Author: This was based off an idea that popped in my head. I'm sure they have been many ideas like it, but I hope you like my take on it. If you enjoy this, please let me know with a review. Thanks for reading :)
Pokémon: Welcome to the Real World
Alex's thumb twitched over the "B" button of his Gameboy, a light coat of perspiration coating his damp fingers. He had just used his last hyper potion on Charizard, and he mentally cursed himself for not buying more before taking on the elite four. Blue's final pokemon, Blastoise, was the only thing standing between him and completing his favorite game: Pokemon Red Version.
Alex had beaten this game many times, and even when his friends chided him for playing such an old game when there were newer, better versions to play, he always found himself coming back to this one. Something about it always brought him back; was it the nostalgia? He had first played this game when he was seven, assembling an elementary team of pokemon and beating the game through several rounds of trial and error. Now, eight years later, his much improved team (or so he thought) was wiped out, save for his starter which was presently level fifty-five – ten levels behind the opposing Blastoise.
There was only one viable move that could possibly save the day: Slash. With a higher critical hit ratio, his chance of success glimmered like a light at the end of a very long tunnel. With that in mind, Alex swallowed hard and pressed a sequence of arrows on the aged D-pad and hit "A." Then he watched.
"Charizard used SLASH!"
The Gameboy chimed, and the enemy Blastoise's full HP bar whittled down to just over half.
"A critical hit!"
Alex fist pumped, thanking his lucky stars, but he wasn't out of the woods yet and he knew it.
"Blastoise used HYDRO PUMP!"
The grip on the Gameboy suddenly tightened; Alex closed his eyes, waiting for the chime of the Gameboy, but it never came. Once he reopened them, another message waited for him on the screen.
"The attack missed!"
With his hands getting even sweatier now, Alex once again chose slash; if it worked, he would once again feel the exhilaration of victory! Blastoise's HP bar whittled down until there was less than a quarter remaining. No critical hit!
"Blastoise used HYDRO PUMP!"
The Gameboy chimed loudly, and in less than a second, Charizard's HP whittled all the way down to nothing. Game over.
"Ugh!" Alex tossed the Gameboy onto his bed. Feeling defeated and annoyed, he wiped his sweaty hands off on his jeans and looked outside his bedroom window. Outside were kids his age, all huddled in front of a house playing what looked like 3DS's. Alex knew most of them – they went to school with him, and all had a passion for Pokémon. Like him, they had all started when they were young, and the adoration for the games and everything else associated with it never faded.
However, there was always one thought that always stayed tucked away in the back of his mind; what if Pokémon were real? On the internet, Alex had seen several grotesque CGI recreations of what Pokémon might look like if they were real, but he hated those. For now, the closest he could get to what he really wanted was contained inside and electronic microchip.
There was a knock on the door, followed but the light, airy sound of his Mother's voice. "Honey, why don't you go outside? Summer break's just started and the weather's beautiful!"
Alex glanced over at his Gameboy, which presently displayed his character standing outside the Pokecenter.
"Fine…" Reluctantly, Alex slipped a pair of tennis shoes on and dismissed himself from the house.
The sun's rays instantly began to bake Alex's pale skin the second he stepped outdoors, and instantaneously he thought about how sunburnt he was probably going to be when he woke up the next morning. With that in mind, he quickly jogged over to the only tree in his front yard, and sat down under the cool shade it offered.
Across the street, were the same kids still huddled under a tree, talking very animatedly around their game systems. Alex knew they were playing Pokemon, but the way they played the game was very different. These days they were completely obsessed about things they liked to call "IV's" (whatever those were) and which Pokemon had the best stats. Why couldn't they just go back to just playing for the fun of it? Or using whichever Pokemon you felt like using without worrying about its base stats? Alex knew that at its core, that's what the game was all about, but if things kept up this way, he might quit…and honestly, that bothered him.
Just then, a loud bang echoed from across the street causing Alex to crane his neck around towards whatever made the sound. At a house adjacent to the one across from his, it looked like a new family had just moved in a bunch of furniture and boxes out of a moving truck and into the garage. The Father had peppered black hair, and was sweating from head to toe, making his plain grey shirt stick to him from all the moisture. The Mother was in a similar state, her jet black hair fastened tightly in pony tail.
Then there was the daughter. Alex caught his jaw hanging open and immediately shut it in case she saw him gawking at her. Her hair was like her Mother's; jet black, though it had a glossy appearance about it. She looked about his age, and maybe a couple inches shorter than he was. It seemed evident that her parents had done all the heavy lifting; while they looked exhausted, it seemed as if she had hardly contributed at all. Alex really hoped she wasn't one of those "princess" types.
The trio seemed to be talking in depth about something, but soon they broke up, with the Mother and Father hopping back in the truck, leaving the girl behind. She seemed thoroughly irritated about something, and in a huff, marched over to her front steps which were shaded by a tall, thick maple tree. Then, to Alex's utter delight, she pulled a Gameboy out of her pocket. She was a gamer like him! Perhaps this was the lucky stars' apology for failing him earlier?
Before Alex could work up the courage to talk to her, one of the neighbor kids called out to her, indicating toward her handheld. Alex watched from his spot behind his tree, expecting to lose his opportunity quicker than it had shown up.
The girl peered over at them, but upon seeing their 3DS's merely shrugged and yelled back something that sounded like, "No thanks!"
There was still a chance!
Without thinking, Alex raced back in the house, nearly tumbling up the front steps and almost losing his glasses in the process. As he passed through the kitchen, he almost bumped into his Mother.
"What's the big rush?"
"Can't talk, busy, bye!" was all Alex could manage as he took the steps up to his room two at a time. In the following moments, he whisked his Gameboy off the bed ran double-time back down the stairs and out of the house.
Once Alex returned to his tree, he was pleased to find that the new neighbor girl had not moved from her spot; in fact, she looked immersed in what she was playing. Adjusting his glasses with a single finger, Alex peered across the street, and thought he saw a familiar looking blue cartridge in the Gameboy. With any luck, that might be his own game's cousin – Blue version!
The problem was, how was Alex going to talk to the girl without sounding like a creep? He played several scenarios over in his mind, but in each one, he sounded more and more like a creeper, and he couldn't have that. Frustrated with himself, Alex slumped down to the base of the tree, feeling as defeated as the imaginary character on the screen probably felt. Although, Alex would have preferred losing to the elite four than attempt to conquer the seemingly impossible obstacle of talking to a pretty girl.
Alex was so buried in his thoughts that he didn't notice a pair of feet crunching across the grass towards him.
"Hey there! Are you playing Red Version? I have Blue!" It was the girl from across the street, looking down inquisitively at Alex. She was wearing a bright yellow tank top and snug shorts that revealed a very even summer tan.
Alex's first words came out sputtering as if he were incapable of speaking. "Uh..I-I…yeah! Red version! That's what I'm playing!"
"Awesome! I'm more into old school Pokemon games, so when I saw your old Gameboy, I just had to come join you! You don't see very many of those anymore." The girl smiled at Alex before promptly sitting down beside him. "By the way, my name is Serah. What's yours?"
"Alex," said Alex plainly. His brain seemed unable to think of anything to help the conversation along, so he said the only thing he could possibly come up with. "Uh…kind of hot out here huh?"
"Mmm…" said Serah, not really absorbing what was said to her. "I'm stuck in Seafoam Islands. I've caught Articuno but I can't figure out where the exit is."
That statement perked up Alex's senses and cleared his muddled thoughts. If it was something Pokemon related, that was something he could talk about.
"Oh! That's easy. Let me help you. You just have to - "
"No!" Serah suddenly recoiled, snatching the game out of his reach. Her formerly calm, inviting face was fiercely defensive. Alex stopped, unable to think of what to do next. But in the next few seconds, her expression eased until it was calm.
"I'm sorry. It's just…well, my parents always think I need help with stuff and won't let me do anything on my own. It really sucks." Serah looked downcast, almost teary eyed. Silence engulfed them, the only thing playing in their ears being the monotonous music of the cave Serah's character was in.
"That would suck." Alex thought hard, trying to find some way to cheer her up. At last, he got an idea. "But you caught Articuno right? That's an accomplishment!" He finished with a smile, hoping it would be contagious.
It was. Serah mirrored his expression and settled back into her former position with the Gameboy in front of her. "Thanks, Alex."
Just then, the sound of a truck neared and pulled into Serah's driveway.
"Oh! My parents are back! Um…do you mind if we trade numbers so maybe you can help me out later? You're not my parents, so I'm sure a few pointers or two wouldn't hurt." Serah winked at Alex. Suddenly, he started to feel extremely warm in the shade of the tree.
The two traded numbers and agreed to talk later. Alex smiled, and even though he had recently been trumped by Blue in a videogame, he felt as if he had won a real victory.
That night after dinner, Alex propped himself up on the sofa and tried to occupy himself with something to watch on television until it was time to call Serah. He had spent the afternoon daydreaming about their wonderful, albeit short conversation. He thought about the different things he could have said, but overall, he just wished he hadn't acted like an incompetent dweeb in front of a pretty girl.
The news was on, but the television began blaring as if someone had turned the volume up to max. Alex jolted upright in the sofa and began scrambling for the remote to turn it down, but the voice that began speaking interrupted him.
"Attention, citizens of the world. My name is Professor Florence Genesis. The knowledge I am about to bestow upon you will either be inconsequential or will be of great impact. Through decades of generic engineering and seemingly endless research, a dedicated team of researches and I have created living, tangible things that many of you know as Pokemon. Surely, the majority of the populous viewing this have already disregarded this news as foolish…but now you shall witness one of my creations…"
Alex was rooted to the spot, his eyes completely transfixed on the camera now panning to the left. Sitting on the table was a perfectly recognizable (at least to any Pokemon fan) Squirtle. It didn't look like the poorly crafted CGI pokemon Alex had seen on the internet either. It actually looked like the real thing on the game. Either the professor was pulling a massive hoax, or she was a complete genius…but why? Why announce this now? Just as Alex began completely taking everything the Squirtle was doing, the camera panned back toward Professor Genesis. Again, either she was a brilliant actor, or she was dead serious. Her frilly, medium length hair was almost completely streaked with gray, and what was left in-between was a hint of blonde. Several lines crisscrossed her face, and her eyes were almost as gray as her hair was. She had been pretty once, Alex could tell, but he guessed all those years in the lab would rob you of any good looks.
"So, citizens of the world…do you believe me? If you have ventured from the corners of your doubting minds, then I have more news to entice you with. I have selected one thousand fifteen and sixteen year olds from the world to come to my island that I have completely concealed from other humans. Here, they will have a chance to live out something never thought possible – Become a REAL Pokemon master."
