This was the prologue for Rule Keeper which is another Pokémon fanfiction I want to write. Will I get to it? Probably not soon. Practically follows the trope where a character wakes up as a character from a game/novel but not exactly.

~.~.~

『JADE has received CYNDAQUIL from Professor Elm!』

『Give a Nickname to the CYNDAQUIL you received?

> Yes No』

A transparent, light blue text box with the words above engraved in white-colored font floated in front of Jade, the fluorescent lighting reflecting off the lens of her black-rimmed circular glasses. She blinked a few times, her dark green eyes swirling with confusion. Her right arm was raised, index finger slightly jabbed out as the tip was only an inch away from the box. Her finger was poised above the Yes as if she just clicked it. In an instant, the words on the text box were overwritten and new words were sprawled across it.

『CYNDAQUIL's nickname ________』

Cyndaquil? The name fluttered in her head for a brief moment. Jade wrinkled her nose as her brain began to slowly piece together whatever the heck was going on. That's a Fire-Type Pokémon. So why is it her-?

Then she felt the warm sensation of something pressing up against the fabric wrapped around her calf. Her head dipped in confusion, her gaze falling to see what on earth was rubbing up against her grey leggings. In surprise, Jade's lips parted slightly from the sight. The thing pressing up against her was a small creature with a yellow underside and dark green on top. Four red circles were plastered against its back which would sometimes flare up with a mini ember. Despite its eyes being closed, the thing still gazed up at her with expectancy.

Without much thought and pretty much moving unconsciously, the brown-haired girl quickly pushed the floating letters that were underneath the statement.

『Is Cinder the nickname you want to give?

> Yes No』

With ease, the words that flowed out of her mouth were said with her voice but she didn't even know she was going to say them. "Hey, Cinder. It's nice to meet you."

A chirp of utter delight escaped Cyndaquil's or Cinder's throat as it- no the text box stated that the Pokémon is male- he rubbed his nuzzle against her calf. She blinked once more, her mind attempting to make sense of the scene playing out in front of her. Carefully, Jade knelt down and with reluctance, she placed her hand on top of the Pokémon's head.

Her skin instantly registered the warmth seeping out of Cinder's skin and onto her palm. In no time, her hand was warmed up and she was certain that whatever was going on was not a dream. This was further proved when the Fire-Type's back suddenly unleashed a small burst of embers. The moment she saw the flickering of bright orange flames, she withdrew her hand in fear of being burnt. Jade would be lying if she said that she didn't feel guilty as a saddening noise left Cinder.

Shaking her head, Jade brushed aside a few pesky brown strands that fell into her glasses. With newfound confidence, she delicately wrapped her hands around Cyndaquil's body and pressed the small Pokémon to her chest. She stood slowly to make sure that her starter Pokémon- gosh that sounded pretty strange- didn't tip or fall from her grasp. It seemed like Cinder shared the same thought because his little paws clung to the black jacket draped across her shoulders.

What in the absolute fuck was going on?

"Jade! Jade... Jade!"

The sound of her name being repeated finally made the teenager break out of her thoughts. However, because of that, her grip around Cinder grew a tad bit tighter and that elicited a mini squeak from him. She instantly loosened her grip. Maybe it would be easier to not squeeze the life out of her Pokémon by zipping up her jacket halfway and stuffing his body inside with his head sticking out. Or maybe she should invest in one of those baby carriers that look like a backpack- she's getting way off track.

"Ah, yes?" Perking her head up, Jade's eyes widened slightly. The person who was calling her name was none other than a boy the same age as her. Black hair tucked away in an onyx and yellow cap, a red zip-up adorning his figure, and bright auric eyes that shined with glee. She instantly knew who this person was. This was Gold. As in the Gold that was the protagonist of Pokémon HeartGold or SoulSilver.

A smile curled onto his lips as waved a hand in front of Jade's face. "What? So shocked you got a Pokémon that you can't even reply? Geez, Jade, you need to stop spacing out so much. That isn't going to be good for you as a Trainer, you know?"

She's still not quite too sure what was going on.

"It looks like Cyndaquil has taken a liking to you, Jade. It looks like asking you to complete this task for me was a great idea." Shifting her attention from Gold, the teenager's eyes fell onto a person who adorned a stark white lab coat. The man adjusted his rectangular glasses by pushing them up to the bridge of his nose.

"Professor Elm," Jade stated with a tad bit of confusion lacing the edge of her tone. Before she could say anything further, a sharp ring vibrated against the air. It sounded like the chime of someone receiving a message.

"Oh, give me a second you two." Professor Elm stated as he swerved on his heel. He made his way over to a nearby table that had a laptop sitting on top of it. His fingers were poised above the keys for a few seconds as he read the contents on the screen. The sound of typing was heard soon after.

"It looks like Dad is going to be typing that email up for a while. Now that you have a Pokémon, I think it's time you and I have a battle!" As soon as Gold finished saying those words, his hand slipped down to his belt and unhooked the Pokéball attached to its holster. He presented it to Jade, the fluorescent lights of the lab making the red of the capsule shine brighter. The edges of his lips quirked up into a smirk. "That is unless you think you're gonna lose."

"Lose? No way!" Jade may not have any idea what the heck was going on and this may be the most bizarre thing she had ever witnessed but like hell is she going to be taunted like that. "Fine, let's see who wins, Gold."

"That's a no-brainer 'cause I am."

Pressing a hand to Jade's back, Gold was quick to lead her outside the Pokémon Laboratory. The gesture wasn't unwelcoming as she thought it would be. In fact, it seemed like it was normal interaction between the two as she didn't shy away from the boy's touch. Her green eyes narrowed slightly.

Later on, she would wish she swatted his hand away because he ended up being the victorious one in their small battle.

=_=_=_=

Do you ever feel like you don't belong somewhere? That's how Jade was feeling at the moment. She knew this was a Pokémon game. Specifically HeartGold or SoulSilver. Or maybe it didn't matter because those two games took place in the same universe but they had different legendaries appear. Perhaps the game universe is now one as it did not have any major changes concerning either game? Anyway, she knew this wasn't entirely right.

The memories in this body- Jade's- were registered as her own but she had a vague sense of concern that they weren't truly hers. She couldn't remember who she was before being named Jade as the text box stated and she couldn't recall her past life besides the information concerning the storyline of HeartGold and SoulSilver.

Wrinkles were drawn across her forehead. Did she die in a freak accident and her soul entered Jade's body? Or did the original owner of this body die and her soul transmigrated? Reincarnation? No, she would have had to have been born a baby in this world.

Frankly, the only thing she knew was that Jade isn't her but is her and that she's seemingly stuck in a Pokémon game. You know, that doesn't sound as bad as she thought it would.

Allowing her eyelids to flutter open, the female expected to be blinded by the sun but instead was met with the discomfort of a blue text box floating above her. Right... that. At least it shielded her from being blind. She learned that only she was able to see these text boxes and the fact that she looks like she's spacing out when reading them.

Currently, Jade was lying down on the dirt trail, legs dipped into the coolness of the water that led to Route. At times, she could feel the rough scaled fins of a fish Pokémon brush against her skin but they didn't attack her so that was alright. Gold had excused himself earlier to get snacks for them so he was gone for about five minutes now. Cinder had made a bed of her discarded jacket, snoozing away next to her as she contemplated her existence.

『Welcome PKMN Trainer JADE!

You're been selected as generation two's RULE KEEPER: Someone who knows the rules and ensures they are followed.

This is the job that you have been selected to do in favor of journeying within this game. Please make sure that the storyline follows the correct path and does not stray away. This will ensure that your time here will go smoothly without any hitch.

Do you have any questions?

> Yes No』

Lowering her hand to her side, the green-eyed teen stared at the transparent text box for a few seconds. Well, there was one question that was stuck in her mind. "What happened to this world's Jade?"

『CRYSTAL was the original name of this 'body'. However, the name and model were changed in order to differentiate between the original and the RULE KEEPER. It is easier for the system to keep track of who is who. However, CRYSTAL was not an important aspect or character to the storyline and thus, deleted.』

"Does that mean I'll be deleted if I don't follow the rules of a Rule Keeper?" Jade's teeth ground together. Her heart began to race, pounding against her ribcage at the knowledge that she could be discarded without a second thought. If she couldn't do this Rule Keeper job correctly, would she be tossed aside without even the knowledge of who she was?

『No, the RULE KEEPER has a job as stated above. If ignored or the story does not follow the correct path, the difficulty will be increased. 』

A sigh of relief escaped the girl's lips. She rested her hand on her chest, feeling her heart pound against her sweaty palm. Good, good. If she failed, that meant that she wouldn't be deleted. But... the difficulty would be increased?

Like a nuzlocke...? Jade scrunched up her nose in confusion. If we're talking game mechanics, that seems like the most plausible. Or like the levels of Pokémon? Not to mention the fact that I practically took over Crystal's role. Well, not really since they said she wasn't important to the storyline. She really wasn't from what I remember. Did she only show up at the beginning of the game?

"What happened to me? I know this is a game but what happened to my original body? What was my real name?" She wiped her palms against her jeans and the fabric collected the droplets of perspiration that coated her skin.

『Error.

Data cannot be retrieved.』

Jade's lips pressed together as she slightly narrowed her eyes. Clearly, the system did not want to tell her what happened to her past self. The only good thing about this conversation is the fact that she won't be removed from the database if she doesn't do her role correctly. She just needs to make sure that the game runs smoothly, right? That should be easy. Gold was always the protagonist and Silver was the rival. Jade should just be a minor character with no relevance. Things should progress smoothly. Why was a Rule Keeper even needed?

All of a sudden, the female slammed her palms into the dirt as she abruptly sat up. Pebbles dug into her skin and she bit back a hiss. She gritted her teeth lightly as she spread open her fingers to gaze at the tiny cuts littering her hands. Shaking her head, the brown-haired girl quickly wiped her hands together to rid herself of the tiny rocks. Small droplets of blood began to seep out of the wounds but she didn't care.

Beside her, Cinder bolted up from his sleep. Although he didn't have the hearing of an Eevee, his hearing was advanced enough to hear his Trainer yelp. His head whipped back and forth, searching for any signs of danger. Small orange embers erupted from his backside and the flames hungrily lapped at the oxygen. A bit of grey smoke curled off of her jacket as he scorched the tip of her jacket. Luckily it didn't catch on fire but smelled of smoke.

"Hey, hey, hey," Jade raised her hands and showed her palms with a reassuring smile slipping onto her lips. Scraps coated her palms but nothing too serious was shown. The Cyndaquil cocked his head, a concerned noise slipping free from his throat. "Nothing to worry about. I just remembered something! I need to go check it out sooo..."

Slipping her legs out of the water, ripples trembled across the liquid's surface. A few fish swam away in haste, irritated by the sudden movement running through their home. Jade mouthed a quick apology before reaching for her socks that were stuffed into her dark brown boots. She noted that the water had left her toes looking a bit wrinkly from the amount of time that she had them in there.

The female cringed a bit as she stuffed her wet feet into her dry socks before hooking her fingers around the edges of her boots. As she laced the strings around her fingers, Cinder picked up her jacket by the ends and tried his best to rid it of the miscible grains of dirt that littered the fabric. He couldn't do anything about the smell.

A short but cheerful chuckle escaped the girl's lips at the Pokémon's actions. This Cyndaquil was absolutely adorable. Although she wasn't the one to choose it, or at least she think she didn't, she wouldn't have chosen a different companion. Granted, she's only known Cinder for about forty-five minutes but Cinder was hers and she'd be damned if anything happened to him. Plus Gold would chew her out if something happened to the Fire-Type. Not that anything bad would happen to Cinder.

Once she dusted the dirt from her jeans and slipped on her jacket, Jade picked up Cinder. The Pokémon was quick to scramble up her shoulder and crawl onto the top of her head. His tiny paws clung to the sides of her skull and gently wrapped around clumps of her short hair but it wasn't unpleasant. In fact, the heat radiating off of the starter was pretty relaxing. Sure it was a bit weird to carry something on your head but it wasn't a bother. She just hoped that Cinder didn't fall off her head or something because she wasn't too sure she would be fast enough to catch him.

It took her a whole five minutes to figure out how to walk completely straight and not look like an idiot in this body after all.

She walked at a fast pace, wondering if that event had already happened. Clouds of dust were kicked up behind her feet as the short crunches of the soles of her shoes crushed the dirt underneath her. With each step she stood, the grooves of her boots were left behind. They were faint but the distinct texture of horizontal lines was present nonetheless.

Very few people littered the small town of New Bark. Unlike the game pixels, the town was pretty big. There weren't any stores so you would still have to journey to Cherrygrove for groceries but still, it was pretty lively. A few children could be seen a couple of feet away playing with a ball that had Azumarill's face on it. One of the neighbors was tending to her rose garden as her fingers were wrapped around the handle of a light yellow watering can. The woman's eyes trailed upward to see Jade and she gave the girl a short wave. Unconsciously, Jade raised her own and greeted the woman from afar. Cinder followed her example.

After a couple of minutes of walking, the girl made it in front of the Pokémon Laboratory that was situated in New Bark Town. She didn't have a chance to take a good look earlier since Gold had ushered her outside but the Lab was quite big. White wooden panels created the exterior walls and they weren't damaged at all. The door was coated with a light orange point which stood out alongside the teal rooftops. Attached to the side of the house was a set of sterling white stairs.

The moment she pressed her foot against the first step, the light orange door at the top suddenly burst open. Simultaneous squeaks of fright left both the Trainer and Pokémon as an ecstatic Gold burst out of his home with drinks and granola bars. The moment his golden eyes landed on her figure, they brightened with glee. "Hey, Jade! Sorry, I took so long. Mom was nagging me about Aipom getting into the Oran berries again."

"Don't worry about it. Nothing exciting happened." You know, except for the fact that she's stuck in a game and was officially dubbed the Rule Keeper by whoever the heck shoved her in here. Jade only raised her right hand to catch the granola bar that was thrown at her. She tore the wrapper open and ripped a piece of it for Cinder before taking a bite of it herself. It tasted bitter.

She took a look at the wrapper. Rawst berry flavored. No wonder it was bitter. Are all berries made into granola bars? She hoped Gold didn't have a box of Tomato berry flavored in his house. That would be absolutely terrible and she never wants to taste that in her life.

Just as she was going to open her mouth, a text box appeared in front of her.

『Objective: Complete Professor Elm's task

Reward: 500 Pokédollars』

Five-hundred Pokédollars? That's like- enough for two Potions. That's a pretty shitty reward considering Trainers are straight-up broke, Jade thought as she sighed in frustration. Barely an hour in and the system, game, whatever, was already stifling her. Well, it wasn't like the objective was hard. It should be easy.