Divinity

Disclaimer & Preface

If you're coming here just for chapter 1, you don't need to read all of this. Sections 0-2 are relevant to set the stage for now and will be worth a full read before chapter 2 and 3. Though by all means indulge yourself if you feel like it.

Disclaimer: This story has been written without ownership of any intellectual property, those rights are reserved to Nintendo, GAMEFREAK, or the Pokémon Company International wherever applicable.

The Art in the thumbnail was commissioned and made by Kaizerlaser whose who can be found on Twitter by the same name

Introduction:

Ever since I read an Advanceshipping fic called Project Arceus by Elite4James (regrettably no longer available), I've been fascinated with the idea of fiction that takes place at least a decade after where the anime currently stands. With Ash and Pikachu both growing up, Ash making real headway in his quest to become a Pokémon Master, and girls starting to invade his thoughts - and vice-versa. The potential is rampant for pretty much anything and everything I wanted out of Pokemon but never got.

I'm partial to Advanced, Pearl, and Amour but this fic is intended as Pearlshipping. I've been wanting to do a proper Pearlshipping fic for the longest time and having grown much as a writer since the last time I've done fanfiction I think I can finally write something I won't cringe at years down the road. The sheer lack of good Pearlshipping longfics is part of the reason I wanted to do this. If you happen to know some good ones that are neither High School AU or "Ash and Dawn Journey in X region just like the anime" then I would love recommendations.

Below is a list of things to make clear to set the stage.

Things to Be Aware of:

0. This fic was devised during the very early days of the XY season and I have no plans on updating the story to accommodate as the plot won't work without it. More details below

1. Obviously, like everyone else, I'm ignoring Gamefreak's official ages. Using the 3rd Pikachu Movie as my reference as to when a year had gone by since Ash started his journey (Kanto, Orange Islands, and a short ways into Johto) I've concluded that by Kalos, Ash is almost 14. I'm also taking some light liberties as to how old the girls are when they actually started their journey, or Serena at the very least.

When this fic begins in the "prologue" (it's not really a prologue, it's a day that takes place a few years before the rest of the story begins which will comprise the first 3 chapters), Ash is 17 along with Serena (Ash and Serena were both the same age at the camp and she only started her journey because she saw Ash on TV). May is 16, and Dawn is 15. That's all you really need to know in terms of that. Don't think too hard about it.

1.1. This fic, in turn, has Ash ditching traveling as he normally does and begins special-training with the pokémon he already has a year or so after Kalos. So in that sense, this can be regarded as AU.

1.2. When I first started planning and writing this fic, Pokemon XY anime had only just begun. As such, a crucial moment occurs early in this story that leads me to specify this: the kiss at the end of XYZ never happened in this alternative take to the timeline. Also just assume the anime past XY never happens either, Ash may have traveled elsewhere, but the anime as it occurred after Kalos didn't. This is not to say the newer regions don't exist they do, but Ash remained his determined badass self from XY on a mission to complete his slow and sure transformation into something resembling Red.

2. I hate to do this, since some people might not like it. Though given the scale of the fic, I will be assigning names to some of the continents in not-so-vague references to the real world. The game universe once suggested the Pokémon world is just like our own (with references in Gen 1 to Brazil and China (and Minnesota if you count the English dub of the first movie) and Gen 5 mentioning the Pacific Ocean). However, the anime universe has shown time and time again on planet-shots at the beginning of the movies that the continents are nothing like our own. It's obvious by this point the early real world references were part of an original intention to set Pokemon in the same world but changed their mind over time as they sought to distance it more.

So when it's relevant, continents will be given names like Euria, Asahni, and Everida (You have one guess as to which is which). These might not stick, and again, it might not be important, depending on how the writing comes out. I am the kind of person who likes charting things as it helps me make sense of everything (I still very much hold to the notion that the first four regions are actually a part of what is Japan in all but name and are but a minute part of the world as a whole).

3. As I wasn't actually aware that the anime followed the 4-move limit - or at least seems to - until after I started writing, I will not be following this rule. To pull off some of the cool stuff I'd like to do to keep the battles interesting to read, I will be ignoring this rule (mostly because I wrote out the massive battle in chapter 2 before realizing it), it honestly doesn't make sense to me in terms outside of gameplay. Sorry if this bothers you.

For the record, if you go back and watch Ash's first battle at the Indigo league, Krabby/Kingler used a total of 8 moves in that battle, Ash not using the same move twice. Unless Krabby's entire movepool changed simply by evolving and Ash instantly knew what they were - he never checked the Dex for it - it doesn't make sense. I get it, Gen 1 did some weird early things that were scrapped later but I'm gonna keep this one because I like it. So yeah, handwaving that and allowing for maximum amount of choreography and color in the fight sequences. I hope it pays off when you get to chapter 2

4. I view the legendaries to be pretty much gods as far down the chain of command as the weather trio. Obviously, being a god in terms of the Pokémon universe does not actually have to mean you are incredibly powerful. In Movie 12 it's obvious Arceus isn't really that powerful given he's nearly killed by a meteor (despite the fact he probably created the darn thing to begin with out of the chaos) compared to what we would consider godlike in our own reality. This will be explained more as the fic goes along. A god in Pokemon could be compared to the gods of Princess Mononoke which I presume are something closer to the Kami of Shintoism but I really don't know Shinto so don't quote me on that.

5. Like a lot of people I skipped watching Unova, and from what I've seen of the Best Wishes Anime and movies 14 and 15 it was easily the worst thing to happen to the anime (Well, Johto was also really bad). No one from Best Wishes will make an appearance in this story (Iris especially, the only character who could make me wish Misty returned). Though the pokemon from Unova are obviously not ruled out.

5.1. Another point to add, while I have watched a ton of the show from Gens 1-4 & 6, I will not be pulling in many Character's of the Day unless I feel they're relevant to the plot. If some conflict occurs in the story that a CotD Ash and Co. know could help solve, they most likely will NOT be mentioned because as far as I'm aware, they don't exist, and treat them that way in regards to your expectations for the story as to have some kind of eidetic memory of a kid's show with more than 1000 episodes is just silly. But there might be one or two that make it in. Guess you'll find out.

6. Game trainers like Brendan and Hilda (and someone else towards the very beginning I will leave you to discover) will be making significant appearances in this fic for their own parts of the plot, as well as my personal interest in writing them. They will not intentionally be based on their manga counterparts. I've wanted to get around to reading all of Adventures but I've only read through Ruby & Sapphire and FireRed & LeafGreen. Manga isn't exactly cheap.

7. This is not so much a change as it is a reminder: the anime and the games go by a very different set of rules when it comes to the competitive capabilities of pokemon. As such, don't expect me to follow Smogon when it comes to how matches play out. I mean, seriously, Aerial Ace in the TV show isn't even a guaranteed hit (happened in XY Frogadier vs Sawyer's Grovyle) and Protect fails under too much damage (DP Ash and Paul's first 6v6 by Electabuzz). Also some great looking pokemon have been snubbed by Stat distribution and they deserve a spotlight and they will get some of that here.

Anyway, if you're cool with all of that I hope you can come to enjoy this passion project.