Creation began on 07-15-22

Creation ended on 08-02-22

Neon Genesis Evangelion

Fairies and Dreams

A/N: Fairies, representing the beauty of the impossible to those that dare to see them, and dreams, representing the impossible that those that dare to see dare to make possible.

While a fashion show wasn't really Kensuke Aida's forte when it came to filming things, it was something everyone else was impressed by when they entered the Laverre City Gym to see the fashion show being hosted. The one thing that seemed to catch his eye a bit was the very same thing that caught Toji and Hyuga's eyes: The pretty girls showcasing the various outfits on the catwalk.

"So awesome!" Toji expressed as one of the girls showed a blue and purple dress with long sleeves and leggings. "Epic!"

"Look at her outfit right there!" Kensuke pointed to another girl wearing a yellow and red dress with a frilly skirt.

"Some things never change," went Shinji as he sat beside his guardian and Dr. Akagi, his Eevee on his head to get a better view of the fashion show.

"Eee!" Misato chirped.

"It's probably a good thing I didn't drag Kaji out here this time around," his guardian stated.

"What?" Shinji asked her. "He'd probably imagine seeing you up there in one of those outfits."

"Oh, really?"

"You never know." He expressed, just as another girl showed off a yukata-like outfit of purple and green, and Shinji widened his eyes at the mere thought of how the outfit seemed reminiscent of Unit-01. "Uh, I gotta go to the men's room. Excuse me."

His Eevee got off his head and hopped onto Rei's lap as he left them to go deal with his personal business…or gave the impression that he was going to do just that.

Misato noticed the same thing as Ritsuko and the Bridge Bunnies had prior to Shinji getting up to leave. Even if it was only a coincidence, it was an uncanny one to someone that had spent more than four years away from the very thing that had been a source of grief for them.

In a hallway, Shinji leaned against a wall and took a minute to process what had happened. Whether it was a coincidence or even an inevitability, he didn't want to see that outfit again; just because he had put the Eva behind him, it didn't mean that the Eva's past let go of him so easily.

"I take it that yukata bothered you a little, sir?" He heard a female voice say to him, and he turned around to see that it was Valerie, the Gym Leader.

"No, uh… It just… It reminded me of something I had gotten away from over four years ago. It was a beauty, though, just… Does it come in different colors?"

"There's red and blue versions in development."

"Nice."

"You're him, aren't you?"

"Who?"

"Shinji Ikari, the Pokémon League Champion of the Sinnoh Region. Someone like you would stand out in a crowd, the so-called transient resident of the Kanto Region's Pallet Town, the same town that Pokémon Trainer Ash Ketchum is from."

"How do you know I'm not just a lookalike?"

"No, you're definitely him. You stand out in more than one way. Welcome to the Laverre City Gym, Shinji Ikari."

Shinji couldn't lie to this woman about his identity if she knew about him enough to know that he stood out in a crowd.

"Nice to meet you," he greeted her.

-x-

"…Jynx!" Professor Oak heard Shinji's Jynx go when he woke up from his light snooze, seeing her standing in front of him with a worried expression. "Jynx!"

"What is it, Katsuragi?" He asked her, and she pointed over a Tangrowth and Bulbasuar, sporting several injuries. "Oh, my!"

"It's the Ursaring Shinji caught," went Tracey as he brought in three more Pokémon with several injuries. "It's causing trouble again, harassing the other Pokémon."

"Jynx," Katsuragi sighed, and then went over to where Prof. Oak kept the Poké Balls belonging to the Pokémon caught by Shinji and retrieved one of them. "Jynx, Jynx, Jynx!"

She handed Prof. Oak the ball and he read the nickname on it. It was Guardian, Shinji's Lugia.

"I don't like this," he informed her.

"Jynx!" She responded, and gestured to the injured Pokémon; she didn't like this, either, but so long as the Ursaring was being uncooperative, it was a threat to each of the Pokémon that weren't a threat to it…and needed to be set straight.

"Bulba," said Bulbasaur in agreement with Katsuragi; unlike the last few times this Ursaring misbehaved when let out of its Poké Ball, this was a new low for it to take. "Bulbasaur."

"What about trying to recall it back in its ball?" Professor Oak suggested, only for Tracey to hold up a damaged Poké Ball. "Oh?"

"That's when it grabbed Ash's Heracross and threw it at me," he explained. "It then took the ball and smashed it under its foot."

Out of all of the Pokémon Shinji sent to Oak, it was only the Ursaring that seemed to be the malcontent, a rogue element that refused to show any measure of friendliness or compassion. None of them were sure how or even why it behaved this way, but knew that this needed to stop.

"Where is it now?" He asked Tracey.

"It left towards the space reserved from Ash's Tauros," he answered.

"Oh, no."

-x-

"…Shinji, are you alright?" Hanmyo asked Shinji as they were all eating lunch outside the Laverre City Gym after the fashion show ended, noticing that he seemed bothered by something else.

"I don't know," he responded. "I just have a bad feeling that…something is up at Prof. Oak's."

"In Pallet Town?" Toji asked him. "In Kanto?"

"It's probably nothing," suggested Asuka, but Shinji shook his head in the negative.

"I'd rather it be nothing, but my gut tells me not to risk it. I'll be right back."

He got up from the benches and went over to where a video phone was.

"It might be nothing," Kensuke suggested. "I hope it's nothing."

"What else could it if not nerves?" Maya suspected.

"With Shinji, many things. Every once in a while, he just needs to call Prof. Oak and make sure nothing's wrong at his lab. The last thing Shinji needs to hear is that one of his Pokémon caused a scene or a fight with another trainer's Pokémon."

"Doesn't one of them actually do that?" Ritsuko questioned. "That bear that he says shouldn't be let out of its ball too much?"

"The Ursaring. Yeah, out of all of Shinji's Pokémon, that one is the only one that is…probably the only word I don't think Shinji has ever used to refer to any Pokémon that misbehaves."

"Which would be?" Misato asked him.

"Malcontent. It's always either trying to cause trouble or pick fights with other Pokémon every chance it gets. One time, it caused harm to his Tangrowth, which is very protective of others as a bouncer of sorts at Prof. Oak's lab…and nearly ended up in the ground because of its attitude."

"Why doesn't Shinji just get rid of it?" Ritsuko suggested.

"He couldn't do that," said Asuka. "Pokémon aren't often violent towards people, but if he let one go that was violent without any justifiable reason, and it caused harm to someone that was in the wrong place at the wrong time, it would be a weight on his conscience because he let it go."

"But…an Ursaring that refuses to accept boundaries…seems like a Pokémon that can't ever be controlled by even the most experienced of trainers, including Shinji."

"Eee?" The Eevee went as she got up and ran over to where Shinji was, who seemed to be bothered by something as he stood at the video phone. "Eevo?"

Shinji hung up and looked down at Misato, a sad expression on his face. He picked her up and went back to the benches.

"Was everything alright with Prof. Oak?" Toji asked him as he sat down.

"No," he responded. "Y'all remember the Ursaring I caught that was being problematic for other Pokémon when I sent it to his lab?"

"Yeah," Kensuke uttered.

"I just learned from Prof. Oak that…it's no longer a problem for anyone."

"What do you mean by that?" Misato asked him.

"It harassed a herd of Tauros belonging to another trainer…and didn't get out of the way of their stampede."

Hikari and Maya covered their mouths in shock while Hyuga's jaw dropped open.

"You…you mean that," Shigeru spoke, "the Ursaring is…dead?"

"Yeah," Shinji sighs.

"I'm sorry, Shinji," Rei apologized.

"Don't be," he told her. "This comes with being a Pokémon Trainer. Unexpected things happen. I just… I just didn't expect for the Ursaring to go this far. But…now, it can't harm the other Pokémon at Prof. Oak's lab. It can't…cause trouble any further."

"But…isn't someone else responsible for the…consequences?" Maya asked.

"No. The Ursaring was my Pokémon at fault when it harassed the Tauros herd. They were defending themselves against it. The Pokémon that is the direct cause of the negative fallout…is the responsibility of the person who caught it, who owned it, which is me."

"Do you…need to go back to Pallet Town and…deal with it?" Hyuga questioned.

"No, Prof. Oak said he'd deal it. Of course, that means the other Pokémon Trainer that owns the Tauros will need to be informed, as well, not that there will be any hard feelings. I think Katsuragi will probably tidy it up, though."

-x-

It was one of the worst things about living in the world that was inescapable, but it was a truth that couldn't be ignored by anyone, not even the Pokémon. In a world of mortality, any wrong move made could be the last move ever made…and this Ursaring had made a fatal move against those that were not even a threat to anyone until provoked. As Katsuragi wiped the dirt and blood from its head, Prof. Oak and Tracey had to ponder the question that demanded an explanation: Why? Why, out of all the Pokémon Shinji ever captured in the years he'd been here in their world, why did this Ursaring have to be the only one that made trouble as well as look for it when it was unnecessary?

"It wasn't even evil," said Tracey.

"No," he and Oak heard the voice of Master as he and the Mew Shinji caught floated over. "It wasn't evil…but it chose to be unyielding, even at the end of its life."

"Mew," Hikari expressed.

"Did it hate others around it?" Oak asked Master.

"Only those that fought back, which was everyone it harmed."

Hikari flew over to Katsuragi as she crossed the Ursaring's claws together.

"Mew?"

"Jynx. Jynx, Jynx."

"Mew."

"Jynx."

"What are they saying?" Oak asked.

"Hikari is asking why Katsuragi is bothering with the Ursaring when it never showed an ounce of kindness to any of us," Master translated, "and Katsuragi is explaining that even though it never had any kindness, it was still one of them. And Shinji is still affected by this revelation."

"But…he didn't do anything wrong to cause this," Tracey stated.

"Isn't this the responsibility of all that become Pokémon Trainers?" Master questioned. "When you capture Pokémon in the wild, you're responsible for all that they do, regardless of whether or not you're present?"

That was the truth, and this Mewtwo was right about it. Even though Shinji was over in the Kalos Region, he was still responsible for the Pokémon he caught and sent back here to Prof. Oak's lab.

"It's depressing," Tracey expressed.

"It always is," Oak agreed, and several Pokémon came by as Katsuragi placed a chain of flowers around the Ursaring's neck.

Many of them were ones caught by Shinji over the years, let out of their Poké Balls for the day, all coming over to pay their respects to one of their own, no matter how little they had for this fallen creature.

-x-

It was just a day to grieve. Just a day to mourn this one loss. It wasn't really something Shinji expected to be doing, but after learning what happened at Prof. Oak's lab, he needed to reflect on the Ursaring as he sat by the water in Laverre City.

"Eevo?" Misato asked him as she sat beside him by the water in the waterway.

"You remember that day we met with Ursaring in the forest?" He responded.

"Eee."

"It used to be a Teddiursa that stole food from anyone it could charm, but then it evolved and just became a bigger problem for travelers. I know that there's a balance between predator and prey, but Ursaring, a predator, was not helping the balance…but disgracing it. It never hunted for its own food, just took it from whoever it could take it from. So I caught it…and it was still a problem at Prof. Oak's."

"Eee… Eevo…"

"And you remember that day before we left for Sinnoh? It tried to slash you?"

Misato looked at him with quite a frown; she didn't like that day and she didn't like the Ursaring.

"Yeah, that was a line that had been crossed," he told her. "Numachi slammed it away with enough force that it backed off. I won't miss it for its issues…but I will miss it."

She agreed with him; she wouldn't miss it, either, because of its issues, but she would miss it. Just not as much as it could be missed…and she didn't doubt that the other Pokémon he caught over the years would miss it as much. It had been…such a pain every chance it got, picking fights with anyone. But now…now, they were free of its misbehavior, its unnecessary cruelty, and they would never have to worry about it again.

From afar, the others were wondering how Shinji would get past this after he was through grieving for his Ursaring.

"…I never really thought something like this could happen to Shinji," said Hikari. "Because each of the Pokémon he trained or caught became such an ally to him during trouble, I always believed they were unstoppable most of the time. But one of them, a troublemaker, does something that gets itself killed. Kensuke, you were with him when he caught it, right? You were with Shinji when he went to this…Lake of Rage. How did Shinji deal with the fact that Pokémon could die like everything else in the world?"

"From a distance," went Kensuke, "he would try to avoid taking whatever anger he had towards those responsible on those that didn't deserve it. You remember how I said he has unsteady hands when taking pictures?"

"Yeah," Asuka uttered.

"His hands aren't unsteady when he hits someone like a member of Team Rocket, Team Aqua, Team Magma or some criminal that abuses Pokémon. He's passionate about them, but when someone hurts them, it's a line that shouldn't be crossed. But when a Pokémon dies because of something that isn't human-related… I'm not sure what he thinks."

Misato picks up her can of soda and sips it as she looks over at Shinji and his Eevee.

"I don't think he ever expected this," she told them. "I certainly didn't."

"I used to think nothing of Pokémon," Ritsuko expressed. "I can't imagine seeing a dead or dying one and not feeling for it now."

A few minutes later, Shinji got up and walked over to the rest of them.

"How are you feeling now, Shinji?" Hanmyo asked him.

"I'm getting past it," he answered. "How many stages of grief are there in the world?"

"Five stages," went Rei.

"Yeah. One day at a time. I'm going to head to the Poké Mart to restock on some more Super Potion and Antidote. Anyone care to tag along?"

"Sure," went Toji.

"Same here," added Kensuke.

"Likewise," Hyuga and Asuka added in, too.

-x-

"…I didn't think that one of the Pokémon Shinji caught would go and…get itself killed like that," went Antonio as he and Fuyutsuki continued to watch Shinji and the others as they were walking down the street to a building associated with resources used on Pokémon, drinking herbal tea instead of coffee; their way to pay respect to the recently deceased Ursaring that gave Shinji a difficult time after he caught it to keep others safe from it.

"I never thought something like that would happen, either," Fuyutsuki expressed. "The Ursaring was the only Pokémon in his possession that was…a handful."

"It isn't always the temperament of certain Pokémon that are an issue in the matter of Pokémon Trainers," uttered Tama Pāru. "It's sometimes the very persona of the Pokémon that comes into conflict with those around it."

"And there are Pokémon with…negative personalities that conflict with Pokémon Trainers with positive personalities?" Antonio asked.

"Sometimes…and some Pokémon. If this deceased Ursaring was of a negative persona, then it's not entirely the fault of Shinji; he caught it to preserve an order that it was threatening. It refused to let go of its negativity, trying to assert its would-be dominance over those that wouldn't submit to it, and when it met with others that would not submit to it towards the end of its life, it went out without ever accepting a shred of the kindness that was offered to it."

"Wow. That's really…really deep, Tama Pāru," Fuyutsuki praised the dragon.

"Dreams and nightmares. Within them, we learn more than we actually comprehend. In our waking moments, we can turn our lives into a dream we can shape for the better…or a nightmare that leads only to further discord. Maybe in its life, the Ursaring was trying to escape from the nightmare it led itself to in the beginning. Maybe now…it has been set free and must begin anew. In the end, everyone has the choice to begin anew."

"You believe in reincarnation?" Antonio wanted to know.

"There is always a renewal for those that live and die. There is no such thing as immortality, only mortality, death and rebirth. To live is to go through existence and lead a fulfilling experience. To die is to know that you had a meaningful existence. And rebirth…is to live again…and leave a meaningful existence once again."

Antonio and Fuyutsuki drank the rest of their tea, moved by Tama Pāru's choice of words.

"If I come back in a new life," Antonio expressed, "I want to come back as a Palkia like you, Tama Pāru."

-x-

Shinji was probably being over-prepared, but he really just wanted to be ready for anything, no matter how unlikely. So, he got just about everything that he didn't have in his supplies, including Max Repel, which could keep most wild Pokémon at bay for a while, but every time he thought he had everything he needed, he kept feeling like he was forgetting something else.

But…I have everything I need, don't I? He wondered, holding up a Pokémon keychain shaped like an Ursaring. I may not have been able to handle you properly, but I was keeping others safe from you…wasn't I?

He couldn't expect an answer from someone that was dead; all he had were his own conclusions to his own questions. In the end, he had to conclude that his actions were for the greater good when he caught that Ursaring that was so full of hate.

"What am I doing?" He uttered.

"Eee?" Misato spoke as went over to something she felt her trainer needed. "Eee! Eevo!"

Shinji came over to her and saw her point to something that was locked in a display case. It was the latest version of the Pokégear, designed to be more efficient and more powerful than the last version the Silph Co. produced. He had kept meaning to acquire one, but he kept putting it off. But as technology kept advancing and people were sporting the latest of every gadget that made things easier, he saw no reason to keep putting it off any further.

"Thanks, Misato," he praised his Eevee, and picked up a tag to take to the front of the store so he could purchase the Pokégear.

Meanwhile, Asuka and Toji could see, even from a distance as they were gathering their supplies, their friend was still processing his small grief about his Ursaring.

"He still has a heart of gold and a soul of silver to endure such a pain like this," said Toji.

"Yeah," she agreed with him. "It never ceases to amaze me with how much he's had to endure since he ended up here. He really is special with what he's done here."

"You think he'll be a Pokémon Master one day?"

"As far as I know… He already is one."

-x-

One of the more recent video posts that found its way onto the Internet was the one where Shinji had ended up catching what the viewers had come to know as the Tao Trio, the three Dragon Pokémon that came from the Unova Region, and Gendo found his hatred towards his son boiling when he saw the video. It never ceased to disappoint Gendo with how far Shinji had come…but how much longer it took him to do what was required of him to return to this world. He saw these unusual creatures as a means of power, and how people like his son wasted them by doing nothing more than fighting in these pathetic contests to see who was the best.

I just want to break his neck, he thought, seeing Shinji then catch the giant Dragonite that had been around for thousands of years. He just squanders the power of these creatures and doesn't even try to pursue a sense of order and control! He could take the world, whatever he wants, and doesn't! He's useless!

And then the video showed him receiving his eighth badge from the Dragon-Type Gym Leader as proof of his victory against him, even though their match had been suspended.

-x-

When SEELE witnessed the capture and defeat of the Fifteenth Angel by the three Evas and Palkia, they were beyond impressed, and for three good reasons. The first of which was NERV was able to maintain their possession of the Lance of Longinus, which safeguarded their scenario for the Human Instrumentality Project later on. The second being that the Pokémon, while not exactly dealing any significant harm to the Angel that they could see, was able to repel it with an attack they hadn't seen before that was on par with the attack style of the Fifth Angel and the positron rifle technology…if not a little better. And the third being that there were no casualties from this attack, which would aid in boosting NERV's credibility in dealing with the remaining Angels so long as they had Palkia's continued assistance.

"…And this is a Legendary Pokémon," SEELE 12 expressed, "meaning that it's rare, more powerful than a Pokémon commonly seen in regular places, like forests and in the deep sea."

"According to the NERV personnel that witnessed the event and watch the video posts, the move this Palkia used was called Hyper Beam, and it recently acquired this move with aid from the Fourth Child," said SEELE 06.

"Most impressive," went SEELE 02. "This Pokémon could displace or destroy nuclear weapons without much difficulty."

"That would only be if we were dealing with a war caused by our enemies, people trying to make a name for themselves in the name of whatever senseless beliefs they have," SEELE 09 stated.

"What matters now is that we have more time to build more Evas in this grace period," said SEELE 01 to them all. "We will continue as scheduled."

-x-

A breeze swept passed Shinji as he looked down the street as the sun went down. Everyone was heading back to the Pokémon Center before night, as they wanted to be rested before Shinji's gym match with Valerie. There was nothing down the street they had all came up from, but Shinji just had this feeling that…something was amiss.

"Eee?" Misato spoke.

"Just a feeling," Shinji responded to her as he picked up. "I'm glad I got more Poké Balls."

As he entered the Pokémon Center, Nurse Joy approached him with a look of concern on her face; something was up.

"I'm sorry, but is one of your friends a woman with purple hair with a strange bird?" She asked him as he set his Eevee down.

"Yes," he answered. "Is something wrong?"

"Just a minor slip and fall. Apparently, the bird with her had a scare by another trainer's Sandslash and she fell and injured herself on its back."

"Ouch."

"It's nothing that serious. She's in the recovery room now."

Shinji went over to where his guardian was in recovery…and was stunned! All over her body were bandages!

"Aah!" He gasped, and saw the Wigglytuff with several bandages in its arms. "Uh…uh… Are you in charge of wrapping her injuries?"

"Wiggly!" Wigglytuff responded in the positive.

"Mmmm!" Misato grumbled.

Shinji sighs and assists the Wigglytuff in re-bandaging Misato, putting the bandages where they needed to be instead of everywhere.

"That…was awful," his guardian expressed.

"Wiggly," Wigglytuff apologized to her.

"How'd you get hurt falling onto a Sandslash, anyway?" Shinji asked Misato.

"Pen-Pen saw it and the Sandslash freaked," she explained. "I got in between them and the Sandslash went under my legs. I lost my balance and fell onto its back. Those things have some sharp quills on their back."

"Too true. I've seen my fair share of having dealt with Sandslash quills."

"So…how are you doing right now?"

"Getting over it. I'm looking forward to the gym match tomorrow."

"Just do your best out there."

"That is the plan."

"How do you fight Fairy-Type Pokémon?"

"Usually, it's Poison and Steel-Type Pokémon and moves."

"Not Fire-Types?"

"Nope. Although, it seems like it would be an advantage, Fairy-Types have an immunity to Fire-Types. But I have two Pokemon that should be a match for Valerie's. It's likely to be a battle of the cutest."

That was a word Misato hadn't expected to hear from Shinji.

-x-

In the night, in the darkness, something stirred. Something wandered in the deepest darkness of a forest. Several Pokémon were frightened, but others refused to show fear, even in the face of adversity.

"Gastly!" A Gastly went, looking different from other Gastly; this one was larger than usual, with tusk-like fangs and red eyes. "Gastly!"

It flew past and through threes, undeniably as though it were hoarse with pent-up fury over something that happened to it sometime ago.

"Gastly!"

-x-

"…I humbly accept your challenge!" Valerie announced to Shinji as they stood on the battlefield of her gym, holding up a Poké Ball. "Let's see what you're capable of!"

"Begin!" The referee declared, and the two trainers released their first Pokémon in a two-on-two match with the Fairy Badge on the line.

Valerie started off with her Sylveon…and Shinji started with his Eevee.

"Go, Shinji!" His friends and admirers cheered him.

To be continued…

A/N: The twist in the chapter was unexpected to me, but I was able to make it work to some degree; Shinji has had his share of problems with Pokémon that believed he was dealing with impossible issues, but the only issue that really was a problem for him was the one Pokémon he caught that was a problem for others. And to remind those that have seen the anime, the Ursaring Shinji caught was the former Teddiursa that used its charms to steal food from Ash and his friends during their time in the Johto Region after evolving at the end, only it was much worse as an Ursaring because it wouldn't relent. Having Shinji deal with its passing after making choices that led it to its end was how I was able to have Shinji show that he has matured as a Pokémon Trainer; because the Ursaring was his Pokémon, it was technically his problem that ended up being resolved in a grim manner, exonerating any fault towards Ash's Tauros, who were acting in defense of the Ursaring's aggressive behavior, and there's no telling what anyone will do when harassed by something to the point of brutal repercussions. Even Prof. Oak had difficulty with Ursaring that other Pokémon at the lab felt unsafe with it outside its Poké Ball, which it smashed when faced with being put back inside it. However, what do you think will happen in the future?