Creation began on 12-18-20

Creation ended on 01-03-21

Neon Genesis Evangelion

Pursuit of Strength and Recognition

It was called Xerneas, the Life Pokémon, and Shinji was beyond surprised that it had a status in Kalos as a Legendary Pokémon alongside its counterpart, the Destruction Pokémon Yveltal, which (at least to Shinji) looked like the letter "Y" in the English alphabet. As he researched the legend within the Camphier Town Library, he couldn't believe the details he was discovering about the two that people from the past recorded.

"Excuse me, sir," a female librarian spoke to him, "were you able to find what you were looking for on Legendary Pokémon?"

"Yes, ma'am," he replied. "Xerneas and Yveltal. Do you think…they're still around?"

"They are eternal opposites, Xerneas and Yveltal are. One lives only to destroy life while the other exists only to restore it. They are the incarnations of nature itself, tasked with taking care of the land that is Kalos."

"Oh…" Shinji accepted before he turned a page in the history book he was reading, seeing another Pokémon he had never seen before. "Uh, do you know which Pokémon this is, ma'am?"

She looked at it and expressed, "That's the Order Pokémon, Zygarde."

"Zygarde?"

"Eee?" Misato went, confused.

"In the ancient past, whenever the balance of nature became threatened by the disruption between Xerneas and Yveltal, Zygarde would appear and put an end to their disruption. It is because of its ability to quell the two that it's known as the Order Pokémon; it brings balance to the order in nature between life and destruction."

"Brings order…" Shinji sighed as he looked at the picture of Zygarde, its serpent-like form giving him a mild case of the creeps.

"Hey, aren't you that guy that won the Pokémon League in Sinnoh a few months ago? Shinji Ikari, who beat Tobias through Cynthia to become the new champion?"

"Yeah, that's me."

"I knew I recognized you. Gracious Lugia, you're amazing."

"It wasn't all me, miss. It was my Pokémon. They did it all."

"Not without you to train them. Your Eevee's quite cute, by the way."

"Thank you."

"Eevo."

-x-

"…Well, Asuka," went Misato to the redhead as she returned to the Geo-Front after being told to go to Rei's apartment, "what did you see?"

"Other than the fact that the whole row of buildings in that neighborhood she lives in should've been demolished a long time ago," Asuka responded, "Shinji's father was there. He had probably been there the whole night, waiting for Rei to return."

"What the Hell was he doing there to begin with?"

"Probably wanted to know what she was going to do."

It would still be another day until the teenagers were able to return to the Pokémon world, but Misato and the other adults could've returned there at any time they chose and see Shinji. But there was still a need to wait until everyone had recovered and they'd all go back to see how he was doing. For now, all they could…was whatever they could do at NERV to pass the time until they didn't need to.

"Where's Rei, Hikari, Toji and Kensuke?" Asuka asked Misato as they walked down the hall to Central Dogma.

"Rei's still at the facility helping Antonio monitor Shinji and conducting minor research on how well Electrode has adjusted to being in our world," she explained. "Kensuke is somewhere out in the wilderness playing war games or something with his Machamp, and Toji and Hikari are at the hospital visiting Toji's sister."

"It seems like everyone's got something to do."

"Ritsuko's upgrading the MAGI's performance and rewriting some of its coding, Commander Fuyutsuki's attending a meeting with some UN officials, and I haven't seen or heard from Kaji in a few days."

"Where's he when you're not looking for him?"

"You used to go looking for him."

"Lately, he's not as interesting as Shinji has become these days. You think he'd be able to go to the Pokémon world if he had an interest in Shinji?"

"Without the Eva and the Angels? I have no idea."

In truth, ever since Shinji ended up in the Pokémon world, Misato had less interest in what Kaji was doing, since it had less to do with how to get Shinji back in this dimension and more to do with trying to find out the cause of Second Impact and exposing the people behind it. She had just given up a little after discovering what Shinji did to get by and how exceptionally good he was at being a Pokémon Trainer. If there came a day where Kaji had developed an interest in seeing Shinji, it would've been a miracle.

"Maybe I should drag him in to see if he can," Misato suggested.

Beep! Her cell phone received a text from Antonio, and she checked it.

"Oh, my," she gasped.

"What?" Asuka asked her.

"Shinji has made it to Cyllage City after facing fifteen different trainers, catching a pair of Pokémon called Phantump, a Trevenant, an evolved form of the Phantump, a Klefki, a Tyrunt…and his Skiddo evolved into a Gogoat."

"Oh, Shinji's gotten better in the last two days."

"I wish I had seen the evolution."

-x-

On a plane heading to what remained of Tokyo, Fuyutsuki was bored stiff with the lack of people and service; he'd been on for almost an hour, and he was hungry.

"So, with Ikari removed from active duty of NERV, that left you in charge of overseeing operations, Commander Fuyutsuki," a man had told him as he sat across from him on the other side of the plane. "From what I've been told, Units-08 and 09 have been completed in Germany and China, and Units-10 and 11 are being developed now, with Unit-12 being built in the US."

"Because the last Angel encountered is still confined in the spatial rift under Tokyo-3, there is time to construct additional Evas against future Angel attacks," Fuyutsuki responded, though, he wasn't the least bit interested in this. "However, so long as the Angel remains trapped, there's no telling if another Angel will ever appear."

"Has there been any knowledge of the Angels being even remotely aware of each other?"

"As far as we can tell, there is no indication that they're aware of each other."

"Commander Fuyutsuki, be warned that nobody wants a repeat of what Ikari did regarding the last attack. Even if it seems unlikely so, should there come a time when another Angel attacks and you receive aid in the guise of this…Palkia? Please, don't hesitate to accept it. It is the only proof that another dimension exists and this Giovanni Corporation is researching the means to travel to it and open doorways to other dimensions. This has impressed various people much smarter than myself."

"I understand. Nobody at NERV right now is interested in repeating what Ikari has done. They're more interested in his son's escapades."

"And what of you?"

"Me? It's not every day that a former metaphysical biologist gets to travel subconsciously to another dimension and interact with the people. Should it ever make it into the history books, people will marvel at such feats, knowing that they were possible."

"Heh-heh-heh… Pokémon are very strange…and yet very impressive."

-x-

"Eevo!" Misato grunted as she used her Iron Tail against an apple tree, knocking some apples loose, and Shinji caught several in a basket.

"Ha-ha-ha!" Shinji laughed as his basket was full of a considerable number of apples. "Okay, Misato! This should be enough for Rei and the others!"

"Eee!" She cheered as she jumped from the tree and landed on her trainer's back.

"Ah-ha-ha!"

Of course, with six Pokémon on hand, Shinji had to get a lot of apples because Rei was the largest one he had, so she needed to consume a lot more. But he could put up with the dietary habits and requirements, just as other trainers with large Pokémon had to when keeping them in top shape. And since they were in Cyllage City now, and it was by the water, this gave the Shiny Gyarados plenty of space to swim around. Still, he had five baskets of apples to carry.

"Are you ready, Asuka?" He asked his Charizard.

"Grr!" She grunted, picking two of the five baskets in her arms and a third with her tail. "Grah!"

"Okay, be careful."

She took off and flew towards the beach, leaving Shinji and Misato with the other two baskets.

"This shouldn't take too long to carry back to the beach," he told his Eevee.

"Eee," she responded.

In truth, because each basket was the size of a small barrel, it took Shinji four, eight-minute breaks to get the two baskets to the beach. And waiting there were Rei, Otona, Leo, Asuka and the leader Fletchling that he nicknamed Komadori (the Japanese word for "robin"), which was perched atop Otona's right horn. The three baskets that Asuka had brought over were untouched where they were placed by the Charizard.

"You guys waited until we came back with the other baskets?" Shinji asked them.

"Gaaurgh," Rei went.

"Fletchling," Komadori chirped.

"Thanks, y'all."

"Eevo," Misato praised them.

Shinji then grabbed one of the baskets and approached Rei.

"Okay, Rei, say, 'ahh'."

"Gaaurgh."

He poured the apples into her mouth and backed away from her so she could chew them. Being a Gyarados, Rei would need at least three of the baskets while the other Pokémon would need just the other two.

Rei chewed the apples and swallowed.

"Ugh!" She burped a second later, and they all got a whiff of her bad breath.

"Excuse you, Rei," Shinji told her, fanning his right hand in front of himself.

"Eee!" Misato whined, covering her nose with her front paws.

"Grraurgh!" Asuka groaned, and then spat fire across the air.

"Whoa!" Shinji ducked to avoid the flames.

When she was done, Asuka looked around and noticed Shinji and the smaller Pokémon were down on the sand.

"Fletchling!" Komadori chirped angrily at her.

"Hrmm!" Otona uttered.

"We really need to face the Cyllage Gym Leader after this," Shinji told them.

"Eevo," Misato agreed with him, and then ran over to one of the other baskets and took a bite out of an apple while Shinji dragged over another basket and poured the apples into Rei's mouth.

-x-

The texture and feel of Electrode was like a combination of plastic and metal to an unusual degree, as Rei and Antonio continued to study it.

"Electrode," it went, hooked up to an emergency generator to give it access to some electricity to see how much power it could hold before needing to feed again.

So far, it seemed as though Electrode could hold up to enough voltage needed to power a car. And, considering that Electrode was an artificial Pokémon that had been around for decades in another dimension where life took crazy turns, it may not even have a life expectancy like other, organic creatures did. This made Antonio curious as to how long such Pokémon might've actually lived, as he seen the video that featured the Fish and Atrocious Pokémon, Magikarp and Gyarados, respectively, suffer greatly at the Lake of Rage in Johto…and how Shinji's own Gyarados, Rei, had cried over the loss of her kin because of the arrogance of people that saw Pokémon differently and more negatively than those that saw them as friends or pets.

"Electrode," it went, demonstrating a new ability it didn't exhibit earlier; it was a shock for the people present to see a Ball Pokémon that looked like it was made of metal and plastic composites with eyes and a mouth suddenly jumping up and down to move around. "Electrode!"

"Uh-ho!" Antonio gasped as Electrode continued to bounce away from the generator. "You are just full of surprises!"

Rei smiled at the way Electrode moved, expressing more of its personality.

-x-

"Machamp!" Brute-Chan yelled, tossing a dummy grenade at Kensuke out in the wilderness where Kensuke liked to play war games.

"Oh!" Kensuke fake-yelled, falling backwards onto the ground. "You win, Brute-Chan!"

"Champ!" Brute-Chan came over and offered a hand up.

"Thanks."

Beep! His cell phone alerted him to a video message sent to him, and he looked at him.

"Brute-Chan, do you remember the times when Shinji had to feed Rei each day?" He asked.

"Machamp!" He answered; the times where they had to feed that Gyarados were somewhat challenging…and it had been just as challenging whenever both their trainers engaged in Pokémon battles with them.

"Rei burped and Asuka spat fire to clear the bad air."

"Machamp!"

"Heh-heh-heh! Yeah."

Beep! His cell phone received another alert from Antonio and Kensuke found that it was another video message, and one that was quite a surprise.

"Hey, it's Hanmyo!" He discovered, showing Brute-Chan the video.

"Champ!" Brute-Chan expressed.

-x-

It was an unexpected surprise for Shinji to find Hanmyo in Cyllage City! He didn't expect to see her or her cats until much later.

"How long have you been in Kalos, Hanmyo?" He asked her as they sat on the beach.

"Three months," she answered him, seeing Mata and Hemi play with Misato, Komadori and Leo. "My trip to Unova ended up being longer than I had intended it to be. When I heard a rumor that you were finally in Kalos, I went to Lumiose City to confirm if you were there. I had to speak with Prof. Sycamore in order to know for sure."

"Yeah, I met with him when we got off the plane. He's the foremost expert in Mega Evolution, what some Pokémon are capable of experiencing, and he's not sure how I'm able to make mine go through it without the stones required to achieve the feat."

"The Key and Mega Stones?"

"Yeah. I don't have a Key Stone or any of the Mega Stones that enable any of my Pokémon to Mega Evolve, and yet, I can enable them to achieve such a feat, and without any apparent side-effects, whatsoever."

"Yeah, he mentioned that to me before we left to find you. He said that you're unique in this ability. One of a kind."

"You're one of a kind, as well."

"Not like you, though. You've been catching some pretty remarkable Pokémon. Did you really catch a giant Dragonite?"

"Oh, the Dragonite, heh-heh… Yeah. He's called Nirvana, and he's actually quite old. Ancient."

"How big is he?"

"Skyscraper-sized."

"Whoa. That's big."

They looked out at the sunset. It was quite beautiful, and with Shinji's Gyarados standing in the water beside it, the sight was more mesmerizing.

"So…when do you face the Cyllage Gym Leader?" Hanmyo asked Shinji.

"Tomorrow, when everyone else shows up," he answered her.

"Not in much of a rush, are you?"

"Yes…and no. It's a little complicated."

"Enlighten me, please."

"Leo, my Litleo, had forewarned me of something that would be happening soon. Another danger that needs to be resolved. Some Pokémon in the region that are in danger if something very bad occurs."

He took out his Pokédex and showed her the two Pokémon that were researched earlier.

"Xerneas and Yveltal?" She spoke.

"Yeah…and then, there's Zygarde."

"Oh…they all seem powerful."

"More than powerful, they're dangerous if the wrong people got possession of them."

"Well, the people and Pokémon of Kalos can hope that you'll be around to make sure that doesn't happen when it does happen."

"Yeah… Don't worry. I'll be around with my Pokémon to prevent that."

Hanmyo smirked and punched Shinji's right shoulder lightly.

-x-

It had to be another dream. There was no way that he was here right now. For Ash, the stadium he was inside of resembled the ones he had been in during the Indigo and Silver Conferences when they took place, with the only difference being that he could see the illuminated Prism Tower in the distance.

I haven't even obtained my eighth badge yet, he thought as he saw the person on the opposite side of the field. Oh, yeah, I know this is a dream.

Across the field was Shinji Ikari, who looked as though he had gotten stronger since he arrived in Kalos, and this had Ash worried.

"I don't believe this is real," he told Shinji. "This has to be a dream."

"Yeah, I know this is a dream," the other trainer expressed. "This is all happening in your head due to your fears of facing me in the future. I'm nowhere near that day yet, and neither are you. Your fear of me continues to blind you from a truth that is obvious to your friends and your Pokémon. It's a very simple truth."

"And what is this truth?"

"What you're afraid of happening hasn't happened yet…and that won't stop the real Shinji Ikari from getting to where he wants to get to…just as that shouldn't hinder you from getting to your desired goal and destination. You aim to be a Pokémon Master, don't you? One important aspect to reaching that goal should be one's ability to overcome their fear of the unknown, including the predictability or unpredictability of your rivals and opponents. Fear holds one back, and overcoming fear…pushes them further towards their goal."

Then, all around them, watching from the stands, countless people were in attendance as the light shone brightly on the two.

"We have nothing but time to achieve the goal of reaching the true Kalos League," the dream version of Shinji told him, holding a Poké Ball in his right hand. "Surely, if you were facing him in a real battle, in or out of a Pokémon League, his actions would be more than what you would expect in a dream."

"I would expect him, you, to not hold back," Ash responded, and his Pikachu appeared beside him, just as Shinji's Eevee appeared atop his right shoulder.

"And do you remember what you're going to do?"

"Tomorrow, I face the Anistar Gym Leader for my seventh badge."

"Good luck with that."

And then, both trainers sent out their first Pokémon to face off against each other.

-x-

"…Okay," Antonio expressed, seeing Misato in the chamber with Kaji in tow. "Do I even want to know why he's here?"

"Let's just say that I…had to be persuasive towards him," she explained.

"I was about to leave the city when she called me over," Kaji told him. "She wanted to see if I could get there."

"I'm all for it," went Asuka as she and the others present to return to the Pokémon world had showed up on this day they could all go back. "He should see a match and some of the Pokémon up close."

"Did you say that he had two of his larger Pokémon with him?" Kaji asked her, somewhat fearful of going there, even if it was to see Shinji.

"A Charizard and Gyarados," answered Toji to him, "nicknamed after Asuka and Rei. The Gyarados is larger, being a giant sea serpent."

"Ohh…"

"I don't know why you're sounding afraid," went Kensuke to him. "I've been around his Gyarados many times, and she's actually very friendly."

"I'd rather take my chances with a Pokémon no bigger than myself, thank you very much."

"Someone's being a baby," said Hikari to him. "The one Pokémon you should be afraid of is his Eevee if you try to pick her up without consent."

"You humans are always trying to size up one another," went Palkia, and Kaji looked up at the Spatial Pokémon. "Just so that you know, a complete disinterest in going to see the young man stranded in my dimension may land you on your fellow comrades' bad side."

"How is this Pokémon talking without moving its mouth?" Kaji questioned Misato.

"We just accept it as it is," she told him; there was no point in trying to figure out how a Pokémon that wasn't a Psychic-Type could communicate with them when it was easier to just accept what was and move on from there.

"Was it really necessary to bring Pen-Pen, though?" He asked, pointing to the penguin.

"Don't start with me," she warned him.

With Fuyutsuki still away and Ritsuko opting to stay behind in case Gendo made another attempt to cause a problem for them, it would just be Misato, Asuka, Rei, Toji, Kensuke, Maya, Hyuga, Shigeru, Pen-Pen, Hikari, Brute-Chan, Antonio and Kaji.

"You're the guy in charge, and you go there, too?" Kaji asked Antonio.

"You really think I'd pass up on the chance to venture into another dimension where the young man that made the research possible currently is and makes being there epic?" He countered. "He makes me love what I do."

-x-

"…You did do research on the Gym Leader, right, Shinji?" Hanmyo asked as the two made their way to the Cyllage Gym.

"Yeah, he specializes in Rock-Type Pokémon," Shinji answered her.

"What is your strategy to win? Will you rely on your Gyarados to obtain victory?"

"As much as I would like to, I want to earn my second badge with a new Pokémon from this region being used to face the Gym Leader's Pokémon. So…Otona will be part of the combat strategy to best the Gym Leader."

"What moves does Otona know?"

"He knows Vine Whip, Razor Leaf, Take Down and Synthesis."

"And what about his level? How high is it?"

"Probably not as high as Leo's, but it's gotta be my estimated early-thirties. Skiddo evolve upon reaching their thirty-second level."

"I get the impression that most of your Pokémon from the previous regions you've been to and have trained are either close to one-hundred or are one-hundred."

"Misato, Rei and Asuka, give or take."

"Eevo!" Misato chirped as she walked beside them.

"Yeah, I thought as much."

"I hope you weren't planning on going in that gym without us, Shinji!" They stopped and turned around, seeing their four-eyed companion and his Machamp running their way, accompanied by several men and women and a penguin.

"We almost did," Shinji confessed, happy to see them, and was surprised to see a new face he hadn't seen in a long time. "Mister Kaji? Is that you?"

"They made me come," Kaji told them.

"Aw, coming from you, that makes me think you didn't want to see me after I've been here for over four years now," Shinji pretended to feel hurt by this.

"Eevo," his Eevee followed suit.

"You know this man, Shinji?" Hanmyo asked.

"Ryoji Kaji. He and my guardian, Misato, used to date."

Hanmyo tilted her head to the right and expressed, "Why'd they break up, then?"

"That ain't my business."

Kaji looked down at Shinji's Eevee and had to admit that she was quite attractive…even if he wasn't sure what kind of animal the Evolution Pokémon was likely based. It looked somewhat like a small fox, but it also had some traits you would often see in a cat.

"Uh…how do you keep your Eevee's coat so clean?" He asked instead.

"A lot of care and affection," Shinji answered back, and then Kaji reached down to pick her up.

"Hello there," he greeted her.

"Eee…"

Before Shinji could get her free from Kaji's hands, Misato's fearful instincts took over…and she made a small mess on the man's shirt.

"She doesn't know you well enough for you to pick her up yet," he told the unshaven man.

"You don't say," Kaji expressed.

"Eee," Misato went as Shinji got her out of the man's arms.

"And that makes you unlucky number eighteen."

"Huh?"

"You're the eighteenth person that has had the misfortune of picking Misato up before she gets used to you."

"Does every Pokémon do that?"

"Better that than spitting fire when in a mood."

To be continued…

A/N: I bet some of you were wondering when I was going to bring back Hanmyo from Outlaw Star because I did intend for her to meet up with Shinji in the Kalos Region. It seemed like the perfect time to do so, and bringing Kaji to the Pokémon world was a must, and it did seem like Misato was the one most likely to make the attempt to bring him with them, even if it was by force. He should've been warned that Shinji's Eevee has minor trust issues that make it difficult for her to take to people on the first introduction, but he probably thought he'd be exempt from the rule. But y'all probably wanted to see something funny and gross happen to him that was a shift from the violence he met with in the canon franchise.