Chapter Text
In the beginning, there was nothingness. From the nothingness emerged an egg. And from the egg emerged a being.
The being had a name. Arceus.
It knew a great many things. It knew that it was only one part of many in a far greater being. Yet it also knew that it was its own individual. Its very existence was paradoxical.
It knew that there were countless others that came before them, and countless more would come after. It knew of the worlds they each created, of the people that lived in them, and of the pokémon that inhabited every single one.
But above all else, it knew it was bored.
Time has no meaning during the period before a universe’s creation, which meant that Arceus could learn so much from their predecessors before they started their own timeline.
They could peer into the worlds other Arceus have built, every single one had its own beautiful story to tell. But throughout them all, this one began to grow attached to a single kind hearted human.
Ash Ketchum.
They were amazed by his bravery and creativity. His heart of gold and soul of silver. The way he fought with determination and his pure love for pokémon.
Arceus was inspired, they had the perfect idea of what their first creation must be. The process of creation itself was rather simple, relatively speaking.
They manifested a control panel, lines of Unown code at the top welcomed them as the primary user. Arceus peered into another universe, with a flick of their hoof, a single line of code copied, and returning to their own empty universe, another line of code pasted.
Nearly everything was ready, it truly was just that simple, but first there were quite a few errors to iron out.
That could be solved easily enough, just get help from a couple users and everything’s fine. The Creation Dragons and Lake Guardians the other Arceus made wouldn’t mind helping. It’s simple!
They should learn how to do it themself too, but they had an eternity to figure it out. Arceus had much to learn, that was certain.
But with that, a whole new world was born, and a brand new story was about to unfold!
The tranquil fields stretched on as Latias floated high above a certain trainer-pokémon duo. They marched on the simple dirt path going wherever the wind guided them, utterly unaware of the invisible eon dragoness tailing them on high.
Latias fought back another yawn. When was the last time she properly rested? A day or two ago? It didn’t matter, she had already made the rounds to be sure there were no humans walking down this same path, as well as none descending from the sky via hot-air balloon. All it took now was to actually approach the human, the one that Pikachu called Ash.
Even while descending, she still wasn’t completely certain about her plan. It was a trade in her eyes, she’d offer to be the human’s pokémon, and in return, he’d help her rescue her brother from the hunter who chased both of them. Latios once had his own trainer after all, so it couldn’t be that bad.
Pikachu’s ears twitched involuntarily, he was the first to notice a presence beside them. Ash in turn stopped to check what Pikachu noticed, a curious look on both their faces.
In a small flash, Latias appeared in front of them. “Hello.”
“Hello.” Pikachu parroted back. While not necessarily distrusting of her, he wasn’t ever eager to get into more legendary shenanigans.
“Hi there Latias!” Ash, predictably, held no such caution. “What’re you doing here?”
Latias scanned the area for a moment. “I wish to join your team.” She turned to Pikachu and asked, “Can you tell him that?”
It’d probably be best to ask for help after they saw her as a friend.
Despite his neutral expression, Pikachu’s surprise was evident to an empath like Latias. “Just like that? I know Ash wouldn’t mind of course, but why?”
Latias paused. She didn’t have an excuse yet and telling them Latios needs help was out of the question for now.
Pikachu shook his head at her silence but dove into Ash’s bag anyways. After a moment of digging around, he presented a pokéball to Ash, who was letting them speak before asking, “A pokéball? Did you want me to catch you?”
Latias nodded, but then paused for a moment. “Your trainer likes battles, right?”
Pikachu raised an eyebrow but nodded.
“Then battle me first.” She floated back a couple feet and tucked her arms in like she was going to fly at high speeds. It wasn’t exactly a first impression, but a good second impression couldn’t hurt.
Ash, for the most part, was taking this surprise encounter with the legendary in stride. “Latias wants to battle?” At her now determined nod he continued. “What do you say, Pikachu? I choose you!”
If there’s one thing Pikachu was, it was loyal. If Ash thought things were fine, then he would think so too. Unless Ash was being dumb and saying some nonsense like how not everything needs ketchup. That was simply the incorrect opinion.
But ignoring that, Pikachu leapt off of Ash’s shoulder and crouched on all fours, cheeks already sparking. The sheer confidence and trust between them felt like a physical wall to Latias.
“We’ll start. Pikachu, use Quick Attack!” Ash said.
She thought she was fast, but before Latias could even react, a yellow blur filled her vision. She was not prepared for this!
Latias recoiled from the strike, she would freely admit she isn’t a battler herself, but she could at least do this! A rainbow light covered her body with Safeguard as she attempted to ram herself into Pikachu. He fluidly sidestepped her charge, which caused Latias’s attack to only graze him.
In return, Ash called for a Thunderbolt, to which Pikachu’s grin made Latias uneasy. The brilliant lightning struck Latias despite her attempts to dodge, even with her Safeguard still up, her body tingled like it was a volt away from paralysis.
Latias quickly flew up and turned invisible. She had to remind herself that this battle wasn’t one she needed to win.
She had another trick up her metaphorical sleeve, so it was time to use it! Latias dove and flew close to the ground at high speeds. In her claws she formed a sphere of light tinted pink, it fogged and dispersed into the air at its edges.
Latias threw it with all her might and the ball exploded in their impromptu battlefield. Mist covered the path, and would sap away the strength of those who entered its range.
The mist also had the side effect of obscuring her vision of everything in it, she couldn’t spot a hint of yellow so hopefully that meant it was a good hit.
Her hopes were quickly dashed as she heard a voice come from on her back.
“That was a pretty cool move.” Pikachu’s amusement bled through his neutral tone. “What was it?”
Suppressing the urge to yelp, Latias replied, “It’s called Mist Ball, only a Latias can use it. I think.” She weighed her options quickly, before deciding, “I think that’s enough. You win.”
Pikachu nodded even though she wasn’t looking at him. She did feel him jump off of her though, and she quickly made sure to follow him back to the ground.
Latias noted two things after that really quick battle. First was that she was very glad these two weren't someone she had to seriously fight against. She would freely admit she isn’t a battler, but she at least hoped her trick would let her get one solid hit off!
The second thing was more of a question than a note. “...How did you get on me without me noticing?”
Pikachu’s cryptic reply of “I’m really fast” did not actually answer her question.
“You ready, Latias?” Ash had finished checking over the two of them for anything that needed to be treated.
Latias nodded. She couldn’t tell if it was her excitement or Ash’s that was slowly bubbling up.
She decided it was mutual excitement.
“Go pokéball!”
The ball flew perfectly, landing right on Latias’s head and sucking her in. From her perspective, she felt really strange. She felt she was still where she was a second ago, but not with her actual body. She felt like she was trapped, and her first instinct was to break out. But she forced herself to calm, Latios mentioned something like this didn’t he?
Latias let the pokéball do its thing. Once she heard a click signifying capture, the pressure instantly faded into a serene sort of calm.
The ball she was in was initially dark, but light smoothly filled, revealing hills and trees that swayed in faux wind.
If she focused on the sky above, faintly she could see the real sky and hear Ash yell something outside, but more than that, she could feel Ash’s jubilee and Pikachu joining in.
The more she took in her surroundings, the more at ease she felt. Maybe a short rest was in order? It had been a while since she last slept on her own terms.
Latias made a hard swerve to dodge another bolt of electricity.
“So, what do you think so far?” Pikachu’s question was accompanied by strikingly stunning Thunderbolts.
“I think-” Latias inhaled sharply as she quickly cut off her levitation to avoid being hit. “I think talking mid-training is insanity.”
Pikachu shrugged. “That’s why we’re doing it. You need to be ready to multitask.”
He threw in another Thunderbolt for good measure. “But I was referring to all of this in general. What do you think about being a trainer’s mon?”
It had been a couple weeks since she was caught. Over the course of that time, Ash had managed to pick up two of his old friends, Misty Waterflower and Brock Slate, on his travels.
“Well, I like Ash, he’s been a great trainer-” another bolt zipped past by a feather’s width, “-you and your teammates have also been nice, when we’re not training at least.”
“They’re your teammates too, you know.” Pikachu ignored her last statement. “We’re all a team, you included. And thanks.”
“You’re right.” Latias quickly glanced to the side. She took note of Ash and Misty bickering about something again, and Brock cooking with a fond smile. “Then there’s Misty. She’s nice except when she’s not.”
She gritted her teeth as another Thunderbolt lanced towards her. Latias still couldn’t understand how one pikachu could do everything so fast!
She could feel Pikachu’s amusement. “I’m sure Ash can tell you how right you are.”
“The way she bickers with Ash reminds me of myself with my brother actually.” Latias continued.
At that, Pikachu changed tactics. He lobbed Electrowebs overhead. They weren’t reinforced much, so the plan was for her to break them apart. Not that he’d tell her of course.
Latias flew sideways. It wasn’t as fast as if she was going forwards, but the good part of flying by psychic powers is that thrust is extremely flexible.
“Brock is also nice.” Latias tried to go invisible but a thread of the Electroweb nicked her and broke her focus. “He seems the most sensible. Well, until there’s girls involved.”
Pikachu grinned. “You could say that again. Anything else?”
She took a moment to think, just out of reach of Pikachu’s Electroweb, so he switched tactics again and started batting rocks at her with Iron Tail.
“Oh! We met Cilan too, he seemed… eccentric.” Latias put up a Safeguard. Constant practice with and without Pikachu had made it stronger, it was only a matter of time before she started learning Reflect and Light Screen.
Pikachu snorted. “That’s one way to describe him. He’s a good friend, but eccentric is probably the best word for him.” Pikachu stopped his barrage, motioning for Latias to continue.
Latias took that quick break to think a little more about what exactly they’ve all been doing these past couple weeks. Misty caught a clauncher, it was cool seeing how that worked from the outside. There was that Beartic Ash helped. It was also nice meeting Ash’s old Squirtle and Lapras. There was also that time Pikachu got separated from them. She liked helping Banette and Nurse Joy reunite, and most recently was that all out fight with that Team Rocket trio who was harassing them the whole time.
She knew Ash and his friends were trustworthy from near the start, but these past couple weeks showed her how much heart they had, not to mention the fact that they were rather strong.
Maybe it was finally time to tell them.
“Latios might not like us, but of course we’ll help him!” Ash kept on scanning the area. He was riding on Latias’s back while Pikachu was upon her head. “He needs our help, and he’s your brother anyways!”
It had only taken a few short minutes to explain everything to them, and as soon as Ash understood there was a pokémon in danger he volunteered to help. Using sight sharing with Latios was certainly helpful in figuring out where he was.
“Latias, it looked like Latios was trapped in some sort of abandoned building, didn’t it?” Brock and Misty were riding on Steelix’s head, closely following Latias. “It says here there’s an old factory just ahead of us.”
“It’s just ahead?” Ash checked. “Alright then Latias, let’s go check it out.”
With a quick nod, Latias zoomed past the treeline with Ash and Pikachu ready for action. After a brief second of silence Misty simply stated, “They left us behind.”
“Yep.” It wasn’t even a question, Brock and Misty knew how Ash was when it came to being a hero.
Brock sighed. “Steelix, let’s follow after them, maybe we can help if we get there fast enough.”
To most people, an abandoned factory in the middle of the woods is foreboding. The desolate air, rusting iron, lingering pollutants, all of which make it simply not a nice place to be around.
Of course, Ash isn’t most people.
“Look at all the factory lines guys! I think this used to be a pokéball factory!” As always, Ash is amazed by the things a lot of people don’t think about.
“How are pokéballs made anyways?” Latias looked around in subtle wonder. “They’re interesting little things.”
“No clue!” Ash said with a smile. “I’ll ask Clemont when we see him, he knows a bunch about machines and stuff.”
Pikachu took note of how Latias almost seemed relaxed when Ash spoke. She’s been getting more and more on edge in the past couple days, now he knows it’s because Latios has been captured for nearly a month, but Ash just chattering away about whatever comes to his mind puts her at ease. He had that effect on people, even if he didn’t realize it.
Pikachu perked his ears. There was a noise.
Ash and Latias quieted down when they realized Pikachu was focusing on something. “What’s wrong bud-”
In a single moment the wall closest to the trio burst apart, revealing a Hydreigon outfitted with a harness. It charged at Latias with its primary head ready to Crunch, meanwhile its secondary heads snapped at Ash who instinctively jumped out of the way.
Atop the platformed harness stood a human. His red-and-blue-swirl hair, tinted monocle, devious looking coat, golden gauntlet, and the fact that he rode his Hydreigon through a wall and attacked Latias made it clear he was a Pokémon Hunter.
“Ah, Latias. It may have taken weeks but I’ve finally caught you. Just as I knew I would.” The hunter sneered. He noticed Ash and Pikachu glaring at him so he aimed his gauntlet at the duo. “You’re a trainer aren’t you? I don’t think you should do anything rash. In fact, why don’t you just leave.”
“You!” Latias spat. She struggled, but Hydreigon’s maw only tightened its grip. “Ash! That’s the hunter that attacked Latios and me!”
“Pikachu!” Ash wasted no time. “Use Quick Attack, free Latias!”
“On it!” Pikachu leapt off of Ash’s shoulder and charged in a zigzag, Hydreigon’s heads tried to follow him and prepared a Dark Pulse in defense, but Pikachu was too fast for him to pin and he collided directly with the head that was clamped onto Latias.
Pikachu gracefully landed and darted to the side, at the same time Hydreigon flinched and loosened his grip, allowing Latias to zoom away. She panted a bit at being caught off guard, but she was more than able to fight still.
“I warned you!” The hunter’s gauntlet shifted, the mechanisms inside releasing a scary looking cannon from within. Ash quickly decided he did not want to find out what it felt like to be on the receiving end.
He shot a glowing projectile from the cannon, it quickly flew through the air right at Ash. Latias was ready to swoop him and get him out of there, but to her complete confusion, Ash ran towards the shot with not even a single trace of uncertainty in his psyche.
He dropped to the floor and slid under the shot, then picked himself back up and kept on running at the hunter. Where the shot landed behind Ash appeared to be turned to some sort of stone. Both Latias and the hunter were in shock at Ash’s boldness, although the hunter’s shock morphed into annoyance as he continuously tried shooting at Ash, only for each shot to be dodged.
“Latias, don’t get distracted.” Pikachu instructed. His cheeks sparked and he launched a brilliant arc of electricity at the Hydreigon who now knew not to underestimate the mouse. He backed up in time, narrowly dodging the Thunderbolt.
Latias shook herself back into focus, there was still a battle to be had. She zipped to Pikachu’s side and let him climb on before sparing another glance at Ash, who had nearly reached the hunter atop his Hydreigon.
Ash leapt. The hunter tried another shot at him, but in a smooth motion Ash flicked an empty pokéball into the cannon’s firing path, petrifying the ball instead of himself.
He then grabbed onto the hunter and wrestled him off his own pokémon.
“Latias, Tackle! Pikachu, use Iron Tail!” Ash yelled while still forcing the hunter’s cannon to face empty air.
“You brat! Hydreigon, Dragon Pulses!” The hunter gritted his teeth in frustration, how was this child overpowering him!
Latias’s speed was nearly unparalleled. Hydreigon aimed both of his secondary heads at her and fired, but quick maneuvers and an aileron roll made dodging the beams easy. She smashed into Hydreigon's torso, and Pikachu used the momentum from her speedy attack to launch his own Iron Tail into Hydreigon's primary head. His strength combined with Latias’s speed was enough to knock Hydreigon out.
“No!” The hunter struggled in Ash’s grasp, but he managed to get firmly pinned to the ground. “I was so close, and you ruined it!”
“I stopped you from hunting a pokémon.” Ash said. “A true trainer catches pokémon to be their friend, not whatever you were doing.”
Before the hunter could retort, the wall burst open a second time, only this time revealing Brock and Misty riding Steelix, and a police helicopter flying behind them.
“Hey Ash.” Misty waved at him, to which he waved back. “That was quick.”
“I’ll say.” Brock surveyed the scene, there was the hunter pinned beneath Ash, a fainted Hydreigon, as well as Pikachu and Latias, both not appearing all too tired. Brock gestured at the hunter. “Doesn’t look like he put up much of a fight did he?”
“He really didn’t!” Ash smiled sweetly.
Latios glared at the humans his sister befriended.
The center one, her trainer, looked back curiously.
“You’re taking off already?” The human, Ash, asked. He seemed genuine but Latios didn’t care much about that. Ash reached out his hand to him. “But you must still be tired-”
Latios abruptly swatted away the human’s hand. He could never trust a human, not even one that saved him. The two other humans standing behind him exchange a nervous glance. On his side, Latias gently pulled him back, quickly murmuring apologies for him.
Ash looked back neutrally, before softly smiling at him. “I hope we can meet again someday, let’s be friends then, okay?”
Latios just scoffed. He would never befriend a human. Never again. They’re too fragile, they die so soon, too self sacrificing. He didn’t want Latias to go through that pain herself.
Latios turned around, ready to leave and forget about all of this, but Latias had something she wanted to say to the humans first. “Thank you all, so much. I don’t know what I would’ve done if you didn’t help me.”
“That’s what friends are for Latias!” Ash said. “You’ve been a great friend, I really hope we can meet again someday soon.”
“Of course we will!” Latias replied. “I’m taking my brother to someplace we know is safe. And once I’m certain he’ll be fine I'll come right back to you. Traveling together has been some of the most fun I’ve had in my life!”
Latios quietly glowered at that, they needed to talk at some point.
“In that case it’s not goodbye, it’s see you soon Latias!” Ash waved as she and Latios began ascending.
“Stay safe Latias! You too Latios!” Pikachu gave his own two-pawed wave which Latias returned as she and her brother began ascending.
Brock and Misty added their own farewells as they watched the eon dragons simmer out of visibility and fly off.
A moment passed. Ash simply stood there by the cliffside, feeling the wind blow by before saying, “Let’s go home too.”
‘So now that you’re the World Champion, just how close are you to becoming a Pokémon Master?’ Gary’s words rang clearly in Ash’s mind as he and Pikachu laid under a tree in the shining sun.
It had been several weeks since Latias and Latios had set off. And just like they flew off into the sunset, Ash and his friends returned to their own homes. Misty and Brock split from Ash as they approached Cerulean City and Pewter City respectively, but they made certain Ash knew they wouldn’t mind traveling with him again in the future.
And once Ash reached Pallet Town himself, he was greeted by his mother, Delia Ketchum, and her wonderful homemade meals after so long.
In the following days he also saw his friend from the Orange Islands, Tracey Sketchit, just as he was returning from a research trip. There was also the aged Professor Oak, who Ash made sure to assist whenever he could, as well as his childhood-friend-turned-rival-turned-friend-again, Gary Oak, who gave Ash much to think about with just a single remark.
But before he could get too introspective, a droplet of water splashed by Ash's feet, followed by many more that came pouring down.
Wordlessly Ash pulled his feet in, watching the rainfall coat the ground all around his dry spot under the tree.
He noticed Pikachu frown slightly and said, “It’ll let up soon.”
The duo sat in silence at that, listening to the droplets pitter-patter against the leaves above them. It didn’t seem like it was going to let up for a while.
“Pikachu.” Ash started. “Remember when we saw Gary the other day?”
Pikachu turned to look at Ash, he was staring out into the rainy horizon. “Yeah, what about it?”
“He asked me… he asked me how close I was to becoming a Pokémon Master.” Ash was still staring out. Massive rain clouds passed overhead, vaguely reminding him of their first day together.
“And you’ve been thinking about it this whole time.” Pikachu was quite intrigued at where this conversation was going. They both knew from the deepest cores of their beings that Ash would become Pokémon Master, but they never truly decided what that meant.
“That’s right, being Champion isn’t my goal. I still think of myself as being a challenger!” Ash looked up into the sky and thought about his battles in the Masters 8. Ash felt like the underdog climbing up the ranks back then, even though he was just as much a Champion as many of the others.
Pikachu snorted. He saw just how much Ash has grown even if he himself didn’t recognize it.
Ash smiled at Pikachu. “I want to go on lots more adventures, meet lots more pokémon, and take everything that I learn everyday and put it to good use.”
“That includes meeting Latios again.” Ash turned to face Pikachu directly. “The thing is, I want to be friends with all of the pokémon in the world. That’s what it means to be a Pokémon Master.”
“I know you’ll get there. No doubt about it, buddy.” Pikachu gave Ash a fond smile before settling into comfortable silence once more.
As the duo rested beneath the tree, the rain clouds suddenly parted and the weather became a light, misty drizzle. Up in the skies above, Ash and Pikachu made out a vibrant rainbow, another symbol which reminded them of the moment they became partners for life.
“Pikachu, when I become a Pokémon Master, you’ll be right there with me, won’t you buddy?”
“Do you even need to ask, you dummy?”
Gentle moonlight shone down on the small clearing Ash and Pikachu were sleeping in. They elected to use a simple sleeping bag, no need to take out the tents. It was a nice cool temperature under the stars, and the duo wanted to fall asleep counting constellations in the clear night sky.
Nearly immediately after deciding what a Pokémon Master truly was, Ash set out on another solo journey with just himself and Pikachu for now. They could pick up anyone else who wanted to join in the next town’s Pokémon Center.
Nearby lay a pair of new shoes Ash’s mom had gotten him. A stylish red and black look compared to his previously worn-out blue and white pair. It felt appropriate to wear them if this was the start of a new journey.
It was a peaceful night, The kind of night Pikachu appreciated when they weren’t getting involved with legendaries. The only nuisance was Team Rocket but they’d already been dealt with earlier that day.
Of course that peace and quiet wasn’t to last.
In a silent flash of golden light, a being touched down gently on the grass clearing. They observed the clearing, taking note of Ash and Pikachu’s sleeping forms. A control panel manifested itself in front of the being, and they began to get working on it.
During this minor commotion, Pikachu had woken up from his pleasant sleep. He groggily looked for whatever was in their clearing, before freezing when he spotted the being that was there and staring at a panel.
Arceus.
Pikachu took a deep breath, held it for 5 seconds before breathing out, and decided if he didn't acknowledge Arceus’s existence, they would go away.
His hopes were quite thoroughly dashed when he opened his eyes a minute later only to see that the clearing they were in had been replaced with some sort of collection of geometry. It looked like they were standing in a pink sphere within a blue diamond, which was in turn inside a spinning, golden dodecahedron. And all of that was floating in a glowing white void.
And then there was Arceus, who was staring at him with expectant eyes.
Pikachu sighed, getting involved with Arceus was the last thing he wanted to do anytime this decade.
Regardless, he woke up Ash with a mighty Thunderbolt. Pikachu wasn’t sure what Arceus wanted, but it would probably be best if he didn’t keep them waiting.
“Good morning Ash and Pikachu!” Arceus spoke in an attitude that was far more cheery than Pikachu remembered. In fact, Arceus was normally a lot bigger than this, right?
“…Hello Arceus.” Pikachu glanced at Ash. He woke with a shocking start, as usual, then blinked when he saw Arceus.
“Hi there Arceus!” Ash quickly overcame his confusion though. “What’re you doing here?”
“I’m here to see you!” Arceus was acting startlingly different from how Pikachu remembered. “I had the best idea, and I wanted you and your friends to be part of it!”
“...What.” Pikachu expected Arceus to say many things, but nothing so… casual.
Arceus’s eyes seemed to sparkle at the thought of explaining their ideas. “I wanted to send you and Ash to the past, all the way back when you both started your journey so you can do it all over again! It’ll be so fun, you’ll get a second go at everything , and all your friends would remember you still!”
Ash’s eyes widened as Arceus spoke. “That does sound… almost unbelievable. ”
Ash took a moment to reflect on his journey so far. It was an incredible experience, something he wouldn’t trade for anything in the world. Every loss stung in the moment, yet each experience always taught him something new, something that helped grow and mold him into the person he was now today. But at the same time, Ash felt a pang of regret. He remembered the friends he made that were no longer with him today. If he had the chance to go back, then was there a chance they could be saved?
“I- Just hold on a moment. Arceus, why are you so different from all the other times we’ve met?” Pikachu narrowed his gaze on them, Arceus never seemed so childlike in Michina, Dahara, or at Mount Coronet.
“That’s because this is the first time we’ve met!” Arceus replied. “I’m not the same Arceus as the one you knew, and I’m really new to all of this, so I thought the best idea was to come to you.”
Ash smiled at the Alpha Pokémon. “In that case, it’s nice to meet you, Arceus!”
“Happy to meet both of you too!” Arceus responded.
Pikachu had quite literally no idea what was going on.
“Ok then.” Pikachu took a deep breath. He was doing that quite often now wasn’t he. “You want to send us back in time? Why?”
“Well I thought it would be interesting.” Arceus looked confused at Pikachu’s questioning. “You could do your journey together again, you could even meet all your human and pokémon friends much earlier than last time if you want to, and they’d all remember the moment you meet them too!”
Pikachu looked conflicted at Arceus. This was a lot to suddenly drop on him.
“I think…” Ash looked at Pikachu. “I think we should do it, Pikachu. There’s friends we made that we wouldn’t ever see again now, like Latios and Lucario.”
“And also,” He added. “Now I’m certain that a Pokémon Master is someone who’s friends with all pokémon, and this would be the best way to become friends with everyone! Plus, young me wasn’t the, uh, nicest to everyone we met.”
Pikachu closed his eyes and thought about it.
He finished thinking about it. “If you want to do it, then of course I want to do it all over again with you.”
Ash let the strength of Pikachu’s conviction wash over him. No matter what the trials they faced, they would always have each other’s backs, that they knew with all their heart.
“You heard him Arceus, let’s go!” Ash felt a little giddy. He didn’t have many regrets with how his journey was so far, but the thought of doing it all again, and doing it better than before, made him feel nearly as excited as he did all the way back on that first day.
“Here we go!” Each word Arceus said was accompanied by a ring of Unown jumping out of various panels surrounding them. “Good luck Ash and Pikachu! See you someday!”
The geometry that the three of them stood in flashed with the power of the Unown. In an instant, it disintegrated in a shower of golden light, taking Ash and Pikachu roughly a decade into the past.
Arceus stood alone in the white void for a moment, before shifting through time alone. They were lucky they could get the help of the Creation Dragons for this, not to mention the Lake Guardians helping to make sure everything would run smoothly.
Arceus was really clever about it too! Ash had exactly 55 pokémon species he caught, and 2 more pokémon he was especially close with, even if they didn’t have a pokéball. Every pokémon of Ash’s, from Pikachu to Dracovish were all accounted for, they’d meet Ash in the same place they all met him the first time around, unless Ash got to them before that, but that’s a good thing anyways.
If Ash did catch another pokémon after the World Coronation Series, Arceus would’ve had to have made adjustments to the Unown code, or else who knows what would happen. But thankfully, Ash’s last pokémon should be Dracovish, that’s what the timeline showed when Arceus copied it after all.
They looked in wonder as they reached their destination. It was Michina, about 4 or so years after Ash had started his journey. The place was quite magnificent, but they could explore later. Arceus had a role to play, so they could wait a little for Ash to arrive and stop them from destroying everything and saving the day.
They could watch the start of Ash’s journey afterwards anyways. Unown were helpful like that.
It was sure to be an interesting journey.