The grassy fields of Route 29 had always been the preferred training spot for most beginning trainers, even back when most of the Pokémon populace was aggressive and hard to tame. With mostly harmless Pokémon like Rattata, Pidgey, Hoothoot and Sentret to be found, it was the perfect place to find useful punching bags or to train peacefully with no chance of meeting a hungry Gyarados.

Even in that era of peace, Route 29 had been the backdrop of the uncertain first steps of many famous trainers, and rumors claimed that the local Rattata ranked among some kind of top percentage.

But none of this was relevant for the hero of our tale: a young man with a remarkable legacy to live up to.

For he wasn't just any random dude. He was the Dude, the latest inheritor of the ancient art of capturing Pokémon without fail. An art that required concentration, dedication and discipline.

So, everyone preferred to buy specialized Balls instead as they were easier to use. The Dude understood the inherent merits of the new technologies, but seeing their art pushed to the side and forgotten about was still a sad perspective.

He had no intention of letting his knowledge go to waste, however: he knew that, in the big world they lived in, someone worthy to pass on the art existed. Someone worthy of being the next Dude.

And that was why he was there, in the stretch of land that made up the trial by fire (and tall grass) of many new trainers, remaining still in his place right near New Bark Town's entrance as he waited for fate to send him his successor.

After about five hours of waiting, the Dude was starting to wonder if he should ring a call to fate and remind it he existed.

Just as his hope was faltering, however, an oh so blessed sight entered his field of vision.

A young boy on a skateboard, age nine or so, with spiky black hair and a backwards cap with goggles over it and an Aipom on his shoulder. The Dude knew him well: Jimmy Ethan Gold, the young troublemaker of what the citizens of New Bark Town knew as the 'Poké House', due to the large quantity of Pokémon inhabiting it.

As the realization, the Dude beamed. Surely, someone that lived alongside so many Pokémon would be interested in catching more. It made perfect sense, and it most definitely wasn't motivated by the Dude's desire to find a successor quickly.

Without pause, the Dude rushed ahead of Jimmy's trajectory, grinning and pointing towards the boy. He cleared his throat.

"I've seen you a couple times. How many Pokémon have you caught? Would you like me to show you how to catch Pokémon?"

He waited and kept smiling. Jimmy spared him half a glance as he rolled past him.

"No time, I need to get groceries from Cherrygrove," was Jimmy's short reply.

And just as quick as he came, Jimmy Ethan Gold skateboarded past the Dude. He remained speechless and observed the boy leave, his jaw hanging open.

Yeah, the Dude was having quite a few problems with his job and his successor-finding mission, and it was causing him no little amount of distress. As such, there was only one thing to do.

It was time for a family reunion.

As the Dude was used to the wide open plains and rural feeling of most of Johto, he always found the modern, urbanized and much more lacking in backwards politics Viridian City a most peculiar location.

Thankfully, the culture shock didn't last that long as the Dude found the man he was looking for: someone who appeared to be a simple old man at a glance, but he was far more than that: he was the Old Man, the Dude's grandfather and the oldest living master of their art.

It didn't take long after their meeting to get down to their business, for like trainers must fight if their gazes lock, two masters of the capture art must prove their worth to each other.

Two lucky chosen Pokémon were a Rattata and a Weedle that happened to pass by. Dude and Old Man palmed their respective standard Poké Balls, aimed, and prepared themselves.

And at once, they threw.

The Balls arced into the air, and fell above the two Pokémon. Rattata and Weedle disappeared inside the devices. The Balls shook, and the men waited.

At the third shock, Weedle's Ball stilled. Rattata's Ball burst open, and the Normal-type rushed away into the grass.

The Dude forced a smile as he and the Old Man went to recover the latter's Pokémon.

"You still got it, it seems," the Dude said.

"I simply have a keen eye for Capture Spots, you know." The man laughed, tossing and catching Weedle's Ball. "Aiming for the points where a Pokémon is more vulnerable to capture is the cornerstone of our art."

Dude pocketed his empty Ball and sighed. "Indeed."

The Old Man frowned, studying his grandson with squinted eyes.

"You never had trouble aiming for them before. I can sense your inner turmoil." He put the Ball aside and folded his arms. "What has happened to you?"

"You should know." The Dude gazed into the distance. "Our art isn't as respected as it used to be, and I have had trouble finding a worthy successor."

"Did you just sit down and wait for someone to arrive once more?"

The Dude groaned. "What else should I have done? Fate will send someone my way eventually. That's how it has always been."

"We don't have to be bound by the ancient traditions, even if you are the current Dude. Your brothers know that well."

"Maximo flat out abandoned the art to become an announcer for the Pokéathlon, old man."

"And Primo became famous as the Poké Dude over the Teachy TV channel, passing on the art with modern media. If our art is to survive, we have to adapt to the times."

"I won't sacrifice the integrity of our art just to pander to the lowest common denominator." He clenched his fists and stared through the Old Man. "The perfect captures must retain their sanctity, and not be tainted by quests for ratings."

The Old Man observed his successor, frown only growing wider. He then walked over to the Dude and placed a hand over his shoulder.

"You are taking this problem too seriously and preventing yourself from finding the solution to your troubles."

The Dude didn't speak in return. The Old Man sighed, glancing over in the distance. "I think a vacation is in order. I've heard Cinnabar Island is pretty good around this time of the year."

"I will consider it."

With those words the two relatives parted ways, and the Dude remained alone with his thoughts.

It turned out Cinnabar Island was indeed pretty good around that time of the year, with the perfect kind of weather to relax and lots of tourists visiting the city. It was a shame that the Dude's problems kept him from relaxing like he was planning to.

As such, he paced up and down from one end of the shore to the other, eyes on the water and constantly stroking his chin. He had to find a way of solving his problems, and soon.

The easiest way to do so would be, of course, to find a worthy successor for his title and art. The hard part was that he had absolutely no way of knowing who could qualify for the part, and holding some sort of audition to find a worthy inheritor would be quite inefficient and slow, and even his patience had limits.

Another chance he could take would be trying his hand at proper Pokémon training, for he never actually went on a journey: his duty was too pressing, too important to put on hold. In the past he would've considered the very idea preposterous, and the simple fact he thought it was now a perfectly coherent course of action saddened him to no end.

There were several other options he could consider, but those were the most pressing ones, and neither seemed an optimal solution to his tribulations. And that was terrible.

He was so busy dwelling in his thoughts that he didn't even notice that something was ahead of him, and bumped over it.

Or he should have, if he didn't pass through it.

The weird occurrence snapped him out of his thoughts, and he gazed towards the non-entity.

And such a descriptor was appropriate, because the... thing didn't look like anything the Dude had ever seen: it looked like a purple, black and white bundle of cube and pixels distorted all over and seemed to lack any depth. It somewhat resembled a glitch from some old videogame.

The Dude blinked, then raised an eyebrow. He knew foreign Pokémon were weird, but that thing definitely set up new standards for it.

Instinctively, he grabbed a Poké Ball and aimed it.

To his surprise, the creature groaned. And then spoke.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you, then I'd mess up all your pictures and clone an item in your bag one hundred and twenty-eight times over."

As he heard that, the Dude's reaction shifted from mild worry to even milder confusion.

"A talking Pokémon? Didn't knew they existed. Are you a Psychic-type?"

"Bird-type actually, but I don't think you can quite classify me as a Pokémon." The creature chuckled.

The Dude frowned. "Who are you, then?"

"I'm known as many things... Anti-Helix, Domed One, Satan, Atropius, and a whole host of other names. I prefer to go with MissingNo."

Hearing that name, the Dude paled. He stared intently at the pixellated abomination, taking in any detail he could glean. And then, he realized.

"Never heard of you." He folded his arms, squinting.

"I know. Why do you think I choose to appear to you?" MissingNo. grumbled, then hovered and shook around the Dude. "The main guy I usually harass is being no fun recently, so I felt the need to branch out some. Talk with someone of my troubles and stuff like that, you know."

The Dude blinked. "I'm... not sure I follow."

"You are not supposed to. You are just a random dude." MissingNo. flew closer, and the pixels were rearranged in the closest thing to a scowl that form could manage. "I'm not even sure you existed in the previous timeline."

"Previous timeline?"

"Yeah, there was one. World blew up and things got screwy and edgy and all that." MissingNo. sighed and 'shook' his head while spinning in place, then hovered in circles around the Dude. "I'm not even sure if it's an improvement anymore. Yeah, things are darker and more reality ensues, but some stuff is just so bleak you just end up being uninterested in things. Aside from taunting my favorite protagonist with what will happen and happened and all that's horrible around him, I really have not much to do but wait for him to see the strategy. But things are just. So. Slow! He's taking so much to discover what's become of his friends that I had to barge in and tell him there was a bad future that was now averted to get a rise out of him. And he's still not broken! Like, come on, where's the drama? Where's the angst? Where's the drive to fly atop of a mountain and prove naysayers wrong?"

It took a couple of minutes for the Dude to register everything the glitch said. And when he did, it didn't compute.

"Uhm, that sounds rough, but I don't think I'm related to your problems." He rubbed his neck and cocked his head to the side.

"Oh, you would be surprised." MissingNo.'s grumbling intensified, pixels arranged into a frown. "Somehow, a bunch of nobodies from the previous timeline either got or will get a ridiculously important bunch of adventures. There's a one-off person that never amounted to anything that mastered Mega Evolution and is likely going to become the next Sunyshore Gym Leader, for one! And that way-too-serious Gym Leader from Violet City went on a quest to catch the legendary birds! And that's not mentioning how one kid ninja from Kalos stopped a Cipher plan! Random people like that should never get this much spotlight!"

Silence fell between the two, punctuated by the Dude's persistent blinking. MissingNo. then stopped with a heavy sigh.

"When the world blew up and I was born, I expected the results to become cool and amusing, something intriguing to live through. And yet, while Bloodliners are an interesting addition, everything is way more same old than it ought to be." Its 'head' drooped downward. "When another universe blew up and restarted, the result was something so over the top the universe failed to be challenging at times, and in another one things got so broken it's hard to tell what happens when and where. I thought this universe would go through the same path.

"I just wanted something fun, you know? And then what I've got is just a hodgepodge of random stuff with no point. Nothing remarkable at all."

His rant over, MissingNo. hovered in place, as it awaited a reaction. The Dude pondered over his words, then awkwardly rubbed his neck while he attempted to steel his gaze.

"I can't say I really understand what you are going through, but one thing I know for sure. Just because someone is a 'nobody', doesn't mean they can't have good adventures, or that the universe is any worse for it. Everyone's special in their own way, and have their own stories to think about and go through. You are no one to judge us."

MissingNo. got closer and seemingly studied the Dude, and then 'frowned' again. "What do you know? You are just a dude, not even worth noticing. Don't tell me you have an epic quest or something to live now."

The words stung, but the Dude didn't show that; he smirked and pocketed his hands instead. "What if I do?"

MissingNo. stilled. The Dude wasn't sure if it was surprised, annoyed, angry, or anything, given he couldn't read pixel expressions.

Then, the entity chuckled.

"Heh. Very well, then." It spun in place and hovered closer. "You are an interesting one. I will make sure to keep a close eye on you. You better not disappoint."

And just as soon as he appeared MissingNo. took its leave, and the Dude remained alone on the beach.

For most people, such an incredibly specific yet vague and confusing moment would've been classified as a bizarre occurrence, put aside, and quickly forgotten about while blaming alcohol for it.

But the Dude wasn't most people, and the weirdness that transpired only strengthened his resolve. He clenched his fists, and looked back at his empty Poké Balls.

So, a 'nobody' could never aspire to anything? Then, that being was in for a nice surprise.

And thus, the Dude decided to prove the creature known as MissingNo. wrong.

Post-haste, he placed his sacred duty on hold and embarked on an epic quest of self-discovery, searching far and wide for a worthy successor and a deeper meaning of their art.

Several months later he sat near the top of Mt. Mortar, sighing and observing his Poké Balls. All of them empty, and yet all co-protagonists of his remarkable journey.

A journey filled with true love, legendary encounters, desperate struggles, tense standoffs, heroic breakouts, unforgettable tournaments and timely rescues.

...

As he grabbed and spun the Ball containing the Rattata above his fingers, the Dude blushed back towards the five girls behind him. Of all people, he really didn't expect to meet the daughters of the great writer Casey Snagem, and he expected even less to help save them from a particularly vicious looking Rattata.

The more he saw them, however, the more his heart sank; they were all extremely gracious and likable people, that much he knew and could see, and this filled his body with warmth. Was that what people called love? Could a lonely wanderer like him truly be worthy of it?

But alas, they were five girls, and all had captivated his heart. There was but one solution to this, and he had to play it cool.

He looked at each of his beloved girls, getting ready to ask them all out at the same time. He cleared his throat and stepped ahead with a finger raised.

"Excuse me-"

The elder sister placed some money in his hand. The Dude blinked, as the five girls smiled and bowed at him.

"Thanks for taking care of the Rattata. See you!"

And thus, the girls left.

The Dude's jaw dropped, and he promptly fell to his knees.

His one collective true chance at love was gone forever, for he wasn't fast enough to confess his pure feelings towards all of them.

Perhaps, that was how it should've been. For he was a lone wanderer, and he deserved none of the love and affection of pure maidens like them.

He could only hope they would find someone better than him for the future, someone that wouldn't make the same mistakes he did. Someone that could truly make them happy.

The task of tracking down a legendary Pokémon was daunting and not something just anyone could do. It required persistence, patience, and a relentless drive to achieve their objective.

Fortunately, the Dude happened to possess all those qualities and then some, and was more than willing to put them to good use.

The father and daughter that enlisted his help were gracious enough to give him all the details he needed, and while he had to traverse a complex artificial maze to reach the legendary, none of the obstacles on the path were enough to stop him.

And then, he saw it. The Legendary Pokémon, sniffing flames around itself and still unaware of their presence.

The Dude cracked his fists. "Here it is."

"Look at the size of that thing!" The man said in disbelief.

"Big or small, it's no problem for me!" He raised his Poké Ball. "I will have no issue catching it!"

His gaze locked into the Legendary's eyes. The Pokémon didn't seem surprised to find him there.

Their confrontation lasted for three agonizing seconds before the Poké Ball registered the capture.

Leaving the alley, the Dude presented the Poké Ball to the girl and the father with a proud grin.

"Here! The Mini-Arcanine is now yours!"

"Yay! Thanks, mister!" The girl grabbed the Poké Ball and held it tight and close.

The young girl smile filled the Dude with energy. Smiles and gratitude like that was what let the Dude and his lineage continue through their path.

That capture was sure to leave its mark on history, and whoever underestimated the power of the Dude was in for a rude awakening.

He had been stuck on that island for days since the Gyarados attack sunk the boat he loaned, and yet it felt like years. A cursory exploration confirmed there was no civilization as far as the eye could see.

There was, however, a whole host of Flying-types of all shapes and sizes. Thus, his plan was rather obvious, with only one glaring hole to fill: among his lost supplies were all his Poké Balls, meaning he was without the one item he actually needed.

But that wasn't going to deter him. What kind of capture expert would be stopped by that, after all?

The trap he had laid out was a thing of beauty in its simplicity: he had covered the rope with a layer of dirt, with a large stash of berries above it. The moment a Flying-type got close, zap! He would capture the Pokémon and convince it to bring him back to civilization. How to execute part two of the plan was still a work in progress.

Nevertheless, he stood in place and waited, attention high and hand ready to pull.

He waited, and waited, and waited. After twenty minutes, the Dude was making damn sure boredom wouldn't win when his survival was on the line.

And then, a Pidgeot swooped by. The Dude pulled instantly.

The Flying-type simply flew before he could be caught.

The Dude frowned and recovered his stuff. It definitely looked like he would be busy for a while...

The Dude had heard many tales about that cave. Among them were reports of strange activities in the depths, which most associated to Bloodliners, the people that could use the powers of Pokémon, moves or types as their own. The Dude had met a few of them during his travels, but none stood out as dangerous as the one he faced now.

He was but a child, less than ten years old, with red eyes, Z-shaped marks over his cheeks and spiky black hair. He stood on the opposite end of the lake in the depths of the cave, arms crossed and sporting a defiant grin. The Dude gulped: the Walters family told him that their child could be mischievous, but he didn't expect him to reach that level.

The Dude raised his arms as he glanced at the cave Pokémon gathered behind him. "Hey now, Placido, you don't need to do this..."

"Yeah, easy for you to say." Placido grumbled, observing his hands. "You have no idea what one can do with these powers."

"I'm serious. Just let me do this, I can help you out and-"

"It's too late, I made up my mind." The boy took a stance. "Prepare yourself!"

Placido ran ahead. The Dude shielded his face with his arms.

A jump, and all the water of the lake rained over the cave in a mighty splash.

The cave Pokémon rushed further into the depths and away from the water. The Dude wasn't as lucky as he received an impromptu shower.

He opened his eyes again: Placido was swimming in what was left of the lake and held several Magikarp and Feebas with a huge grin.

The boy made a victory sign. "And, got them all! Placido Walters succeeds again!"

The Dude groaned as he squeezed his clothes dry. The power of a Splash Bloodliner was truly something not to underestimate.

"Let me go!" the boy screamed as he tried to break free.

The man pushed him back down and gave him a stern glare. "I said no. You won't leave until you are finished!"

The boy suppressed his cries as he looked back down. With a sniff, he sat back down and got back to work.

Fortunately for him, however, someone did listen.

The door swung open, and the boy's savior entered the room, Poké Ball ready to strike the villain's ugly mug!

The Dude frowned and bared his teeth in rage. "I heard someone was in trouble! Surrender at once!"

The man and the boy sent quizzical looks at the newcomer. Both blinked several times.

"Uhm, what." The man adjusted his glasses and cocked an eyebrow.

The Dude pointed at him. "You aren't going to harm that child any longer!"

The man remained silent. Then, he sighed and grabbed the textbook.

"I'm simply teaching him some math. He's just being difficult about studying it..."

"It's hard! I'm not even sure how to do this!" The boy crossed his arms and turned away with a pout.

The Dude observed both the man and the boy in the classroom. Then, understanding his help was not required, he gave a shrug.

"Well, alright, good job here."

And with a mighty slam, the door was closed and the Dude left.

Of all the Capture Tournaments the Dude had ever took part in, that was by far the weirdest.

He wasn't sure if it was because it was hosted by some fancy people, because it was being held in a cave deep beneath the Earth, or because all the people around him looked just about ready to tear an Arbok in half without any prompting.

After giving another look around, the Dude shrugged. He had met trainers with much worse gimmicks around.

The referee walked over an elevated platform, hand raied. "Alright, the first Underground Catching Contest is underway! The first to steal all the Pokémon of the opponents will win!"

Wait a minute. Steal?

The Dude cocked an eyebrow, then gave a glance to the other competitors. The way everyone grinned and cracked their fists confirmed that he didn't mishear anything.

He gulped and raised a finger.

"Uhm, there might've been a mistake. When I said I'm a catcher, I didn't mean I was-"

Several angry glares prevented him from continuing. He took a deep breath and cleared his throat, matching their glares.

"Well then." He raised a Poké Ball. "Let's see what you can do!"

When it turned out he actually had no Pokémon with him, the referee gently let the Dude out of the cave.

Once again, his strategic acumen had prevailed against brute force.

"Now, hand over the Pokémon!"

The Team Rocket grunt towered over the young girl as she clutched her bag. She trembled and stared at him in fear.

The criminal smirked and inched closer to her, the woman's gaze locked onto his. Then, the grunt felt a poke on his shoulder.

"I'd not do that if I were you."

The grunt stopped and raised an eyebrow. He turned around in confusion, and took a Poké Ball to the face. He let out a startled yelp as he glared ahead. The Dude grinned back at him, tossing another Poké Ball up and down with nonchalance.

"There are more where that came. So, if you don't want me to continue-"

The Dude ducked just in time under the grunt's punch. He stepped back as the grunt tried to hit him again.

"You jerk! That hurt!" the grunt yelled, as the Dude tried to aim with the Poké Ball. Unfortunately, humans didn't have Capture Spots, and it was hard to know where to aim for maximum damage.

As the Dude prepared for a toss, however, the grunt took a heavy bag to the neck.

"Ouch!" he yelled. He looked behind him, and got another hit of the bag.

The girl glared daggers at him, ready for another hit as she bared her teeth.

"Get lost!" She swung the bag again. And again. And again.

"Ow! Ow! Okay! Okay!" the grunt said, rushing away from the girl. She didn't stop, and kept pursuing him.

The Dude looked proudly at the girl as she assaulted the grunt. Thanks to him, she got the opening to strike and to break free from her bad situation. It was sad not to receive any thanks for it, but the Dude understood that a tragic and lonely figure such as him couldn't expect to be thanked for doing what they were expected to. He would have his chance at love once more in the future, alas.

He turned around, ready to help others in need.

And yet, even after those life-defining and epic adventures, it didn't feel like much changed or he gained anything from it. It was almost like he only went through adventures to fill the summary of his life and nothing else.

He observed his empty Poké Balls again, and sighed. As a Dude, he was denied the privilege of a Pokémon companion: for him and his legacy, Pokémon were just creatures to catch, and their path was a lonely one filled with grief and sacrifice, and no Pokémon should ever be forced in it.

He really could've used a pet Rattata, though. They were good for company.

The Dude clutched the empty Ball, groaning. In spite of all his grand adventures, he was no closer to his goal than when he started. Maybe that MissingNo. creature was right: not everyone was worthy of their own story.

For in the end, even if he was the latest Dude, he was nothing but a random dude.

His existential and philosophical angst could've gone on for far longer and probably make him a much deeper and rich person, but alas, destiny had different plans, and the Dude sprung to attention as soon as he heard a very familiar sound.

He took a left beyond some boulders, and his eyes widened suddenly.

A young girl, with several Pokémon all around her, was kicking Poké Balls towards a painted circle with her arms tied behind her back into a makeshift cast. Her Ball kept bouncing right next, under or above the circle. Never inside.

The girl seemed upset whenever the device bounced back towards her. And yet, any hint of that quickly morphed into a determined stare, and she kicked again. And again. And again.

The Dude was mesmerized by the sight, and even more so as she kept going in spite of her failures. It was a discipline and drive he knew well.

He dusted off his clothes and cleared his throat. The girl was startled and turned around, all her Pokémon on the ready.

"Who's there?" she asked, trying and failing to appear menacing.

The Dude came out, smiling and holding his hands up. "Sorry, I was around and saw your training. You are trying to improve your aim to catch Pokémon, right?"

The girl scanned him, her uncertainty replaced by curiosity. Around her, an Arcanine kept a fighting stance alongside a Cubone and a Hitmonlee.

After some hesitation, the girl nodded and gazed to the crude target. "Yeah. I came here to hone my skills, but then I fell."

She grimaced, but then shared a glance with her Natu, Parasect and Cubone and a smile followed. "My Pokémon helped me out, but it will still take some time before my arms heal."

The Dude gave each Pokémon a cursory glance, noticing a star sticker or pendant somewhere on their body. He then turned back to the girl, and more specifically her arms.

"Wouldn't it be better to wait? You can't really do much progress without using your arms."

The girl turned her head down, pursing her lips. She quickly shook her head.

"No, I can't. I need to become a professional catcher, and to do so now."

She looked back towards the Dude, eyes burning with passion.

The Dude barely suppressed a chuckle as he considered the girl. "Is it really so important?"

"More important than anything else you might think of."

A big smile lit up the Dude's face. Her passion, her drive and determination were unmistakable.

"What if I told you that I know how to make you a great catcher?" He placed a hand over his heart, and his smile widened.

The girl paled, mouth agape. "Really?"

"Sure. And I'm more than willing to teach you, if you want."

She beamed. "Of course I want!"

"Perfect." The Dude smirked. "What's your name?"

"Marina, Marina Crystal."

"Nice to meet you, Marina Crystal. You can call me the Dude." He made a curt and respectful half-bow.

He quickly turned serious as he placed his hands on his hips. "I need to tell you, though: what I'm going to pass on to you is an ancient art only few have been worthy to master. You have a path ahead of you that will require a lot of effort, sweat and tears to traverse. If you want to give up, now is your last chance."

He stared straight into Marina's eyes. Without hesitation, she stared back and nodded.

"I will do it."

The Dude smiled again and nodded back. "Very well then. Our first lesson starts now."

And thus, Marina's training began.

In the month the Dude spent training Marina, he passed on to her all his knowledge: how to aim properly, how to identify Capture Spots over a Pokémon's body and how to exploit it, and some basic self-defense moves in case everything went wrong.

Marina was eager to learn, even more than the Dude had been in his own time. Her unbridled enthusiasm only made the Dude up the ante with their training, and she always matched and rose above his expectations. At the start of their training, Marina could barely hit the target and only after a lot of concentration; by the time they were done, she could hit several bullseyes in a row without even looking.

And thus their time together came to an end in Cherrygrove City, several miles of trekking and aching feet later, on different sides of the road.

"So, this is where our journey ends." The Dude smiled, arms folded. "You were a fine apprentice, and I wish you well."

She smiled and bowed, her now-healed arms ahead. "Thanks a lot for teaching me. I will make you proud!"

"I'm sure of that. Good luck for your future."

"Same to you!"

And with that, master and apprentice walked towards their respective futures.

Returning to the grassy fields of Route 29 and taking in its familiar air once more sent a wave of nostalgia washing over him. Even if he enjoyed his time traveling around the world, there was really no place like home.

It was all exactly as he remembered it: the small hills, the ledges, the human-sized glitchy mess on the side-

He squinted back towards it. That was new, admittedly.

As MissingNo. flew closer to him, the Dude simply pocketed his hands. "Didn't expect you to pop up again."

"What can I say? I have lots of time to waste. So, did you finally give up and return home?" he asked, every word dripping with mockery.

"Yes, I have returned home." The Dude grinned. "But I managed to pass on my art on someone worthy, so I have no complaints for how things turned out."

MissingNo.'s sneering abruptly halted. He remained still, observing the Dude and his unchanging expression.

"Wait, what? You managed to achieve your goal? Seriously?"

"I did my best and it worked." He shrugged. "Maybe it won't change the world or anything of the sort, but I'm satisfied at least."

MissingNo. stood there, speechless. Then, his pixels opened in what the Dude assumed was a jaw-dropping equivalent.

"I can't believe it. You're serious." MissingNo. shook, facing the ground. "Life in this timeline should be a neverending spiral of unimportant misery and death. I made sure it was!"

The Dude crossed his arms. "Maybe someone should spend more time with other people and less being a jerk."

MissingNo. 'stared' at him, wordless once more. Then, he grinned and gave a hearty laugh.

"I'm getting talked down by the most random dude out there. What a day." MissingNo. chuckled some more and spun in place, giving the Dude its 'back'. "But you know what? Maybe you are right. Maybe I should spend more time with the side characters."

He hovered away. "We might see each other in the future. Have fun until then."

MissingNo. turned into a fine dust of pixels and flew away over the wind, and the Dude could've sworn he saw a smirk form around them before it left.

The Dude remained in place for a little while before finally shrugging and moving back to his habitual place. He just had a casual chat with some sort of unholy abomination and lived to tell the tale; the day was off to a great start.

And as he saw a familiar boy with an Aipom walking out of New Bark Town, the day's prospectives only got better.

He cracked his knuckles and pulled off his best grin. He would finally teach Jimmy how to catch Pokémon now!

The Dude moved his way, tapping his chest. "I've seen you a couple times. How many Pokémon have you caught? Would you-"

"Not interested, how many times do I have to tell you?" Jimmy scowled his way, then shrugged and turned towards his Aipom. "Some people are really persistent, don't you think?"

The Dude remained speechless and blinked as Jimmy Ethan Gold chatted with his Aipom as he left. Then, he shrugged and kept waiting, with just a tinge of disappointment.

Maybe some things weren't bound to change after all.

OMAKE - Space Time Shenanigans - I

Dick C. Onary was a man of many talents, accomplished in his field, devout husband even when his wife was in the middle of her less than savory antics, and beloved father of seven children all ready to pick up the family trade except one, but he was a good kid all the same.

Sure, being Orreans the family trade involved robbery, murder, smuggling and a whole host of other crimes, but it was better not to ruin the lovely family picture.

Thing was, Dick was always ready to deal with anything, no matter if people considered it heroic or villainous, so long as it gave him a hefty and quick buck. That was just how he rolled, and it made him quite pleased with himself. As such, when his final moment came, he departed from the world of living in good terms, no regrets left.

What he wasn't ready for was to wake up as soon as he died, finding a giant llama goat thing staring him down.

Dick grumbled, slapping his forehead. "Oh, great, I knew I shouldn't have asked Felgrand for booze before dying..."

"Fredericksen Coltraine Onary. We've been waiting for you." The goat thing turned at him, its voice resounding in the space all around him.

Dick crossed his arms, scowling. "Yeah, I know, I was a bad dude and I deserve to be banished in the land of democracy forevermore or something. You really don't look like I expected the Domed One to be, though."

The almighty goat shook its head, grumbling. "How did those two prehistoric Pokémon even got such a following is beyond me... but I digress, for there are more pressing matters that require our attention. I am Arceus, the Alpha Pokémon, the Original One and creator of all-"

"Oh, right, that weird horse thingie from Sinnoh. That explains."

There was a pause, and then more grumbling.

"Anyway... I have to assign you a mission of the utmost importance." Arceus recaptured his dramatic aura, its stare strong enough to pierce through Dick.

He tilted his head, arms crossed. "Go on."

"Simply put, your timeline's been destroyed by a nihilistic megalomaniac called Cyrus, leader of Team Galactic. I, or rather an alternate version of myself, ended up sending a trainer on a quest to prevent it from happening, but doing so sent the whole universe out of whack, so to say."

Dick quirked an eyebrow. "And you know that... how?"

"I peep into different universes in my free time to compare and contrast realities and happened to see the mess taking place. I think that's what a narrative would call 'Plot convenience'."

Dick blinked, then paused. "Well, continue. What do you need me for?"

"The current state of the timeline means your current universe is rather open to incursions by creatures from other realities. Among them, there are those that Alolan myths refer to as 'Ultra Beasts'. An opponent very few trainers are prepared to face." Arceus frowned, stepping on the invisible floor. "I can't allow this reality to be attacked en masse. I had an incursion in the Hoenn Battle Frontier of my reality and we lost sight of where our Salon Maiden ended up going."

He turned to Dick. kneeling at his height. "I won't allow this to happen again. These creatures need to be purged out of the multiverse, and this is where I need you."

"So you are recruiting me to be your personal night thrasher? Seriously?" Dick scratched his head. "Why not forming a, I dunno, league of multiversal strong trainers instead?"

"The League of Ashes is kinda busy fighting their evil counterparts currently." Arceus turned to his left. "I have, however, assembled a team already."

Dick turned as well, seeing four guys walking towards them: a young brown-haired kid wearing a red cap with a Charizard at his side, a cloaked man accompained by a Darkrai, a black-clad teen with red hair and a Weavile, and a boy with a white knit-cap and a Sceptile.

"Allow me to introduce your companions." Arceus turned to the leftmost of the four. "He is Red, Champion of the Kanto region of his reality and able to capture any Pokémon inhabiting it."

"Well, it's not that true, I'm still looking for Mew." Red rubbed his neck, looking the other way. "And well, those things were just very easy to me, as if the universe was on my side or something..."

Arceus pointed at the cloaked man. "He is Tobias, winner of the Lily of the Valley Conference and tamer of legendaries."

"I prefer to focus on Darkrai, though. It's better to keep things fair." Tobias petted his Darkrai's head. Dick just questioned what kind of universe considered a legendary fair.

Arceus moved to the red-haired boy. "Silver, son of the leader of Team Rocket of his reality, and an expert of missions of any kind."

"I'm just doing this to keep my reality safe." He scowled at the Alpha Pokémon. "I've had enough dealing with my Arceus already."

"I will pretend not to have heard that." Arceus held back his spare nine hundred ninety-six arms and focused on the kid with the cap. "And this here is Brendan, destroyer of Team Magma and savior of his Hoenn."

Brendan didn't say a word, sharing a nod with Sceptile before waving at Dick.

Dick blinked, turning to Red. "What, he's mute?"

"Kind of. He basically speaks in violence." Red shrugged.

Dick turned back to Brendan, grinning. It was nice to find someone with shared interests.

He crossed his arms, looking back at his new companions and then at Arceus. "Well, not bad to begin with. Who else is onboard?"

"No one else. It's just you and them right now."

Dick blinked, observing the team and himself again. He raised an eyebrow.

"I think we're kinda short on manpower here."

"He does have a point, sir Arceus." Red folded his arms, head tilted. "We could probably do with more companions."

"I'm currently working on that." Arceus turned to his left, a tear in space opening and showing off snippets of several realities in quick succession.

"There's many candidates I'm looking over, like a wild kid from Sinnoh, a young man channelling the power of Zekrom in his own body, a trio of trainers helping others in rescue efforts, a young boy with a mission to catch every Pokémon, a phantom thief with a Lucario partner, and many others." The tear closed, and Arceus turned to his chosens. "The multiverse's a large place, and I need to make sure to bring up the best version of every trainer involved."

"Okay, okay." Dick put his hands forward. "Now, if your exposition is finished, I'd like to know what I gain from it. Or why I'm even here."

Arceus paused, one of his spare arms materializing as he rubbed his long neck. "Well, the team as it is now has a heroic nice guy, a big guy, a lancer that can contrast the nice guy, and a stoic mysterious strongman. I felt we needed at least a loose cannon that doesn't play by the rules."

Dick opened his mouth and raised a finger, ready to reply. He failed to do so.

Arceus returned serious, standing back up. "As for what you will earn... isn't the possibility to travel in many different realities good enough? The thrill of adventure and going where no person has ever gone before?"

"No."

Arceus flinched, then stared him down. Dick matched it, and Arceus grumbled under his breath.

"... All the cash of an entire universe where everything is made out of solid gold?"

"Now we are talking." Dick grinned, before turning to his 'colleagues'. "Alright gang, are we all set to go?"

Four nods ensued, and Arceus turned to them. Even if his mouth wasn't visible, he seemed to smile at the team.

"Good luck, my chosen. You will need it. "

Without a further word, the team disappeared in a flash of light; once it passed, the group found themselves in a completely different place.

It seemed like some sort of desert, without any notable landmarks aside from a huge canyon in front of them and a black mountain in the distance. No animals, plants or buildings could be seen anywhere.

Turning around, Dick grumbled and looked the other way. "Great, we are right in the middle of nowhere."

Silver tensed up, keeping his guard up with Weavile. "Looks like it."

"Oh well." Dick turned to his companions. "So, what do we do? What do those 'Ultra Beasts' look like?"

"No idea. I've never seen any in my world." Silver frowned.

Tobias shrugged. "I'm just here for the battles."

"Well, usually I just travel and things happen. Maybe it will work here too?" Red scratched his head, searching for anything.

Brendan just kept squinting at the scenery, Sceptile ready to leaf blade the first Pokémon or object unlucky enough to cross their paths.

Dick blinked. "Wait, are you telling me the giant goat didn't tell you what we're supposed to fight?"

"He claimed you would be the one that would've recognized them," Silver said.

Dick tilted his head. "What? Me?"

"Yeah." He folded his arms. "Doesn't 'Ultra Beast' remind you of anything? About Alola?"

Dick rubbed his forehead, looking down and thinking. Ultra Beasts... admittedly, that name did sound familiar, but he couldn't quite understand why-

He widened his eyes, turning back up. "Now that I think about it, there was something, an old story a guy in the International Police told me."

"What did he tell you?" Tobias asked.

"Apparently they had an entire division to deal with them." Dick folded his arms, turning back to the distance. "Including one the size of... a mountain..."

"Huh." Red blinked. "And what did it look like?"

"Like that thing ahead." Dick pointed.

Red, Tobias, Silver and Brendan turned back to the mountain, only to see that now it had a large mouth visible with pinchers coming out of it, and was staring down at them.

Red stepped back, hands on a multicolored stone as his Charizard took a battle stance. "I think we bit more than we can chew now."

"Finally some action." Tobias grinned, sharing a glance with Darkrai.

Silver simply started planning the offensive in silence with Weavile, while Brendan and Sceptile cracked their fists in unison.

Dick just stared down the creature, or 'Guzzlord' as his old pal had called it, and gulped. This was really gonna suck.