Izuku Midoriya: Origin

DISCLAIMER SINCE I'VE GOTTEN A FEW REVIEWS ON THIS!: There is a few specific reasons that this is not posted under the crossover section. First off, and most importantly, is that I don't see it as a crossover. I see this work as a Pokemon AU. It's BNHA with elements of the pokemon franchise. It's no different than those other fics that have elements of other franchises, but are still AU's (Examples include but are not limited to: One punch man, one piece, harry potter, etc...). That being said, there is a crosspost of this story on the crossovers section for those who may go looking for it there. Now, back to your regularly scheduled program (This was added in after the fact)

Hey Everyone! I'm here with a new story that will update a little less often than my main story, but the chapters will be much longer and more thought out. It's a big project that I've made a massive plan for. I hope you guys enjoy it.

I know I promised that I would upload this at 9pm eastern tonight, but something came up and I wasn't able to upload it then, so I just decided to do it a bit late. I hope it wasn't too much of a inconvenience!

Note: Just some preface that will be explained, but also is nice to know going into it. In this universe, there are no quirks. Essentially, battling Pokémon is illegal for everyone except for heroes, or they're also called trainers in this universe. So it's basically the whole thing with using quirks without a license is illegal.

Also, One for All still exists. I'll explain everything about One for All in the next chapter. Long story short: It's basically a super-powered "Battle Bond" ability. It'll all make sense in the next chapter when I do the full length explanation.

Something to note as well: BOLD ITALIC TEXT means it is older Izuku talking, like he does in the beginning of the first two episodes. Anyways! Enjoy this project I've been working on for about two weeks now!

Pokémon had been around since before man. They came in many different shapes, sizes, and species. Ever since the dawn of society, people have been working alongside Pokémon, befriending them, loving them. Pokémon have done everything from making jobs easier, to being mental assistants for people with mental issues.

The world become the modern society we live in today. People have always been close to Pokémon, but that didn't stop bad things from happening. From underground Pokémon cage matches to violent crimes, villains have used Pokémon for malicious deeds. In recent years, this has only gotten worse, and something needed to stop it.

Enter, the new profession, only dreamed of before hand. The hero, known more commonly as 'trainers'. While for the bulk of the population, training against other Pokémon and battling Pokémon is illegal, it is not for these groups of people. Trainers make it a profession to make themselves and their Pokémon partners stronger in order to fight crime.

Of course, every child dreams of becoming a trainer. It's just the way it is. And Izuku Midoriya is no different.

Many Years Ago…

Izuku was walking back home after school one day. He was babying his leg, which had a long, angry red burn mark along the side. Bakugo's Cyndaquil could be feisty sometimes, especially when it came to Izuku.

Izuku had tried to protect a friend that Bakugo was attacking for no reason. He had tried to be a hero, just like that famous trainer, All Might was. Standing up for what was right, all with a smile on his face. Even limping home, leg burning, Izuku didn't regret his decision.

I can't wait until I have a Pokémon of my own! Then I can battle Kacchan for real! Izuku thought, and the thought itself got the little boy extremely excited. Bakugo had gotten a Cyndaquil for his sixth birthday.

Izuku was innocently skipping along the sidewalk when he heard some rustling in the alleyway to his right. Turning, he saw a small bill for ten-thousand yen sitting on the ground. Izuku, being the innocent child he was, grew immediately concerned that someone had dropped their money.

The right thing to do would be to return it! He thought happily, That's what All Might would do! Izuku limped over to the alleyway, and bent over to pick up the money.

"Now time to-" He stood up, and now blocking the way between him and the exit of the alleyway was a small purple Rattata.

"Hi there!" He said innocently, looking at the small Pokémon. The rat just eyed him, not giving away any sort of emotion. Izuku heard rustling off to his side, and turned. Then, Izuku realized just how many Pokémon he was surrounded by. There were three raticate, two more rattatas, and a trubbish all in the alleyway with him.

And they did not look happy. Looking at the Pokémon, Izuku could see their ribs through their skin. They're starving he realized.

"T-thanks all of you, but I-I really have to get home now!" Izuku said nervously, trying to walk out of the alleyway. As he approached, however, the rattata blocking the way hissed at him, and Izuku took a panicked step backwards.

"H-Hey now! No need to get hostile! I just want to leave!" He threw up his arms, as if to show he wasn't dangerous. Looking around him, Izuku realized that the Pokémon were drawing closer, slowly closing the gap between them.

Izuku spun around, panicked. He had nowhere to go. He was too far into the alley, nobody would be able to hear a call for help.

Izuku tried to run. He wasn't any match for the rat Pokémon.

Izuku didn't return to his house that night. There was an entire search, spanning the entire district of the city.

When the police found him, late at night, Izuku was covered in bite marks, and he had a distant expression, staring off at the wall.

Modern Day

"It's time to pick what high school you're going to go to, and what department you're going to apply for!" The teacher of Izuku's middle school called out to the class. There was some resound cheering from the classroom.

"You all have so many amazing Pokémon! I bet you're all going to go for the Trainer and Hero departments, aren't you!" The teacher continued, and was met with more cheering.

"Hey teach! Don't group me in with all these extras! I'm well and above them!" Katsuki Bakugo called out to the room, feet resting on the desk in front of him. There was booing in the room.

"Hey, don't call us extras!"
"Isn't Bakugo applying to Yuuei?"

"Don't they have a less than .5% acceptance rate?"

Bakugo laughed, "Yeah, they do! And I'm going to get in, because I'm the best! I'm going to be the only one in this shithole of a school that gets in!" Bakugo bragged, once again endorsed in his ego.

Izuku was busy scribbling battle tactics in his notebook, so when a student mentioned his name, Izuku was shocked back to reality. "Isn't Midoriya applying to Yuuei as well?" Eyes turned to Izuku, and he shrunk into his chair, hoping to hide his face with his arms.

Then, the entire class broke into laughter once more, except this time it was directed at Izuku. It was common knowledge that Izuku didn't have a partner, so how could he possibly get into Yuuei?

When Izuku glanced up for a moment, and saw a look of pure rage on Bakugo's face.

Oh no. Izuku knew what was coming next. When the entire class cleared out, Bakugo and his posse stayed behind. Izuku was trying to pack up his things as fast as possible and get out, but was unfortunately too slow.

"Quilava! Flame Burst!" Izuku yelped as his desk was blown apart by a powerful explosion. All of his things scattered onto the ground, and Izuku scrambled to retrieve it all, but was once again too slow. Bakugo's hand whipped to the ground and picked up Izuku's blue notebook, holding it into the air, flapping its pages around in the open space.

"Hero Analysis for the Future? What a joke?" Bakugo said, scowling at the pages in his hand, "Do you really think you can get into the hero course?"

Izuku raised his hands defensively, "Well I-" He was caught off guard when Bakugo's hand shoved into Izuku's shoulder, pinning him against the wall.

"You just what, you damn nerd?" He said aggressively, getting up in Izuku's face.

"Well, I just thought it c-couldn't hurt!" Izuku said as innocently as possible, just wanting the conversation to end. Bakugo wasn't done, however.

"Well, hear me now and hear me clear! Don't you dare apply to Yuuei! You hear me? I will be the only one from this damn school getting into that school, and I don't need you in my way!" Bakugo spat. Then, looking down at his quilava, who was standing a few feet back, he smirked. The Pokémon slowly walked towards Izuku and Bakugo.

"Plus-" Bakugo said with a shit-eating grin. Izuku felt his heart start beating faster as the Pokémon approached. His breathing sped up. He could hear the blood pumping in his ears as the Pokémon got inches away from where he was pinned to the wall.

Please don't please don't he thought desperately.

"How can you be a trainer?" Quilava shoved itself against Izuku's hand lightly.

Izuku froze on the spot. His mind went blank. The only things that existed were him and the Pokémon touching his hand. The memories of that night so many years ago running through his head.

"When you can't even fucking touch a Pokémon?" Izuku didn't respond. He couldn't. Even when Quilava backed away and Bakugo started to leave, Izuku was still frozen. On his way out, Izuku thought he heard Bakugo give his Quilava a command before throwing something out the window.

"Fucking useless Deku." He said, walking from the room. It was a few minutes until Izuku regained his senses. It was another few before he found it within himself to start moving again.

Izuku walked alone after school like normal. It took him a while to fully go back to normal after an...encounter like that one.

Ever since the incident in the alleyway those years ago, Izuku had been diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder. Now, whenever he touched a Pokémon, or even got in too close of proximity of one, his entire body froze up. He couldn't control it.

Did he still want to be a hero? A trainer? Yes. More than anything.

Izuku passed what looked like a paper on the side of the sidewalk, in the fountain. He looked at it, only to realize that it was his hero notebook Bakugo had singed and thrown out of the window.

"That's not yours." He said weakly, shooing away the Magikarp that were nibbling on the paper. He dried off the booklet as much as possible before storing it once more in his backpack. Izuku passed into a tunnel, and was staring at the ground.

Izuku heard the metallic klang of some metal colliding with concrete. Spinning around, Izuku was met with a purple mass coming out of the manhole in the ground. Izuku took a step back in shock as a man followed.

Izuku recognized the Pokémon as a grimer.

"Hey kid! This is a robbery! Hand over everything you've got or I'll let my grimer suffocate you!" As if to emphasize the robber's point, the grimer smirked and slid forwards, promoting Izuku to take a panicked step back.

"What's it going to be? Your wallet, or dying?" The Villain siad. Izuku was panicking. He didn't know what to do. He tried to move his muscles, but they wouldn't obey.

"If that's how you want it then." The robber shook his head, "Grimer." The Pokémon slid forwards, gaining on Izuku. For the second time that day, Izuku's body froze up. The grimer slithered up to Izuku, wrapping its sludge body around him. Izuku didn't even move.

"Not even going to fight back? At least make it a challenge, kid!" The villain joked. Izuku didn't hear him, however. He didn't even notice when the Grimer covered his whole body, not allowing him to breathe.

"Lucario!" Izuku felt a distant voice boom.

"TEXAS SMAASSH!" There was a blast of force, and the sludge covering his body was torn away. Izuku only saw a glance of his savior before he knew no more.

When Izuku came to, he was laying on the pavement. He groaned, sitting up.

"What-" He cut himself off as the memories flooded back. The villain, the grimer, then…

Izuku gasped, frantically looking around. Then, he saw the man he was looking for. Standing in a tight white shirt and green cargo shorts with a Lucario next to him was the world's number one Trainer, All Might. Izuku gasped.

"Oh, you're awake!" All Might's one-of-a-kind voice boomed. Izuku was lost for words. He had almost died, only to be saved by his hero. The person that inspired his entire life was standing in front of him.

An autograph! Izuku panicked, fumbling with his backpack, searching for a paper. The only thing there was his hero notebook. Frantically flipping, Izuku found the nearest open page, only to see that All Might had already signed it.

He already did it! Izuku was freaking out. Not that it was a bad thing.

"All Might You saved me!" Izuku ran over, frantically shaking the hero's hand, then his lucario's.

"No problem, kid. It's our job, after all." All might reassured. Despite what had happened already, Izuku was having the best day of his life.

Izuku was having the worst day of his life. He watched his hero deflate like a balloon, turning from a large bulky superhero to an anorexic skeleton. An anorexic skeleton that wasn't sleeping. It was horrifying.

"AHHH!" Izuku panicked. The next things he said came out of his mouth in the span of a millisecond.

"You're not All Might!"

"Fake!"

"This can't be happening!"

"Woah, kid! Calm down. You could outrun a train with that mouth of yours." All Might, or at least what was left of him, said. Izuku stopped talking, opting to take deep breaths to calm himself down.

"Now, I assure you, I am All Might." The skeleton man said. Izuku opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off by All Might speaking once again.

"Six years ago, I sustained an injury." He lifted up his shirt to reveal a nasty looking scar that spread up his entire right side.

"Your fight with toxic chainsaw…" Izuku breathed. All Might's eyes showed recognition.

"So you know, then. I did what I could to keep that result of that fight hidden. The fight was not televised. During a battle, I took a direct hit from an villain's pokemon. It shattered my ribs and crushed my left lung. I'm lucky to have survived. But ever since then, I can only do hero work for about three hours a day." He explained.

"How does having an injury turn you into...that?" Izuku winced at his own wording.

"It's kind of like flexing," All Might explained, "Before my injury, I always looked like you see me on television. My body was in prime condition. Now, after suffering this injury, I can go back to that form for a limited time due to the power I share with Lucario. The rest of the time I'm stuck like this."

Izuku was surprising himself with how well he was taking the discovery. Hell, he had just discovered that the number one hero was crippled, and had barely reacted.

"Now, Kid. I need you to promise me something. You can't tell anyone about this. It is essential that I keep this a secret from the public. We need the symbol of peace to seem infallible in order to maintain peace. Can you do that for me?" Izuku furiously nodded in response.

"Good. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go to the police station." All Might got up and made his way to the stairway door. Izuku took a deep breath.

Now is your time. Now is when you can ask him the question you've been waiting to ask for years. Izuku told himself. He focused in his mind before opening his mouth.

"All Might, I want to ask you something." He got it out, and All Might stopped and turned to Izuku.

"Yes, what is it?" He seemed genuinely intrigued.

"Can-" Izuku choked on the words. It was hard to talk about this topic without getting emotional. He already felt the tears forming at his cheeks.

"Can someone without a Pokémon become a hero?" He said, tears now running down his face. He looked up and All Might had a look of mixed confusion and concern on his face.

"I-I have a problem. I can't-I can't touch Pokémon. Doctors say it's PTSD." All Might lowered his hand that had been reaching for the door.

"As a kid I-" Izuku couldn't force himself to bring up the memories. He just couldn't.

"It's alright. Don't talk about them." All Might sounded like he was trying to comfort Izuku as much as possible. Even when he didn't know someone, or their life story, he tried to help.

"But I still want to be a hero! I want to help people! I want to save people with a smile on my face, just like you!" Izuku let the tears fall to the ground, "I want to be a hero, but I don't have a Pokémon! So just tell me! Can I be a hero without a Pokémon?" Izuku sobbed out.

All Might looked on him with a look of concern and empathy. His neutral expression turned to a frown.

"In the job of being a hero, you will be fighting Pokémon all the time. They are powerful creatures, and extremely dangerous. Without one…" He trailed off. Then he said the words Izuku had heard so many times. Just hearing it from All Might made it official.

"You need a Pokémon to be a hero. It is just the way it is. If you want to help people, join the police. They also help people." All Might stepped away, making for the door, leaving Izuku standing alone on the rooftop, unmoving.

"It's good to dream. But you also need to be realistic. I'm sorry, son. It's just the way it is." With that, All Might was gone, leaving Izuku to think over what he had been told.

"Someone help! There's a Pokémon being attacked!" Someone called. Kamui woods heard the call for help and ran in the direction of the sound. He rounded a corner to see that an entire road's worth of merchant stands had been abandoned. Civilians were crowded around the entrance to the street.

"I'm here!" Kamui called out to the crowd, who proceeded to part ways for the trainer. Kamui burst through the crowd and got a good look at the situation at hand.

There was a mass of purple sludge in the middle of the street.

No not sludge,Kamui realized, Those are Muk! There wasn't a shortage of them, either. There had to be at least seven Muk. But where is the Pokémon someone said was being attacked.

Then Kamui saw it. In the middle of the mass of sludge was a small blue and black palm sticking out of the mass, frantically moving. Kamui realized that the Muk were swarming on a small Pokémon, and it was suffocating.

"Those are too many poison types for my Trevanant to handle! I'll leave this one to another Hero today!" Kamui backed off.

Then, there was a noise of a Pokeball being thrown. "Go Hitmonchan! Use Bullet Punch!" The punching hero, Death Arms called. His Pokémon materialized in the air and dashed towards the mass of sludge. Hitmonchan threw a powerful punch, but instead of blowing back the Pokémon like expected, the Pokémon's fist sunk into the Muk's body, dealing no damage. In a panic, the hero recalled his partner.

"I'll leave it to someone else today. I can't do sufficient damage to them with physical moves." The hero concluded.

"Nor can I" A bird-looking hero added.

"Nor I."

Kamui sat and watched the small Pokémon struggle for its life, hoping some kind of hero could come around to help it.

Izuku was walking home, his head sunk down between his shoulders. He had neither the energy nor motivation to keep his head aloft. The words he had heard come from All Might's lips were things he had heard many times before. Being told he couldn't be a hero was something he had gotten used to.

Just hearing it from All Might, the number one hero, however, made it all the more real. While it had been discouragement before, it was now a reality. All that time spent memorizing Pokémon types, advantages, disadvantages, strengths, weaknesses, and so much more was all a waste.

Maybe he knew it had been all along. Maybe he had just needed something to latch onto. At this point he didn't know.

All his life, Izuku had wanted to be a hero. Without his dream, Izuku didn't know what he was anymore. He didn't know what to do now. He hadn't had a backup plan.

Izuku kept walking home.

All Might made it down the staircase, and he was already out of breath.

"Car?" Lucario made a sound from next to All Might, expressing his concern for his trainer.

All might smiled, "I'm fine, buddy. Thanks."

Damn injury making me weaker by the day All Might cursed. He pulled Lucario's pokeball for the set of three on his belt.

"Time to go." All Might said and Lucario sighed, "I know you hate it, but we can't be out in public together." All might apologized and recalled his friend to his pokeball. All Might opened the door of the building he was in and stepped out onto the sidewalk.

He made for the police station as fast as he could in his current state, so that he could report the location of the unconscious villain he had knocked out to save that green haired boy.

Maybe I was a bit too harsh All Might scolded himself. Only after leaving the rooftop did All Might realize that what had said was a bit too blunt. He had crushed the boy's dreams. He had seen it in his eyes.

All Might silently cursed himself for not being more caring with his words. It was a stupid mistake he was determined not to make again. All Might shook his head as he walked down the street, drawing glances from people as the passed him. It wasn't something he was unused to. Considering how unhealthy his body looked, he was surprised he didn't get more weird looks.

"Help!" All Might's head shot up when he heard someone yell into the street. All Might frantically looked around for any sign of villainy happening. Up on the road about a block was a crowd of people gathered on the side of the road.

All Might picked up his pace, clutching his side as it burned in pain, protesting his every Might powered through though. If something was wrong, he needed to make sure the situation was being handled.

All Might made it to the group of people, and collapsed into a streetlamp, clutching his side and barely able to move. His entire left side was alight with a burning pain. All Might looked at what all the commotion was.

In the middle of the street was a mass of seven or eight Muk, surrounding...something. All Might's breath hitched in his throat as he realized there was a Pokémon in the middle.

Izuku nearly passed by the group of people. He was too enveloped in his thoughts that he didn't even realize that he was passing by a large mass of people until he nearly ran into someone.

Izuku tore his gaze away from the ground and noticed that all the people were shouting and looking in a certain direction. Izuku considered just moving along, just keeping on with his day. But in the end, his curiosity got the better of him. If it was a hero incursion then...well, all of the old Izuku wasn't gone.

Izuku pushed through the crowd to the front of the line, trying to get a better look on the situation. He got through the mass of people and saw what the commotion was all about.

There was a mass of purple sludge in the middle of the road.

Muk or Grimer. Izuku realized, but then frowned, Why is a bunch of Muk and Grimer causing a commotion? Wait, is that Kamui Woods? And Death Arms too?

Izuku looked on the scene with even more confusion than before. What is going on?

Coward Coward! COWARD! All Might scolded himself as he watched the helpless Pokémon get swallowed by the massive Muk who where attacking it.

Pathetic! You can't just go for one more minute? All Might squeezed his side even more. He couldn't risk getting found out. One little Pokémon fight wasn't worth the safety of the world.

But then All Might saw a mass break away from the crowd of civilians.

I think there were various reasons. But at that moment...

Izuku looked on the scene that was playing out in front of him, not realizing the commotion. Until he saw the blue and black palm stick up from the sludge.

That's a...! Izuku realized with a start That's a Pokémon!

Izuku's legs moved before he even knew what he was doing. Before his brain even had the chance to process what he was doing, his legs were carrying him at a full sprint at the group of Muk.

"Hey! What are you doing?"

"Get Back here!"

"You're going to get yourself hurt!"

Izuku didn't hear any of them. His legs carried his body towards the Pokémon in need of aid. Izuku may be traumatized by them, and he may be unable to touch them, but he knows one thing. He loves Pokémon. More than anything.

As Izuku's legs carried him, he started to realize what he was doing, but there was no going back now, even if he had wanted to.

What to do? Think! Izuku's mind flashed to his many notebooks he had on different Pokémon and their strengths and weaknesses. He visualized the page he had on Muk.

"That's it! The body is liquid except for the eyes! Aim for the eyes!" Izuku tore his backpack off his shoulder, throwing it with all the force he had at the Muk closest to the helpless Pokémon. Books went flying from his bag, and one tumbled out, nailing the Muk directly in the eye. It howled with pain, releasing the Pokémon for a moment. The face of the Pokémon was exposed for just long enough for it to grab a breath.

In that moment, Izuku recognized the Pokémon from his sketchbook. An ultra-rare Pokémon, and the pre-evolved form of Lucario, Riolu. The Riolu gasped for breath as the Muk turned to Izuku. Half of the Muk tore away from the group and advanced towards Izuku, while the other half stayed glued to the Riolu, smothering it.

All of his thoughts and fears from injuries past vanished in that moment. Izuku ran straight at the group of Muk, trying to push through the Pokémon as they stopped him. He tore at their viscous liquid bodies with all the strength he had, to no avail. Yet, he kept trying.

It looked like it needed help.

"Pathetic." All Might muttered, squeezing his side even more. It was the boy from the roof. He was running at the Muk, fighting against them with everything he had, trying to get to the helpless Pokémon.

"Pathetic!" All Might grumbled.

"Kid! Get away" One of the other heroes yelled.

"Why are you doing this! Let a hero handle it!" Yet, none of the heroes moved. Not even All Might.

The boy turned back towards the group as he fought desperately against the Muk, tears in his eyes. "It looked like it needed help!" He roared, voice thick with emotion. All Might saw one of the Muk advance towards the boy as he was turned around, preparing a move.

"Pathetic."

Izuku was trying with everything he had, but nothing was working. Every punch or hit he tried to through at the Muk was sucked up. He turned and screamed at the pro heroes that were yelling at him to get back.

"It looked like it needed help!" He cried. They wouldn't do anything, so someone needed to. Izuku turned back around to try to break through the wall of Muk once more. The Riolu was looking at Izuku with wide eyes.

"Don't worry! I'll save you!" Izuku said to it. Tears were falling from his face freely now.

Izuku didn't even notice the Muk throwing a poison jab at him until it was too late. The Muk already had the attack ready, and was swinging at him.

Izuku braced for Impact. And then…

"Lucario!"

When Izuku looked up from shielding himself with his arms, there was a tall blue Lucario standing in front of him, having blocked the punch.

"I really am Pathetic." All Might said from behind Izuku. He was walking towards the danger, and his body was back in the buffed up form.

"All Might…"

"Even though I admonished you, I wasn't putting what I said into practice!" All Might strode past Izuku, and the Muk backed away from the towering man and his intimidating partner.

"Pro's are always risking their lives!" All Might dashed forwards at a speed faster than no human should be able to go. He grabbed the Riolu's hand before dashing back towards Izuku and gently setting its limp form in Izuku's arms.

"Let's go Lucario!" All Might draw his arm back in perfect synchronization with his Lucario, almost as if they had a mental link.

"DETROIT SMASH!" The sheer force of the punch let a maelstrom of wind fly through the street. Izuku had to hold the Riolu in his arms tight to keep from falling over of flying away.

The Muk stood no chance. The attack only hit one of the Muk directly, but all seven or eight went flying, practically vaporizing into tiny bits of sludge. The wind pressure cleared from the street, and Izuku felt a splash of water on his skin. Then another.

Izuku looked up to see that the sheer change in wind pressure had caused it to start raining. Izuku looked up to the body of the Riolu in his arms. It had passed out and was limp, but still breathing.

Then Izuku realized yet another thing that shocked him. What, did that make four things today?

He was holding the Riolu in his arms. And he wasn't frozen up. He was touching a Pokémon. The tears started up again, and All Might turned to look at Izuku.

"What's wrong, kid?" He asked, concern in his dark eyes. Izuku sniffled.

He gestured to the Riolu in his arms. "I'm touching a Pokémon. All Might, I'm touching a Pokémon!" Izuku let the tears fall. It had been so many years since he had been able to touch a Pokémon without having the memories come back. All Might was only able to give a big smile before the crowd closed in on the two.

Izuku had been admonished for putting himself in danger like he had. The police came around and cleaned up what was left of the Muk and took them to the pokecenter where they would be healed up before being released into the wild, hopefully not hurting anyone else.

The paramedics came and checked up on Izuku, who ended up being fine despite the waterworks in his eyes. They checked on the Riolu, who Izuku begrudgingly let out of his arms.

"It looks quite fine. I'll administer this super potion and then you can go on your merry way! Make sure he gets a lot of sleep and rest tonight, okay.?" The nurse said.

"Actually I-" Izuku was cut off by seeing the nurse already turned away He's not my Pokémon Izuku had wanted to say. He looked down at the Pokémon sleeping in his arms.

I guess taking care of him for a night won't hurt. Also, she said "Him" so I'll assume he's male for now Izuku told himself. With the Riolu in his arms, Izuku set off for home.

Izuku couldn't help but feel a mix of disappointment and elation as he walked home. On one hand, he was still bummed from the brutal reality that he had been presented Might might have corrected himself on being hypocritical, but his point still stood.

On the other hand, Izuku was cradling a Pokémon in his arms. The Riolu was still out cold, but it's breathing had become constant. Izuku's breath, on the other hand, was pegged at a constant 120 beats per minute. He was shocked that this Riolu was the one exception to his problem.

Time after time, Izuku had tried to force his way past his problem. Counseling session after counseling session of facing down Pokémon, just to freeze up again. Therapy hadn't helped. Nothing had helped. But now, Izuku was able to touch this Riolu.

Did it mean that he was over his problem completely? Did it mean that he could finally stop being made fun of at school? Izuku still didn't know. It was all new to him.

Suddenly, a form popped out from behind the concrete wall Izuku was walking next to.

"I am here!" All Might said triumphantly. The man was in his hero form, and was standing tall. His sudden appearance nearly gave Izuku a heart attack as he jumped back in shock.

"A-All Might?" Izuku exclaimed, being careful not to jostle Riolu, "What are you doing here? You were just surrounded by the news and-" All Might laughed loudly.

"Getting away from them was easy! Why?" He took a step back, flexing his large muscles, "Because I am All-Blech!" All Might deflated into the skeleton looking man Izuku had seen on the roof just a few hours previous, blood spurting from his mouth. Izuku blanched in horor.

All Might coughed, recovering as much as possible. He lifted his hand to his chin, wiping away the blood, "Young Man, I have come with thanks, a correction, and a suggestion."

"Huh?"

"If you hadn't come to me and told me about your life, If you hadn't risked your life to save that Pokémon, I would have become a fake. A hypocrite who couldn't follow his own advice."

"B-but it was my fault in the first place! If I hadn't gone out into the battle like that…"

"Then that Pokémon in your arms would be seriously injured or dying right now. If you hadn't tried to save it, then nobody would have." Izuku felt his voice catch in his throat. What was All Might trying to say?

"It was because of you, a civilian being on the scene," All Might continued, "That I could spring into action."

Izuku looked down on the sleeping Riolu in his arms.

"Top trainers have stories of them from their early days. They all have one thing in common: Their bodies moved before they had time to think."

Izuku sucked in a sharp breath. His mind flashed back to the moment he saw Riolu in need of help. He had dropped his notebook and rushed into the fight, with no hesitation. Izuku felt the pent up emotions rush to the surface.

All of the emotions he had been holding in over the past years surged to the surface all at once. Izuku couldn't stop the tears as the made their way onto his eyelids.

For Some reason, I remembered my Mother's words.

"I'm Sorry, Izuku!"

Izuku clutched the Riolu to his chest. The entire front of his body was heaving from the force of the sobs that were forcing their way through their body. Izuku couldn't help but lean over as the tears streamed down his face.

"That was true for you, wasn't it?" All Might gauged his reaction. Izuku couldn't manage much more than a nod. The memories of all the things that had discouraged him through the years replayed through his mind.

"Young Man, you've wanted to be a hero your entire life." All Might continued, "That Pokémon in your arms is only there because of you. Young Man, you are that Pokémon's hero."

That's not it Mom. Back then, what I wanted you to say…

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"

"You should probably give it up."

"I am diagnosing him with PTSD."

"How are you going to be a hero if you can't even touch Pokémon?"

The words I wanted to hear were…

"You can become a hero." All Might finished. Izuku collapsed onto his knees, and let the tears fall.

Dreams can become reality

By the way, I forgot to mention that this is the story of how I became the world's greatest trainer…

...Take that, Ash.

Thanks everyone for reading my first chapter of this story! This has been a big project i've been working on behind the scenes for a little while now, and will continue to work on. I already have the entire second chapter written!

Just so you know, this chapter and my main fic will alternate chapters, so next up is that one! Please review/leave a comment! See ya soon!