AN: Hey all, I've been wanting to write for a while and I finally put this plot bunny on paper! This is my first work, Pokémon: Dust. I've been doing research and fact-checking for months to hopefully bring out my take on the Pokémon world.

Please note, the Ethan in this story is not the same Ethan/Gold from Gen2, but is my SI-OC.

Thanks for clicking and please read and review when you're done.

Chapter One

The beginning, part one

Ethan let himself collapse on the shore, soaking wet and gasping for air. A shimmer of light from the lake he had just left grabbed his attention. The hole or portal or whatever it was that brought him to where he was now, began to shrink.

Having had a moment to catch his breath, Ethan began to organize his muddled thoughts. Right now, he was… where was he? Moments before, he had been with a youth group on a weekend excursion to explore the lava tubes in Snow Canyon State Park. They had made plans months ago to explore the caves.

Moments ago...

Parts of the tunnel Ethan and his group traversed were cramped, only allowing them to crouch through in a single file line. During a break to rest their legs and rehydrate, Ethan decided to scout out the next portion of the cave. When he reached the next fork, he consulted the guide that the park rangers had given him to confirm his location and which path to take. Satisfied, he turned around to fetch his companions when he noticed a light shining from the other path.

That's odd, Ethan frowned. We should be the only ones down here. Looking around once more, he placed a reflective marker on the wall of the path, adjusted his hard hat and headlamp, and went to investigate the light. He continued to place markers every fifteen or so paces so he could find his way back later.

We're too far below the surface for that to be sunlight. I'm not sure what else that could be, assuming it's not another person, Ethan thought. As he got closer to the light, he decided to call out, "Hello? Is anyone there?" His words echoed down the cave, carrying his soft-spoken voice. After receiving no response, he continued forward.

After another minute, the cave opened up into a cavern, and Ethan found the source of the light. But what he saw didn't make any sense. The smooth, rocky ground of the cave was glowing brightly. Could this be phosphorescent rock? It can't be. Phosphorescent rock needs to absorb light to emit any kind of light, Ethan thought. He took out his phone and snapped a picture to show his group and the park rangers later to ask about it. This definitely wasn't in the guide.

Ethan, being the curious man he was, took a stone and tossed it on the ground twenty feet in front of him. The rock skipped a few times until it settled, nothing remarkable happening.

"Mr. Dust, where'd you go?" "Did you get lost?" Crap. He'd been away for too long. "TJ, grab the others and follow my markers. You all have to see this!" Ethan yelled back. His friend would take a few minutes to gather everyone and arrive.

Ethan then noticed something on the opposite wall of the cavern. Curious, he walked over, not seeing that the light from the floor parted around his steel-toed boots. Once he got closer, the object of his attention appeared to be a carving of a massive tree. Near the base of the tree, there was a crude drawing of three large humanoid shaped figures. Many different creatures were drawn all around it. Near the top of the tree, a feline with disproportionately long feet and a bulbous ended tail was present.

Hah, that kind of looks like Mew, mused Ethan. But who would have the time or commitment to come down here just to make something few would ever see? Ethan snapped a few pictures of the drawing and tucked his phone away in a side pocket of his backpack.

Ethan began to walk back to the mouth of the cavern. Halfway there, he froze as he heard and felt something big give way underneath his feet. He shielded his eyes as the glow from the cavern floor began to intensify, a loud hum accompanying the blinding light.

"The hell?" Ethan yelled, beginning to freak out. Suddenly, the floor immediately around him dimmed, and the humming stopped. Ethan lowered his arm, able to see again. It was as if time had stopped. He saw TJ and the others just beyond the mouth of the cavern, frozen mid-step.

"What the hell is going on?" Ethan quietly repeated. His group still hadn't moved from their spot. The air seemed still, and the only sounds he could hear were his breathing and the ringing in his ears from his mild tinnitus.

"WHAT THINKEST THOU? WILL THIS ONE BE SUFFICIENT?" A strong voice boomed from seemingly everywhere in the cavern. Ethan's shoulders tensed, and he pivoted on his feet, trying to locate who spoke. Sufficient? What the hell was this voice talking about?

The air around Ethan grew heavy, making it difficult to breathe. He fell to his hands and knees, hard hat rolling to the side, with the headlamp casting his shadow on the cavern wall. He suddenly felt weak and unable to support his weight. His mind began to grow fuzzy, and it felt like he couldn't form a coherent thought.

After what felt like hours, the presence left, and Ethan took in greedy gulps of air. Another voice responded to the last one's query. "YES, THIS ONE WILL BE MORE THAN SUFFICIENT."

At that, the earth began to shake. The barely coherent Ethan screamed, stomach rising to his throat as the ground crumbled and gave way, thrusting him down into a void. The only source of light coming from a headlamp illuminating a dark cavern wall.

Present time…

...I heard voices, I fell, and now my only way of getting back is about to- oh shit! Ethan hurriedly stood up and ran for the closing portal. He was knee-deep in the water when the light-headedness hit him, and he momentarily lost his balance, making him fall back into the water.

"NO, NO, NO!" Ethan screamed, getting back up and treading through the water. He was too late, though, as the hole in the lake closed. A shockwave rippled across the water, creating waves that knocked him off his feet and carried him back to the shore.

Ethan rolled himself onto his stomach, forcefully expelling the water that made its way into his nose. Fortunately, he didn't breathe in any of the liquid. "And the day started off so well," he muttered to himself. What was it those voices had said before? That he was sufficient? Sufficient for what?

Ethan decided to file that thought in the 'figure out later' pile in his mind. There was no use thinking about something if he didn't have a way to get an answer. He took some deep, steadying breaths to keep himself from panicking. He was alone in a place he didn't recognize, and panicking wouldn't help his current situation.

First order of business: figure out where I am and check my supplies, Ethan decided. He scanned the area around him. There was the lake he just came from, the water now calming down. It seemed to fill up most of the room he was in now. There appeared to be a natural ramp heading upwards, and a tunnel opening behind him. Looking up, he could see a cavernous ceiling and sunlight filtering in through gaps in the wall-

Wait, sunlight? He quickly set his backpack on the ground and pulled out his phone. After unlocking it, he checked to see if he had cell service or a GPS signal. 'No signal' was the only thing that greeted him.

So much for that, Ethan thought. As he put his phone back in his pack, he noticed the ringing in his ears and realized that he didn't hear anything else. There should at least be insects or other wildlife. This place is perfect for them. Though it's possible my unusual arrival scared them off, he reasoned.

Deciding that he would get nowhere by standing around, he began walking along the path next to the stream. Before he got too far, the earth began to shake, and Ethan froze, fixing his gaze on the ground. "Oh shit, not again!" he cried.

Instead of the ground falling out from underneath him like he had been half-expecting, a hole about five feet wide opened up about twenty feet in front of him. It was then that something flew out of the hole and landed in front of it, causing the earth to shake again and making Ethan lose his footing. Sitting up, Ethan reached into his pocket and pulled out his glasses, putting them on.

Ethan saw it, and he still couldn't believe what he was seeing. Standing across from him, a body made entirely of rock, was a realistic-looking Regirock. Wait, Pokémon aren't supposed to be real. They only exist in video games and cartoons. Am I dreaming? Ethan pinched the skin under his left tricep and flinched from the pain. Ok, I'm probably not dreaming. Why did I have to pinch so- Is that a hyper beam?!

Ethan rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding receiving a hole in his chest. "What was that for? I didn't do anything to deserve that!" he cried out. Regirock just beeped and began charging another attack.

Ethan didn't need more motivation than that. He hopped to his feet and began running in the direction of the ramp, adrenaline starting to pump through his veins, sharpening his senses. Another hyper beam from the Rock Peak Pokémon went wide, missing Ethan entirely.

This just isn't my day, Ethan thought to himself as he made his way up the ramp and out of sight.

The young kit sat down, taking in the view of the craggy terrain below and the setting sun to the west. She took a breath of crisp, cold air through her nose, taking in all the scents that the wind carried. She liked living here. There was plenty of food, clean water, and she had shelter; everything a kit could need.

She sighed and lay her head on her front paws, staring at the ground in front of her. She came to this same spot every day, mulling over the idea of leaving the safety of her home to go out and find something new. She had heard from some of the elder Pokémon living here that there were creatures out there called 'hoomans' that weren't Pokémon; who went on journeys to train Pokémon and had lots of adventures.

She wouldn't mind being trained by a hooman if they were friendly and could make her stronger. She loved battling, but most of the Pokémon living here preferred their boring, peaceful lives. Not many Pokémon would indulge her when she asked to battle them.

She looked up as the sun began to disappear behind the horizon completely. She closed her eyes and made a wish that she could find a hooman to befriend and go with on plenty of adventures.

When she felt she had closed her eyes long enough, she opened them and stood up. She stretched each of her legs and yawned, then began to make her way to her den to rest for the night.

As Ethan continued to run for his life, a few thoughts came to his mind. First, running in wet clothes and boots sucks. The higher he climbed, the cooler it became, and the colder he got, despite the adrenaline staving off the worst of it.

Second, there were Pokémon everywhere! He couldn't spare a thought to identify them, but he knew they were there.

His third thought was how unlucky he was to have drawn the attention of both Regice and Registeel. What's next? Regieleki and Regidrago? The Sword and Shield DLC hadn't been released yet, so he had no idea what they were capable of. He just hoped they wouldn't show up.

It had gotten dark, and the only light now came from glowing blue crystals that were seemingly everywhere. How he had not noticed them before was a question Ethan wasn't asking himself right now. He was too busy running for his life and looking for a place to catch his breath.

They sure love their hyper beams. At least they have stormtrooper aim, Ethan thought as he ducked under yet another one. Ethan hadn't been able to get by completely untouched. He had bruises beginning to form on the unprotected parts of his body. His clothes were torn in places, either getting caught on rocky outcroppings he passed by or the debris that nicked him from the hyper beams exploding around him.

Ethan came to another fork and took the path to the right, hoping like every other path he took, that this one didn't come to a dead end. Thankfully, he could see an opening at the end of the tunnel. When he emerged, he was greeted by the twilight from the already set sun. Then he looked down and saw how high up he was.

Not good. If I keep going up, I'm going to get cornered, Ethan frantically thought, wiping the sweat from his brow. But I don't know my way around, and the regi's are blocking the only way down that I know. I didn't bring any rappelling equipment because I didn't think I'd be chased up this Arceus-forsaken place in an alternate dimension!

"Vee?" Ethan nearly jumped out of his skin, his nerves frayed from his current situation. He turned around and met the eyes of a fox-like creature standing at just over a foot tall from its front paws to the top of its head. It had two long, brown ears angled back, big green eyes, a thick white mane, brown fur, and a tail with a white heart-shaped pattern on the end of it. "Eev eevee!?" it- she said as she backpedaled, startled by Ethan's sudden movement.

"S-sorry Eevee, I can't talk right now! I'm kind of running for my-" was all Ethan could say before Registeel burst through the opening of the tunnel Ethan had exited moments ago. Ethan began to run past the eevee as Registeel fired a hyper beam. Eevee yipped in surprise and avoided the attack meant for Ethan. She then started running in the same direction and shot past him.

Another hyper beam fired by Registeel went high and missed its target. The shot, however, hit a rocky overhang, and debris began to rain down.

"Eevee! Look out above you!" Ethan called out. Eevee looked up and stopped, frozen in fear. This was the end; she couldn't will her legs to move. She may not have lived the life she wanted, but it was still good.

Damn it, Eevee! Ethan put on a burst of speed, not knowing where the energy to do so came from and grabbed Eevee by the mane, narrowly avoiding the worst of the falling debris. He wished he still had his hard hat. "Don't worry. I got ya!" Ethan winced as he deposited her into his arms.

The adrenaline was beginning to wear off, and Ethan knew he wouldn't be able to keep running for much longer. He needed to rest, but the regi trio was relentless. He had no idea how he had managed to run so hard for as long as he had, even with the adrenaline. He had never pushed himself this hard in all of his twenty-six years. Then again, his life never depended on doing so.

Seeing that he had lost the regi trio for the moment, he slowed to a stop and sat down to catch his breath. He set the eevee down next to him and opened his canteen to drink the last of the water he had. Eevee pawed Ethan's leg to get his attention.

"What's up, Eevee?" Ethan asked through gritted teeth, most of his body in pain from the hell he had endured. "Eev… vee eevee..." Eevee murmured before jumping into his lap and began shaking, sobbing into his torn, dirty jacket. Ethan, unsure of what to do, lifted a trembling hand and patted her a few times on the head, saying in a soft voice, "It's ok. You're ok now. You'll be alright."

That seemed to be the right thing to say, as Eevee's sobs turned into hiccups before she calmed down. She then tilted her head, as if asking him something. "I'll be honest. I don't know if I'm going to make it. It seems like the regi's really don't want me to be here. I don't even know how I got here in the first place! Hell, I don't even know where I am!" Ethan said, frustration in his voice. "I just wish I could go back home."

Eevee pulled her ears back, surprised by the outburst. Ethan sighed and covered his eyes, wiping away the tears before they could form. "You're not safe with me, Eevee. If you stay with me, the regi's will get you too. You should run while you have the chance." Ethan shakily pushed himself up and shouldered his pack, Eevee jumping off to give him room.

"I'm going to keep moving. If they find me, I don't want you to risk dying with me," Ethan said. The ground began to shake with the thuds of heavy footfall. Ethan stiffened before turning to Eevee. "Go! Get out of here!" He yelled, pointing a shaky finger in the opposite direction from where he was running.

Eevee hid behind a tree as the strange two-legged machoke-like creature that had saved her life ran off. The elemental golems shortly after entered the room and exchanged a few beeps between them before splitting up and going down different tunnels to search for the intruder.

Eevee thought about what had just happened. The creature had saved her life and even comforted her when she needed it. It had put her safety before its own. Eevee set her face in a determined frown. She would not let the one who saved her life be killed by the guardians. She wasn't strong enough to stop them, but she knew who was. With a plan in mind, she ran off, determined to save her new friend.

Ethan was reaching his limit. Then again, he had thought that several times already and managed to keep going. His clothes had mostly dried now, making it a little easier to run. He could feel the blisters forming on his feet, which the water from his earlier dip in the lake only made worse.

The air was thinning, making it harder to breathe. Fortunately for Ethan, he hadn't been found yet, so he was trying to keep at a pace he could maintain, which at this point wasn't much more than a brisk walk. This didn't ease him at all. He was on high alert, scanning the area around him for threats.

Ethan was tired, hungry, and thirsty. His entire body was shaking, and his focus was beginning to wane. As if to prove this was the case, one of his feet tripped over the other, and he fell forward, letting out a yelp. He covered his face as he hit the floor, letting out a groan of pain.

I need to rest, Ethan begrudgingly thought. He pushed himself onto his knees and crawled over to the nearest wall, propping himself against it in a sitting position.

I have one hell of a headache, Ethan remarked to himself as he tilted his neck to one side, then the other, getting a few satisfying pops. Reaching into a pocket in his cargo jeans, he pulled out an energy bar and bit off one end.

As he chewed, he began to think about things that he had to put on hold before. He was in the Pokémon world! This is every Pokémon fan's dream, but he was actually here. True, his experience so far had been less than stellar, but it was still amazing to think about. Which Pokémon world was he in, though? PMD? Anime? Games? Manga? He immediately ruled out PMD because he was still human. He couldn't remember any places like this in the games, so that was a low probability. He had never read any of the manga, so he couldn't be sure about that. This could be the anime. He was sure he had seen crystals like these in the anime before, but his tired mind couldn't remember where.

Ethan finished his energy bar and pocketed the wrapper. No need to litter here. He didn't need to give his pursuers a real reason, however small, to chase after him. Oh right, the regi's are still after me.

Ethan tried to push himself up, but his arms didn't have enough strength. His entire body was shaking from the full brunt of his adrenaline crash. He couldn't move on. If he died, he would die here.

Ethan lifted his arm and touched a nearby glowing crystal, feeling its smooth surface. The moment he touched it, he felt a sense of calm wash over him, as if assuring him that everything would be alright.

Ethan's eyes snapped open as he felt the thuds of footsteps grow closer. It didn't feel like he had been out for long, maybe a few minutes at most. The thudding stopped, and Ethan looked up to meet the cold, indifferent gazes of Regirock, Regice, and Registeel. This was it. He had nowhere else to run, not that he could anymore.

The regi's beeped amongst themselves and began charging their attacks. Ethan closed his eyes and waited, resigned to his fate. At least he'd be able to see his friends and family again in the afterlife.

"Don't give up. Not now."

Ethan opened his eyes. What he saw was not the regi trio, but a man. The man seemed ethereal, but his features stood out well enough. He had blue eyes and spiked dark blue hair underneath his hat. He wore a dark cape that went down to his ankles, grey clothing with a simple blue tunic, and blue boots that were laced halfway up his shin.

"Who are you?" Ethan asked, having a feeling he already knew.

The man smiled and replied, "I am just a friend, but that's not important now. Your time is not yet up. You still have things to do. You were brought to this world for a reason. You are here to lend a hand in changing the fates of many in this world."

The man leaned down and extended a hand to Ethan. "Take my hand. I will awaken the dormant power that lies within you. You might not need it but accept my gift anyway. It'll help."

Confused and knowing he had nothing to lose, Ethan took the proffered hand. When the man let go, Ethan didn't feel any different than he had before. He arched an eyebrow at the man, who only offered a kind smile and said, "Good luck, Ethan."

Ethan blinked, and when he opened his eyes, the regi trio was back where they were before the strange vision. Ethan crossed his arms in front of him as the trio fired their attacks. The pain Ethan was expecting to feel never came. Looking up, he was astonished to see that the attacks had been stopped by what looked to be a radiant pink barrier.

Did I do that? Ethan thought to himself.

Nope, that was me!

Ethan startled out of his musing. That last thought wasn't his. He looked up to see a floating pink-furred feline with its paws extended. The defining detail that Ethan could see was a long tail with a bulbous tip.

Mew giggled, You're funny. I like you. Mew let the barrier fade when the attacks ended. The human is with me now! Go back to your posts, Mew said, shooing them away.

The trio just stood there, unmoving, and Mew sighed. Execute function: addFriend—input: this human. The lights on the regi's faces blinked in seemingly random patterns, processing the request. They each let out one beep and left.

Ethan, having had enough excitement for one day, promptly fell over and passed out.

AN: Thanks for reading! Please remember to review and tell me what was good, and what could be improved.

I'm not sure what I'll have as far as an update schedule. I already have the next chapter finished, but I want to write another arc or two before I publish so I have time to polish it up and let it sit.