Chapter 1: A Journey Like No Other

Ash sighed as he walked down the path out of Pallet Town. He was off to Hoenn, with nobody but his trusty Pikachu to travel with. Traveling alone felt so different, almost wrong somehow. Even Misty yelling at him would be preferable to the constant silence around him. He turned to his first Pokemon Pikachu, a small smile on his face.

"Reminds you of our first day, huh buddy?"

Pikachu nodded. Looking up into the sky, Ash spotted an unusual sight. There, flying directly overhead, was Ho-Oh, the same legendary Pokemon he had seen on his first day as a trainer. Ash smiled, thinking back to an old legend he'd heard during his most recent travels. That whoever saw Ho-Oh was guaranteed eternal happiness.

"Heh, I guess some legends are just that."

Sure, he'd had fun on his journey. Making new friends, seeing lots of cool Pokemon, and having lots of fun battles. Even though he hadn't won a major league (turns out the Orange Islands don't count), he couldn't say he was unhappy with his life. But he couldn't help but feel like something was missing. He just couldn't figure out what…

Suddenly, as if Ho-Oh had read his thoughts, the majestic bird glanced down at Ash, their eyes meeting briefly. The bird then changed its course, indicating to Ash that it wanted Ash to follow them. Curious, Ash and Pikachu followed the Legendary.

The master of the Legendary Beasts led them to a large clearing in the middle of the forest, where they found a Pokemon they had never seen before. It was a tall, white centaur-like being with a spiky golden ring around its abdomen. Despite its odd appearance, Ash could feel how powerful it was. Definitely a Legendary.

"Ash Ketchum," The creature spoke into his mind. "Thank you for coming."

This shocked Ash.

"Who are you, and how do you know my name?"

The being chuckled.

"If you don't mind, I'll answer your questions in reverse. You are quite well known amongst my children, and I have been watching you. I know of your many heroic deeds, and your big heart. As for who I am, I am Arceus, the creator. And I need your help."

Arceus. Ash allowed the name to run through his head for a minute. If the creator of the universe said they needed his help, then it must be urgent.

"Alright, what do you need me to do? Where do I need to go?"

"I appreciate the enthusiasm, I knew you were the perfect candidate for this. But you see, Ash, it's not just a matter of where, but when…"

Before Ash could ask what Arceus meant, a portal appeared right in front of Ash.

"A great disaster will occur that the people of the time are not prepared for. They need your help, or the future you know will cease to exist."

Ash turned to his partner.

"You up for an adventure, buddy?"

"Pika!"

With his partner's determination confirmed, Ash turned to Arceus.

"Alright, we're in."

"Thank you, Ash."

But as Ash was about to step through, he paused.

"Arceus…when this is over…you will return me back to my time, right?"

To Ash's surprise, the divine being chuckled.

"If that is what you want, yes."

"What do you mean by…"

"Have fun!"

Before Ash could respond, Arceus shoved him and Pikachu through the portal, sending them hundreds of years into the past.

When Ash exited the portal, he landed hard on the forest floor. Groaning, he glanced over at Pikachu, who also wasn't very happy with the landing.

"Are you okay, buddy?"

Pikachu shook himself, then flashed a thumbs up. Ash breathed a sigh of relief before glancing around at their surroundings.

Surprisingly, they were still in a forest, but somehow everything felt different. Ash didn't know where they were, but he had a feeling they weren't in Kanto anymore.

"I guess we'd better find some more people. After all, I can't help them if I can't find them!"

"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!"

Before either of them could move, a loud scream pierced the air, shaking them from their thoughts.

"Someone's in trouble! Come on buddy, we need to go help them!"

"Pika!"

Rushing to the scene, they found a young girl in a strange dress being accosted by three thugs trying to force her to come with them.

"Quit squirming, girly!"

"Somebody, anyone, help!"

"Pikachu, use Thundershock! Try not to hurt her!"

"PikaCHUUUUUUUUU!"

Luckily, only a small bolt managed to hit the girl the thugs were trying to take prisoner. The thugs dropped her, and turned their attention to Ash,,,

Only to come face to face with Ash and a pissed off looking Pikachu.

"Do we have a problem here?"

"Shit, he's got a Pokemon!"

"Let's get out of here!"

With that, the gang fled, allowing Ash to rush over to help the girl up.

"Are you okay? Sorry, I didn't mean to shock you, but…"

The girl shook her head, allowing Ash to take note of her long brown hair.

"It's alright, thank you. I must say, your Pikachu is rather strong."

Ash was about to respond when he got a closer look at her, and paused. He had to admit, she was rather pretty, with big blue eyes staring back into his. Her outfit was a rather beautiful gown, though it was torn in a few places due to their terrrain. Before he could dwell on it any further, her voice snapped him back into reality.

"Excuse me? Are you listening?"

"Huh? Uh, sorry, I was…"

Pikachu couldn't help but chuckle, earning him a glare from his trainer. The girl chuckled, and surprised Ash with a kiss on the cheek.

"Thank you for saving me. I have my own Pokemon, but she was no match for those Magma grunts."

"O-of course, miss…"

"May. And what do I call my savior?"

"I'm Ash Ketchum, from Pallet Town."

May tilted her head in confusion.

"Pallet Town? I can't say I've heard of that place. Is it far from here?"

"Well, that depends. Where exactly is here? I kind of just arrived."

"We're in Petalburg Woods of the Hoenn region."

Hoenn, Ash thought to himself. That's where he'd planned on going before being given this mission. How convenient.

"I really must get back to my village. Come with me, and I'll make sure you're repaid for your kindness."

"Oh, you don't have to do that. I was just-"

"Please, it's the least I could do for you for saving my life. Besides, those grunts from The Magma Kingdom might be back, and I'd hate for you to have to face them alone. One Pikachu, strong as it may be, might not be enough."

Ash had to concede that she had a point.

"Then by all means, please lead the way."

And so May led Ash out through the woods, the boy out of time wondering to himself just what he had gotten into.

A/N: What's this? An Aureliashipper making an Advanceshipping story? Yeah, truth be told I love these ships equally, though admittingly a big part of that is nostalgia. Don't worry, The Journey Starts Today is still going strong, but I've wanted to do this for a while.

And yes, I know there are a couple of Advanceshipping fics set in the Middle Ages out there, and while I do take some inspiration from them, I'm going to try and keep this as original as possible.