last Pokemon of Lucian's falls before any of yours do?"
"Sometimes, the last member of the Elite Four is often the strongest member. If Lucian is the strongest of the Sinnoh Elite Four, then those with level and type advantage are likely one's best bet when facing a more-experienced expert."
"Still, you'll stand tall, knowing your Pokemon are as strong as you've become."
"If we get knocked down, we find the strength to get back up."
-x-
The next day, Asuka, Rei, Misato, Hikari, Kensuki and Toji made their way to the Giovanni Corporation's research facility to watch the match between Shinji and Lucian after Antonio called them to let them know that it would begin in an hour. They didn't want to watch it on the sides of the buildings in the city. They wanted to watch it from the source.
"I hope Shinji wins against the last member of the Elite Four," said Toji as they arrived to the facility with a few minutes to spare.
"He's bound to win," went Asuka. "Who else but Shinji has a shot of making it to the top and obtaining the crown and the throne?"
Before they stepped inside the building, Hikari noticed a black Sedan across the street with a pair of men in suits looking their way.
"Is that a problem over there?" She asked Misato, pointing them out.
"Only if they came closer," she answered, wondering if they were going to have any trouble from Gendo just because the children decided not to perform any synchronization testing at NERV HQ in favor of watching a broadcast of a Pokemon League match.
"So exciting," said Antonio as he greeted them in the research chamber.
"Very exciting," expressed Rei in return.
"Feed connection in fifteen seconds," a woman announced in front of Palkia's cell.
"I pray for your friend's success," it told them.
-x-
It felt different this time, standing in front of Lucian from across the stadium field. With the previous members of the Elite Four, there was the adversity and curiosity regarding the factors that could lead to either victory or failure, but this time was off. It was as though Shinji were being exposed to dark place and a darker mind.
"That feeling you're getting right now," he heard Lucian say to him. "That's doubt you're feeling. You've faced the likes of Psychic-Type Gym Leaders along with regular Psychics and Hex Maniacs, but you've never faced a Psychic-Type expert of the Elite Four. This…is where your journey to become the champion of the Sinnoh Leage ends, I'm afraid."
Shinji swallowed hard and responded, "You can say what you want, but I will not be deterred. If you can see the future, I will defy it. If you have a strategy that can't be bested, then we'll find a way around it. And if you think we're going to run away from this match without a fight…then show where we're running towards, not away from."
Determination in the midst of adversity, courage in the face of despair, Lucian thought, impressed by Shinji's refusal to surrender before the match even started. And his Eevee… She'd follow him wherever he goes and has the most faith in his abilities than the rest of his Pokemon. These two share one heart forged by past sufferings, even if Shinji has no clue what befell her before they met that day he showed up in our world. Still, to have come this far, faith favors the determined to persevere. Let's see how you persevere, Shinji Ikari.
He threw out one of his Poke Balls and released his first choice against Shinji: A Mr. Mime.
"And for his first Pokemon, Lucian has chosen Mr. Mime!" One of the announcers yelled out. "What will Shinji choose?"
"We'll start with this!" Shinji uttered, throwing his ball onto the field, revealing his Aggron, Soko-Yama to the crowd.
"Mime!" Lucian's Mr. Mime gasped, a little intimidated by the Iron Armor Pokemon.
"Begin!" The referee announced, and the match was underway.
To be continued…
A/N: And that's that for now. What did you think of Lucian demonstrating his sense of awareness towards Shinji and his Eevee? He seemed to know that there was something going on before they ever met, but didn't divulge much.