As the unlikely pair flew through the night, Leonardo's mind continued to be occupied with thoughts of the girl he was clinging to.

'Where do I know her from?' He mulled over the question squatting in his mind. People tend to think a lot of things when on death's door. Even more so when they are able to ring its door bell and be rescued before it catches them. He wasn't an exception, but deja vu for a complete stranger shouldn't be one of them.

Despite never leaving Lacunosa Town, Leonardo never really noticed or cared for any of his 'peers'. He didn't get along with any of the brats when they were soiling their diaper at play dates, even more so when they were toddlers stumbling all over the playground. No, he was much more familiar with the many adults who made attempts to discipline him, and the pokemon he tried to rope into his training. By the time he and the other kids were capable of tolerating each other cliques had formed and solidified, with himself becoming the weird loner by default, much to his parents dismay. Oops.

So why did he feel some form of connection to this girl.

"Yo, have we met before?"

"Huh? No."

Whelp, mystery solved gang. 'Really' Leonardo thought 'Of course we haven't met, I've been in one spot my whole life. The other option is that she's from my past l-'

Smack

Hilda jolted in shock, looking behind her to see the boy palming his face. She quickly snatched his arm down from his face to look at the bandage on his cheek.

"Will you stop hurting yourself! I'm about to take you back down there if you keep this up!" She exclaimed, firmly grabbing his wrist.

"Sorry" He said with a blank look. "I… was just reminded that this is my life." His life inside a world that was once a video game to him, a game where she was the protagonist.

She gave him an exasperated look. "Well, whatever. We're going to be landing soon."

"What? We aren't even over the town yet." He replied, glancing over the side of their ride to still see Route 12 below them.

"You wouldn't know because you don't have a flying license, among other things-"

"Hey!"

"A trainer with a flying license is only allowed to land in a town at designated locations, the most common being a Pokemon Center." As she explained, Leonardo noted that her answer sounded rehearsed, as if she was holding a book of the law right in front of him. "This applies for all flights, personal or commercial, or at least it used to." She trailed off, her speech pattern returning to normal at the end.

Leonardo saw the destination her abrupt lesson was leading to, and began making adjustments to his plan. "So thanks to our resident 'pokemon liberation group' we gotta go to the front gate and get frisked!"

"That's correct." She returned with a smile as Barbara released a laugh that made his throat itch. "You're not getting out of this, we are going to a hospital and you're telling them everything."

He ignored the cackling from the mandibuzz as he groaned into his palms. His original plan involved him ditching Hilda as soon as they landed in town, and hot-footing it all the way to his house. If his parents questioned where he had been, a groggy 'what do you mean' would be his answer. That plan was now dead on arrival.

It can't be helped, maybe the consequences won't be so bad.

Except the fact that he is of the minimum age to legally own a pokemon. His town would be giving them out in a few days in a coming of age ceremony for graduates. The likelihood of him not getting one skyrocketed if this got out, especially with his reputation.

Does it matter though?

The thoughts pinballing in mind came to a halt. When he mulled it over he realized they weren't going to hand out any pokemon he wanted in the ceremony. The past few years it's been Patrat, Lillipup, and the occasional Pidove. He always held back a grimace when a poor kid ended up with a Sunkern.

He'd take his chances with the ferrals thank you.

The unlikely party began to descend once the entrance to the town was spotted. A massive wall of faded stone circled the town in a protective embrace, standing 49 feet tall and 30 feet thick. A tunnel at the base marked the entrance, with a steel shutter gate closing it off from the outside world. Two police officers were positioned at the gate their pokemon freed from their poke-balls at all times. They were a pair of red and blue skinned humanoids, wearing a judogi and dobak respectively.

The martial arts pokemon were swift to alert their trainers of unidentified flying duo, readying them for the untimely arrival. However, at 15 feet above ground level Leonardo made his move.

"All right, you win. Let's just get this over with." He returned with a blank expression on his face, robbing Hilda of her confident smile. Shock appeared upon its vacancy as Leonardo leaped from the avian pokemon's back, darting down to the manmade path.

Her concerned shouts were a wasted effort, as the reckless boy transferred his falling momentum into a forward roll upon hitting the ground, springing back up into a lethargic walk.

Wow. They say pokemon mirror people and vice versa, the phrase couldn't be more accurate in regard to the looks he was receiving from the officers and their partners. Recognition, shock, and exasperation all in equal measure. An appropriate reaction for a child that has given them no shortage of headaches.

"Sup Maes, how ya doin Earl." Leonardo opened up in a tired voice. "Looks like we're pullin an all-nighter huh?" He trailed off in a laugh, sheepishly rubbing his head in an attempt to set the mood. Yet, from the stern looks of the pokemon, the officers whipping out their radios, and a furious Hilda landing behind him.

It's not very effective.

[To Be A Shounen Protagonist]

Where did I go wrong.

It was phrase no parent ever wanted to ask themselves. For it meant that at a certain point on the road of their child's life an error was made. Like a cancer, the error went unnoticed until it had done irreparable harm that can only be corrected with drastic measures.

Alexander Zale had this phrase replaying on a broken record in his mind as he stood in the police station lobby, his wife Cassandra grasping his hand for reassurance. He turned to the counter, eyes fixed on the door behind it, and asked about the reason for their worries.

"How much longer until we can see him?" He asked the woman at the front desk, Patty if his memory was correct. She gave them a sympathetic smile before answering. "Your son is fine. He and the other trainer involved are just being questioned to access the damage done on Route 12. After that we will issue a notice for travelers to be cautious of recent aggressive pokemon behavior." She turned to her computer glancing over something only she could see. "It looks like they will be out in a few minutes."

"Thank you, and we apologize on behalf of our son for this mess." He sighed while running a hand through his silver hair. The situation possessed a morbid 'humor' to it considering the expectations he, and many others, had for Leonardo shortly after his birth.

It started in the nursery mere hours after he was born. Alexander could still remember the pride he felt as the nurses giggled and awed at his boy, who was already attempting to crawl in his bassinet. Cooing transformed into cheering as his son defied common sense and succeeded, the noise of the celebration doing little to hamper his focus.

"Not even a day old and he's this popular, we've got quite the lady-killer on our hands." He remembered jokingly telling his fatigued wife. She gave him a sweaty smug smile in return, almost as if she knew their son would inherit most of her features, like skin tone and facial structure. At least he could take credit for the hair and eyes.

A month later he was walking, two weeks after that he was running, and at 3 months of age he was talking. It wasn't coherent, not surprising considering his age, but the fact that he could fully understand the adults around him had neighbors and even himself speculating about Leonardo's future. Gym leader, Regional Professor, and even Champion were terms thrown around as his boy casually excelled in preschool.

He wondered if this was punishment for using those words so lightly.

Those thoughts were washed away as the door opened, and three figures emerged and began walking around the counter. Alexander didn't recognize the girl, but he did recognize Officer Maes and the boy standing in front of both of them. His wife launched from his grasp before he even fully take in the scene.

"Leonardo!" She embraced him while releasing a heart wrenching sob. Her hands roamed his face, her touch lingering on the bandages. The girl beside him watched on with a heartfelt smile on her face.

"So… son." The Zale patriarch started, making his presence known. He would be forever grateful for his son's safe return, but he wouldn't let parental concern come before parental duty. "What story do you have for us this time? And don't say you were 'training' again."

He was met with silence.

"I'm waiting Leonardo, we deserve an explanation."

His boy raised a hand. "Give me a minute, I'm sorting through my top 3."

"Leo, please" Cassandra gently shook his shoulders. "Enough, no… no more of these stunts."

"But I was-"

"I know you believe you have these… abilities." Her eyes were watering now. "But my heart can't take much more of this."

Silence reigned after her plea.

"We'll finish this at home." Alexander said sternly before turning to their forgotten audience member.

"I'm sorry, we never got your name." He stated. "You're the one rescued him, right?"

The girl perked up, finally being addressed. "I am, name's Hilda."

Alexander made a note of how she didn't downplay her actions in an attempt to come off as modest. He could see Officer Maes nod in approval, arrogance was unbecoming of a pokemon trainer, but so was a lack of confidence.

"You have my family's thanks for bringing him home to us, we are in your debt." He gestured behind him as Cassandra put her hand on their son's head and proceeded to bow with him.

He never noticed her shuffling her feet as a conflicted expression crossed her face.

After a quick goodbye to everyone in the station, they set off on an awkward trek back home. The town's stone white buildings reflected the moonlight, with the blue frames around the roofs and windows adding a calming contrast when one would look at them. A lack of people and pokemon allowed silence to fall on streets, and to help them gather their thoughts.

However, they were under no illusion that their neighbors weren't watching from the windows. Leonardo didn't seem to care as he walked in front the two of them, hands shoved in his torn up jacket pockets. His eyes never strayed from the marble road on the alleyway leading up to their house.

Leonardo reached out a hand to rest on the door knob and began turning it. He was only able to open it up enough for light to peek through before a figure blurred through the door and into his stomach. The pair collapsed onto the ground kicking up dust and clumps of hair.

"Ouch." Their son rasped out, while simultaneously running his hands through a brown and blue coat.

Herdier, their family pokemon, barked at them from his position atop Leonardo. Alexander's loyal friend had been adamant on coming with them when they had received the police station's call. But pokemon weren't allowed out of their houses at night. It was a long standing tradition in Lacunosa Town, dating to before his great-grandfather had even been conceived.

"We appreciate the concern, old friend, but you know the rules." He stated in an apologetic tone.

The dog-pokemon grumbled as he leapt back through the door frame, with Leonardo following after him in a slow trudge. The boy continued his pace through the living room to the stairs, pretending to forgot what he said at the station.

"Leonardo." Alexander called out, causing his son's shoulders to slump.

"One year. If you could make it through this school year without another… incident, we would allow you to graduate and participate in the Lacunosus Ceremony." He stated, as if expecting an answer.

When his words were met with silence his wife reached into her bag and pulled out a set of papers.

"We even bought the forms today, while you were pissing off every pokemon on Route 12. What the hell were you even doing out there!" He slipped into cruder language as his frustration grew.

Leonardo closed his eyes and sighed while resting his forehead on the railing.

"I had a breakthrough in my training." He told them.

The patriarch groaned as he began to massage the bridge of his nose with both hands, leaving his wife to take over.

"Against our better judgment we brought in every expert we could find, Professional and Paranormal, for you." She ranted. "I understand if you're disap-"

"I'm not like those espers or hex maniacs." He interrupted. "Meditation and squatting in graveyards doesn't work for me."

"And near-death experiences do?!" She exasperatedly asked.

"I don't see how this is any more dangerous than being a pokemon trainer." He countered.

"And that is exactly why you aren't becoming one. Not until you're sixteen." Replied his father, returning to the conversation. Alexander expected some type of outburst from his son from this revelation, but all he got was a despondent curse under his breath. "Which I find strange, because I was sure you wanted this. Don't you?"

Both parents pinned their son with a bewildered look as the question hung in the air. Leonardo looked confused as well as if he had never given it thought before. About 10 more seconds passed before he finally answered.

"I do." Their son stated, sounding like he was assuring himself as much as he was assuring them. "But I want this more."

"Why?" They asked in unison, hoping for a clear answer.

"I don't know."

He didn't have one.

[To Be a Shounen Protagonist]

There was a tragic saying from his home world. It went something like 'The only thing people enjoyed more than an underdog's rise to the top, was a star's fall from the heavens'. It might be arrogant of him to think the phrase applied to his situation, but it was difficult not to make comparisons.

To graduate early and participate in the Lacunosus Ceremony, Leonardo had buckled down and taken school seriously for the first time in his second life. To the shock of many he quickly claimed the position of top student in his grade, dethroning another kid he couldn't remember the name of. All he needed was one more. One more exam. One more formality. Then he was home free.

Until last night.

"Heard you outdid yourself last night, as expected of our top student."

"Would never settle for less." Leonardo sarcastically replied to a passing student in the school halls. He continued his trek to class until he was stopped by trio of his peers.

"Couldn't make it to the end huh? Guess he missed his weekly pokemon beatings." A girl stated before a shrill chorus of giggles rose from her clique. Feeling petty he responded. "If I'm ever in the mood for a Dodrio, I'll give you birds a call."

He made it two steps from the glaring girls before another wild heckler appeared. A boy from a grade below him. "My dads going to have to work all through the week with the rangers! He's gonna miss the festival because of you!" Ouch. He actually felt bad for this one. A family outing absent of a diligent father was no family outing at all. An apologetic smile adorned Leonardo's face. "Sorry," he said causing the stern expression on the other boy to ease up. "Maybe all the overtime money can go to your birthday present?" The frown swiftly returned.

Similar exchanges took place all the way to his classroom. There he quickly found his seat in the back of the classroom and tuned out the world as he waited for class to start. Some of his classmates funneling in tried trading barbs with him, but their hooked words failed to make any purchase in his ears.

It wasn't long before the teacher walked in. She made her way to her desk in front of the class and adjusted her button up shirt before speaking. "As you all know our annual Lacunosus Ceremony is in a few days for our graduating students. However, I want you all to remember this is more than just a day to receive pokemon." She swept her gaze across the class while continuing. "And even though most of you will not be graduating or performing, you will still play a part in this tradition."

The entire class, including Leonardo, perked up at that, their eyes shining with remnants of hope. "By hanging the ceremony decorations!" Her cheerful pitch was in stark contrast to the choir of groans coming from her students. "That will begin after school. For now, I have some handouts for you." She handed a stack of papers to the front of each row, which they began passing toward the back.

Leonardo glanced over the papers given to him and frowned. It seems like they were going over Basic Biology, Pokemon Situational Awareness, and Type Triangles. Again. Pushing the paper off to the side, he pulled up the hoodie under his blazer and began resting his head in his folded arms. He closed his eyes and took an impromptu vacation to dreamland.

[To Be A Shounen Protagonist]

Leonardo was awaken by a series of jolts to his shoulder. He raised his head up with a groan and tried to will his heavy eyes open. Rapidly blinking his adjusting eyes brought into focus a now empty classroom, completely devoid of people except himself.

"Leonardo." Himself and one other person.

He turned his attention to the one who woke him up. By his desk stood a boy dressed in the same dark blue school uniform; however, unlike Leonardo, he wore the full thing; complete with the tie worn over his fully buttoned shirt and no accessories to his blazer. The boy had fair skin and green eyes framed by shoulder length blond hair. It was a face Leonardo had seen many times before on the student performance chart, right under his own at number 2.

His name was… "Kyle."

"It's Curtis." Close enough in his opinion.

Silence reigned for a solid minute before a question was asked.

"So, what are you still doing here?" Leonardo prompted.

The frown marring Curtis face deepened. "I was tasked with retrieving you, as you are the only one not assisting with decorations."

The hooded boy groaned. "They aren't waiting on me, are they?"

"No, but it isn't wise to make an even poorer showing of yourself."

Leonardo lightly raised an eyebrow at the barbed words while loading his bag over his shoulders. It rose even higher when the other boy started walking out the door, expecting Leonardo to fall in line behind him. And he was proven right. Because no matter how tempting walking in the other direction was, it would be seen as a childish act more than anything.

They walked in silence, their footsteps echoing through the empty school halls. The pair continued through the school gates, and down the sloped streets of Lacunosa Town. Even though the air between them was quiet the environment around wasn't.

People and pokemon milled about under the glow of an afternoon sun. A stark contrast to the how the streets were at night. From an old lady feeding a flock of pidoves, to Officer Maes and Sawks swinging a jump-rope for some preschoolers.

It wasn't long before they arrived at their destination, a group of students standing in front of boxes and paper mache. The boys made their way through the clutter to their destination, two schoolgirls atop ladders hanging flower decorations across an archway at opposite ends. One glanced down and her face lit up as they approached.

"Oh wow, you were actually able to get him!" She exclaimed in shock. "Though… it wasn't really necessary." She trailed off.

"'Tasked' huh?" Leonardo quoted.

Ever the good boy Curtis just ignored him and smiled at her. "Nonsense, as students of the academy we all must uphold our responsibilities." He glanced to his side to Leonardo picking his ear. "Even him."

"O-Of course, you're absolutely right." She replied with heat rushing to her face. Then taking her hands away from the flowery arch, causing the other girl to fumble, she began running her hands across her braided brown hair. "By the way, congrats on becoming valedictorian."

It's been a long 24 hours so Leonardo could excuse his mind playing some tricks on him, but he could swear Curtis's smile turned brittle at those words.

Even if that was the case, he didn't miss a beat. "Thank you, I will make our academy and our town proud."

After the words left his lips Curtis spun on his toes to face the direction they came from. The wind caught his hair and uniform giving him more dramatic flair. He then began strutting down the street leaving silence in his wake.

The silence was broken by a snort from Leonardo. "What a tool."

[To Be A Shounen Protagonist]

After receiving a verbal lashing over his comments from the girl crushing on Kent, Leonardo started his task of being an extra set of hands. He was given a box of supplies and was sent to make runs to different groups of students. It wasn't very efficient. Mainly because it was a single box that contained items from completely different groups.

It reminded him of the video games he played in his past life. Ones where the player was given a cluster of items and had to match them to different NPCs. It probably wasn't healthy for him to think of his home as a video game world, even if it was, but why else would anyone put a paint brush in the same box as a musical instrument.

It was grunt work, plain and simple. They didn't have anything else for him to do because he was supposed to be taking the PKMN Trainer License Exam with the soon to be graduates. Now, this abrupt shift made his school staff scramble to find something for him to do. He would have preferred to go home. At least then he wouldn't be parading around his failure to the jeers, taunts, and disappointing stares of the towns people.

That's probably why golden boy had taken it upon himself to 'retrieve' him. So he could go through this public humiliation ritual. Leonardo didn't pay much attention to him throughout their school years together, only noting he came from the richest family in Lacunosa. After this however, he's got his character down pat. Nothing was worse than a sore winner.

Still, he finished the work, flavoring it with salt laced swearing and bitter steps.

"What a day." A despondent and emotionality exhausted Leonardo sighed to himself. He currently sat on the edge of a roof watching as the afternoon sun disappeared into the horizon and street lights began to flicker on. Any other time he would simply admire the picturesque view of Lacunosa at night, but his mind was occupied with other things.

"All these years and I've only unlocked one 'type', and it only ever works at near death. Maybe it's not Haki after all." He pondered glancing at his hand. If he was wrong all this time, then he might be back to square one. After it was confirmed that he didn't possess any psychic or supernatural abilities, he turned to his last option. Aura.

Concrete evidence concerning Aura was sparse, but the general consensus was that it is a mysterious form of energy and that some fighting types can imbue themselves with it. Any attempt to pick the brains off Sawk and Throh at the police station went nowhere, because those two simply weren't at that level. These factors combined with previous days events, in addition to no evidence, that he could find, of humans using Aura over the years were responsible for his current mood.

Violently shaking his head to rid himself of more negative thoughts, Leonardo stood up and made his way to the back of the roof. He was given a stricter curfew after last night and he was cutting it pretty close. He peered down the small gap between the two buildings before he made his move. Leaping down the narrow space, he slammed his back against one building while his hands and feet were pressed against the other.

Leonardo reached the bottom in a rapid yet controlled decent and moved on to the alley way without pause. The alley could be mistaken for a cave with how dark it was, yet he has walked it hundreds of times by now. It was to the point where he could tell which stone tiles had been replaced.

Which is why he froze when he noticed a red splatter in the shape of paw mark.

Senses now on full alert, his ears picked up ragged… breaths coming from behind him. Leonardo's head snapped to the rear of the alleyway. Leaning against the wall lay a small rabbit pokemon, brown and yellow fur stained red. The sight made his stomach twist.

It raised its head, causing brown eyes to meet gray and Leonardo couldn't remember exactly when he burst through the Pokemon Center with a passenger in his arms.

Authors Note:Funny story, in the original plan for this fic I intended for Alexander Zale to be the one and only AZ. Giving Leo here a "SUPER SPECIAL ROYAL BLOODLINE!'. It would been a 'surprise reveal' later on, but lets just say I attached way too many convoluted crap onto it. I'm talkin dimensional wormholes, royal politics, and timeline shenanigans. Maybe a more experienced writer could make it work, but I'm leaving it on the cutting room floor.

Thank you lunaspark149 and Vinay-kox01 for the reviews. Appreciate ya.