"Hello... my name is Alice." She said carefully. "What... um, may I know your name?"
Akuma nodded at the reasonable question, she clearly knew how to respect a great warrior such as himself.
He spread his wings out dramatically, stretching them out fully and took a deep breath.
"I am Akuma!" He announced proudly. "Master of Mimicry, unparalleled in combat, my wings are drenched in darkness itself, my heart hardened by the cruelty of life!"
The woman stared at him uncomprehendingly, her expression confused, but he had learned that most beings could not comprehend the complexity of his existence.
"And this is my new student, Rookidee, please forgive his lack of speech, I have only recently taken him under my wing." Akuma introduced the tiny bird next to him.
It chirped happily.
"...Um... Nice to meet you, Akuma." The woman responded carefully. "I am a Pokémon Ranger, it is my job to look after Pokémon."
Hmmm, Akuma tilted his head, a Ranger? But she did not wield a bow, and her clothing was much different than what Rangers usually wore.
And he had no idea what a Pokémon was.
"And this is my Togekiss, one of my partner Pokémon." She said, pointing at the creature she was riding upon.
Ah, so Pokémon referred to a species, this one being called Togekiss.
"And we are north of Celestic Town, very north, in the Celestic Forest." She continued.
Truly, this new land was filled with new things for him to learn about.
"Fascinating!" He said enthusiastically. "I have never heard of these places before, but alas, I am on a quest! There is little time to dally, so please provide me with directions to the nearest strong opponent!"
"Like a trainer? Or do you mean a Pokémon?" The woman asked, clearly not comprehending the importance of his request.
"Trainers? What are those?" Akuma inquired. "But no matter, all that matters is that they can provide me with a challenge!"
The woman frowned at that, not at his request for battle, but at his question.
"You... don't know what trainers are?" She questioned. "You must have come from very far away, then."
She turned around and went over to her Pokémon, digging through the saddlebags until she found a small device, it looked like some kind of rectangular piece of metal, with dark glass on one side.
She pressed something on the top, and it lit up with many different colors, before a high-pitched voice rang out of it.
"Error. Unknown Pokémon. Please update Pokédex database." The thing spoke, before going silent again.
Alice's frown deepened.
She turned it to his new disciple, and the device spoke up again.
"Rookidee, the Tiny Bird Pokémon. Native to the region of Galar. It will bravely challenge any opponent, no matter how powerful. This Pokémon benefits from every battle, even a defeat increases its strength a bit."
Some kind of information holder? How ingenuous, the information provided was lacking, but Princess Karasu had always taught him that information was key for success in battle and life.
But the woman in front of him seemed disturbed by something.
"Where did you come from?" She asked politely.
"I hail from the Crow Island, inside the Divine Realm of The Watcher!"
"And... are there any human settlements there?" She seemed to be thinking very hard about her questions.
"No, only the Star-Eaters and the Crow Clan have the honor of residing in The Watcher's realm." No one else had the privilege of living in the same plane as their god, they were honored beyond words.
"...Well... Akuma, I think I have a lot of explaining to do, do you mind following me back to the Ranger Station?"
Well, he really wanted to get started on his journey, but it's not like he was lacking in time, so some extra knowledge would probably be beneficial.
He nodded, and she sighed in relief.
***
"... and so, most regions are structured like that, with a Champion being the strongest Trainer within them." Alice finished her explanation. "The current Champion of Sinnoh is Cynthia, but unless you try for the circuit, you will be mostly dealing with the League or your local Gym Leader or Elite 4."
What a fascinating place this was, but it brought up a problem...
He had been told that Pokémon needed to be caught by these Trainers, so they would provide guidance and care for them.
But Akuma did not want to be subordinate to another, his story only had one protagonist, at the same time, leading a team of Pokémon into battle also seemed like the wrong approach, after all, how could he show his strength if he led from the back?
"I have decided." He declared firmly. "I shall participate in this Pokémon League, and achieve victory!"
Alice seemed surprised at that declaration.
"That fast?" She said, sounding impressed. "I honestly expected you to take more time to consider it, but I would recommend heading to Canalave City first."
She pulled out the same device she had shown him before, her fingers tapping on it rapidly.
"We can probably put out a call for trainers, any of the trainers sponsored by a professor would be glad to have you, and a lot of those are currently participating in the circuit anyways."
"No." He said, his tone brokering no argument. "You misunderstand, I will not put myself beneath anyone else."
She looked up at that, clearly surprised.
"You want to be a trainer?" She questioned, and before he could respond, she continued. "Well... I actually don't if Pokémon can have a Trainer License, but there is a process to register an intelligent Pokémon as a legal citizen-"
"No." He took a deep breath, preparing himself for his grand declaration.
"I shall be my own Trainer!" He shouted dramatically. "There will be no frontier left unconquered, no challenger that can stand against me!"
"Um..."
"Yes! This is great, I shall show my genius in leading a group of my disciples! And at the same time, prove beyond any doubt my strength in battle!" He extended his wings fully and cackled to the heavens.
Yes!
This was perfect!
He would dominate every battlefield, but at the end of the day, he would be alone at the top!
When he finally reached his rival again, they would clash like stars crashing into each other, shaking the heavens and earth alike with their might.
But he would be alone, having broken his bonds with his followers to hone himself into the ultimate weapon for revenge.
Maybe his disciple could even betray him at a critical moment? Or maybe he would be rejected by them, forced to wander this world alone as they looked down on him, despite being their mentor once.
The possibilities were endless, Yomi and Yami would be seething with jealously once they heard of how exciting his journey had been so far.
"Um... Akuma?" He stopped his cackling and stared at the woman in front of him, she looked a bit overwhelmed by his display.
"Yes?"
"I don't even know where to start with this... well, you need a trainer license to participate in the Pokémon League, and no Pokémon has ever had one." She started listing things. "To get a trainer license you need to legally register yourself as a citizen, which would mean you need to take a test in a government building, after that, you would still need to pass a psychological evaluation, some Pokémon don't understand humans, but I think you would be alright... probably."
Akuma felt himself getting slightly annoyed by all this bureaucracy.
Why were there so many steps?
"Also, I'm not sure a Trainer fighting in a match is legal, even if they are Pokémon."
Irrelevant, if it wasn't legal, he would make it legal.
He had patience brutally beaten into him by Sage Mukuro, and if he had to jump through some hoops to fight strong opponents, then so be it!
***
2 DAYS LATER
At the Sinnoh Pokémon Rangers HQ, in one of the conference rooms, 2 people were waiting for a call.
And it finally came, the screen lighting up with an old man.
Professor Rowan looked at them with a slightly raised eyebrow.
"Hello, Director, Ranger Alice." He greeted calmly. "I received your message, something about needing to talk urgently?"
The Director nodded firmly, before taking out a manila folder from underneath her arm.
"Yes, Professor, we are here to talk about an undiscovered species of Pokémon."
Professor Rowan's eyes sharpened, his previous relaxation instantly replaced by deep focus.
"I was wondering why you contacted me with so much urgency, but I suppose that explains it." His tone was professional, not showing any of the excitement he must be feeling. "Where did you spot it?"
"Well... this is where the situation becomes even more unusual." Alice said, before pointing at the camera behind her. "Said Pokémon is capable of speech, and currently wants to apply for a Trainer License."
Rowan blinked at that, his eyebrows climbing ever higher.
"I am sorry, but could you repeat that?" He asked calmly, his tone slightly disbelieving. "Did you say that a Pokémon spoke to you and requested a trainer license?"
Alice nodded firmly, knowing how insane it sounded.
"Where is this Pokémon now?" Professor Rowan's voice was slightly excited.
The Director took over.
"Due to not wanting to antagonize it, it is currently in Canalave City, being supervised by one of our Rangers." She revealed. "We have a couple of photos, but no recordings or proper notes yet, we thought it prudent to bring the matter to your attention first."
"I see." Rowan muttered. "Very well, I will be in Canalave in 2 days, no, I will call in some favors, I will be there tomorrow."
He didn't bother saying goodbye, instead simply hanging up.
The Director laughed at that.
"Typical Professor, so eager to get started." She said fondly. "Alright, Alice, thank you for letting me know, I will handle things from here on out, you can return to your station in Celestic Town."
"Yes Ma'am." Alice saluted sharply before walking away.
She sighed once she exited the room, glad that most of the responsibility was now off her shoulders.
Honestly, she had a feeling that this whole thing was the start of a big mess.