The being jolted awake to the loud chirping of a pidgey alarm clock. He rolled out of bed onto a red and white fluffy carpet, starting to hyperventilate as he went into shock. Blinded by the sunlight coming through the open windows, it took a few seconds to gather himself. When he did, he noticed he was in the body of an eleven year old child, not his own wounded one. The man paused as he tried to remember what had happened to make his body like that, but it got away from him. Wait, what got away from him?
He looked around the room again. It was decorated with pokemon merchandise, posters and toys mostly revolving around Charizard and Dragonite. His body's previous owner was also clearly a fan of the champion Lance. Next to the bed, there was also a computer with a potion inside the pokemon storage. What? storage? When could technology do that?
His eyes widened. Ah! He started to remember all of this child's life as if it was his own, the child being called Damian. His thoughts and feeling, his family and the pokemon he had met. He was an arrogant child, very ambitious but also lazy. He preferred to put the blame on others or luck, and found his sister annoying. Today was the day he would have gone to the Pokemon Professor's lab to get his first pokemon, a Charmander if he had any say over it. The starter pokemon in all of the regions were rare and the ones that the professors gave out had all been raised and given basic training to be the easiest for new trainers to handle. Only the best for the best, the boy had thought.
His memories were all vague, only the ones revolving around pokemon being clear. He seemed to have been obsessed with pokemon in the memories he had, but he had trouble remembering everything. He couldn't even recall his name before this. Who was he? Hadn't him possessing this child's body basically killed the boy?
He slowly came out of shock. He breathed heavily, lifting himself to sit back on the bad again, feeling weak in the legs. He would find out what was happening soon, he felt it instinctively. He would just have to play along with this farce and ignore his guilt for now. He would become the child, Damian. This boys memories were all he had along with some scattered information about pokemon. Maybe this might change in the future. He changed from his pyjamas into his trainer clothes his mum had bought him, trying very hard not to look at his body while changing. Most of this boy's clothes were pink coloured because his sister has washed the red clothes with the white. The body had white skin, blue hair and eyebrows, natural, not dyed. His family had the same coloured hair. His face easily settled into a scowl when at rest. He brought his backpack downstairs with him to the kitchen. He wouldn't turn up late to getting his first pokemon in his pyjamas, not on his life.
His mum and dad were in the sitting room eating breakfast in front of the tv while his little sister had slept in. The downstairs had a very homely feel, beige wallpapers and family photos adorning the walls. His parents and sister had their bedrooms down here. Damian remembered claiming the spare bedroom upstairs for visitors rather than the one next to his sister, leaving it empty, save for when his family had friends or work colleagues around.
His dad had left him his breakfast of toast, fried egg and baked beans on the side of the kitchen by the hall. He scoffed it down and shouted bye to them as he ran out the door. He could hear his mother's shout to return for lunch after getting his pokemon, as he hurried down the road to the lab.
He didn't feel comfortable being with them at the moment. He needed time to get used to the body and to come to terms with his new life, before he could actually go about chatting to his family without feeling dirty.
Damian gave a small jolt. His family. His house. He hadn't noticed it at first, but he seemed to have absorbed the old Damian's personality now. He had accustomed to it quickly, huh. Already, he was feeling a bit better and less guilty about the whole 'sorry for kind of killing your son's body but not really' thing. That was probably the old Damian's lovely personality shining through. He wouldn't complain though. The fewer mental problems he had, the better, thank you.
He had nearly reached the lab now, and something, probably excitement, was bubbling in the core of his stomach. His eyesight sharpened and he sped up slightly, rounding the last corner now. He slowed down as he approached the entrance, admiring the view. The building itself was normal and all white, but you could see fields in the distance of pokemon owned by trainers sponsored by the pokemon professor. Damian saw mostly common pokemon and lower stage evolutions, but he could pick out some of the more powerful ones further away. A large Rhydon calming a pack of panicked Pidgey and Ratata, a stressed old Alakazam helping other psychic pokemon practice blocking projectile attacks with some move granting psychokinesis.
Damian had already established he was in another world. The pokemon world that old Damian belonged to. Now though, he needed to know which one that was. The pokemon verse had plenty of different worlds, the anime, manga and games to name a few. Maybe the main character's rival was called 'Blue' like in the manga, 'Gary Oak' in the anime or 'Dickhead', like he had named his rival in every pokemon game he had ever played. Whatever the case though, he was sadly quite sure he would not get away with calling his starter pokemon 'Killer', 'Shithead' or 'Fuckface', like he had in the games either. He would also actually have to capture pokemon, instead of mindlessly grinding with his starter pokemon 30 levels higher than all its opponents, and one hit KOing them with surf every turn. Damn. He couldn't save either.
He could see the families starting to arrive to group up and congratulate the soon to be newest trainers from Pallet town. The main character's rival was already there at the front with a cute girl wearing a clothes mostly coloured green. Old Damian didn't really talk to her much, being on the opposite ends of Pallet town from each other. The old Damian was also a bit of a prick though, so he was sure that contributed. He was pretty sure that in the anime, the trainer who abused and abandoned his Charmander on a rock for Ash to save in season one was the one who's body he'd taken over. Really, it was probably a blessing from Arceus for him to have taken over this guy's body. At this thought, he felt something suspiciously like guilt for murdering a child.
Damian stopped running to catch his breath and shuffled nervously over to the two of them. Old Damian was a cocky piece of shit, but he himself was more withdrawn and introverted. Luckily, the rival didn't seem like the kind of person to realise he wasn't the real Damian. The guy was very cocky and somewhat unfriendly. As for the girl, in both the games and the anime, he did not recall her ever being mentioned. However, in the manga, the girl thief Green who got Bulbasaur was a major character who was very powerful. As he neared them, he could see the rival was already talking enough for two people to the girl about how awesome he and Squirtle would be. The both of them silently acknowledged Damian with a nod as he approached, without the rival's boasting stopping.
The girl exchanged a glance with him as the rival (Gary?) continued on rambling. Mew. This would be a long day, they could tell.
The three of them walked into the lab with a stressed assistant guiding them. There were other workers in lab coats there running around, and they hired some volunteers for feeding the pokemon, cleaning the place up and some other odd jobs for whatever reason. Damian couldn't tell who in the games was meant to give you a potion when you speak to them. They came to a halt in front of a machine holding three pokeballs with the starter pokemon in them. The pokeballs had small stickers on them showing what type the pokemon within are. The machine held resemblance to the special one in the room after defeating the champion in the games. Professor Oak gave a small cough as he stood from his desk and turned to look at the three of them with a twinkle in his eye and a small smirk.
"Sorry to keep you waiting! Welcome to the world of pokemon! My name is Professor Oak. But everyone calls me the pokemon professor. Before we go any further, I'd like to tell you a few things you should know about this world! This world is widely inhabited by creatures known as pokemon. We humans live alongside pokemon as friends. At times we play together, and at other times we work together. Some people use their pokemon to battle and develop closer bonds with them. Now, why don't you tell me a little bit about yourself? Are you a boy? Or are you a girl? Won't you please tell me?"
Before the professor could continue any further however, the rival had started shouting over him. "Gramps! you're so embarrassing, ugh. Why do you have to repeat that every time you give someone a new pokemon?"
Oak chuckled slowly, looking over him and Leaf. "I'll cut my usual speech short then Gary, since you clearly don't dig it. Hmm, who are you three again? Why are you here? I wonder…"
"Gramps! I'm fed up with waiting!" Oak chuckled again. He seemed to be teasing Gary. The puns Oak made didn't evade anyone's attention either. Damian smirked. Oak actually seemed like a pretty funny guy!
"Let me think… Oh, that's right, I told you to come! Just wait! Here, you three! There are three pokemon here. Haha! The pokemon are held inside these pokeballs. When I was young, I was a serious pokemon Trainer. But now, in my old age, I have only these three left. You can each have one. Go on, choose!"
"I want Squirtle!" Gary shouted out the second Oak had finished his bumbling speech.
"So, you've decided on the water pokemon Squirtle?"
"Obviously", Gary rolled his eyes. "I did just say it out loud, didn't I?" The girl and Damian exchanged glances again. He could feel a bond of exasperation forming between them already. Since the rival was Gary, the main character must be Ash, not Red, and the other two trainers were never introduced. This world was most likely that of the pokemon anime.
"Hm! Squirtle is your choice. It's one worth raising. So, Gary, you've decided on the water pokemon Squirtle?"
Gary had a vein comically popping around his eye. "Yeah…" Wow. These two had a very strange family relationship. Damian briefly remembered the car and half a dozen cheerleaders that Gary brought with him at the start of his adventure. A very strange relationship indeed.
Oak gave Gary the pokeball, along with a stern warning to the three of them never to lose their pokeballs. Gary dramatically throws it in the air. It opened mid-flight at the highest point, with a flash of light releasing Squirtle on the ground, eager to meet its trainer. They exchanged smirks and it was as if they instantly became best friends forever in that second. Leaf let out a squeal of awe and Oak's eyes softened. Damian wanted to vomit. Gary caught the pokeball as it returned. That was slightly cool, Damian had to admit.
Oak turned back to them. "Now, Leaf, Damian. Inside those two pokeballs are rare starter pokemon. They're only found occasionally in Kanto and not at all in Johto. Choose one and it'll be yours! ...Go ahead! Which one will you choose for yourselves?"
Leaf and Damian paused. They were both too polite to just shout out which they wanted to take. Tears started to form in her eyes and Damian remembered she was just a child. Thankfully he knew which she wanted. He'd already basically killed the old Damian with his reincarnation, he didn't need to make a little girl cry too.
"I would like Charmander if that's ok with you Leaf," he offered. "But I'm fine either way." He lied.
She looked deeply relieved and mumbled out a "thanks", nervously stumbling towards Oak, who was twinkly eyed again. "I see! Bulbasaur is your choice. It's very easy to raise. So, Leaf, you want to go with the grass pokemon Bulbasaur?
She let out a blindingly happy smile that illuminated the room. Gary blinked a few times, and blushed. Cute. Oak tossed her the pokeball and she caught it carefully, before throwing it again herself. Children in this world actually got trained on how to throw and catch pokeballs at a young age, or else it would be very problematic if the trainers kept on dropping and breaking them. If a pokeball got broken while a pokemon was inside it, did they die? Could pokemon starve to death if not released from their pokeball for too long? Could they break out on their own? He would have to get a moment to speak with the professor after they'd gotten their pokemon.
Bulbasaur was released as well and as Oak said, it did seem easy to raise. After a few moments of nervousness from her towards the calm creature, the two of them quickly warmed to each other and were communicating without words just through looks. That would prove very useful in a battle if they could stay calm. Oak seemed quite interested in them too, but then he did specialise in pokemon and human relationships.
There was just him and the Charmander left in the ball left now. Gary and Leaf were still engrossed with their starters, so Oak turned towards him and beckoned him forth. Oak studied him for a few moments, deep in thought. Finally, he said the required lines that seem to be a rite of passage in this world, game or not, in his own exuberant style.
"Ah! Charmander is your choice. You should raise it patiently. So, Damian, you're claiming the fire pokemon Charmander?
Oak emphasised that Charmander required patience before tossing him the pokeball, eyes focused on him. Maybe he had suspected a little about how the old Damian tended to act before his body was taken over. He made the promise a little too quickly as they locked eyes, and was passed the ball. He threw it up in the air. His future partner Charmander, in all its childish glory, eyes locking onto Damian, unexpectedly tried to land in his arms. They both crashed onto the floor together, and the pokeball flew back towards him. It flew over him to where he had been standing, bouncing off onto the floor. There was silence. Charmander looked amused and Damian felt like giving him a good smack. What had he done in his past life to deserve such crap? He put Charmander down and picked the pokeball up. It was very light now without Charmander in it. It looked like his bond with Charmander would be a strange one.
Maybe Oak emphasised patience because the Charmander was an immature brat. Damian sighed. The both of them stood awkwardly side by side now, trying to pretend nothing had happened. Because it hadn't. Damn it. Gary sniggered. Oak just looked slightly concerned for them all. Damian was surrounded by damn children.
Gary's eyes widened momentarily as he realised something. one could almost see the clogs ticking in his head as he thought something through.
"Wait, gramps! What's Ashy boy gonna get?"
Huh. Perhaps he cared about Ash more than he let Ash know. They were supposed to be best friends in their childhood before they became rivals after all. The three of them and their pokemon faced Oak as he sat down at his desk and started searching through the piles of paper he had lying around.
"No need for an outrage, Gary!" He joked. Gary groaned and hid his face from us. "I've got just the pokemon for him. It will be shocking!"
Gary narrowed his eyes. "Are you planning to give him and electric type pokemon just so he has type advantage over my starter, Gramps?"
Oak looked shifty. Gary looked ready to throw a temper tantrum. Leaf navigated her way around Oak's clutter and the other workers, starting to leave. Bulbasaur followed her.
"Hey! Don't go away yet!" Professor Oak called out, finding what he was looking for. Leaf jumped and hurried back. Bulbasaur let out a long suffering sigh and a longing look towards the door and the outside world and came over too. Gary and Squirtle were smirking again. Charmander was tuning everything out and staring him down, trying to pick a fight. Damian started sweating.
"Now what was it? Oh, right! I have a request for you three. On the desk there is my invention, the pokedex! It's my life long work. It automatically records data on pokemon you've seen or caught. It's a high-tech encyclopaedia! Take these with you. You can't get detailed data on pokemon by just seeing them though. You must catch them to obtain complete data, then you can surf it! To complete it, you need to capture all 149 pokemon in Kanto! I can only give them out to trainers I'm sponsoring though, and currently, only for Kanto, not Johto. They will also serve as your ID."
They each got handed a pokedex and two pokeballs from the mess on Oak's desk.
"So, here are some tools for catching wild pokemon. When a wild pokemon appears, it's fair game. Just throw a pokeball at it and try to catch it! This won't always work, however. A healthy pokemon can escape. You have to damage it first! Giving them status conditions helps too."
He paused. "The Viridian City gym leader Giovanni asked me to tell all new trainers the next few things. After battling a wild pokemon, if it is fainted, catch it and heal it at the pokemon centre, then release it. If you don't have a pokeball to catch it with, use potions, berries or a healing move instead. If it's hostile and strong, run. Its friends and family will be able to help it. Don't battle pokemon if they don't want to. Keep it consensual and don't burden the nurse Joys unnecessarily. You can get up to 3 strikes on you trainer licence before you lose it. Have your own pokemon battle each other sometimes, and also please be aware forcing pokemon to fight, giving them the wrong food for their species and keeping them in their pokeballs for over 12 hours a day are all examples of abuse or neglectful behaviour and will lose you your license, even if you're a gym leader. You have to sign a contract in a few minutes before you can become a league sponsored trainer. This will have a list of terms and conditions you must agree to. By the way, aways travel with a few pokeballs and potions on you." He sipped some water from a cup and continued.
"Also, raise your young pokemon by making it battle. It has to battle for it to grow. Every time you challenge a gym, please call me before and after. I will then tell you which gym you should head to next, and preparations you should make for them. Viridian City is the last gym you should challenge, despite being the nearest city. Giovanni, the ground type specialist is the strongest of all of the gym leaders. You will meet him when you pass by on the way to Pewter City, the first gym you should go to. There are computers allowing us to have face to face conversations at the pokemon centre. also contact me if one of your pokemon evolves or you catch a new one that wasn't on the pokedex."
Oak examined them. After having them repeat back to him most of what he said to check they were listening and understood, he seemed satisfied with them. He handed them the contracts and pens and they read it over under his supervision. All of this was probably done off screen in the anime. Ash Ketchum and the children who watched the series wouldn't be interested in the "remember, recognise, rangers" whistleblowing method for the seven symptoms of abuse and neglectful behaviour, nor the other crap in the contract.
Oak smiled. "That's the lecture over! Just use pokeballs if you can! It records their data on the pokedex if you do. To make a complete guide on all the pokemon in the world… That was my dream! But, I'm too old! I can't get the job done. So, I want you three to fulfil my dream for me. Get moving, you three. This is a great undertaking in pokemon history!"
They nodded. Leaf let out another small angelic smile. "Thank you so much for helping us professor Oak, it really means a lot to me you let Bulbasaur and me meet." She was kneeling and hugging Bulbasaur as she said this. Her voice was sweet and smooth and innocent and everything Damian wasn't. She probably hadn't murdered a child before though. It's the first full sentence he'd ever heard her speak. Gary was blushing again and Squirtle gave his new trainer some very amused looks.
Oak turned back and gave her a smile himself. "I can rest assured that you will take very good care of Bulbasaur. I wish you luck in the gym battles!" Gary looked like he wished he could be Bulbasaur. She turned and walked towards the door. Gary turned to look at him, having a sudden epiphany.
"How about a pokemon battle now Damian? Heh, my Pokémon looks a lot stronger. Let's check them out! Come on, I'll take you on!"
Leaf and Bulbasaur turned back to watch and Gary got a cocky smirk on. Oak sighed.
"Oh, for Pete's sake… So pushy, as always. Damian. You've never had a pokemon battle before, have you? A pokemon battle is when Trainers pit their Pokémon against each other. The Trainer that makes the other Trainer's pokemon faint by hitting them with moves wins. But rather than talking about it, you'll learn more from experience. I'll be the judge. Try battling and see for yourself."
By now, the workers there had started watching them because of the commotion they were causing. It struck him how unusual it is to have a pokemon battle in the lab with valuable work documents and other people around, but then it wasn't the stupidest thing that Damian had noticed today.
Charmander was still staring at Damian, contemplating life, the universe and everything. Or just if he should risk fighting with a dorky trainer. "You're on Gary. Lets battle!" He replied, but inside he was panicking. He had only woken up in Damian's body this morning. How could he possibly know how to win a pokemon battle? If they wanted to know useless lore about the legendaries or how to illegally stream pokemon films from the internet, he was the master, but he had never taken part in a trainer battle before. What was he meant to do? He didn't have much choice here though. Battling was something the old Damian would definitely have done, and they would think something was off with him if he refused. This could help him work well together with Charmander if he won, and in the games it was incredible easy to win. It should be easy.
Gary grinned. ""So Squirtle, how are you going to Tackle this?" Squirtle ran faster than Damian had expected. It had to be faster than any human he had seen. Charmander was still off in its own world, not noticing Squirtle until its head got smashed into by the water pokemon's shell. It gave off an ear screeching yelp, its entire body going stiff with anger. Damian winced. That had to be a critical hit.
Didn't Oak have to announce the start of the battle? What the fuck? Gary, where are your basic morals as a human being? What about the rules of battling as a trainer?
Gary was the grandson of Oak and wanted to become the champion, the very best that no one ever was. He should at least have some sense of shame when cheating in front of his grandfather. To declare a battle and attack before the other trainer and pokemon were even ready…
What about bravely crossing blows at great personal risk? What about the bond between a trainer and their pokemon? What about the use of the pokedex and strategic battling? Even pokemon gangsters like Team Rocket didn't fight that way…
Gary gave a cheer and had it use Tackle again. Damian stuttered in anger as Squirtle moved faster than humans could again. Charmander was ready this time though, and dodged on its own, making some distance to recover and wait to a command. Damian flinched as small beads of blood rolled down Charmander's scaly face over its mouth, just missing its right eye. It licked and wiped the blood away, clutching its head.
Oak's stern, unhappy voice resonated around the room, jolting him out of his squeamish stupor. "Inflicting damage on the foe is the key to any battle." Gary and Squirtle grinned at each other. "Heh, yeah! We are the best together, Squirtle!"
"Charmander," Damian started, his mind had gone blank. He felt lightheaded like he was in a nightmare, or like he was the one suffering from blood loss. What moves did Charmander even have again? "Use Tackle too!" Charmander turned its head around to give him a panicked look. What was wrong? Did it not want to fight? Damian certainly wouldn't either if he had a head injury. Oak spoke quietly. "Charmander's evolutionary line does not know the move Tackle. Gary, Damian, both of you. Take out your pokedexes and scan the pokemon with them."
Both of them paused and did so, their pokemon pausing too, presumably confused at their strange, human behaviour. On Damian's pokedex, the basic stuff like species, type, height and weight appeared. There was a big picture of his Charmander which had a note underneath it saying it worked as Charmander's ID. He clicked a button at the side of the pokedex and it went to the next page, showing the moves Charmander currently knew. Scratch, Growl and Ember. That would be why Charmander did nothing when he asked it to use Tackle. He clicked the next page button again. It had lore on the pokemon such as the voice cry and information on what its evolutions were and what they ate, what their footsteps looked like, etcetera. He clicked the next page button again. Nothing happened. That was all the pokedex had on Charmander. No Levels and HP bar, no potential moves it can learn, no advice how to teach it those moves, nothing. He wasn't even sure this world knew abilities and hidden powers like Blaze even existed.
Charmander knew Ember too. It shouldn't at level 5 when it was given to you and the rival challenged you. There was no indication that levels existed in this world. That meant Squirtle might know Water Gun. If it did, this fight was as good as over, with the current disadvantage. One Water Gun would knock Charmander out.
Ember wouldn't deal as much damage as Scratch would because of the type disadvantage, so it could only be used to block some of the Water Guns while Charmander closed in for the Scratch. Growl was nearly useless too since Gary would have Squirtle just use Water Gun from here on, and Charmander was just barely hanging on anyway. A wicked thought crossed Damian's mind. Maybe if Growl was used on Gary as well as Squirtle, they would hesitate for long enough for it to close in and use repetitive Scratches. It was as good a plan as any. If you weren't fighting dirty, you weren't fighting properly.
Thank Mew for Oak's helping hand. Otherwise this would have already been over before he could plan. He scanned Squirtle too and locked eyes with his pokemon when Gary was putting his pokedex away. Gary had attacked at the start when he wasn't ready. Time for him to take the initiative. "Charmander, use growl!" On Gary went unsaid, but he was pretty sure Charmander understood since he did so. Or maybe Charmander was just a menace to society. Either way though, Gary flinched and Squirtle leaned back, bracing itself with its arms covering its face.
"Lowering the foe's stats, will put you at an advantage." Oak sounded very unhappy now. Damian pushes on anyway, glancing at the pokedex. Nothing useful there.
"Now Ember!" again, the and Scratch went unsaid but Charmander understood. Damian just hoped he didn't use either of these on Gary too, or he might just lose his trainer licence. If he don't get caught cheating, that's basically the same as not doing it.
Charmander rushed in, spurting a burst of flames towards Squirtle, just barely missing him. It was scarily close to hitting Gary too. Maybe Charmander enjoyed murdering children more than Damian did. Gary gave out a yelp similar to Charmander's own one a minute ago. The Ember dissipated against the lab walls, which were surprisingly sturdy. Gary laugh was slightly high pitch and forced. "Ha, you missed your strongest attack!"
Charmander sped in while they were distracted and used Scratch. He got Squirtle's arms which were now bleeding, and when Squirtle recoiled back, he got a nice hit in on Squirtle's left hip, leaving him limping. Gary snarled out "Water Gun!" Squirtle missed with it when he winced with his wounds, but it pushed Charmander back still after ricocheting off the ground, damaging it slightly. There was a distance between them again, and Damian had another buzzing feeling in his stomach, a sinking one this time, that they wouldn't be able to close that distance now Gary and Squirtle were focused and pissed.
"Water Gun until Charmander faints, Squirtle!" Gary nearly yelled. Damian noticed they'd drawn a large crowd now, and Oak was frowning severely. He just caught a glimpse of Leaf and Bulbasaur holding each other tightly in distress as a Water Gun hit him from out of nowhere. Damian was propelled back a foot or two, drawing gasps from all those around as he was surprisingly not as damaged by the attack as he would have thought.
Oak stepped forward, halting the match. Charmander finally fainted on the ground, having been hit by a Water Gun after Damian had been. The professor looked furious.
"Never in my whole life have I ever seen such a battle before," his eyes flashed thunderously, but before he could continue, Gary had interrupted him.
"Yeah! Am I great or what? I'll make my pokemon fight lots to toughen it up!" Squirtle was looking very proud and limping slightly, bleeding on the lab's previously white, soon to be bright pink floor.
Damian flinched. Leaf and the spectators looked speechless. Oak looked ready to kill a child, hopefully Gary and not him. Damian was pretty sure whatever rules of battle there were, they had just violated them super effectively in front of a former champion. Him and Gary were probably about to find out what the seven symptoms of abuse and neglectful behaviour were the hard way.
Damian returned Charmander to his pokeball. It was nice knowing him. Damian was paralysed, unable to move. He didn't want to get sent home without a pokemon. To have to get a normal job in a world of super powered creatures he could have been befriending. And damn it, he should have won.
Oak's eyes were closed, his face hidden in the shadows provided by sun coming through from the window behind him. "Return your Squirtle to the pokeball, Gary. I think you'd both better give your pokemon to me." Damian's stomach felt like it sank through the floor, that nervous, buzzing fear settling itself in his stomach. Time almost stood still. Gary looked perplexed, Leaf apprehensive and the crowd grim.
Gary returned the pokemon as if in slow motion. It seemed to take forever for him and Gary to hand their pokeballs to the Professor, who stood motionlessly still now, with the pokeballs shrunken down in the machine they got them from.
After a minute, Oak took the pokeballs from the machine when they were fully healed and sent them out. Charmander and Squirtle were released next to each other, and after a tense moment, relaxed and greeted each other as old friends. They sat together at the side by the machine, not coming back over to Gary and Damian of their own accord. They leaned back as if the enjoy a good show, like this sort of thing had happened before. Oak finally spoke in an emotionless tone. "Perhaps you don't need to start out at Pallet town after all Gary, Damian."
Gary looked up in delight, a cocky grin spreading across his face. The sun rays from the window fell on his face and he stood up straight backed, giving off the appearance of a noble pokemon trainer. "So I get to start from Mt Silver after all, Gramps? That's great! Can you also get me a Dragonite like you and Lance have?"
The ice broke. Damian started to relax a little, the strange feeling in his stomach not going away. Gary was starting to celebrate like his birthday and christmas had come early. Leaf was wide eyed with the appearance of what looked suspiciously like utter horror of watching a storm about to destroy the world. The crowd were starting to murmur, he noticed in his dazed state.
The Professor finally opened his eyes, stone faced as he spoke. "Because you two brats should just quit as trainers." Ah, the ice froze again. Leaf looks validated, but still horrified. Poor Gary continues to put his foot in his mouth as Damian wished he could teleport away.
"What? But gramps, you just said-"
"You have both failed as trainers." Gary wisely shut up. Even a fool was thought wise if he kept his peace. "Neither of you looked at your pokedexes. You both disregarded the rules of battling and even ignored the pain of your pokemon."
"Gary. You broke a rule of battle by attacking before I started the match. You started it in my lab, next to valuable documents rather than outside where you knew there were training fields because you did not think. You allowed yourself to get easily distracted multiple times during the battle, even taking time to celebrate and taunt your opponent when even a second of inattention is enough for a competent battler to defeat you. You had your pokemon fight to the fight of exhaustion when injured. You did not understand what your pokemon was trying to tell you. Never, never order someone to do what you are unwilling to do yourself. You showed poor Charmander no mercy and finally, your pokemon even attacked the other trainer. You're very lucky he's not injured. You didn't even realise how much trouble you're in. Incompetent people know too little to accurately assess their competence. With behaviour like this, you will never become a future pokemon champion."
Gary hid his face, shoulders shaking. Damian felt bad for him, but even worse for what was about to happen to him. Because he knew he did worse than Gary did.
The Professor turned to him, face impassive even after making his grandson cry. "And Damian. Damian." The man paused, as though lost for words. The world stood still as he focused on the Professor's face and words.
"You should have withdrawn in and forfeited it after the very first hit. It may not have fainted then, but having it continue with such as bad head wound classifies as abuse." Ouch. Goodbye trainers license.
"You then went on to freeze up and not give an order for a good half minute after the start of the fight. You are only as helpless as you allow yourself to be, and you're so helpless, you wouldn't beat a Magikarp. The first order you gave was a move Charmander's evolutionary line can't even learn. After that, you broke the same rule Gary did by attacking without my announcing the start of the battle." Someone, get a burn heal.
"And finally, you implied to your pokemon it should kill my grandson." Ah. He noticed, and seemed to be holding a grudge for that one.
"In my experience as a trainer, a lack of repercussions to a problem only creates more problems and cements the persons sense of superiority. You might have heard of a group called Team Rocket. Maybe you should consider joining them. You would fit right in with your actions this battle, and at least then you would be employed during this lifetime." The Professor held both hands behind his back, exuding an aura of an pokemon master that only legendaries could match up to.
Gary was wide eyed with his mouth agape. Damian was pretty sure he looked the same. What a smack down. He felt like he was in hell, unable to think from the guilt. The feeling in his stomach was unbearable, stronger now than it hard ever been. Leaf gave them both sympathetic looks. "It'll be ok, you two." She whispered.
"Silence, Leaf," Oak intoned in a frosty voice. "When I was a child, new trainers used to get beaten by their pokemon for showing disrespect to their professors. Sadly, that was thirty years ago. Standards have changed since then and the mortality rate has unfortunately dropped from seventy percent down to five." He breathed out through grit teeth. "But one can always hope."
The Professor had finally calmed down and spoke again.
"When you treat your pokemon like tools, you shouldn't be surprised when they betray you for trainers who don't. Neither of you listened to what they were trying to tell you. You didn't fulfil your jobs as their trainers, and now I wonder if you should keep those jobs."
It was the end of the world. He didn't mean to replace the old Damian in his body, damn it.
"I will give you both one last chance." Gary lifted his head from his hands, tears and snot abated momentarily as he sniffled. Damian felt the strange feelings he'd been having finally leave his stomach. Arceus did exist after all!
"But if you fail this test, it's over. No career as a trainer." Oak looked solemn. "You both have to show you understand and regret your mistakes. Only one of you can pass. You both have to agree which of you that person is." Gary and Damian looked dumbstruck. How were they meant to convince each other? Wasn't this a test of cunning rather than remorse? Neither of them were stupid enough to be tricked.
"Gramps," Gary started, "We both regret our mistakes. Would it be possible for us to have a test where we could actually both pass?" Damian cheered along in his head. 'Gary, Gary, he's the man! If he can't do it, no one can!'
Oak stood there for a minute, thinking up another test. Finally, it was like a light bulb lit up above his head as he had another idea. "Zapdos! I've got it! The two of you just have to defeat Dragonite in a fist fight without using any pokemon!" Dragonite stepped out of the shadows in a corner of the room, causing small booms and creaks from the reinforced floor and loud screams and shrieks from the surprised crowd. It looked mightily amused.
So all they had to do was win a fist fight against a champion's Dragonite. Lovely. Bring the legendaries on.
Oak feigned a look of confusion. "Is there a problem? I think you'll both pass." Damian suspected he was lying. He imagined their corpses lying on the floor, Dragonite feasting on them and Oak mildly sad, saying 'shame about those two, but at least Leaf is alive for now. Maybe Ash will survive a few hours.'
He wasn't Lance. Or Ash. Ash the 'Chosen One', by Arceus itself. He wasn't a pokemon, damn it. He was just a child and had had a long day. He had woken up in another world where pokemon existed, in someone else's body, and had to face the guilt of replacing that child all morning. Charmander had been a prick and Damian felt somewhat traumatised by the battle. He couldn't beat a Dragonite up in a fist fight. When would this crappy experience be over? When could he wake up again in his own body with his own name. Whatever it was.
"Power is responsibility, and you get it when people give it to you, not from trying to take it. The only kind of power worth having is when people give it to you, and trust you to do the right thing with it even when they disagree with you. The knowledge of how to pass the test, you already know it."
Damian had to disagree with that, and from the look on his face, Gary did too. He just wanted to go to sleep and wake up in his own body. This was probably just a dream or hallucination anyway. One did not simply kill and possess a child's body without meaning to. It was just a shame his imagination was so lacking, his wildest dream was appearing in the pokemon anime. Pathetic.
At any rate, Damian was only mentioned in the anime for abusing Charmander. He probably just lost in the battle and left, not to be mentioned until Ash saved the abandoned pokemon. With Damian failing, Ash could just get Charmander early as well as his Pikachu. All the better, since he kind of had to save the word multiple times. He would just be even stronger. Maybe he would bring Charizard with him and Pikachu when travelling. Damian giving up had no effect on the plot. He could go home and find some other job if he didn't wake up, but at least this way the planet wouldn't be in danger compared to the butterfly effect if Gary Oak never became a trainer and then a researcher.
He was decided. "I give up. Gary can pass. He did better than me anyway and I deserve to fail for that Ember that nearly hit him." Gary stared at him, open mouthed, stunned like he could not believe what Damian was saying.
"What utter Tauros crap-"
"Language, Gary"
"Sorry Gramps! Damian, are you trying to insult me? I definitely did worse than you, and the Ember didn't hit me. The Water Gun did hit you. I'm not quite sure how your shoulder isn't broken from that by the way! Gramps," Gary paused, evidently conflicted and sickened by what he was about to say. "Just let this idiot pass. I can live with not being a trainer." His face soured like he could not believe this shit. "You've given me enough money I can live my entire life without working anyway. His family would probably go bankrupt and he wouldn't be able to get a job in Pallet town once you blacklisting him comes out."
Oak looked like he knew this would happen all along. Dragonite was chuckling in its extremely weird pokemon voice, and the professor started joining in in a creepy manner. He eyed the two of them. "Is that your final answer?" His voice was full of glee. Gary became paralysed and unable to move as he realised they hadn't even managed to agree on which of them would pass. Leaf butted in.
"Professor Oak, please pass them! Fail me instead if you must, but I believe they've learned from their mistakes." Leaf somehow managed to keep a straight face while saying this. Gary looked like he was in the pokemon version of heaven. "I believe in them!"
Oak and Dragonite only laughed harder at this. "That's not really how this works, Leaf," the Professor gasped out. "Your trust, however unearned, is heartwarming, but I believe you have understood the spirit of the test!" The Professor and the Dragonite turned to Gary and Damian. He clenched his eyes shut and tensed his muscles. "You both… PASS!"
"What!" "What?" "Ha! I knew it! Dummies!" Gary, Damian and Leaf shouted out together. A few people in the crowd were scratching their heads too, whilst the rest nodded wisely, probably just posturing, pretending to understand and agree to look better in front of their boss.
"Gramps, How does that make any sense?"
"Not that we're complaining of course." Leaf smoothly interjected. Okay, Damian was really starting to like her.
Oak and Dragonite slowly stopped chuckling, and that was a thought Damian never expected to think. They exchanged nostalgic glances. Professor Oak finally said "You were battling with everything you had, however meagre and comedic your skills were! When you're that invested in something, like winning your first pokemon battle to impress the girl you like, or getting your first pokemon to listen to you, it's much harder to give up than to win. You had to have really felt remorse for you to insist on not becoming a trainer, when its both of your dream jobs! Remember that feeling. Remorse and empathy is part of being human, it's needed for a trainer to communicate effectively with their pokemon and each other, and only Leaf seemed to understood that prior to this. Those people like Team Rocket, and trainers who abuse or neglect their pokemon don't understand that. They don't have feelings like we do, and it's their biggest weakness! They will never bond with another being as well as we do, and it's only when you are fighting to protect those that you care about that you become truly strong."
Gary, Leaf and Damian exchanged looks. They'd all understood the lesson to varying extents, and felt closer to one another after the ordeal. Some things you just don't go through without forming close bonds, and being given a verbal smack down by Professor Oak was at the top of that list.
The clapping of tiny hands came from by the healing machine. Charmander and Squirtle had obviously been greatly enjoying the show, their heads swivelling back and forth at each change in event like they were watching a movie in real life. Bulbasaur had attached itself to Leaf the entire time, and unglued itself from her to join them with a smirk at having gotten a premium seat for the show. It was very cute, Damian had to admit. It would just be terrifying when they were fully evolved though. Dragonite finally stopped laughing, the weirdo. Oak, with a smirk, spoke again.
"What you didn't understand from listening to them was that they don't want to fight one another, and they definitely don't want their trainers to be hostile with one another. The three of them are close friends, all unfortunately orphans with no family, all having been trained together for this trainer sponsorship program. I hope the three of you will travel together and don't separate them, because you could have quite the exceptional future if you were to travel together. Maybe as Elite Four members or gym leaders?" The smirk was audible in his voice. Say what you will professor, but isn't this basically guilt tripping the three of them to travel together? Not, Damian amended in his mind, that he would mind it. He would actually quite like it. Ash nearly died in the first day as a trainer, and Gary did have an awesome car. And Leaf was funny. He blushed.
Oak tossed Gary and him their pokeballs back. "You can all go on your pokemon adventures this afternoon! Meet up back here with your pokemon and bags once lunch is over. I'm going to squeeze in my lunch until Ash finally arrives. See you at around 2:00."
"Gramps! Smell you later! Lets go Leaf, Damian."
He turned to them. "Could you two please go ahead? I just want to speak to the professor for a moment." They and their pokemon left and the crowd dispersed when the Professor gave them a look, leaving just Oak, Dragonite, Damian and Charmander in the room.
"So what was it you wanted to talk with me about, my boy?" Oak asked, getting his packed lunch out of his bag. Damian just stared at him the same way Charmander had stared at him earlier. Was this man really going too start eating lunch in front of him? "Did you want a motivational speech or to know some obscure pokemon lore? Because if so, you've come to the right person!"
Damian sighed. "Professor," he started, "I know you work on the relationships between humans and pokemon, so I want to know why Charmander and I didn't bond together like Leaf and Bulbasaur, or even Gary and Squirtle did?" Charmander actually snorted at his question, the prick. Oak looked up at them.
"Expecting to become friends from the first second of meeting one another is just unrealistic, Damian." Oak said, mulling over his question. "Pokemon tend to obey the commands of those they respect, so winning gym badges does wonders for that. But Charmander already respects you Damian. I did say you need to raise him with patience, and that Bulbasaur is easy to raise. Leaf is just exceptional, and if you cloned Gary and turned him into a pokemon, you'd get his Squirtle. Expect future pokemon to be far more difficult to deal with. Wild pokemon only like and respect you if you can defeat them in a battle, but with Charmander being your starter pokemon, that's not really an option. Not unless you want me to lend you Dragonite!"
Charmander gave one look at Dragonite, who was staring at him and shuddered. 'No thank you,' he seemed to say. 'I'll be a good boy. I'm not getting into a fist fight with a Dragonite.'
"That's not really answered my question, professor." Damian points out. "it just sounds like a load of wise Tauros shi-"
"It takes time." Oak finally answers, in between stuffing himself. "Time and you need to bond with them over activities like training, eating, sleeping and so on. That's the best answer I can give you." The Professor smiled with another mouthful of the food Damian didn't recognise. Probably some dead pokemon. Looked tasty. "If you want a motivational speech," the Professor added.
"I don't, thank you." Damian interjected. He'd gotten the answer he wanted. Charmander snorted in amusement. 'Please, please give him the talk', he seemed to convey with his eyes and body language.
Oak continued anyway. "The most important thing that I learned was that it's ok to lose," he broke off as he looked at Damian with compassionate eyes. He continued, "You won't win every battle, not do you need to. Your life is not on the line. At the end of the battle, you're still alive with friends. You're still going to have a delicious lunch at home with your family and pokemon, and winning isn't everything. Many people go through their lives never battling competitively, some never even own a pokemon. Just so long as you have your friends at your side, you still win at life! Hahaha!"
Charmander clapped. Damian tried to hold back a smile. "I-I don't care, of course," he lied, "but thank you for trying, Professor Oak." He stuttered. His day was slowly brightening up, maybe this wasn't such a bad hallucination after all. Oak smiled at him.
"That's better! I can see the smouldering Embers of your will start to burn again!" He joked
"You're trying too hard professor… best to keep a Calm Mind about these puns."
He smirked. "Ha! another one corrupted! And I know. Nice one by the way! Haha! Now go back to your house to have lunch and leave me be, young Caterpie. I still have to wait for that Slowpoke Ash Ketchum to arrive." With that dismissal, Oak turned around to face the horde of paperwork cluttering his desk, sighing.
Damian stood still for a moment, playing the scene of Charmander losing to Squirtle over in his mind. Now he was calm again, he could see the mistakes Gary made from underestimating them, how he should have commanded Charmander to use the right moves at the right time. If he'd just been more aware, Charmander wouldn't have been so injured from a critical hit. If only he'd scanned their pokemon with their pokedexes. If Charmander had Ember, it was reasonable to assume Squirtle had Water Gun. As such, he would have known earlier Charmander had to get in close and used Scratch until Squirtle fainted. The Water Gun took about two seconds to build up before Squirtle shot it from its mouth. Had Charmander known all of this and Damian not messed up so badly, they could have won. Without nearly killing Gary in front of his grandfather and the man's associates.
He turned around and walked towards the exit with Charmander following. The other workers there who had been watching had gone back to their work, a few were giving him pitying looks. It didn't look like there'd be anyone giving out potions for free here, nor had pokemon battling seemed like a video game for children. Damian made his way out towards home, unimpeded by any potion donations. Cheapskate bastards.