Creation began on 09-10-20

Creation ended on 09-12-20

Neon Genesis Evangelion

Kalos, here we are!

It was a grand sight to behold from up in the sky. The center of the Kalos Region, Lumiose City, a magnificent marvel that may have looked greater at night than it did during the day. While it might've made the ladies in his group awe with giddiness, it made Shinji Ikari psyched with immense expectations of excitement. Once he obtained his final Unova badge and made sure he would get entry into the next Vertress Conference when it started, he bid farewell to the Unova Region with the promise of returning…and boarded a plane heading towards Kalos.

"Nervous, Shinji?" He heard Misato ask him as he turned to face his guardian, who had his Eevee asleep on her lap.

"Hardly," he answered her. "Eh-heh-heh, I'm so excited."

"But, Shinji, I've read the updates for the upcoming Lumiose Conference," went Kensuke, sitting beside him on the plane, "and the construction of the location has yet to be completed. They estimate it to be at least five-six months at the most. Do you really think you'll be able to acquire all eight badges before the conference begins?"

"Five or six months? Well, we don't lollygag most of the time. If you're going to help keep track of the time…then that's plenty of time to do everything necessary."

"Just remember to relax," said Rei to him, reminding him of what had happened to him back in Unova. "Take a few days to recoup between large matches and multiple captures of Pokémon."

Shinji nodded; he couldn't allow a repeat of what he went through in Unova to happen in Kalos.

"Attention, ladies and gentlemen," a female voice uttered over the speakers. "We shall be landing in ten minutes. I repeat, we shall be landing in ten minutes."

It had been ten days after the interrupted match between Shinji and Drayden, the captures of the Tao Trio and the colossal Dragonite that Shinji sent back to Prof. Oak's lab, and Shinji spent that time recovering in Opelucid City while he waited from his friends to return. The last capture he made before leaving the region was when he spotted a goldmine of Trubbish in an alley while he and his Eevee were out for a jog. After they came back, they made their trek to Mistralton City when they got word that one of their planes would be making a trip to Kalos.

"You actually caught ten Trubbish?" Maya had asked him as the plane started to descend.

"Yeah," he answered her.

"And they'll eventually evolve into that large Pokémon you faced back in Sinnoh during the conference?" Hyuga questioned. "Uh, Garbodor?"

"That's right."

"Shinji," said Shigeru, "you're amazing."

"Thank you."

The plane's wheels skidded as they made contact with the runway before coming to a halt. They were finally about to step onto the grounds of the Kalos Region.

-x-

Ash was curious as to how the Kalos Region would be with someone like this Shinji Ikari; it was only a day ago that he learned through a call from Prof. Oak that he had recently acquired eight of Unova's badges to compete in the Pokémon League later, and had now made the crossing towards Kalos to gather the eight badges to compete in the Pokémon League there. It was basically a foretelling of the day these two may finally have their match, though Prof. Oak had to urge Ash not to underestimate Shinji; because of the number of Pokémon he had caught and their varying levels of strength, he was a Pokémon Trainer unlike some of the others Ash had faced in the past.

"So," went Serena to him as they walked out of the Pokémon Center, "this…Shinji Ikari that won the Sinnoh League…is actually here in Kalos now?"

"That's what Prof. Oak says," Ash responded. "How strong do you think he is?"

"For someone that won the Sinnoh League, and then spends time in Unova to gather the gym badges to compete in the league there for later, he has to be very strong. But when you think about it in a different way, it's kinda like he's playing catch-up."

"Catch-up?" Bonnie questioned.

"Well, yeah; he's been traveling in regions you've already visited, and now he's here, but he still has to get the badges to compete in the league here. In a way, he's still behind you, Ash."

Maybe, but he won't be too far behind if he's here already and intends to go all the way to the Kalos League, Ash thought; he needed to be at his best for when he did meet this Shinji Ikari for the first time, whenever that would be.

"Which gym do you suppose he'll go to first?" Clemont wanted to know.

"He'll likely go to your gym first," Serena suggested.

"Maybe…but he'll probably want to start at the bottom of the order. Clembot's programming won't be an issue if he does choose the Lumiose Gym first, though."

"Since we've yet to meet him, it's anyone's guess as to which gym he'll go to first," said Bonnie to them. "But doesn't he need to get registered first before he can compete?"

"Yeah, that's right," Clemont realized, "meaning he'll go see Prof. Sycamore before venturing anywhere else."

-x-

"Ah-ha-ha!" Shinji laughed as walked down the plane ramp and touched the pavement. "Kalos Region! Shinji Ikari and his friends from far away are finally here!"

"Eevo!" His Eevee added in as she ran around his feet.

"He's in a good mood," went Asuka as she and the others walked down the steps.

"Can you blame him?" Toji questioned her. "How many of us can say that we've been to a place in another part of the world that looks like…uh… Where, exactly?"

"In our world," said Fuyutsuki to them, "this region would be heavily influenced by France, based on the way that tower looks."

"Prism Tower," went Hyuga, reading from a travel book for the Kalos Region. "It's the location of the Lumiose Gym, as well."

"Does that book say what kind of Pokémon the gym specializes in?" Ritsuko asked.

"Uh, Electric Pokémon. But will Shinji go there first? I mean, it's close by, but he'd probably want to start at the bottom of the list of Kalos Gym Leaders. There's a gym in Santalune City that specializes in Bug Pokémon."

"How many Bug-Type Gym Leaders has he fought in the last four years?" Hikari spoke up.

"Two, excluding Aaron of the Sinnoh Elite Four," Toji told her.

"And which Pokémon did Shinji keep with him besides Misato before we left Unova?"

"Just his Charizard and Gyarados. He wants to be able to catch some Pokémon native to this region and train them to earn his badges here."

-x-

"…I must say that Dragon Pokémon are quite fav when it comes to Legendary and Mythical Pokémon," said Antonio to Palkia as the research crew continued to monitor and record the happenings with the people transported subconsciously to the Spatial Pokémon's home dimension. "I mean, even though there are a multitude of Pokémon running around, it's the Dragon-Type that has much talk from time to time."

"I wouldn't know for sure," Palkia responded to him. "I am not privy to the understandings of what Pokémon are favored by the universe over other Pokémon. Some people can enjoy the company of Bug Pokémon while others can enjoy the company of Pokémon that are…like canines or felines."

"Dogs and cats."

"Yes, them."

"I once knew a guy that fancied mice."

"Maybe he would fancy Pokémon that are like mice."

"I wouldn't know for sure. He died last year. He was a shooting victim in a carjacking gone wrong. He didn't even have a car; he always preferred public transportation."

"Human behavior is so…chaotic from time to time. But I find grace in your chaotic behavior."

"Thank you, Palkia."

-x-

"Welcome to my lab," went Prof. Sycamore to Shinji and his friends as they arrived to his lab in Lumiose City. "You must be Shinji Ikari. I've heard much about you. I saw you win the Sinnoh League months ago. You're a very unusual Pokémon Trainer."

"Thank you," Shinji praised him. "Uh…I'm not that unusual, am I?"

"You're the only person I've heard of that was capable of making his Pokémon Mega Evolve without the need for the stones necessary to facilitate Mega Evolution. Nearly everyone else I've met or researched has either had the necessary stones or had to find them. But you… It's unheard of. Mega Evolution without a Key Stone and a Mega Stone is…unique. You're unique."

Shinji looked down at his Eevee as she looked up at him.

"You're saying that nobody else in the whole world is able to do what Shinji has done with his Pokémon?" Ritsuko questioned.

"Nobody."

"Amazing."

Once Shinji was registered to compete in the Kalos League, Prof. Sycamore presented him with his Kalos Pokédex, which Shinji found unusual, compared to his previous versions of said device; it appeared to be made out of a glass-like material with less metal composites.

"Best of wishes to you on your journey throughout the Kalos Region," Prof. Sycamore told him.

"Thank you, sir," Shinji replied.

-x-

At night, sitting in front of a fire, Ash wondered if Shinji was even getting the Voltage Badge from the Lumiose Gym. Either that or just recuperating at the Pokémon Center.

"You can't stop thinking about him, can you?" He heard Serena ask him.

"What if he's at a higher level than the other trainers I've faced?" He suggested to her.

"But you haven't even met him yet," she reminded him. "His experiences with Pokémon are different from everyone else's. You won't know what kinda person he's like until after you meet him for the first time. For all we know, he could be somewhat like yourself."

Still, Ash had a difficult time believing this possibility. If one had to claim, his expectations of Shinji were of a Pokémon Trainer that was next to unstoppable, but there was one thing about him that continued to stand out that Prof. Oak had informed him of when he first heard about him.

"The Eevee he found injured when he arrived into Pallet Town has since recovered from her injuries and has become quite a formidable Pokémon…and he chooses not to evolve her. It's unlikely that he'll ever do so. She would be stronger, but he has the belief that certain Pokémon don't need to evolve all the time to become stronger." He was told by Prof. Oak.

He could evolve his Pokémon that require stones…but he chooses not to…and he's still a great Pokémon Trainer, he thought, seeing an illusion of Shinji and his Eevee in the fire.

"The glory of any Pokémon Trainer is no different from a performer on a stage," Prof. Oak had once told Ash. "Your time on the stage is like a flicker in what remains of a campfire. When the curtain falls, the fire dies out. Nobody's greatness lasts forever. Sooner or later, someone will surpass you."

-x-

It turned out that Lumiose City was just as beautiful at night than it was during the day. The way the buildings looked when lit up, the way Prism Tower seemed like a beacon of light across the entire metropolis, everything.

"Eevo!" Misato chirped as Shinji sat atop the roof of the Pokémon Center with her to gaze out at the city.

"Yeah," he agreed with her. "It truly is beautiful."

To be continued…

A/N: I was supposed to be working on Sword of Destruction, Sword of Life, but this got in the way. Still, I had to have Shinji in Kalos to bring the story another step closer to the promised day that was set in motion many chapters ago. And Serena was right; it has appeared to be a game of catch up between Shinji and Ash, as the former has finally reached the region currently visited by the latter. And how many of y'all out there can't help but think of what Bonnie might say if she saw the women in Shinji's group?