I've been sitting on this one for a while, I'll be honest. The reason? Well, I was working on that "Orre protagonist" idea, I've been following fuggmann's work for a while, and finally I came across the stories – of which are completely unrelated to one another – "Hard Enough" by Viva 01 (id: 14142198) and "Alola Persona" by SquiddlyDiddly (id: 14213181). Now, for the latter it's Ren getting reincarnated into a Pokémon… and I'm not into furry stuff so that's going to be a hard no. But, the idea of Persona and Pokémon was an idea that sounded really appealing. The former idea is a self-insert getting reincarnated into Brock; it's a fun story, so check it out. So, what did I have in mind?

Well, I'm going to steal the start from one of my other fics where Ren wins against the big bad but at the cost of his life. Boom diggity, I don't have to write an intro which I hate doing because that's my biggest sticking point when creating a new story, that is getting past the inane shit and getting to the beef/core of the story idea. That idea was built with the original Persona 5 in mind, so will other Royal characters show up? I don't know at this point in time. But I'm getting ahead of myself there and sort of soft-spoiled the idea. Let me elaborate.

So, as mentioned, Ren wins against the big bad of Persona 5 (main boss) but loses his life in exchange. The "powers that be," in this case it's Arceus, decides to send him into another universe and becomes the player protagonist from Alola. Or, at least that's the initial idea. As he continues his adventure through the region, he reconnects with his old friends who have also been sent to this world after they were expelled from the old universe by the big bad. And the thing is, they're going on their own adventures at the same time as him. Some of them are separated by region as well because of plot reasons that I haven't made yet. The initial thought about the plan is that as Ren completes more of the challenges in Alola and gains more attention online, his friends will find him once more, or at least make contact. I could totally see Ann in Unova only because in the manga, White (Hilda), owns a movie agency. Haru, being an aspiring businesswoman, I could see teaming up Steven Stone/Devon in Hoenn; or Yusuke with the contest painter in Hoenn. I could see Kasumi running the contest circuit in Sinnoh utilizing her gymnastic past. Ryuji punk busting over in Orre. Futaba befriending Penny in Paldea, and so on. Again, none of this is in stone but you get my point. There would be an inevitable singularity when the Phantom Thieves would be reunited once more. And with that adds in the complexity of their Pokémon partners, well, except Ren since I already got him figured out. And yes, I'm going to leave that a mystery until it's revealed later in this chapter. But, all in all, sounds like an interesting idea, yes?

Then we get into what continuity I want to use for Alola as there are at least 3. First, you have the anime which involves Ash and his antics. Then there's the game continuity which is a lot more open to interpretation for stuff behind the scenes. Lastly, there's the manga which is its own continuity and has its own thing going on. That is going to be something future Phil will need to figure out as this is just a pilot. So, with that being said, let's get this started.

Title: [undecided]

Rating: T - T+ mostly for language and depictions of Pokémon-on-Pokémon violence.

Involved cast (definite): Ren, Morgana, Hau, Lillie, Sun, Moon. Any others pending past this pilot.

Pairing: None decided as of yet, will likely take the previous Persona 5 relationships into deep consideration especially since Ren thinks they're all dead.

Summary: Ren won against Yaldabaoth at the expense of his own life. However, another god decides that he is the perfect candidate to help save another world in due time. And so, Ren finds himself in the world of Pokémon and specifically in the Alola region with his new caretaker who looks and sounds a lot like Sojiro but isn't. He decides to take on the Island Challenge and in doing so discovers something very important.

Disclaimer: I own nothing other than my copy of MS Word and my desktop. Persona belongs to Atlus and Pokémon to Nintendo. See the forward for the full disclaimer.

XxXxXxX

Joker – Ren – was alone. Even with the assistance of his friends and comrades, even in the end, he was alone.

His friends, his Phantom Thieves, fought all the way into the depths of Mementos to find the literal Holy Grail and the fake Igor who now called himself Yaldabaoth. They were able to fight against the Grail, but once it was adorned upon the god of control's head, they fell one by one. Ironically, it happened in the reverse of recruitment with the exception of Futaba. His sister in all but blood sticking out as the last man standing before she too was banished. First Haru, then Makoto, then Yusuke, then Ann, then Ryuji, then Futaba, then Morgana. He felt the links he created with them break as they were banished from this cognitive reality. The battlefield that they had fought upon was a bubble where the reality Ren believed in and the reality Yaldabaoth wanted clashed.

The false god lashed out and landed a direct hit on Joker, but he did not fly out of the bubble that had banished his friends previously. For all the might they had accumulated over the year, brute force and Sir Isaac Newton made all that effort for naught.

"You are alone," the god stated.

'No shit,' Ren spat mentally.

"You cannot defeat me. Your so-called Rebellion is over. Submit to my world," it ordered. Its voice echoed in his mind in a way that shouldn't have been possible.

Ren felt something evolve inside him. He wasn't the most well-informed about all subjects, but he was a smart kid. He could put two and two together. The Holy Grail, each of the Palace leaders having a theme around them that they wrote calling cards on – lust, vanity, gluttony, wrath, greed, jealousy, pride, sloth – all of the Seven Deadly Sins plus one, each of the Palace leaders having a special middle name later revealed to him by both Morgana and Futaba – Asmodeus, Azazael, Mammon, Leviathan, and Samael (the exception being Futaba and her cognitive mother) – all being the names of angels that rebelled against God in various sources, and Yaldabaoth claiming to be God – wanting to become God. He knew that the Persona existed due to the Compendium Lavenza had listed the name, but never claimed it due to the special circumstances to be allowed to fuse it, but that Satan and Lucifer were both missing from the Palace owners, meaning…

There was one rebel remaining.

"No," Ren said as he stood up shakily.

"What?" it asked incredulously.

"No, I will not submit to your world. It goes against the entire purpose of free will. The same free will that allowed your closest angels to rebel, the same free will that caused the first humans to disobey your will."

"Then you will surely die," it argued, almost making a plea for him to submit once more. What angle it was playing at, he didn't know.

"Maybe," Ren chuckled defiantly. "But at least I know it took you down with me and humanity can be free once again."

"You dare-?!"

"Oh, I dare," Ren interrupted as a mask appeared on his face in blue flames. He felt the first Persona of his return to his soul but then evolved into something else. "I summon you, the First Rebel, Satanael!" In one motion, Ren ripped off his mask where behind him a six-winged former angel appeared behind him regaled with bat wings instead of what one would normally associate with angels, a human-looking face that was framed with metallic horns, and a suit reminiscent of Arsene's previous form. Above his head was a Velvet Room blue halo with sprouting bat wings. In one hand was a massive sword that doubled as a giant 'fuck-off' gun. "Tyrant's Mind!" he called out. Ren knew innately that this would charge up his next attack multiple times over.

All four of Yaldabaoth's arms lashed out at him and attacked all at once. However, instead of dying on the spot, he felt himself hold on with one final breath.

"Fuck off. Sinful Shell!" Satanael raised his gun-sword and fired a single round that impacted Yaldabaoth's core, every single sin ever committed by humankind impacting him.

"No!" the false god's voice called out as it slowly disintegrated.

"Yes," Ren replied. "Again, Sinful Shell!" This time the metaphysical bullet struck the god's 'head' which killed it. It fell to the ground below and Ren fell to his knees exhausted and two steps away from death himself. "We did it."

"Yes, you did," the First Rebel agreed in his mind. "I only wish I could have assisted you sooner. Perhaps things may have been different if I had," his ultimate Persona stated with remorse.

"What's done is done, nothing can change that." Ren felt his heart beat strangely. He knew he was going to die. "I guess I have the satisfaction of being a Godslayer, huh?"

The Rebel chuckled, "I suppose I can say 'welcome to the club.'"

Ren weakly laughed before the world became silent and dark.

On that day, on December 24th, 20XX, Ren Amamiya died a hero to the world, though none would remember him.

However, this was not the end of his journey. No, it was just beginning.

XxXxXxX

Ren felt like he was floating in nothing. Even as he tried to open his 'eyes' he saw nothing. It was like that one time that Ann had taken him to one of those 'float' places that had those sensory deprivation tanks that had like a foot of water and 800 pounds of salt in them to keep you neutrally buoyant.

"You who has fought against false gods," a voice echoed in the darkness. Ren couldn't feel himself speak nor did he feel anything but nothingness. "I call upon your soul for a noble task," it continued. Ren couldn't reply, he was still certain that this was a hallucination of sorts. Well, he knew he was dead so this was a strange version of heaven.

Assuming it was heaven.

"Become friends with Pokémon. Defeat those who seek to upset the natural balance."

'What?' was the only thing that Ren could think. That was before his vision was filled with light. Before him appeared, what appeared to be a quadrupedal creature with what appeared to be a broken or spiked ring around its midsection. It looked like a deer. Or a llama. Or a kind of messed up-looking hand.

"Become my Champion of Justice," it said without moving its mouth. Its deep, baritone tone resonated through him like heavy equipment resonating through stone. It burrowed all the way into his soul. With that, his vision was filled with light and the next he felt was in something warm and soft and warmth was beating down upon him. And he felt his feet be wet.

Ren slowly sat up to find himself on a beach. It almost looked like the beaches of Hawaii he once visited months ago on the school summer trip. He was dressed in his 'summer' 'casual' attire. Short sleeve, button-up shirt and pants. It was certainly lucky that he was wearing short sleeves since it was hot outside. Though, now he wished he had shorts – swimming ones at that – on.

"Ren? Ren!" a voice called out. He looked around to see a girl, maybe around Futaba's age run up to him. She was blonde and was wearing a white sundress and sun hat with a matching pair of white sandals.

"Uhh..." Ren said. This girl didn't look familiar to him, but at the same time, she seemed to know him.

"Lillie," she said seeming annoyed. "I've told you numerous times now."

"Sorry," Ren admitted. He didn't know why she seemed to care about him, but he wasn't going to be a dick about it. "It's... been a long day."

She sighed in what seemed to be knowing annoyance, "I know, you shouldn't have run off without telling anyone where you're going." She shifted a bag that she had over her right arm, a bag that Ren hadn't noticed before.

"Sorry, I just..."

She sighed again, "I know. You wanted to look around. Being from Johto the Alola region is different from what you know-."

'Alola?' Ren asked himself. "I'm sorry."

"You'd better be," she huffed. "Professor Kukui was looking all over for you." She pulled out a device and it floated in front of her. "Professor, I found him. I will meet you back at the lab." It disappeared back into her pocket. "The professor knows that I found you now. Now, let's get back to the lab," she said as she started to walk off. Ren, not wanting to be left behind, followed.

As they walked, Ren had questions, and he asked them.

"Lillie, who is the Professor?" Ren asked as the waves lapped at their soles.

"Well... he's the Pokémon Professor of this region. He's always been an islander, but recently moved back a few years ago after the Aether Foundation moved in on their artificial island." Ren observed that she seemed uncomfortable at that. "He replaced the former Professor of the region about a decade ago shortly after graduating with his degree out of Unova."

"What happened to the previous professor?"

"He retired," she simply replied, however, Ren could feel like there was something else going on there, but he didn't push it.

"Does every region have a Pokémon professor?"

"Except for Orre, yes."

"What do they do, exactly?" Ren pressed for information.

She paused for a moment and tapped her finger against her chin before answering. "Well, that's sort of difficult to say. Each professor studies a specific area of Pokémon and shares their discoveries with the world. Professor Oak of Kanto, for example, specializes in discovering undiscovered Pokémon. The Pokedex is his life's work in cataloguing all species of Pokémon in the world with that information being shared freely to all. Professor Sycamore of Kalos studies the phenomenon of Mega Evolution that appears to have first popped up in his region as early as 3000 years ago according to legends."

"Mega Evolution?" Ren pressed.

"The ability to evolve Pokémon one step further than we know them to be able to do. However, it is only temporary," she answered. "Professor Rowan," she continued, "of Sinnoh researches legends associated with his homeland and the legendary Pokémon associated with the Creation of the world."

"Creation of the world?"

She looked at Ren in annoyance, "How do you not know the Creation story-!?" She paused before looking a bit guilty. "Never mind, I forgot about your condition." She shook her head before continuing with the Creation story. With an egg that birthed the first Pokémon: Arceus, and how Arceus created the wardens of Space, Time, and antimatter to govern the natural forces of the universe. The strangest part was that at one point, both humans and Pokémon were one and the same being but at some point, their evolutionary paths broke off to be where they are today. "That's all there really is to the story. But, to get back on topic, the field of study that Professor Kukui studies is Z-crystals and Z-moves and how they work."

"Z-crystals and moves?" Ren echoed.

She nodded. "They're a phenomenon that is unique to Alola. Some have compared them to the Mega Evolution stones that are in both Kalos, as previously mentioned, and Hoenn. Z-crystals allow for a Pokémon to use a powerful, amped-up move it knows. The odd thing is how you have to get it to work." Ren raised an eyebrow, but Lillie shrugged, "That's a question for the Professor to answer. We're here."

Ren looked to see a house on the beach. It looked extremely normal in every conceivable way. It was two levels with some struts that looked to keep the deck off of the sand itself. Other than that, there was a skylight and what appeared to be a solar panel on top. "And this is...?"

"The Professor's lab. You have an appointment here today," Lillie replied as she walked up to the front door and walked inside. Ren followed, and what he saw was complete chaos. Papers all over the place, things on the floor just in general. It looked like an earthquake, or a tornado had gone through here. "I'm sorry for the mess," she said as she gathered up some papers and placed them on a desk that had a sleeping computer screen on top of it. "The professor, when he gets into it with Rockruff – his longtime companion Pokemon – things tend to get messy."

"Lillie! Is that you!?" a man's voice called out.

"Yes! I'm in the living room I found Ren!" she called out in return.

"I saw your text. I told you he wouldn't have gone far," he said as he emerged from a doorway that appeared to lead to a basement. There was a fish tank filled with strange fish that stretched below ground. He looked at Ren and lit up with a large smile. "Alola, mister Amamiya. Welcome to my humble lab. I am Professor Kukui. Thank you for coming today."

"Thank you for having me," Ren replied with a slight bow.

"Please, take a seat," he gestured at a couch. Ren did and Lillie and Kukui followed suit. "I suppose you might be wondering why I called you here." Ren nodded. "Well, your caretaker has decided that it may be best for your... recovery to go on a journey to discover yourself. Other regions have their traditions including the established Pokémon League, but here we have something a little different: the island challenge."

"Island challenge?" Ren asks with interest.

"Yes. It's based on the ancient Alolan tradition where a young man or woman goes to each site of power in the island chain and completes a challenge assigned by a Trial Captain and by doing so allows you to challenge the Island Kahuna. The challenge's outcome, no matter what, will appease each island's Tapu, or protector in the old tongue."

"That was the purpose of the challenge, to appease these protectors?"

"Correct. Nowadays, it's still seen as a rite of passage for those becoming adults, but it's more of an... afterthought now. The Tapus have been silent for a long time. Not many have done the challenge except those of from the Kahunas' family trees who will one day inherit those titles themselves for the reasons of the old ways." Kukui shifted in his seat. "So, I would like to ask you formally. Would you like to participate in the Island Challenge?"

Ren thought about it. It was all too much at this point. He was dead and revived by some kind of llama while all his friends were dead. He was in some kind of world where he 'existed' but he had no knowledge of anything. The only thing he knew was that this llama wanted him to become its champion of justice. Whatever that meant. He had some kind of caretaker who he didn't know who it was. The previous 'him' was involved in some kind of accident where people danced around as if they were walking on eggshells; despite the fact that he only spoke to a whopping two people in the hour he had arrived. There were a few ways for him to find out more about this world. About these... Pokémon. About why that llama wanted him.

"Yes," Ren said resolutely.

Ren found himself come sundown on top of the hill that the village sat on. The island Kahuna had organized a ceremony for the start of the Island Challenge, and the main event of it was the choosing ceremony where a trainer would choose a partner, and the proposed Pokémon would choose them back. The kahuna pulled out three red and white balls and tossed them into the air. Out came an owl, a cat, and a seal. Immediately he was drawn to the cat, the little black and red cat with what looked like a symbol imprinted on its fur. But there was something about it, something that seemed... familiar.

"Ren?" the cat asked. There was only one person that had that voice. Someone that he had long since thought was dead.

"Morgana?"

To be continued...?

XxXxXxX

And with that, this idea comes to a close. One thing to take note of is that a lot of the details of Ren just going with this were super slim, like it seemed like he was just rolling into it without any qualms or any other emotional trauma he may be going through since, you know, seeing all of his friends die would certainly lead to someone having issues. That is certainly something that would have to be explored in a full series, after all, he has Morgana now in the form of a Litten but he has no idea what happened to the rest of his friends; though I'd have them somewhere in the world where Ren can rediscover them and they can all link back up once more. I'm still contemplating a team for Ren and if Lillie will go with him at all, after all in the main "story" of the game Lillie tags along with you (or, at least it's implied as she pops up along your adventure) or if Moon or Sun will appear (as in the ones from the Adventures manga which I haven't read at this time) or if they'll be his traveling companions. All of this is gone into more detail in the forward, so I won't ramble on too much here.

On to other ideas, I don't have a whole lot since the last entry got released. This is mainly because I hadn't been able to think of any new ideas. The "newest" idea is a Metamorphosis/Emergence idea where Saki doesn't turn to her drug addict fuck buddy and gets a job at a convenience store instead and meets someone there. Basically, it'll be canonical that she gets kicked out, but then tries to turn her life around despite all the BS she had to deal with. This one is still in the very early stages of brainstorming now, and I have no idea what the outcome of it will be (though planned to be a much happier ending than canon Emergence).

On to other life events. I finally took a vacation. In fact, a major chunk of this was written while on my vacation, mostly at night when I finished the day's activities. I've also been working through my old Pokemon games since I need to get them done and get the region exclusives (Alolan Raichu, for example) before Nintendo shuts off any way of getting them until the next remake in like 2035 or something. I don't have much else to say.

I'll see everyone in whatever I decide to release next.