Being the God of Creation was a lot less work than one might think. Sure, at the beginning of said Creation, Arceus had found it necessary to do things like form the planet and create life and all those other chores. But once that was over, all Arceus had needed to do was relax and watch the world grow and flourish.

Sure, there had been that whole thing in Michina, but that was neither here nor there.

And so it was that at present, Arceus was enjoying a good show on his console. Oh, yes, his console. He'd created that about two million years ago to automate what little work he still had to do. There was a button for creating universes, a button for smiting unbelievers, an button for making delicious ice cream sodas, and, best of all, a button that turned on the television screen embedded in the center.

Technically, it was not how the God of Creation was supposed to spend his time, but it wasn't like any of the other Legendaries needed to know.

Arceus smiled as he watched Ash Ketchum step off into the unknown, his Pikachu at his side. The boy's story was one of Arceus's favorites - he'd long ago made a habit of watching it play out. Arceus was not ashamed - well, maybe a little bit ashamed - at the fact that he'd rewound time half a dozen times by now just to watch it play out over and over again. Watch Ash's successes, his failures, his catches, his battles, his friends and enemies, his journey all the way from his humble beginnings as a foolish teenager in Pallet Town to the strongest Trainer in the world.

Arceus didn't know why the journey inspired him so much. Perhaps it was Ash's relatability. Perhaps it was his perseverance even in the face of failures that would stop many in their tracks. Perhaps it was the fact that the boy seemed to have a penchant for stumbling upon - and promptly stopping - evil plans, many of which were with regard to Arceus's fellow Legendaries.

But regardless of why, Arceus felt only a little silly as he stepped over to the console and reached for the 'Rewind' button to reverse the world once more. Bring Ash back to Pallet Town so he could start his grand journey all over again.

He pressed down on it and watched as the images on the television screen flickered backwards faster than the eye could see - it only took five seconds before it landed on a still image of a battle taking place between a Gengar and a Nidorino, an image that Arceus knew was on Ash's own television. In a moment the screen would scroll back, revealing Ash in his room, watching the battle in preparation for his starter selection tomorrow.

Arceus smiled and pressed the button labeled 'Play', watching as the Gengar and Nidorino leaped into action. Here we go. He began to step towards the 'Ice Cream Soda' button, because what kind of God of Creation would he be if he didn't enjoy an ice cream soda while watching Ash's journey start yet again?

"Arceus?"

All thoughts of ice cream sodas instantly fled Arceus's mind as he spun, desperately trying to block the console from Dialga's view. He felt his rear leg smack the console and start aching; quickly, he disintegrated and reformed it in order to get rid of the irritating pain. Dialga's eyes narrowed. "What are you doing, Arceus?"

"Nothing!" Arceus grinned. "So, what brings you here?"

Dialga frowned. "I've been feeling a little weird. Like something's…twisting. Molding time in a…different way than it's supposed to. And, you know, being a sort of time Legendary and all that…I decided to come up and see if you felt the same, too."

"No, no, definitely not," said Arceus, nodding his head enthusiastically. He shifted again, pressing back against his beloved console.

There was a click. A very loud click. A click Arceus hadn't expected.

Arceus glanced backwards and near-instantly paled. Without seeing where he was putting his various limbs, one of his rear legs had managed to depress a large red button. Under the button was a single word.

'Shuffle'.

The screen was currently on an image of Professor Oak showing off the three Kantonian starters on TV. As Arceus watched, the image suddenly flickered, static overriding it for a moment. Then it flickered back to normal again…well, for a given value of normal, considering that now it wasn't Professor Oak showing off the three Kantonian starters, but a younger, swarthy, dark-skinned man with a blue bandanna tied around his head.

The man spoke loudly and enthusiastically. "Ahoy, landlubbers! I be Professor Archie, and I be here to explain yer choice of Starter Pokemon! Now, there be three Starter Pokemon ye can be choosing from - the filthy firebreather Charmander, the boring landlubber Bulbasaur, or the obviously correct one, the corsair cannoneer, Squirtle!"

Arceus glanced over at the very unamused-looking Dialga. The God of Creation gulped. "Oops?"

"Well," said Dialga, "as far as I can tell, every major player in this world has now been completely mixed up. Gym Leaders, rivals, companions, even Ash's Pokemon…you've pretty much shoved them all in a blender, and the timeline's picking them out at random."

"I said 'oops'," Arceus protested.

"The only reason," Dialga growled, "that time's even still working properly is that I was here to watch it happen. Otherwise, the entire universe may have shattered under the strain of trying to figure out how, say, the leader of Hoenn's Team Aqua managed to become a Kantonian Pokemon Professor. I managed to twist things so that everyone who was switched around basically have the backstories of whoever they replaced, but whatever that 'Shuffle' button is, it's actively preventing me from unshuffling things."

"Can you fix it?" Arceus asked.

"Only if you're willing to destroy and replace the entire universe," Dialga replied.

"That's a no, then," said Arceus. "So, looks like our only option is to…sit here and watch?"

"Sit here and watch," Dialga echoed. "And hope my patch job is enough to keep it together until Ash completes his journey, at which point the timeline will have settled enough for me to put things back the way they're supposed to be. At which point we're going to destroy this thing, and then we're going to have a very long talk about laziness and temporal distortions."

Arceus sighed. "Yes, Dialga…"

Ash was excited. Though that was fairly obvious - 'excited' and 'Ash' were practically synonyms around Pallet Town, especially since tomorrow, he'd be getting his starter Pokemon from the famed and respected Water-type enthusiast, Professor Archie. He'd decided he wanted Squirtle - not just because Archie constantly talked up the Water-type Starter and talked down the other two, but simply because he liked Squirtle. Ash knew, though, that other Trainers, especially his longtime rival (and Archie's granddaughter) Miette, would be looking to get their hands on that Squirtle too, and so he knew he'd have to get there early.

After all, the first step on his path to becoming a Pokemon Master was to actually get a Pokemon. And Ash was going to be a Pokemon Master. Not just that - he'd be the greatest Pokemon Master in the entire world!

Which meant going to bed early. But unfortunately, Ash was far too excited to go to bed early, or even on time. Which was why he was up in his room, watching past battles and trying to get inspiration for his own battling style.

"Ash!" a male voice called up the stairs. "Turn off the TV and go to sleep! You've got a big day tomorrow - you won't want to be late!"

"I know, Gladion!" Ash called back. "I'm just too excited to sleep!"

Gladion, his older brother, had practically raised him from childhood, since their mother and father had gone off traveling and effectively left the two of them to fend for themselves. Gladion preferred not to talk about them - any time Ash asked about them, he changed the subject to Pokemon. Which was just fine, since Ash loved to talk about Pokemon.

Gladion heaved a sigh from downstairs. "Well, if you can't sleep, then at least get ready for tomorrow. Pick out a change of clothes, and don't forget your underwear this time."

"Gladion…"

"Don't 'Gladion' me, Ash. I'm not sending Silvally with a backpack after you again."

Ash sighed. "Fine…"

"And don't forget your alarm, Ash. If you wake up late, it's all on you."

"Gladion, you don't have to baby me," Ash protested. "I'm going on my Pokemon journey tomorrow! What kind of Trainer would I be if I didn't wake up on time?"

Ash didn't wake up on time.

"Crap, crap, crap, crap, crap!" he cried as he burst out the door of his house, without carrying anything and still dressed in his pajamas, and began bolting down the road towards Professor Archie's laboratory at top speed.

But I did set an alarm! I swear I did! How did I oversleep? Could it have something to do with the fact that my Voltorb clock is in ruins on the floor?

As Ash reached the laboratory, he saw a crowd gathered and heard voices upraised in chanting and cheering. He practically bulldozed through the crowd in his haste, shoving several people aside, and finally reached the end only to trip and fall right in front of the entire crowd.

All told, this was not a very good start to his Pokemon journey. And it was made even worse by the Trainer standing over his fallen body, who had clearly been about to give a speech of sorts to the crowd.

The blue hair, large red eyes, and nice-looking clothes immediately told Ash who it was. Miette.

"Well, well," said Miette, staring down at him. "Look who decided to show up at last."

"Miette!" Ash sat up, rubbing his head. He saw a Pokeball clutched in Miette's hand. "Did you already get your Pokemon?"

"Of course!" said Miette, eyes swiveling to the crowd. "And it's a Pokemon of perfect quality, too!" The crowd cheered, with several cheerleaders in front being especially loud about it.

Miette looked back down at Ash. "I'm afraid, with how late you are, you're only going to get a Pokemon of moderate quality."

"Hey!" Ash retorted. "My Pokemon is going to be great, you'll see! I'll show you when I beat you in a Pokemon battle!"

Miette chuckled. "Not likely. You see, I'm going to become a Pokemon Master. I'm going to put Pallet Town back on the map! And you…" She giggled softly, blinking in a strange way. "You're going to be left in my dust, Ash Ketchum." With that, she stepped around Ash and began to walk off.

"Mi-ette! Mi-ette! Mi-ette!" the cheerleaders chanted as the crowd moved after Miette.

"We'll see about that!" Ash cried after her. Then he sighed. "And she didn't even tell me which Pokemon she got…"

"Ahoy, Ash!" Professor Archie cried. "Ye be late!"

"I know, Professor Archie," said Ash. "But I'm here now for my Starter! And I choose…Squirtle!"

Professor Archie let out a hearty chuckle. "A mighty fine choice! Ye be a man after me own heart, boy! Unfortunately, someone else who was on time already be taking Squirtle, I'm afraid."

"Oh," said Ash.

"But I be having some good news for you!"

"Oh!" said Ash.

"Charmander and Bulbasaur already be gone too!" said Archie. "So ye don't have to be choosing either of those two filthy landlubbers instead!"

"Oh," said Ash. "Wait, but that means…there's no Pokemon left for me!"

"Shiver me timbers, ye be correct!" said Archie. "Looks like ye be dead in the water, boy. But lucky for you, I be having a solution!"

"I'll take anything!" Ash cried.

"Good lad!" said Archie jovially. In the middle of the pedestal containing the three empty Starter Pokeballs arose a fourth Pokeball. "Even I not be knowing what this Pokemon be! Hopefully it be a Water-type."

Ash quickly grabbed the Pokeball and released the Pokemon inside - whatever it was - on the ground. What emerged was a Pokemon Ash had never seen before. It was quadrupedal, with a red body, black stripes, and large tufts of flowing, fluffy white fur that curled over half its face, hiding its eyes from view and coming down in a sort of beard. It looked up at Ash with a confused expression.

"Wow, it's really fluffy!" Ash cried.

"Here be a Pokedex and some Pokeballs." Archie handed the various items to Ash. "Go on, scan it! Find out what ye be having!"

Ash quickly turned on the Pokedex and held it up to the Pokemon. The Pokedex beeped. "Hisuian Growlithe, the Scout Pokemon. It has soft and insulated fur to protect against cold weather, and is known to be vigilant when guarding territory. This Pokemon is a Fire/Rock-type, and knows the moves Tackle, Ember, Leer, and Howl."

Archie blinked. "Are ye be kidding me? This be the complete antithesis of water! This be the worst Pokemon I be seeing in my entire…um…ah…I be meaning, great choice! The two of ye be going far! Anchors aweigh, Ash!"

"I think it's better than any of those three boring Starters!" Ash picked up his new Hisuian Growlithe and hugged it tightly, leaning into his Pokemon's soft, poofy fur.

Neither this nor Archie's comment sat well with Hisuian Growlithe, who promptly exhaled a cone of fire across both Archie and Ash's faces.

Outside, Ash met Gladion alongside what few Pallet Town residents hadn't followed Miette.

Ash's older brother had his arms crossed and a grumpy look on his face, a look that was being matched by the backpack-wearing Silvally beside him. "You got up late," said Gladion.

"I know…"

"You forgot your clothes."

"I know…"

"And what even is that Pokemon?"

"This is Hisuian Growlithe!" said Ash. "Hisuian Growlithe, this is Gladion, my older brother, and his Pokemon Silvally!"

Hisuian Growlithe let out a low growl followed by a bark. Silvally snorted in response. "So you're keeping your Hisuian Growlithe outside its Pokeball?" Gladion asked.

"Um…" Ash decided not to admit he'd forgotten about Pokeballs entirely. "Y…yeah! Just like you and Silvally!"

"Fair enough," said Gladion. "Now listen." His scowl softened slightly. "Good luck on your journey, Ash. And if you get into any trouble, call me, okay?"

"Okay."

To say things weren't going too well was perhaps an understatement.

Hisuian Growlithe was not warming up to Ash very well. When Ash had encountered a Pidgey, the Fire/Rock-type had been content to simply watch Ash try - and fail - to capture it. Then Ash had thrown a stone to try and bring down the Pidgey, and, well, things had escalated.

A lot.

The only consolation was that Hisuian Growlithe's Rock typing made it resistant to the Normal and Flying-type attacks that the flock of Spearow currently pursuing them were exclusively using. Unfortunately, Ash was not Rock-type, and so he was in quite a bit more danger than Hisuian Growlithe. Worse, the Spearow were not easing off, intent on punishing Ash for his crime of hurting one of their flock.

"We need to find a way to get out of this, quick!" Ash cried.

Hisuian Growlithe barked in agreement, any irritation towards Ash forgotten in the heat of the moment.

Looking around wildly, Ash spotted a fast-flowing river some distance away. "There!" he called, pointing. "We can use that river to escape!"

Hisuian Growlithe looked at Ash like he was insane and emphatically shook his head.

"I know you really don't like water," said Ash, "but it doesn't look like there's any other way to escape!"

Hisuian Growlithe shook his head again.

"Sorry about this!" Ash picked Hisuian Growlithe up off the ground. Surprised, Hisuian Growlithe blasted him with a cone of fire; Ash closed his eyes and hurtled towards the river, jumping as he reached the bank.

Water flew everywhere, and Hisuian Growlithe howled as the current picked the duo up and swept them away from the furious flock of Spearow.

A little ways down the river, a large man with a Drilbur at his side rolled up towards the riverbed in a small car.

The man was quite large and dressed in various shades of brown, and had a head of dark brown hair that came down both sides of his face. However, his main distinguishing feature was the large, white, wide-brimmed hat he wore atop his head.

The man spoke with a southern drawl. "All right, Tympole, you know what to do. Hop in that river there and see if you can't find any ore veins."

He released a Tympole, who quickly leaped into the river. The man glanced at his Drilbur. "And you keep an eye out for any nearby Pokemon. We don't want to be caught flat-footed."

The Drilbur nodded. The man looked down at his third and final Pokemon. "As for you, Sandlie, stay in there until we find something or something finds us."

Sandile's Pokeball quivered in answer.

Satisfied, the man looked back at the river. He eyed a set of ripples on the water and smiled slightly - those told him Tympole was doing his work well.

It was at this moment that the man heard a cry from upriver. Turning his head, he beheld a form plunging down the river at a terrifyingly rapid pace. The form was struggling, he realized, and after a few moments he realized it was a human, clutching a Pokemon tightly.

"Damn!" the man summarized succinctly. "Tympole, get them out!"

The ripples changed direction as Tympole headed towards the human. It was a boy, the man noticed, and the Pokemon he was clutching was one the man had never seen before. Tympole surfaced next to the boy and swished his tail in invitation. The boy grasped onto the tail, and Tympole, calling upon all its strength, swam towards his Trainer, dragging the boy and his strange Pokemon with him.

The man grasped Tympole and hauled him, the boy, and the strange Pokemon out of the river. Then he dumped the latter two unceremoniously on the riverbank. "You two all right?" he asked.

"Yeah," said the boy. "Thanks."

"What in tarnation would a young'un like you be doing swimming in this kind of river?" the man asked. "You could've been seriously injured! And look at that Pokemon of yours! He looks like a drowned Ratatta! You need to get him to a Pokemon Center before he gets any worse off!"

"Um…who are you?" the boy asked.

The man sighed. "The name's Clay. Now-"

"Oh, no, they followed us!"

Looking up, Clay paled as he spotted a large flock of angry-looking Spearow headed their way. That would explain it - between a raging river and a flock of Spearow that size, even I'd take the river. "All right, kid," he said. "We need to-"

He stopped as he realized that while he'd been looking at the Spearow flock, the boy had leaped into his car. "Hey, wait!"

"I'm sorry!" the boy cried. "I'll give it back later, I promise!"

Before Clay could mount any further protests, the boy slammed his foot down on the accelerator and sped off in a cloud of dust. The Spearow flock flew after him, cawing loudly.

Clay sighed heavily. "Well, looks like we're gonna have to go after him," he griped. "C'mon, Tympole, Drilbur. Let's get going."

It took Ash a few seconds to remember that he had never actually learned how to drive.

"AAAHHH!" he cried, twisting the wheel and struggling to get a grip on the dirt road he was driving down. Every wayward swerve and every slowdown only served to let the Spearow flock get closer and closer, and that pushed Ash to try and drive faster and faster, which only caused him to make more and more mistakes.

Hisuian Growlithe supported him via barking loudly from the back seat, which didn't actually help in any way.

Ash saw a curve in the road in front of him and jerked the wheel, trying to take it at speed. The wheels of the car locked up, and Ash suddenly found himself drifting sideways towards a ditch at a very high speed.

He knew enough about cars to know that being in a crash involving one was quite dangerous. Swiftly, Ash kicked open the door, grasped Hisuian Growlithe tightly (earning another blast of fire to the face), and flung himself out of the car as it careened into the ditch.

He landed on the road, curled around Hisuian Growlithe. The Fire/Rock-type wriggled free and stared past Ash; the boy turned his head to see the Spearow flock arcing towards him, screeching victoriously as they lunged for his prone form.

Fortunately for Ash's rapidly plummeting chances of survival, he'd only managed to drive about a quarter mile before he crashed, which meant that he was still quite close to the riverbank.

And due to that, plus the fact that all of Ash's swerving and drifting had massively slowed him down, Clay had managed to catch up on foot.

"Sandile, Sandstorm! Drilbur, Rock Tomb!"

Ash watched in amazement as the large-hatted man stepped into view, his Sandile and Drilbur at his sides. The Sandile let out a snarl and unleashed a barrage of whirling sand from its body. Ash squeezed his eyes shut and held Hisuian Growlithe close as he felt the sand digging into him. He heard startled shrieks from the Spearow flock, and opened one eye to see them turning tail and fleeing, not wanting to fly into the storm of swirling rocks that Sandile and Drilbur had unleashed.

The Sandstorm faded, and Ash opened his eyes fully to see Clay standing over him, looking forlornly at the smoking, dented, and likely totaled car that was sitting in the roadside ditch.

The large man sighed. "You owe me a new car."

Do you ever wake up in the morning with a random idea for a fanfiction that you instantly just want to start writing? Because that's where this came from.

Basically, every major character has been randomly shuffled around, and all of Ash's Pokemon are completely randomized. Only up to Gen 8, because that's the last generation he was the main character in.

Characters will, effectively, have canon-similar personalities and Pokemon, but the backstories of the characters they're replacing. To be quite honest, this is very much an experimental fic - I've never actually written an Ash fic before - and I'm just as curious to see what happens as you are.

This will not be a 'regular-weekly-update' fic like my others, but rather something I work on whenever I feel like it. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, and I'd love it if you let me know what you all think in a review!