Ron the True Fan:

Hisui Region - roughly 1400 Hours local time - Day 5 of the Hisuian Exile

"NINETY-SIX HOURS! NINETY-SIX FUCKING HOURS!" Ash snapped as he paced the room, complaining in five different languages at once to keep his 'hosts' from understanding him. "I CAN'T EVEN FOLLOW MY OWN GODDAMN RULES FOR FOUR! DAYS! I MUST BE FUCKING CURSED! LLAMA GOD BASTARD!"

He'd been at this for a while and was scaring the crap out of everybody. And Captain-Commander Kamado's infamous sumo moves were no match for Ash's ninja training as HE got spun over onto his head and slammed onto the floor.

The man was still seeing Natus and Pidgeys.

Safer to let the very, very VERY well-versed young man wear himself out.

Then, finally, he stopped yelling and planted his rear end in a chair.

Cylenne, without a hint of fear in her expression - then again, she had NO expression most of the time - coughed into her hand. "Sate, sakebiowatta tokoro de, anata ga dare de, doko kara kita no ka, oshiete itadakemasu ka?" she said to Ash, unintentionally teaching him ancient Hisuian. "Sō denakereba, anata o arano ni okurikaesu koto mo jisanai."

"Ki wa tashika ka?!" Akari yelled at Cylenne. "Pokemon tachi o te ni shite mo, yume no naka no kurushimi ni taerareru hi wa mō konai darou!" (2)

That was enough for him to speak. "Would it kill you to put some actual EMOTION in your voice?" he snapped at the aqua-haired woman. "You're not a goddamn automation, so ACT LIKE IT!"

To her credit, her composure held. For ten seconds. "I am-"

"ARE YOU HUMAN OR ARE YOU A FUCKING ROCK?!" Ash cut off, which made her actually wince in fear. "WHICH IS IT?!"

The reason for Ash's anger was… very, very simple. He saw Cyrus in this woman barely a few years older than he was. The hair, the facial expressions, the monotone voice. And given he was four thousand years in the goddamn past, he was likely yelling at Cyrus' ancestor.

…No, he was DEFINITELY yelling at Cyrus' ancestor.

"...I…I am human, obvious–" she started, before Ash's rage got the better of him. Not that he CARED at this moment in time.

To be fair, he would feel somewhat bad about yelling at this woman later, but from the time travel multiple times over, the nightmares, the fact he had gone through YEARS of being a chewtoy for an uncaring, inattentive god and being forced to go through it all over again? Confronting someone with a near-perfect match to the man he despised more then anyone else, save their gender, was the straw that broke the camel's back.

Right now, though? He had zero fucks left to give.

"THEN PUT IN A FRACTION OF AN EMOTIONAL EXPRESSION! A LIGHT SMILE, A FROWN, A FURROWED BROW OF CONFUSION!" he snapped, his eyes bloodshot, giving the impression he was a demon from the underworld, making her back away in terror. "SOMETHING MORE THEN THE BLANK FUCKING EXPRESSION AND THE FLAT MONOTONE VOICE!"

A somewhat acrid smell emanated from Cylenne, combined with a dark stain on her pants.

Ash literally scared the piss out of her.

"Er…" Leventon started before Ash turned his gaze to him. "I know she's unsettling-"

"I don't trust people that hide their emotions or express themselves. You can be restrained, but not an AUTOMATON." Ash cut off, letting his hatred for Cyrus flow freely. "To feel is to be alive. To let people know how you feel is not evil. SOME restraint is a good thing, but being an emotionless bastard IS NOT! I've dealt with that crap before!"

"Which brings Captain Cylenne's question to mind again." Kamado said as he got to his feet, rubbing his head. "Who are you, stranger?"

Ash had to think of a name. On reflex, he almost said 'Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town'. Pallet Town didn't EXIST back then, so…

What was that name Tatsuki gave him in her sleep during their trip to Galar? Sato…Satoshi?

It would do.

"Satoshi." he answered, before remembering, in days gone by, the family name came first. "Tajiri Satoshi of Ransei. But just call me Satoshi."

"Ransei? You escaped the civil war?" Akari asked, terrified, but curious. "No wonder your dreams are nightmarish. The things you have seen…"

Ash would let them think that. It worked.

"Along with the Pokemon in Hisui, who are terrifying themselves!" Leventon said, before Ash's bloodshot eyes turned to him again. "Ah, my apologies, good sir. I am Professor Leventon from Galar! The King sent me here to work on something I call the 'Pokemon Index' and-"

"Professor, do not bore him with our work. He has yet to truly recover from his journey." Kamado said. "You must have cut through all of Hisui without pause."

"I didn't run into anyone. I just… walked." Ash lied. "So many Pokemon… it was exhausting."

"We will not house you freely," Cylenne said before pointedly getting a look. "I… will wash and change. But my point is no less-"

"Try. Emoting," Ash growled. "I had to deal with an asshole with your personality back home. The more you act like him, the more I want to punch your face in."

He hated Cyrus with a burning fury. Sue him.

Cylenne nodded dumbly and all but ran. For their part, they pinned his ill temper on lack of sleep and nightmares from the recent civil war in Ransei. They all went through it once or twice.

"Captain Cylenne had a point, however." Kamado said civilly. "While your situation is understandable, we must ask you to earn your keep. You must understand-"

"I prefer it that way," Ash cut off. "Sorry."

"How long has it been since you had a good night's sleep?"Akari asked, now VERY concerned for the safety of all if 'Satoshi' suddenly loses it. It was clear he had suffered in Ransei, but still, the people of the village were at risk if he snapped.

Ash's answer was mirthless laughter and an honest reply of "You know…I can't even remember."

A scream cut through the air before the boy's Pikachu ran in, having electrocuted one of the guards before running to Ash and climbing onto his shoulder.

THIS seemed to make him more mad. "Why wasn't he with me?" he asked, DEFINITELY mad.

Kamado decided to field this one. "We believed that the mouse Pokemon would harm rather than help-"

"Never. Separate me. From Pikachu. EVER AGAIN." Ash cut off, warning them of something he would NEVER tolerate for any reason, Pikachu sitting on his shoulder like he belonged there.

"…Duly noted." Kamado said, knowing instinctively that in spite of his young age, this boy had been through a lot. Respect was due. "Now, as stated, you will have to earn your keep here in Julelife Village. But first, we must test your abilities."

"We need you to catch a Pokemon." Akari supplied, before Kamado shook his head.

"Three. Bidoof, Starly and Shinx." he corrected, to Akari's visible shock. "They live outside the village."

"That's it?" Ash asked, a tad bit insulted. He was no Gary, tossing balls at everything in sight, but he'd be able to get THREE pokemon.

"THEY'RE ATTACKING AGAIN!" cried a guard, all of the team, minus Cylenne for… obvious reasons…rushing outside, Ash walking leisurely behind them.

And what was the cause? Shark attack. …if you could call it that.

"Gible!" 'Friends!' cried the sharks, Ash looking…BORED at the sight.

"Land sharks! They're attacking!" cried one of the guards. "We need ice wielders!"

Ash snorted. "Have you tried stopping and letting them chomp?" he suggested instead, stepping in front of a fin in the middle of the street. The result was predictable.

CHOMP!

Akari rushed forward to try and pry the shark off his head, but Ash stopped her with a look… then PET the land shark.

"How do you have no fear?!" she demanded, looking at the fearsome creature latched onto his head. "It-"

"She." Ash snapped, correcting her, petting the notchless fin. "She won't hurt me. Gibles don't want to hurt anyone. They just want to make friends."

"Gible!" 'He's right!' the shark replied with an eyesmile.

"Then why do they bite?!" Akari demanded, seemingly testing him. Ash fixed her with a look of 'Seriously? The answer's in front of your face'.

"Do they have long arms? Can they talk like humans?" he asked. "She's not crushing my skull. If she were the monster you thought she was, I'd be dead already." With that, he gently lifted the shark off his head. "Go ahead."

She didn't have time to stop as the shark shot towards her head, latching on with the force of… a hug?

"Seriously, I learned about that a long time ago." Ash said as she adjusted to the shark on her head. "They're eager to make friends. So BE their friends."

Leventon was taking notes.

"These creatures hit the iron we need to make Pokeballs!" Kamado snapped. "Letting them in-"

"Metal's part of their diet. They can't help it." Ash cut off. "But whatever they eat, they can find even more. Besides, for the price of cuddling and friendship - and maybe sleeping in your houses because it's cold outside - you can have the perfect tilling Pokemon." The look of shock on Kamado's face was PRICELESS before Ash started walking off. "I'll be back after I finish your 'trial'."

Akari pulled the shark off her head. "Wait! I'm your senpai! I need to supervise!" she said, chasing after him.

"Senpai, my ass." Ash muttered, Pikachu twitching an ear.

"Pikapi." 'Ash, they don't exactly know better.' he said. "Pika." 'We're in the past. People in the past are stupid. That's a basic rule of thumb.'

"It doesn't take a genius to realize a Gible just wants to be your friend and the only way they can express themselves is a light, friendly chomp." his trainer retorted. "Come on. Let's get this over with."

Akari caught up with him, panting. "…You… need… Pokeballs…" she panted, before pulling out a bag filled with the very crudely made apricorns-coated-in-steel-and-wood.

Which were about as reliable as Paul being a nice guy was a thing. Thank Arceus for modern technology.

Oh well. He could do with a handicap.

15 minutes later

Akari pictured the trial as her coaching Satoshi to catching each Pokemon, impressing him with her maturity and experience, basking in his adoration of his newfound senpai as her new kouhei learned the ropes.

It was a wondrous thing.

Turned out it was an illusion as Satoshi caught ALL THREE on the first try. One ball each.

She thought he got all the Pokemon he had because he was a nobleman! He thwarted her big plan without trying! Without even KNOWING!

Then he just pet a Starly with zero fear and pointed to a tree, making it excitedly fly off.

She stared before he said, with no small amount of snark, "Senpai, my ass."

Satoshi was about four years younger than she was. She had been a ranger with the Survey Corps for nearly three-quarters of that. Yet it still would have taken her two days to do what he did in one quarter of an hour.

He was the senpai. She was the kouhei. Fortunately, she realized this and got over it. Life in Ransei was one of war and chaos. He learned fast to survive and those skills were useful.

He looked like he needed a nap, though. …She hoped he wouldn't have to press her bosom to his ear again.

She was betrothed!

A fin shot past her foot, the Gible leaping out and chomping on Satoshi's head before going back into the ground.

No fear. No hesitation. He just pet the shark.

The pair entered Jubilife, walking to headquarters.

"Pikapi." 'Ash… you look like shit.' Pikachu said.

"I'm aware of how I look." he said simply as they walked in, Kamado and a newly-changed Cylenne waiting for them, the latter's eyes widening as he scowled at her.

Too much Cyrus in her expression. And he wasn't putting up with that crap.

Still, he held up the Pokeballs. "Next," he said simply.

He would jump through hoops for Serena and the girls. He would do it for his family. He'd even do it for Kyoji, even as annoyed with him by letting Celebi out of the ball as he was.

He knew it wasn't rational. But he needed to be mad at something and getting mad at a child was just… WRONG.

But he wasn't jumping through hoops just to impress them.

"…Your skills are beyond compare. It would have taken a day to catch one Pokemon." Kamado said shakily. "Akari did not help you?"

The bluenette shook her head. "I didn't even get the chance to help Satoshi-senpai…" she said, Ash facepalming.

"…Captain, it appears we have a champion welder." the commander said to Cylenne. "Therefore, I will grant you the highest level within our organization."

"Great. I've been drafted." Ash deadpanned.

"Welcome to the Galaxy Exploration Team!" Kamado declared.

Ash rolled the words over, translating them.

Retranslating them.

Galaxy Team.

Ginga-dan.

Team Galaxy.

Team Galactic.

He had just been pressganged into Team Galactic.

Pikachu was pissed off. But that was NOTHING to Ash.

He hated Team Rocket. He hated Team Flare. He REALLY hated Team Plasma. Teams Aqua and Magma were good-intentioned.

But Team Galactic… he loathed them.

All the signs were in front of him. The emblem. The colors. Cylenne, ancestor of Cyrus, his ultimate nemesis.

His rage EXPLODED into a massive scream.

Meanwhile… in another universe…

In deep space, on board the USS Ra Cailum, the crew was going about their days.

Then came the scream. It wasn't their captain.

"What the hell was that?" asked Jade, the Ra Cailum's shipgirl.

"All I know is someone is as angry as ME." said Captain Ronald Pinkerton who stood up and SALUTED. "Whoever you are… I empathize. And I will share your HATE."

Ash's Rules of Time Travel

Rule 3: If you can't get home right away, stay hidden. Minimize your impact on history. Stay out of any records. Leave no trace.

(1) Now that you are done screaming, would you mind telling us who you are and where you came from? If you do not, I will be of a mind to send you back into the wilds.

(2) Are you mad?! Even with the Pokemon at his disposal, he won't survive another day with the torments in his dreams!

Ron the True Fan: Oops. I'm not sorry.

Takeshi Yamato: Ash has just realized who he's working with, and he ain't happy. And here, have a brief two-scene omake - I suggested it for the story, but Ron didn't want to, so I'll put it here:

The man on the golden throne heard another scream.

"IT SEEMS SOMEONE ELSE KNOWS MY PAIN," he said.

On a distant world, a large group of green-skinned barbarians heard the scream.

They simply responded with a "WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!" of their own, before charging forth to do battle with their foes.

Takeshi Yamato: Whenever we do someone with a rage scream… it needs to be multiversal. And one of the main universes we use for that purpose is 40K.

Ron the True Fan: One reaction was enough. But now Ash knows who he is dealing with. And he is now more than willing to throw EVERYTHING away just to be rid of them. Forever. There is a point where willpower and emotion clash. And emotion is WINNING.

Takeshi Yamato: Yeah, as I said, he ain't happy.

Ron the True Fan: He's at his lowest point. And what happens at your lowest point? You dig deeper.

Ja Ne!