Creation began on 10-20-19
Creation ended on 10-21-19
Neon Genesis Evangelion
What do you think of Shinji Ikari?
A/N: We all know that Shinji knows about Ash Ketchum due to hearing about him through either Prof. Oak or people that knew him, but what does Ash think of Shinji and his success as a Pokemon Trainer?
Johto Days
It was during the travel to the next Pokemon Center that Ash Ketchum heard about this new up-and-coming Pokemon Trainer by the name of Shinji Ikari that showed up in Pallet Town with an injured Eevee. Because he wasn't present to go to Celadon City for Prof. Oak to pick up a Poke Ball prototype that was made in Saffron City, he had Shinji go pick it up for him, setting him up for his own journey into the world of Pokemon that he had found himself in. Every now and then whenever they were in contact, Ash would get an update about this new trainer that was learning everything he could about Pokemon and making it to the Pokemon League in the Kanto Region, and found that he was somewhat impressed by his development.
So far, he's caught over seventy Pokemon, Ash thought as he, Pikachu, Brock and Misty headed to the Olivine City Pokemon Center, including a Charmeleon that lost its tail flame due to taking on an Ice Beam attack. He's definitely becoming a strong trainer to have gotten six badges.
"Are you thinking about that Shinji kid Prof. Oak mentioned again?" Misty asked him.
"Doesn't he strike you as an unusual person?" Ash asked her.
"No. But the fact that he has a Magikarp that's huge like the one we saw while traveling around the Orange Islands makes me wonder how he'd react to a Gyarados when it evolves. Uuugh!"
Of course, this was only because Misty was terrified of Gyarados, as it was among the most fearsome of Water Pokemon in the world.
"What still surprises me about Shinji is how his Charmeleon is still alive after losing its tail flame," went Brock. "And before he caught it, it had been abandoned by its previous trainer. It seems almost like he encountered the aftermath of an arrogant trainer that believes in strong Pokemon and no desire to put in the effort in training them."
Ash then thought back to the time they found his Charizard when it was still a Charmander. It almost felt like a coincidence for him to think that Damien, the arrogant former trainer that had abandoned it, had done this all over again with Shinji's Charmeleon, despite the latter being an evolved form of Charmander, much stronger than the initial stage.
"You think he'll do much better in the Indigo Plateau Conference than you did, Ash?" Misty questioned the trainer that only made it to the top sixteen when he participated.
"What?! Why would I think he'd do better than I did?! He hasn't even gotten eight badges yet! He still has a way to go!"
"I guess that's a 'yes'," said Brock to them.
"Aaaurgh!" Ash groaned as he walked ahead of them.
"Pika," Pikachu went, guessing that Ash was worried that this Shinji person would do better than he had during the Indigo League.
-x-
Hoenn Days
"…So, Shinji got third place in the Kanto Pokemon League," Max spoke to Ash as he, May, Pikachu and Brock were on their way to the next gym. "His approach towards the training of his Pokemon was different from yours. He took it serious while at the same time not as serious. There had to be a balance between him improving their abilities and improving his own abilities, not to mention getting the most temperamental of his Pokemon, that Charmeleon of his, to trust in him. That's what led to its evolution during the conference."
"Except he did better than I did," Ash complained mildly; he hadn't expected Shinji Ikari to get ahead of him in success and rank.
"But he's not you, Ash," Brock reminded him. "Even Prof. Oak stated that he's somewhat of a prodigy, taking two weeks to learn everything about Pokemon at a basic level before he became a trainer. Plus, he was fourteen when he started out. You were ten, so you got a head start. He's, what, fifteen now? And in the Johto Region with that friend of his that films his exploits. This would imply that he isn't much of a social Butterfree or Beautifly."
That was a fact, as Prof. Oak informed Ash and company that Shinji, due to what he understood as having suffered an early trauma that stemmed from parental abandonment by his father shortly after the passing of his mother, wasn't as exposed to other people as any of them had been in his past. This, along with a previous obligation that had been forced upon the young man by his father when they met up after a three-year-long absence, didn't help Shinji develop properly.
"And didn't Prof. Oak also explain that Shinji is from another world?" May had asked. "One where Pokemon don't exist? That's gotta be frightening. If I lived in a world like that, I'd probably know nothing of how to survive."
True, that is a frightening thought, Ash accepted; the thought of being in a world where Pokemon were nonexistent was scary.
No Pikachu, no Heracross, no Primeape, or even a Dragonite would've been a nightmare, like Pokemon were just a dream that one had been forced to wake up from.
"Uugh!" He shuddered, not wishing that on anyone.
-x-
"…Achoo!" Shinji sneezed as he, his Eevee, Misato, and Kensuke traveled down the forest path leading towards their next destination.
"What's wrong with you?" Kensuke asked him.
"I don't know," he responded. "I was fine a minute ago. Achoo!"
"Maybe someone's talking about you."
"It wouldn't be the craziest thing to have happened to me."
"Eee!" Misato chirped.
-x-
Sinnoh Times
Sometimes, Ash had to wonder if Shinji Ikari was a version of Gary Oak from another world to have achieved some degree of success that was higher than his own. Not only had he gotten second place in the Johto League, but he had caught up to six-hundred Pokemon, including some rare and powerful ones. And yet, due to the sense of familiarity when it came to most battles, he mainly used the ones he was rotating more than the rest, his Eevee, his Pidgeot, his Charizard, Tyranitar and Meganium, with the sixth slot often filled by a random Pokemon that he was getting to know or train.
"But he knows about you, as well," Professor Oak had told him during their last conversation. "He's impressed by your success on your adventures."
"How's he impressed by me? He's doing so much better?"
"You impacted more people than he has, and he's just a transient resident. You've dealt with more threats and resolved more differences than he can count. He still can't answer the question he received from Sabrina when he faced her during his fourth gym match in Saffron City. He needs to capture as many Pokemon as he can in order to return to his world, but the question is will his attempts be worth it all in the end when he achieves his goal. He's not you, and he's not Gary. He knows he can't be anything like anyone around here, including yourself, and nobody here can ever be like him, either. He had to question why would anyone wanna be anything other than themselves, as they're not like others. People and Pokemon can't replace people missing in their lives, among other things impossible. He has a lot of respect towards you."
"Wow, that's… That's really amazing."
They had yet to meet one another, but Ash liked the fact that Shinji respected him. He could respect Shinji, even though he didn't really know the guy. To him, Shinji was someone that could be a Pokemon Master if he wanted to.
"Maybe one day, the two of you will face off and see who is stronger than the other," Oak had suggested, which didn't surprise Ash one bit.
The day we meet in person will be that day, he thought.
It was only a fantasy right now, happening on the open field just outside of Pallet Town, where Ash was getting ready to face this amazing trainer that was Shinji Ikari.
"I look forward to this match," Ash told him.
"Likewise," Shinji responded. "To the victor goes the admiration for their Pokemon."
"You said it."
"Pika!" Pikachu bragged.
"Eevo!" Misato responded.
"Let the match begin!" Oak announced, and both trainers started with their first Pokemon.
To be continued…
A/N: I hope I portrayed Ash's impression towards Shinji's status as a Pokemon Trainer as somewhat what one would expect from someone that has gone further than he has in the profession. Ash would probably feel some measure of envy towards Shinji for having caught more Pokemon, seen more Pokemon, and lasting longer in the previous league conferences than he has, while Shinji would have respect for Ash for having more impact on others than he does due to not being much of a social Butterfree or Beautifly, the Pokemon-based term for social butterfly. I hope this helps readers to imagine the upcoming battle between the two in the future that I want to occur during Shinji's time in the Kalos Region, which will be around the same time as Ash's time in the same region. Also, give a suggestion in your review about one Pokemon you think Shinji should have in his roster for when he faces Ash. His Eevee is untouchable, though.