Rei is a ridiculous name.

No one could convince me otherwise. It sounded more like a nickname than it did an actual name. Most of the time, I was asked what it was short for, or if I was a "little ray of sunshine." It got old real fast that I begged my parents to change it before I turned ten. The last thing I wanted to see on my Trainer ID when I embarked on my journey was the name "Rei Carter" written in bold letters for everyone to see. Yet, when the day came, I had no choice but to have it on there.

My parents claimed that the name held meaning, that it was a claim to our lineage or something like that. It was a bunch of BS if you asked me because most of my family members barely had any information on the guy. So, why would they name me Rei?

Because of this, I usually went by my middle name, Everly. Only, whenever I came home to take a break from my journey, all everyone ever called me was by that name. Everyone, including—

"Rei!"

I turned around, knowing it was only a matter of time. I just wished it was more than one minute of stepping foot into my hometown of Sandgem Town.

Moreso, I wish I wasn't recognized by the only person I considered my rival, Jaiden. Guess when he was the only other kid my age in town, it was only fate that he'd become my rival, but still.

His smile grew when he knew he caught my attention, but I could only grimace when I noticed his newly evolved partner towering over him. The leaves on her shell were providing him shade even as he stood up.

"I heard you finally got your hands on that third ribbon," the boy acknowledged, sounding genuinely happy for me, but I knew better. It was only a matter of time before something changed.

That was how it always worked.

"I did," I confirmed. "And next week, I'm going to get my hands on that fourth ribbon in Jubilife City."

Jaiden snickered. "Not if I can get my hands on it first," he claimed, grabbing something from his back pocket before opening it up. In his ribbon case were four well kept ribbons. Each one more beautiful than the last. "It'd be the last ribbon I need to make it to the Grand Festival. Can you believe it? It'd only take me one year to actually make it. How many years have you been working on your contest skills?"

It took everything inside of me not to lash out on him. Despite being rivals, we never had the same goal in mind. The only reason we were rivals was because we started our journey on the same day. While Jaiden took the route most new Trainers would by earning every Gym Badge to try to become the next Champion, I wanted to do something less dangerous. I mean, who's idea was it to send a Pokémon out into battle, only for them to faint? It was barbaric!

No, I took the more reasonable approach and have been striving to become the next Top Coordinator. Only problem was that I've only won three ribbons in the past five years. In my defense, the first year, I was just learning how to show off my Pokémon's moves without having them hurt the other Pokémon. I didn't like it, but I learned that if I didn't let my Pokémon throw offensive attacks, they'd usually end up fainting before the time ran out. There was nothing I loathed more than seeing my Pokémon get hurt.

At least I never had to worry about running into Jaiden during those contests, but there he was with his four ribbons in perfect conditions. There was only one reason he'd enter contests.

Despite knowing why, I still had to ask.

"Since when did you enter contests?" I asked.

Jaiden pushed his brunet hair out of his eyes as he leaned back on his giant grass-type starter. "After landing in the top four in the Sinnoh League last year, I thought it'd be best to take a break and try something different. Apparently, we're really good at it, aren't we, Terra?"

His partner Pokémon, Torterra, dipped her head in agreement.

I rolled my eyes. There it was. A break? Obviously, he was thinking contest battles would be much simpler than actual battling, and seeing that he was doing so well in them, it just proved his point even more. It was wrong. I mean, contests were hard too! There was just another level of difficulty to them. One had to think about the performance aspect, making sure every time a Pokémon dodged an attack, it was done swiftly, while moves were done with such elegance that they gleamed. It wasn't just rigid movements that were seen in battles.

It took me years to figure that out, yet there he was, with his four ribbons. Only one more, and he'd make it to the Grand Festival.

"You know, I could give you some tips to become a better coordinator," he claimed. "Though, don't expect me to tell you all my secrets as I don't plan on holding back at the Jubilife Contest."

"You just want a battle," I realized. "No way. I'm not taking you up on that. My Pokémon and I can train on our own and beat you at the next contest. Just watch us."

"Really?" Jaiden mused. "In that case, wanna bet on it? Whoever loses the contest, or doesn't make it as far, owes the winner a favor."

"A favor?" I asked, crossing my arms. "No way. That's too broad. For all I know, you could force me to kiss a Croagunk."

"Oh, come on Rei, I'm not that cruel," he insisted. When I didn't react, the boy sighed. "Fine! Fine. When I win, I promise not to force you to do anything embarrassing."

"Who says you're going to win? I'm clearly going to claim that fourth ribbon. I have more experience than you."

"More experience in what? Losing? Ha. I won't deny your contest skills are getting better, but you still need help with your battling skills. Without it, how do you expect to gain more Pokémon or even become Top Coordinator?"

I shook my head. "I-I have battling skills; I do! I just think it's best if it's left on the field."

Jaiden shook his head. "Whatever you say, little miss ray of sunshine."

He didn't even wait for a response. Or maybe he ignored me if I did say something because the moment he said that, he returned Terra into her Poké Ball and walked further into town.

I stared into the distance, counting the few houses that had a decent amount of space between them. If I wanted to, I could walk right home within five minutes, probably even less than that. But I knew Jaiden. He'd probably be waiting next door, begging for a challenge.

There was no escaping his challenge on days we both decided to visit home. My only other choice was to turn back and head towards Twinleaf Town, but there was hardly anything to do there. The only way to get to Jubilife City was to take the main roads, crossing through my hometown where I'd have to face Jaiden for once.

Or...

I shrugged my bag off my shoulders and unzipped it. Laying on top of everything was my leather bound journal, with a hand drawn map folded between the first and second page of it. Something I learned the hard way about traveling was that electronics, such as my phone, couldn't be charged in the "great outdoors", at least, not without a solar powered battery pack that I eventually found.

The map was still better in some ways. For four of the five years I've been traveling, I've been finding some hidden trails or routes that I could travel without encountering a rampaging Luxray that wanted nothing to do with Trainers.

...not that I would know what that was like or anything.

According to the map, there was a hidden path that could direct me straight to the small beach area just south of town. It was peaceful there as many Trainers used our town to go north rather than taking the time to explore our little town. I never minded it. Even before I became a Trainer, I would find myself escaping Jaiden's taunts and hiding there. Nothing could ever beat the sand in my toes as I watched the waves curling up to shore.

Best part: I knew Jaiden would leave me alone if I went there.

With a plan in mind, I zipped up my bag and started heading towards the beach. It had been a while since I had last been there, and I was certain my Pokémon would love having a day of relaxation.

Though, I would never make it to the beach as planned. Not when something swooped down and snatched the map right out of my hands. My head snapped to find a wild Starly flying towards Jubilife City. Sure, I could have let the wild beast take my map, but I had worked years on finding pathways and routes so that I wouldn't be bothered by too many wild Pokémon or Trainers wanting to battle. I'd rather take a safer path to ensure nothing bad happened.

Despite all the bad, I wasn't going to let that Starly get away from me. I sprinted towards it, running as far away from the hidden beach and Sandgem town as possible. My feet stumbled when we reached the taller grass, slowing down my pace, but I kept my eyes on the wild Pokémon.

There was no way I was going to let it get away from me, I told myself.

Part of me said to grab one of my Poké Balls for a battle, but the wild beast was flying further away, so I didn't want to lose it. No. I had to catch up to it as fast as I could if I wanted it back. Dragging one of my Pokémon to fight alongside me would be pointless as their attacks wouldn't be able to reach Starly's height.

Sweat beaded down the sides of my face as my breath staggered the longer I chased that pest. I forced myself to keep running, gluing my eyes on the Pokémon and nothing else.

That was the second mistake as the first one was following that darn Pokémon.

Nothing could stop my foot from sliding into a hole, one I could only assume was created by a wild Bidoof. My eyes squeezed shut as I prepared to eat a chunk full of grass, but that didn't happen. Instead, my body somersaulted through empty space.

It didn't make sense that I opened my eyes, finding nothing but darkness surrounding me. I looked around, realizing I was no longer falling through the air. I glanced around, catching shimmers of golden light sparking around me. They were faint at first, making me wonder if my eyes were playing tricks on me, but their scattering light flickered more frequently as time went on, floating towards a shining light behind me. I shielded my eyes, trying to make the outline of whatever was standing in front of the light, but I couldn't make it out.

"What's going on?" I wondered out loud.

"Welcome to my realm, located beyond both time and space," a strange voice echoed in the air. "I am which humans call Arceus. I am in need of your assistance. Please, do not fail me."

"Fail you?" I asked. "What's going on?"

The voice didn't respond right away. I tried peaking through my fingers to make out the figure in front of me, the one claiming to be Arceus, but it was no use. The bright light that had surrounded it burst towards me, forcing me to fall backwards into a black abyss.

"It is time to learn the past of what once was here," it claimed, "and restore the balance before it is too late."

That was all I could remember before the darkness faded away into a blue and white horizon. One that looked like clouds in the sky. I blinked, realizing I wasn't facing toward the grass like I should've been. No. Somehow, I landed with my back against the grass, feeling the tiny pebble-like rocks poking through my skin.

Wait, pebbles? I turned my head, finding that the grass I had been running through was replaced with sand; sand similar to the ones on the beach close to Sandgem Town.

I wished that was the strangest thing I saw, but stranger yet were the three Pokémon standing in the sand. They weren't native to Sinnoh. With how much I had traveled this region, I would know.

"Are you alive, my girl?" another unfamiliar voice asked.

My head trailed up from the three unrecognizable Pokémon to the man standing behind them. He wore a lab coat very similar to the one Professor Rowan would wear, and a purple beanie with a giant white puffball on top. His eyebrows furrowed together with concern.

"Yeah, I-I'm fine," I responded, pushing myself up from the sand, brushing the excess sand from my ripped jeans. I frowned, realizing I'd have to get a new pair, especially since there was some blood staining the holes. Despite the small injuries, I didn't feel any sort of pain.

"You gave me quite the shock," the man claimed, "falling from the sky like that, but it looks like you're—"

I stopped what I was doing and snapped my head back towards the man. "What did you just say?"

The man repeated the exact same words I swore I heard, proving that I wasn't hearing things. "You gave me quite a shock, falling from the sky like that."

I twirled around, getting a better glance as to what he meant. Surely enough, this wasn't the place I had fallen at. It looked similar to the beach I wanted to go, but I swore that Starly flew far away from it. Yet, the longer I looked, the more I realized this wasn't the same beach. There was a wooden port stretched from the sand to the first few feet of the sea. Behind the man was an old shack that was definitely not there the last time I had visited. While someone could've easily built that in the few months I had last visited, no one could've planted the vast amount of trees that stretched behind him.

"Where am I?" I asked.

"Why, this is Prelude Beach, of course," the man answered. "Dear me, did the shock of your fall somehow addle your memory?"

"Prelude Beach?" I repeated, racking my brain to remember if Jaiden had been here before. Unlike me, he had actually traveled outside of Sinnoh. "Is that somewhere in Unova?"

"Heavens no, though I must say, your clothing is...unusual. You wouldn't happen to have an acquaintance in these parts, would you?"

Unsure how to answer, I shook my head.

"I see. You seem to be in a bit of a pickle. Well, no gentleman would abandon a person in such need!" he claimed, offering a reassuring smile.

As much as I wished I could return one, I couldn't. Prelude Beach? Earlier, he said something about falling out of the sky with something called an Arceus talking to me. If I had to guess, that thing in the glowing light had to do something about all of this.

At least this guy was willing to offer some help, but could I really trust him?

"Professor Laventon! I got the Poké Balls you wanted!" another unrecognizable voice shouted.

The moment the voice cut through the air, the three Pokémon standing there dispersed, running as far from the man with the purple beanie as they could. I watched as they ran past a boy with dark blue hair similar to mine, wearing blue clothing that looked like something from the past.

Even though he had mentioned something about Poké Balls, the boy didn't think twice about using them on the three wild Pokémon that ran away from him. All he did was blink in confusion at them before looking at me.

"Who in the world are you? And what's that bizarre garb you're wearing?" the new stranger asked. "You're lucky one of those Pokémon didn't slice right through those flimsy excuses for clothes!"

"Rei! You won't believe it, but this girl fell from the sky and landed right in the middle of the beach, unharmed," the older man, Professor Laventon, responded.

Everything went silent for a moment while I grabbed a chunk of my own hair to get a better look at it before glancing back at the newcomer. As I did, I couldn't help but remember what my great grandmother once said to me a long time ago when I complained about my name being Rei.

"You should be proud of your name," she had told me. "You were named after your ancestor, one who achieved many great things when he was young. In fact, I'm certain it is him we can thank for our good looks."

It had to have been a coincidence, I tried convincing myself as he and Professor Laventon were talking to one another about something far more important than what I was thinking. There was no way.

Yet, when I looked at his clothing, I couldn't help but to think how old they looked. They could've been used as some sort of prop at a history exhibit or something. I mean, the red scarf and cap could've easily been worn anywhere, the brown strapped shoes with strange pants were clearly outdated.

And he even had the same color hair as I did.

"Is everything okay?" the boy asked.

Words couldn't come out of my mouth. It was just a coincidence, right?

While I wanted to believe it was just that, all I could think about was how I wished I could've had access to one of those ancestry websites, especially when Professor Laventon opened up his mouth once more.

"You know, the two of you have an uncanny resemblance to one another," he commented. "Do you have any family in the Hisui region?"

Hearing those words come out of his mouth confirmed all of my deepest fears. Somehow, I had traveled over a hundred years into the past and was in the presence of however-many-great-grandpa.

Guess I could kiss my chances goodbye in beating Jaiden in next week's contest because it was going to take some sort of miracle to come back.

Author's Note:

Hello fellow Pokémon Fans! I'm back! It's been a few years since I last wrote a Pokéfic, but I've recently picked up Legends of Arceus and had a major inspiration strike. As you may have figured out from this first chapter, while I plan to follow the main storyline, there are going to be some changes to help tell the story I want to tell. Hopefully there's something here for everyone, whether you're looking to read a Legends of Arceus fanfic without playing it or looking for a twist on the game.

Thank you all for reading. I truly appreciate it. Feel free to leave a comment and drop a vote if you're enjoying the story by far. In the meantime, I'll leave you off with a chapter question, but unlike my stories in the last, these questions have a twist to them. If the entire question is bolded, that means you have a chance to influence the story. It could be a question as small as what Pokémon she could catch to something as big as an event that will be added in. So, be sure to interact when you can!

Chapter Question:
What Hisuian Starter would you want Rei Everly Carter to catch?

Pokédex Entry: Starly|The Starling Pokémon
Type: Normal/Flying
Location: Obsidian Fieldlands and Cobalt Coastlands

Picture found on Pinterest.