Welcome, Constant Readers, to my attempt at a Jumpchain series!

This first story, as you can see, has my Jumper heading into the Pokémon universe. I have, admittedly, bent the rules a bit to suit my own needs, but since I'm not doing this for the official Reddit thingymabob, I think I can get away with it. I've only changed things for the sake of convenience. Other than a few that you may or may not notice, depending on how familiar with the concept you are, I've stuck as close as I can to the rules.

The exact rules I'm changing are:

The Cosmic Warehouse is infinite rather than having an obscene, but still limited, amount of space.

Rather than being involved in a separate event taking place in the same universe, as some Jumps imply, the Jumps will all involve the main plot of the world they're in.

… I think that's it, but I can't quite remember. I'll come back and add to it if I think of anything else.

I'm undecided on the pairing for the Jumper himself, but to be honest, it'll probably end up being a harem scenario due to the fact that, with the Cosmic Warehouse being how I've made it, the Jumper can take people to live with him after each jump, so he'll inevitably end up with one, anyway. Other characters, though, I've got a reasonably good idea of. Hell, I'll tell you the big one right now.

Ash/Misty.

What can I say? Apparently, I'm a sucker for that pairing.

Let's get started.

The Jumper

He woke up on a hard concrete floor. His name is not important.

The sudden absence of the soft, memory foam mattress covered with the white sheet he had been laying on when he'd fallen asleep disoriented him. He stood up, fell down, and stood up again. His head was spinning with vertigo. He did not know where he was.

This place was massive. It was some sort of structure, he could tell, but a larger one than any he had ever seen. The ceiling was so high he could barely tell the room ended, and the room so wide that he struggled to see the walls from end to end. His retinal dystrophy didn't exactly help, either. He could see, but he knew not how; there was no light source that he could find.

"Fu— wha— where—?" he sputtered out as he wobbled on his feet.

THREE EXCELLENT QUESTIONS, said a booming voice that seemed to come from everywhere at once. Its tone was vaguely sarcastic but not unfriendly. BUT I EXPECT THE ONE YOU REALLY WANTED TO ASK WAS SIMPLY 'WHERE?' AM I CORRECT?

Now, he'd never met the man before, but he was still quite capable of recognising Death himself when he saw him. If the long black robe and the scythe didn't give it away, the very real-looking skull and the completely empty, seemingly endless pits of eyesockets certainly did the trick.

"… I'm dead, aren't I?" he asked, expecting the answer.

He didn't get the answer he was expecting.

NO.

Confusion took hold where fear once reigned. "But then … what am I doing here? With you, of all people."

OH, THAT'S CHARMING, THAT IS. A MAN GOES AROUND JUST DOING HIS JOB, AND SUDDENLY HE'S NOT GOOD ENOUGH TO HANG OUT WITH? THAT'S THE PROBLEM WITH YOU LIVING – YOU'RE ALL SO BLOODY PREJUDICED.

Death shook his head— er, skull, as though to clear it. He got the impression Death was smiling at him.

ONLY JOKING, Death said, and he believed Death. YOU'RE RIGHT, OF COURSE, IN THINKING THAT'S USUALLY WHY I TURN UP. I REMEMBER A BALL I ATTENDED ONCE WHERE EVERYONE WAS SET TO DIE OF FRIGHT. I ARRIVED A FEW HOURS EARLY AND MINGLED A BIT. IT WASN'T UNTIL THE END THAT I REALISED I'M THE ONE WHO KILLED THEM. THEY THOUGHT I WAS IN FANCY DRESS, YOU SEE. THEY HAD A BIT OF A NASTY SHOCK WHEN THEY FOUND OUT MY FACE ISN'T A MASK.

Death shook his head again.

I'M RAMBLING NOW. SORRY.

"Ramble away," he said. Despite the fear and confusion he was feeling, there was some amusement to be found in this tale of Death's exploits.

WOULD DO, BUT CAN'T. NO TIME. I DIDN'T BRING YOU HERE FOR NO REASON, YOU KNOW.

"What's that, then?"

I AM IN NEED OF SOME ASSISTANCE AND HAVE BROUGHT YOU HERE TO HELP ME.

"That's a joke, right?"

NOT AT ALL, NOT AT ALL. Death hesitated. I WOULDN'T NORMALLY DO THIS. THERE ARE RULES GOVERNING THIS SORT OF THING. UNFORTUNATELY, OTHERS HAVE BROKEN THOSE RULES, AND NOW I'M FORCED TO MAKE USE OF SOMEBODY NOT BOUND BY THEM. OF COURSE, YOU'LL HAVE YOUR OWN SET OF RULES TO FOLLOW, BUT THAT'S UNAVOIDABLE, I'M AFRAID. FAR TOO EASY FOR POWER TO CORRUPT WHEN THERE ARE NO RULES SET IN PLACE.

Death was doing nothing to help his confusion.

UM … I SUPPOSE I'D BEST EXPLAIN. ER … CONGRATULATIONS, I SUPPOSE. YOU HAVE BEEN CHOSEN TO BE MY JUMPER.

"Jumper?"

YES, THAT'S RIGHT, JUMPER. YOU SEE, SOME RATHER NASTY NIGH-OMNIPOTENT ENTITIES HAVE DECIDED TO TAKE IT UPON THEMSELVES TO END THE MULTIVERSE AND REBUILD IT AS THEY THINK IT SHOULD BE. HOW THEY INTEND TO DO THIS, I DO NOT KNOW. FRANKLY, I DOUBT IT'S AN ACTUAL PLAN OF THEIRS, MORE A SIDE EFFECT OF SOMETHING ELSE THEY'RE DOING. NEVERTHELESS, IT'S PUT US ALL IN A SPOT OF BOTHER. I CANNOT DO ANYTHING BECAUSE I HAVE DUTIES TO ATTEND TO. FERRYING SOULS AND ALL THAT. BUT I MANAGED TO STRIKE A DEAL WITH SOME GODS, AND THEY'VE AGREED TO ALLOW YOU TO AID ME IN STOPPING THESE MONSTROSITIES.

"… I reiterate: that's a joke, right?"

The Jumper was shaking now. Very, very fucking scared. This … this was big. Really big.

I REITERATE: IT IS NOT.

"How in almighty Christing hell did I get picked for this!? I'm a fucking shut-in, for God's sake!"

A DICE ROLL. AND BEFORE YOU EVEN ASK, YES, THAT'S REALLY WHAT IT WAS. THE GODS … WELL, THEY MAKE 'MOVES' MUCH LIKE ONE OF THOSE TABLETOP GAMES YOU HUMANS ARE SO FOND OF. WHEN ONE OF THEM WANTS TO AFFECT SOMETHING, THEY ROLL A DICE ON THE BOARD, AND THAT TELLS THEM WHETHER THEY CAN DO IT OR NOT, AND HOW THEY CAN DO IT IF THEY CAN.

Gods are weird, the Jumper decided.

YOU ARE CURRENTLY STANDING IN THE COSMIC WAREHOUSE, WHICH WILL BE YOUR BASE OF OPERATIONS FROM HERE ON IN. PLEASE PAY ATTENTION TO THE SCREEN IN FRONT OF YOU.

Screen …?

Before the Jumper could give voice to the question in his head, a moderately sized square of holographic blue appeared in front of him. Currently, he was on a page called COSMIC WAREHOUSE and a series of things he could purchase using "cp," which he assumed was some kind of cosmic currency, was listed. "Utilities," "Structures," and "Miscellaneous" were the three headings. According to a little counter on the top left side, he had 150cp.

NORMALLY, THE COSMIC WAREHOUSE HAS CERTAIN LIMITS, Death explained. BUT CONSIDERING THESE UNIQUE CIRCUMSTANCES, WE'VE MANAGED TO WORK A LITTLE SOMETHING OUT. YOUR POTENTIAL FOR SPACE IS INFINITE. DO WITH IT WHAT YOU WILL … WHEN YOU CAN AFFORD IT, THAT IS.

A pause.

WELL, GO ON. GET A MOVE ON.

The Jumper studied the screen for a bit longer. He still didn't know if he was going to go along with all this, but he figured Fuck it and did as Death said for the time being.

The first thing he bought was housing, which cost him 20cp. Looking into the "Structures" section, he saw that shelving was a free commodity, so he bought that, too. Electricity, plumbing, and AC/heat were all 10cp each. He also bought something called "Local Net," which apparently linked him up to the internet of whatever universe he was in, for 30cp. That was 80cp gone already. The only other thing he bought was a food supply, which only cost him another 10cp. He hit a little prompt at the bottom that said ACCEPT and was left with 60cp spare.

Next, the Jumper was taken to HOUSING COMPLEX and given 1000cp to spend, taking him up to 1060cp. Apparently, this area was where he and anyone he brought home with him would live. He got all the utilities – water, electricity, heat/AC, and the internet – for free because he already bought them earlier. He spent 100cp to ensure that each of his companions had their own deluxe bedroom with a small cupboard (it said closet, but he's English, so cupboard it was), some pieces of Ikea furniture, and a queen-sized bed. He made a mental note to upgrade to the royal bedroom later, when he had the cp to spare. He spent another 100cp to give each companion their own bathroom, complete with a toilet, a sink, a nice shower, and little things like towel racks and mirrors. He bought a dining hall for 50cp, and a simple kitchen and an entertainment centre for 100cp each. He didn't buy anything else at that time, as he thought the current lack of companions made further changes unnecessary. By the time he hit ACCEPT, he had 610cp left.

The next screen offered him the chance to improve the Orbital Space Dock he would be getting. He did nothing, but he took the 200cp that choosing to have the OSD itself gave him, bringing him up to 810cp.

Then he found himself on a page called BODY MOD, which kindly informed him that he had been given another 600cp in order to start things off. He went for the light build since he preferred the idea of being slimmer. He spent a lot of time considering his body type before he settled on making himself look good and spending 100cp on the "Charmer" build, which would apparently make him a hell of a lot more persuasive and attractive to people (it also helped that he apparently gained 3 free ranks in something called the "Endowed" perk). He upgraded his Strength, Endurance, Speed, Dexterity, and Sense stats, which cost him 250cp in all. His Appeal and Shape stats were already at rank 2 because of his Charmer body type. He spent 100cp on the Metavore perk, which allowed him to eat as much as he liked without ever gaining weight, but decided against buying any more perks until later. Again, he clicked ACCEPT. He had 960cp left.

When he hit ACCEPT this time, everything just sort of … happened.

There was a two-storey house just sitting in front of him which didn't look half bad, and when he looked behind himself, there was a single-floor building which looked like it had some space to it, which he assumed was the companion housing. All over the warehouse, there were now shelves, big ones. Some of the shelves nearby had boxes of stuff on them, which he thought it was safe to assume was the food supply he had bought.

But that wasn't the weirdest part.

The Jumper was smaller than he had been a minute ago. At least a few inches shorter, and quite slim, too. His clothes were somewhat loose on his body. He could feel that he now had more muscle mass, and … well, he doesn't like to brag, but his boxers were pretty fucking tight on his privates. However much that "Endowed" perk added on certainly wasn't insubstantial by any means.

WELL … said Death. JUDGING BY THE OPTIONS YOU CHOSE, I THINK I CAN SAFELY GUESS WHAT YOUR PRIORITIES IN ALL THIS ARE … TYPICAL TEENAGERS …

The Jumper got the distinct impression he was trying to mutter. Unfortunately, the way his voice boomed and seemed to come from everywhere at once made that impossible.

"Fucking sue me," the Jumper bit out. "I'm eighteen. My hormones aren't quite calmed down yet."

Death sighed. VERY WELL.

"So, these people I'm meant to stop … who are they?"

I HESITATE TO CALL THEM PEOPLE. THEY ARE … THINGS, CERTAINLY. THEY CALL THEMSELVES THE AUDITORS, AND WHAT THEY AUDIT IS REALITY ITSELF. THEY FIND FREE WILL TO BE CHAOTIC, AND THEY HATE CHAOS. IT MAKES TOO MUCH WORK FOR THEM TO SORT IT ALL OUT AGAIN. THEY DISCOURAGE ANY SORT OF IMAGINATION. AS FAR AS THEY ARE CONCERNED, EVERY COBBLESTONE SHOULD BE THE SAME SIZE; EVERY WORD IN EVERY LANGUAGE SHOULD BE LITERAL, WITH NO ROOM FOR JOKES, METAPHORS, OR EXAMPLES. THEY HAVE A GREAT FEAR AND HATRED FOR LIFE. THE ONLY THING STOPPING THEM FROM REWORKING EVERYTHING IN THEIR IMAGE IS THE RULES THEY ARE BOUND BY.

"Okay … I'm with you so far. Where do I come into this?"

THE RULES MAKE SURE THE AUDITORS CANNOT DIRECTLY DO AS THEY PLEASE. THIS HAS NOT, HOWEVER, STOPPED THEM FROM OCCASIONALLY TRYING TO 'TIDY THINGS UP.' ALWAYS INDIRECTLY, OF COURSE. THEY ARE STILL TECHNICALLY BREACHING THE RULES IN DOING THESE THINGS BECAUSE THEY ARE INVOLVING, FORGIVE ME, LESSER BEINGS IN THEIR AFFAIRS. THEY ARE ALWAYS DULY PUNISHED AFTERWARDS, BUT IT DOES NOT STOP THEM FROM TRYING AGAIN. I, AS A FOLLOWER OF THE RULES, REFUSE TO DIRECTLY INVOLVE A HUMAN IN THESE AFFAIRS. BUT WHAT ABOUT A NON-HUMAN? YOU, MY FRIEND, ARE THE SOLUTION. A JUMPER. FOR NOW, YOU ARE HUMAN, AND WILL REMAIN SO FOR SOMETIME. BUT EVENTUALLY, AS ALL JUMPERS EVENTUALLY DO, YOU WILL BECOME MORE.

The Jumper was starting to get the point. He was getting nervous, but he still had questions. "You keep saying Jumpers as in plural. There are others?"

YES, BUT NOT MINE. I STRUCK UP A DEAL WITH THE ONE WHO USUALLY DOES THIS – I BELIEVE HIS MOST COMMON TITLE IS 'BASTARD RANDOM OMNIPOTENT BEING' – AND WHILE I'M NOT AS RESTRICTED BY HIS USUAL RULES, I STILL HAVE TO APPLY SOME LIMITATIONS ON YOU. THIS IS WHY THE CP CURRENCY IS BEING USED. CAN'T JUST GO GIVING YOU ALL THE TOOLS YOU'LL EVER NEED FOR FREE, CAN I?

"Right … And what about these Auditors?"

DON'T WORRY ABOUT THEM AT THE MOMENT. YOU'LL LIKELY DEAL WITH THEM EVENTUALLY, BUT FOR THE TIME BEING, YOU'RE JUST ANOTHER JUMPER. THEY WON'T BAT AN EYELID OTHER THAN TO EXPRESS IRRITATION WITH YOUR EXISTENCE.

That's comforting at the very least, the Jumper thought. "So, what, I'm just jumping from world to world until something happens?"

BASICALLY, Death admitted sheepishly. WHEN YOU SAY IT LIKE THAT, IT SOUNDS A BIT STUPID, DOESN'T IT? THESE JUMPS ONLY LAST TEN YEARS. EVEN THEN, RETURNS ARE POSSIBLE FOR A SMALL FEE. NO TIME WILL PASS IN THAT UNIVERSE UNTIL YOU RETURN. YOU, AND ANY COMPANIONS YOU BRING HOME WITH YOU, WILL ESSENTIALLY EXIST OUTSIDE OF TIME UNTIL YOU LEAVE THE WAREHOUSE. PERKS YOU PURCHASE IN EACH WORLD WILL PASS OVER, BUT DRAWBACKS, WHICH YOU ARE GIVEN CP FOR TAKING ON, ONLY AFFECT YOU IN THE WORLD YOU ACCEPTED THEM IN. YOU ARE FREE TO ABANDON YOUR DUTIES AS A JUMPER AT ANY GIVEN TIME, AND I WILL NOT PROTEST. I SHALL SIMPLY HAVE TO FIND ANOTHER JUMPER IF YOU DO THAT.

The Jumper was starting to see the picture. It was a scary picture, but it was also an exciting one. Jumping from one world to another, going on adventure after adventure. It sounded like something out of Doctor Who. Hell, he even had a cool, Time Lord-esque title now. "The Jumper." He liked it, the more he thought about it. "Which world will I be starting with?" he asked. He noticed his own use of the word "will" rather than "would" and realised he was already agreeing.

A WORLD THAT IS QUITE POPULAR WITH THE PEOPLE OF YOUR WORLD. I THINK YOU CALL IT 'ANIME.' HAVE YOU EVER HEARD OF POKÉMON?

"… You're shitting me, right?"

NO. I AM NOT 'SHITTING' YOU.

"Well … I watched Pokémon when I was little, but I haven't seen it in years. I don't think I could remember the plot in any real detail."

THEN YOU'LL HAVE AN ADVENTURE WITH MINIMAL FORESIGHT. GOOD FOR YOU. NOW, THEN, SHALL WE GET STARTED?

The screen popped up in front of the Jumper again. It offered him another 1000cp, which he took. He scrolled down the page a bit. "How come some of this is already filled in?" he asked.

JUST SOME THINGS TO GET YOU STARTED OFF, Death explained. YOU'LL BE FREE TO CHOOSE MORE FOR YOURSELF IN THE FUTURE, BUT FOR THIS FIRST JUMP, I'VE STARTED YOU OFF SO THAT YOU CAN GET THE MOST CONVENIENT START POSSIBLE.

These decisions that were already made were the Jumper's age (which would be 12), his starter Pokémon (Eevee), and his starting region (Kanto). He also started with some equipment in the form of five Pokéballs, a bag that was bigger on the inside, a Pokégear, a Pokédex, three potions, and a red cap.

The Jumper then spent 50cp on the Hermit origin story because it would allow him to better communicate with Pokémon. The social awkwardness that comes with it as a drawback was fine, since it wouldn't really be much of a change of pace for him, having been a shut-in before now. He got the Survival Training perk for free, the Ranger Perk for 150cp (he got a half-price discount because he selected Hermit before), and the Pokéglot for 300cp (same deal as before).

He also bought a laptop for 100cp, and a collapsible baton, for defensive purposes, for 50cp.

Seeing the opportunity to make some money, he even chose a couple of Drawbacks, though he didn't really need to. He selected Swarmed, which would involve being randomly attacked by an easy to defeat swam of Zubats, and got 100cp for his trouble. Upon consideration, he also selected Crippled, which would involve having a prosthetic leg, because he didn't think it would really inconvenience him as much as the others, and was given another 100cp.

By the time he was done, he had 1510cp to spare.

QUITE THE SAVER, AREN'T YOU? said Death. GOOD AT BUDGETING. ALWAYS AN ADMIRABLE TRAIT. NOW, THEN, IF THERE'S NOTHING ELSE, ARE YOU READY TO GO?

The Jumper took a moment to consider. "Yes," he decided.

Death waved a hand. THEN I BID YOU GOOD LUCK, JUMPER.

Then Death was gone. A door, one of those automatic sliding ones you see in science fiction all the time, was there now. The Jumper took a step towards it, and it opened, revealing nothing but bright blue light. Taking a deep breath to steel his confidence, the Jumper stepped through and into his new and exciting life.

The Jumper blinked in the sunlight as it hit his eyes. It didn't take long. The light in the Cosmic Warehouse was not dissimilar to natural light. It was probably the change in scenery, if anything, that caused the momentary visual disorientation. Whereas a moment ago, the Jumper had been in the infinite space of the Cosmic Warehouse, he was now standing on a dirt track in the middle of a forest.

He found that, strangely, he could remember how he had gotten there.

He could remember 12 years of a life he knew he hadn't really lived.

Much like the description of the Hermit origin had said, he'd been abandoned in the forest by his parents while he was still an infant, but was saved and taken in by a reclusive old man who lived in a self-made cabin in the middle of the woods. It was nice. He had grown up around wild Pokémon and had learned to understand and communicate with them. He had lost his foot about two years ago, at the age of ten, and now, looking down, saw that he had a prosthetic where it once was made of wood and metal. Nothing fancy or advanced, but it worked. The Jumper took a moment to marvel at the fact that he could still feel his absent foot.

He looked different from how he did before. He was still short and slim, per the options he had chosen for his body. His skin was pale. He had short, straight, dark brown hair and dark blue eyes. It could have been worse. A red cap sat atop his head. As for the rest of his body, he was wearing a light grey T-shirt with an open magenta jacket over it, dark turquoise trousers, and leather shoes that had been dyed a gold colour.

He noticed that he was also wearing a belt. Not for holding up the trousers, they fit fine. There was a holster on the side, containing something cylindrical. He unclipped it from the holster and held it up. Looking through the new memories he had obtained, he figured out how to open it. In a rapid movement, he flicked the cylinder out to the side, and it extended outwards, growing longer and longer, and thinner and thinner until he was holding a two-foot-long, metal baton at his side. He looked at it curiously. It looked like it could do some damage, not fatal, but enough to deter someone or something from attacking. He placed a hand on both ends and pressed gently inwards, collapsing it back into the cylinder. He re-clipped it into its holster.

Very nice, he thought. He assumed the rest of his stuff was in the bag on his back, and a brief flash of new memory told him that he was right.

The Jumper went to look through these memories to see if his Pokémon was already in one of the Pokéballs.

"Eevee!"

The high-pitched, curious-sounding voice resounded from just near him. He looked down and saw his Eevee staring up at him with a tilted head. It was adorable. It's weird seeing a Pokémon in real life, the Jumper reflected. He had to acknowledge that what he'd seen in the trailer for Detective Pikachu hadn't been far off the mark in terms of how these things would look in real life. He could suddenly believe you could compress these creatures into small balls, given the not-quite-there, artificial look they had. The Eevee was, as seen in the games and animé, a mammalian quadruped with primarily brown fur. The tip of its large, bushy tail and the collar-like bit of fur beneath its chin were cream-coloured. It had short, slender legs, with three small toes and a pink paw pad on each foot. It had a cute face, with brown eyes, long pointed ears, and a small black dot of a nose.

The Jumper tried to recall whether it was male or female. Female.

He remembered that he'd been taking care of this Eevee since it was small … well, smaller. They had bonded as she had grown, and now that he was leaving on his Pokémon training adventures, she was coming with him, no Pokéball required for transport. That was good. It meant he had 5 balls still, and a travelling companion, which he felt he would need to avoid going a bit round the bend if he didn't encounter anybody quickly. The fact that the Hermit origin made interacting with people awkward made this better still.

He didn't feel like referring to his Eevee by the name of her species, though.

"How would you feel about me naming you?" he asked.

"Eevee!" Meaning: Sure thing!

Thank god for Pokéglot perk, he thought, thankful that he could understand her. He hummed, placing a hand under his chin while he thought. "How do you feel about Lily?" he asked.

"Eevee!" I like it!

"Lily, it is, then. Let's get going."

The Jumper started to walk along the dirt track in the middle of the woods, and Lily followed him.

It started raining later on. The Jumper took pity on Lily and put her inside a Pokéball for the time being. He didn't consider himself the type to leave pets out in the rain. He'd had a neighbour once who never let their cat in the house, no matter the weather, and he considered it to be a dick move. The rain didn't bug him as much as it used to. Maybe it comes with the new memories of living in the wilderness, he considered. He thought that was probably it.

"Excuse me!"

The shout came from behind him. He was just in time jumping out of the way to avoid being hit by a kid on a bike. He was peddling that thing like hell. It didn't take the Jumper long to figure out why. Seconds later, birds were flying past and over him. Spearows. They were pretty small bird Pokémon with rough brown plumage on their heads and three brown tail feathers. They had narrow, dark brown eyes with white pupils and short, hooked beaks that looked like they could rip through flesh pretty easily. The feathers of their wings were more pinkish-red with lighter tips, and the feathers on the undersides of their bodies were beige with thin, horizontal stripes. Their legs were thin and pink, with two front talons and one talon jutting out the back. The feathers on their backs were black.

I wonder how he pissed them off, the Jumper thought idly.

Initially, his intention was to keep on walking since the biker kid was just ahead of the Spearows and looked as though he might get to where he was going ahead of them. However, a few seconds later, maybe through the bike's wheel hitting a rock, or because the dirt of the track was too slippery, the bike went over and the boy and his Pokémon, which had apparently been in the basket, toppled forwards and out of it. The Spearows quickly swarmed in.

"Damn it," the Jumper cursed under his breath. He'd been hoping that he wouldn't have to deal with people until he got to town, but he couldn't just leave someone to being pecked to death by Spearows. So he took off as fast as his legs … er, leg … would carry him, a process made somewhat uncomfortable by the prosthetic. He grabbed the Pokéball containing Lily out of his pocket and shouted, "Let's go, Eevee!"

There was a flash of light, and Lily was out and ready to battle.

"Lily, Tackle!" the Jumper ordered.

Lily charged towards the Spearows that were attacking the boy and threw her whole body weight into one of them, knocking it back and into one of the others. The two Spearows looked disoriented for a brief moment. The Jumper, fond though he already was of his little travelling companion, suddenly wished that Death had chosen him a Pokémon with more combat capabilities. This was going to be tough. Thinking of the baton strapped to his side, he took it out of its holster and extended it to its full length, then, when he reached the boy, he swung it at the attacking Spearows.

"Well, aren't you gonna get up?" he asked pointedly. "Your Pokémon bloody needs you, mate!"

The boy blinked at him for a moment. "Right!" he said. He stood up and went over to his downed Pokémon.

The Jumper looked at the now hovering Spearows with stern eyes. "Now, I want you to tell me what the hell all this is about," he said.

"Spearow!" said one with a bump on its head, angrily. That little shit threw a rock at me!

The Jumper turned to the kid. "Why did you throw a rock at him?"

"I … wanted to catch him," said the boy.

"And you couldn't use your Pokémon for that?"

"He wouldn't listen to what I was telling him."

The Jumper turned back to the Spearows. "Look, it's just a rookie trainer who don't know his arse from his head. I think we can all agree that going for a full group assault based on one misdemeanour is pushing it a bit. So, why don't we all just go our separate ways and never talk about this again? Okay?"

The Spearows chittered amongst themselves for a bit. "Spearow!" Just make sure he stays away from me!

"Don't worry. I'm sure he won't want to come anywhere near you again."

The Spearow gave a little nod of acknowledgement and turned around, flying off in the other direction. The other Spearows followed suit.

The Jumper sighed. Diplomacy wasn't exactly a strong point of his. At least, it hadn't been before. Maybe being able to understand Pokémon had been a good call. He turned back to the kid he'd just saved, got his first really good look at him and his Pokémon, and realised just who it was he had come across.

Ash Ketchum had black hair, brown eyes, and skin with a healthy tan to it. There were two lightning-looking birth marks underneath each eye. There was a narrow, triangular, edgy tuft of hair coming down in the middle of his forehead, poking out from underneath his red and white cap, which had a stylised green L on it. He was wearing a white and blue short-sleeved jacket with gold trim, a white collar and sleeves, a dark teal T-shirt underneath, blue jeans with light blue cuffs, and black and white trainers with red dots. The Jumper knew from many jokes passed around online that Ash was ten years old. He did look about two years younger than the Jumper himself did right now.

I wonder if the passage of time will have any effect on this, the Jumper thought curiously. This was reality now, not just an anime, so it would make sense.

The Pokémon, of course, was a Pikachu. The Pikachu to a lot of people. It was a short, chubby rodent Pokémon. It was covered in yellow fur with two horizontal brown stripes on its back. It had a small mouth, long, pointed ears with black tips, brown eyes, and two and two red blush marks on its cheeks. Its forearms were short, with five fingers on each paw, and its feet each had three toes. At the base of its lightning bolt-shaped tale was a patch of brown fur. It was also, at this moment, covered in bruises. Those Spearows had really done a number on it.

The Jumper wanted to ask if they were okay, but couldn't bring himself to say anything. The Hermit backstory had mentioned being socially awkward, but he had been expecting hesitation, stuttering, and other stuff associated with social anxiety. Instead, he apparently got the blunt, unresponsive kind. Fun.

"Thank you," Ash said.

"Don't thank me," said the Jumper. He nodded to the Pikachu. "Get him some help. That was why you were in a hurry, yes?"

"Oh. Y-Yeah."

The Jumper stood there as Ash turned to Pikachu and moved to pick him up. This was awkward. Okay, come on, mate, the Jumper thought to himself. If you're stuck not understanding social queues, at least look cool. What do these guys normally do in anime and shit? Just start walking off, was the answer. So the Jumper tried that. He had taken about three steps past Ash when the boy called out to him.

"Hey, wait!" He hurried a little until he was walking beside the Jumper, at which point he slowed and kept pace. "Who are you?"

"I'm the Jumper." YES! I GOT TO FUCKING SAY IT! DOCTOR WHO, EAT YOUR FUCKING HEART OUT! It was good to know he was still able to fanboy over delivering similar lines to his favourite characters, even if it was internal. To be honest, it was probably better that it was internal. He didn't want to make people any more uncomfortable than he was already likely to. "You planning on leaving your bike there?"

"Huh? Oh! Right. Should probably grab that so I can give it back. D'you mind holding Pikachu?"

The Jumper shook his head, and Ash handed him Pikachu. "Pikachu," he said. What are you looking at, asshole?

The Jumper blinked. He really hadn't been expecting this. Was that Ryan Reynolds? he thought, recognising the voice. He shook the thought off. It wasn't important. "I'm looking at you, asshole," he sassed right back.

Pikachu blinked. "Pika?" You can understand me?

"Yes."

"… Pika! Pika! Pika!" Oh my God! You can understand me! I've been SO lonely!

"Calm down. It can't be that weird. Don't get all excited on me, you're the kid's Pokémon, not mine. I've got Lily."

"Eevee!" said Lily. Hello!

"Pikachu," said Pikachu. Eh, no worries. Thought the kid was kind of a jackass at first. Still do. But he … isn't so bad for a jackass, I guess. Saved my skin from those feathered weirdos. Though he did piss them off to begin with … He shrugged. "Pika." Eh, verdict's still out, but he's growing on me. Pokémon can, apparently, say rather a lot while sounding to most like they're saying only one or two words.

"It is good to know your relationship is functional."

Ash caught back up to them with the bike. He wasn't so much wheeling it as he was pushing it along the ground because of the state it was in. That crash hadn't done it well. "Thanks," he said, taking Pikachu back. He put Pikachu in the bike's basket again so that he could push it properly. "So, your name's … Jumper?"

"Yes."

"I'm Ash."

"Hmph." That was all the Jumper could say. This "no social skills" thing was going to take a lot of getting used to. He couldn't think of anything else to say, so he just kept on walking. Ash walked with him. It was awkward.

As if to save them from that awkwardness, the sky saw fit to clear up in that moment, with all the dark storm clouds parting and releasing the sunlight upon the forest. There was a great and colourful rainbow filling the sky in seconds. Ash looked up at it in wonder, and the Jumper did the same, realising suddenly just how beautiful this world was. He never truly realised how polluted his own Earth had been, having been too used to it by the time he hit adulthood, but the sheer clearness of the air and the beauty of its nature told him that this world was a lot more pure than his could ever hope to be again. It made him feel okay with the idea of trekking from one city or town to another over a period of days or even weeks if it meant this world could stay clean, clear of pollution.

When did I become an environmentalist? he wondered. Probably when you chose to have a background living in the woods, he answered himself.

There was something flying up there.

It was shimmering gold and difficult to see in the strong sunlight. It was flying, and by its shape, it was some sort of bird-type Pokémon. The gold colour dazzled the Jumper. There is more beauty yet to be discovered, he thought, and a small smile formed on his face.

"What's that?" Ash asked.

"There is no data," his Pokédex told him. "There are still Pokémon yet to be identified."

"Good," said the Jumper.

"Good?" Ash asked in confusion.

"Yes, good. That means there's more to the world than what we already know. And if there's more beyond that … well, that means the adventure never has to stop, doesn't it?"

Ash looked confused. "I guess so …?"

"Pika." Oy vey.

"Eevee! Eevee!" I'm so happy to be travelling with all of you!

The moment of discovery over, the group set off with the intention of getting to the nearest town. Pikachu may have avoided any serious damage, but he was still far from great. They needed to get him checked out as soon as they could. They wasted no time.

You know, I wasn't really expecting the Jumper to have any effect this early, even the small one I ended up with, but what do you know? Pikachu's condition is less urgent than it was canonically because he never had to exhaust himself to get rid of the Spearows. I'd say I'm doing pretty well.

So yeah, I also think I mentioned in here that, while 10 is the legal age at which someone can set out and become a Pokémon Trainer, there are a lot of people who don't and let themselves grow up further until doing so. (If I didn't mention it here, then it's probably in my notes for the next chapter or something.) This is for two reasons. (1) It makes sense to me; (2) it allows me to actually show the passage of time and people ageing while still letting the future companions be at around the same age as the already present characters (someone like Dawn, for example, will be older in this story than she is canonically).

Yes, I'm a big Discworld fan, hence the involvement of Death and the Auditors. Though that will not become relevant for a while yet and is mostly just an excuse to get the plot going at this early stage. Any excuse to dodge the Bastard Random Omnipotent Being plotline.

While I am trying to work out some sort of consistent update schedule by pre-writing a bunch of stuff before I start uploading, that probably won't come about for a while, and even then, this story is unlikely to receive particularly fast updates. Sorry if that disappoints you, but there is physically too much Pokémon for me to cover with any degree of real speed. I may even skip ahead and start writing other stories in the Jumper's series before I finish this one. *shrug*

Don't get too excited about the second chapter, by the way. It's just a character sheet in case anyone is still confused about the Jumper's current stats.

See ya, guys!