Protector of All

chapter one

Everything around me is cold and dark, a heavy yet also weightless pressure clings to me with a vice like grip. I try to breathe, but I don't feel my lungs expanding, nor the freshness of oxygen entering them. It feels as though I'm drowning, not in water but in this endless void.

Normally I would panic, I think anyone would panic in this situation, but I strangely feel nothing but a serene tranquility. This gravity absent abyss fills me with such a strong calmness that rivals the loving attention of my mother. The warm touch of her gentle fingers combing through my hair and her soft laughter when I did the same to make her feel what I always felt. How I yearn for her to come back.

"This One regrets to tell thou that thy wish is not possible to fulfill." I open my eyes to still see nothing but darkness, unable to see whoever spoke to me. "This One shall grant thou the life thou wished was real. Thou shall be put in This One's world filled with wonders and Pokémon."

A world filled with wonders and Pokémon? I always dreamed of living there. That dream was my only safe space as a child after my mother had left me with that bastard. But she isn't at fault, I would never see it as such. She always listened to me rambling about everything I knew of Pokémon.

I feel a wave of genuine happiness wash over me, coupled with pride and certainty. "Knowledge thou have and thy knowledge thou shall keep. To change imbalance to balance, for that is what thy name stands for." A powerful sensation courses through me, the emptiness present earlier filled by overwhelming pressure.

"Yumenaga Inyo, thou shall meet This One again. Live thy life anew and This One shall watch with guidance eye." Something, no, a lot of things touch me, strangely careful and light. I feel something warm connect to my forehead, a fuzzy feeling washing me. "Keep This One's world and children safe from foolery's destruction. This One shall bear witness to all thy trials ahead." Opening my eyes I am met with familiar green and red eyes and a blurry silhouette with a golden glow. That was the last thing I saw.

Then, everything faded to black again.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

I can feel myself becoming conscious after however long I was floating in nothingness. The smell of the sea and pine hits my nose, the sound of calm waves hitting sand calming me. I open my eyes to see the beautiful starlit sky above me, it is breathtaking.

"Professor, someone washed ashore!" I can hear someone shout, a young female to be exact. "Are you sure it's 'someone'?" An older voice, yet not to be considered really old. Maybe early thirties. "Dawn isn't lying, Professor. Come on you two, let's make sure they're okay!" A sigh leaves my lips as three sets of footsteps make their way towards me.

Three faces enter my vision, yet I can't tear my eyes away from the stars. They have something so magical to them, so clear and twinkling. "Are you okay?" Upon hearing a soft voice speak to me, my eyes instinctively focus on the person talking. It's a young girl with blue hair, dressed in an old-fashioned uniform. That's Dawn in the Survey Corps Uniform.

"I'm fine, thank you for asking." A gentle smile is on my face, the motion reciprocated almost immediately. The boy next to Dawn, Rei, also smiles slightly, seeming relieved. The adult, Professor Laventon, doesn't look convinced, still a very worried look on his face. "Are you sure? You must have been in this cold sea for a while, you look soaked."

I look at the stars again before sighing, slowly standing up, feeling a bit wobbly on my knees. "I can assure you that I'm fine. It's nothing that hadn't happened before." He nods reluctantly, but his eyes widen in surprise as I get tackled to the ground. Literally.

Three small Pokémon have tackled me, so that now I am sitting back on the ground. "Oh, I'm so sorry! I don't know what came over them!" A Rowlet, an Oshawott and a Cyndaquil look up at me, almost admiringly. Do they sense Arceus on me? They did touch me after all.