Pokémon rarely give themselves unique names. Approach a group of them, call out the name of the species, and odds are, nine out of ten pokémon in that group would turn to answer you. Those that choose to name themselves something else usually do so with a good reason. Whether they do it to be set apart from their fellow pokémon, or for some other reason usually depends on the pokémon in question. Sometimes pokémon give each other nicknames, often based on a unique characteristic for that pokémon.

“Flame-tail” was usually reserved for the Charmander family; “Tree-back” was often used for the Turtwig family and many others existed for the hundreds of pokémon species. Some considered them derogative while others said it with humor.

Some researchers usually ignored the mountains of evidence that suggested otherwise and assumed that every pokémon was the same. A Charmander from Kanto wasn’t any better or worse than a Charmander from Kalos. Nothing could have been further from the truth.

Every pokémon was unique, special. No two were ever alike. Pokémon Breeders knew this; they spread the word as much as they could, but they were rarely listened to and the few scientists that had put forth papers about it had been laughed out of the room.

-

Espeon stared at the quartet of cards before him with a critical eye. To the casual observer, the cards made no sense. Four seemingly randomly decorated cards were arranged in a square with no real rhyme or reason to them. Yet to Espeon, the cards meant so much more. They were called Entercards; keys to other worlds, and he had spent years of his life researching them. He used to have a brother, an Umbreon who had shared his passion for Magnagates, but after a rough adventure in a far-off land where they had stopped a floating palace from falling and destroying a pokémon settlement, Umbreon had bowed out of the research and settled down with a Mightyena he had encountered.

Espeon let a small smile pass over his muzzle at the memory and pricked his ears.

“Just because you’re immune to psychic types, doesn’t mean we can’t sense a large hole in our fields,” he said casually as he fiddled with the cards. After a moment, Absol stepped into view, his unnatural black and white eyes narrowed thoughtfully.

“I keep forgetting that; not surprising, given that you always were the smarter one,” he remarked as he stopped a safe distance from the Entercards. “What are you doing?”

Espeon glared at the cards for a moment before he sighed heavily. “Trying to remember what the combination was for Equestria,” he said. Absol arched an eyebrow as he looked at the cards, but the patterns swirled before his eyes and he shook his head.

“You’ve always had that strange interest in uncommon anomalies, strange occurrences and the inexplicably occult,” Absol remarked. Espeon stared at him, blinking his lavender eyes.

“Half of those words meant the same thing and together it came out as garbage; what are you trying to say?” he asked tiredly. Absol hesitated before he spoke, his voice quiet.

“Have you ever wondered why Sasha is the way she is?”

Espeon stopped manipulating the cards as he stared at one of his oldest friends. With a sigh, he collected the cards and got to his paws. He pulled an apple out from his supplies and offered it to Absol, who took it with a grateful nod. Espeon got one for himself and relaxed again.

“Yes, I do admit I’ve been curious about our little girl, but why are you bringing it up?” Espeon replied warily. The Disaster Pokémon sighed and shook his head.

“You mean to tell me you don’t see it?” he asked, sounding rather amused. Espeon growled softly. Absol raised a paw. “I’m sorry, I thought it was obvious,” he said, then dropped his voice.

“Sasha used to be a human.”

Espeon stared at Absol for a moment, then slowly shook his head. “Impossible, she told me she’s thirteen years old…”

“As a pokémon, yes,” Absol interrupted. “But she…” he paused, a frown crossing his face and he let out an annoyed sigh. “I don’t know how to explain it, but I’ll try,” he paused then spoke slowly. “Humans live and die much like pokémon do. Sometimes they’re reborn as something else. Remember the tale of Ninetails’ curse?” Espeon nodded.

Long ago, a human had dared to touch Ninetails’ tails, and when she had tried to curse him, the human’s pokémon partner had taken it for her trainer. The trainer then abandoned his partner and Ninetails had cursed him to be reborn as a pokémon who would try to destroy the world. Eventually it had happened; the human reborn had awakened Groudon, but had been stopped by another human-turned-pokémon and his partner. Absol had actually helped them get through an icy mountain peak and had protected them from an Articuno that lived there.

“So you’re telling me we’re facing something similar here? Some long-dead human was reborn as Sasha, or something?” Espeon asked, his voice rather dubious.

“Well, when you put it that way, it does sound rather ridiculous, doesn’t it?” Absol remarked dryly. Espeon turned the cards in his paws over idly, letting his eyes run over the curious things.

Four cards - each a perfect square – which, when placed in a specific sequence, could open gates to other places? Anyone uneducated in them would laugh at the idea. Espeon knew that manipulating the energy of the world to open gateways to new places was dangerous, and he had visited many such ‘mystery dungeons’ which was how he had met Absol in the first place. Like the brothers, he utilized Magnagates to travel across the land. They had compared cards, and with the three sets of four cards, they experimented with several new combinations.

“Do you still have your cards?” Espeon asked. When Umbreon had chosen to settle down, he had given his cards to Espeon, who valued them more than anything. Absol nodded and produced them.

Espeon gazed down at the twelve cards and smiled. “Bring back memories, doesn’t it?” he asked softly. Absol nodded. Espeon let out a frustrated sigh. “Yet I’m sure we’ve tried every possible configuration…is Equestria closed to us?”

“Have you ever been to Equestria?” Absol asked as Espeon started manipulating the cards again. Espeon shook his head as an image of a sprawling metropolis appeared; the wrong combination and tried again.

“Studied it, glimpsed it, yes,” he muttered. “Actually physically set paw there…no, I have not had that pleasure,” he said with a wistful sigh. “From what I’ve seen of the place, it’s paradise.”

A brief memory surfaced, that of a Pikachu and Oshawott building a Paradise together and Espeon smiled slightly. Absol was looking at the cards with a curious expression on his face.

“Espeon…is it possible for Ley Lines to change?” he asked slowly, brow furrowed in thought. Espeon paused between sets of cards and looked at them curiously. Dawning comprehension bloomed on his face and he grinned.

Ley Lines were invisible currents of energy that ran over, under, through and around the world. The more traveled a path, the thicker the Line and the easier it was tap into, which Magnagates used to link to other places. If the land changed, so did the lines.

Espeon studied the cards with a frown. “Equestria isn’t even part of this reality though. I’m sure Umbreon would remember the combination, but I don’t want to bother him.”

“Why not ask Arceus? Or try to contact Palkia or Giratina?” Absol asked, settling down across from Espeon and studied the cards. “They probably know more about parallel universes than any other pokémon.”

“I have a feeling Arceus wouldn’t be all that helpful, to be honest. He seemed to think Sasha had to do this alone,” Espeon said softly. He watched as Absol flipped an Entercard, showing the back of it. “What are you doing?”

“Well, if Entercards can be used to go to any location in our world while right-side up, what happens if you reverse them?” Absol asked, flipping over the rest and started rearranging them.

“That doesn’t…” Espeon started to say but was cut off as the cards suddenly flashed and he saw a glimpse of a completely unfamiliar place. “…it can’t be that easy,” he muttered.

Absol kept trying different combinations and Espeon still didn’t recognize any of the worlds shown. “Fascinating…” Absol murmured. “Wonder why we didn’t try this sooner.”

“Probably because we don’t know anything about these places shown; nor did we have any reason to travel to other realities,” Espeon remarked, and then leaned forward, his ears perked up in interest. “Wait, go back.” Absol looked at him strangely, but did as he asked.

What appeared to be a sea of multi-colored stars could be seen and Espeon wondered where that gate would take them. Suddenly a pair of red and green eyes peered out of the small window and Espeon leaped back with a yelp. The cards glowed and a bright flash filled the clearing.

When it faded, Espeon looked up from where he had curled into a ball to see Arceus standing over the Entercards.

“Haven’t travelled by Magnagate in a long time,” Arceus mused, looking down at the cards. “I was hoping that neither of you would figure out that reversing the cards was an option.”

“You know about Entercards?” Espeon asked, pulling himself up and trying to smooth his raised coat. Arceus smiled slightly and tilted its head.

“Of course I do; who do you think made Ley Lines in the first place?”

Absol picked himself up from the ground with a groan. “Sweet Arceus, Espeon, what did you…” He looked up to see Arceus standing over him. “Oh…well…this is awkward,” he mumbled.

Arceus looked at the two curiously. “You’ve been up to something ever since Sasha left,” it said, folding its legs beneath itself and sat down. “Care to enlighten me?”

Espeon shrugged. “To put it simply, I’m trying to get to Equestria.”

Arceus tilted its head and regarded the psychic feline curiously. “And why is that?” it asked slowly.

Espeon snorted softly. “I’m pretty sure you can guess.”

“The reason I didn’t send both you and Sasha to Equestria was due to the fact I wanted Sasha to open her heart to more people. If you went with her, she’d rely on you to do all the talking and I’m pretty sure you don’t know the answers she’s looking for,” Arceus stated.

Espeon looked away, his mouth set in a thin line.

“Besides, you’ll never be able to get to Equestria.” Arceus’ voice dropped as it muttered, “Besides, there are easier ways to get there…”

Espeon’s head snapped around as Arceus picked up the Entercards. They circled the Creator and lined up, all 12 of them.

A ripple of unease rolled over Espeon and then he bit back a cry as the cards were shredded apart by Arceus’ telekinesis.

“I am only going to say this once,” Arceus said quietly - its voice colder than a Regice - as the cards disintegrated. “Sasha’s walking a different path then you are. You are not allowed to interfere. Not at the moment, anyway. Do I make myself clear?”

Espeon trembled and nodded once. Arceus seemed relieved. “Glad to hear it; well then, I’m sure I’ve given you plenty to think about and hate me for, so I think I’ll take my leave.”

Espeon slumped to the ground with a tired sigh. Absol blinked and shook his head.

“Um…so yeah…that happened,” he said, then paused as Espeon chuckled. Absol looked at him worriedly. “You’re laughing; I have never heard you laugh, you’re creeping me out here.”

Espeon sighed from his supine position and smiled. “Well, that’s that, Arceus said to leave Sasha alone, so that’s what I’ll do.” He rolled to his paws and got up, trotting briskly by a confused Absol, who watched him go with no small amount of concern.

“Espeon?”

Author's Note

I have several chapters ready for this story; I've just never gotten around to uploading them to FiMFiction...