So...here we are. I kept getting stuck in pokemon moods, so I finally decided to bite the bullet and work on the first chapter of this. Maybe this way, I'll get it out of my system so I can focus more on FFVII.
Anyway, since pokemon is a ridiculously long anime, I'm not going to go into as much detail in the early years as I have/will in my other fics. I'm mostly going to hit on a few things, slow down a teeny bit between the ages of five and ten, and then we'll go into season one content. I don't expect the pre-canon stuff to take much more than a chapter or two more.
I'd even intended on putting it all into this chapter, but I realized that it would be better to split so that it's not too rushed.
I'll let you all get to reading, though. Hope you enjoy it!
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Chapter 1
Pokemon.
I was seven years old when Red and Blue were released in North America. I still remember having to borrow my brother or my sister's Gameboy to play the Red version I'd been given as a gift. I remembered sympathizing with Ash when the anime came out, because my Charmeleon hadn't listened to me either (the only one I'd ever had that problem with, and for the life of me I still have no clue how it had even happened as he hadn't been a traded pokemon). I remember how excited I'd been when I'd gotten my own gameboy color and Pokemon Crystal for Christmas.
"Congratulations-...-girl!...name?"
Ruby. Fire Red. Platinum. Black and Black 2. Heart Gold. Y. Omega Ruby. Sun and Ultra Sun. Shield.
With each generation that came out, I made a choice instead of getting both, feeling like it was a path I was traversing- my own pokemon journey. It was a journey I had expected to continue taking for a while, and...while I wasn't wrong, I also hadn't expected the next part of it to take quite the turn it had.
"...-name-...Amelia-."
It was hard to keep playing pokemon when you were living it, after all.
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~ 0-1 ~
The first memories of my second life didn't actually start until after I'd been born again, which I supposed was a good thing if all the stories were to be believed. In fact most of those early days were a sort of warm haze in my mind- the images blurred and the sound muffled, but with an undeniable sense of peace and comfort present throughout (this, I think, was what dulled the sorrow when I finally regained enough of my senses to realize the extent of what I'd lost). No, my first concrete memory was a bit more...well...I wasn't sure what to call it.
Believe it or not, screaming bloody murder when a curious Herdier was finally allowed to meet the baby was a bit hard to place.
"-told you it was too soon!"
"He just startled her, Luv. She'll come 'round."
That was true enough. Herdier, as much as it may have been based on terriers, and as much as it resembled a dog, still had that air of something that I would later learn all pokemon possessed. The sudden meeting, combined with the fact that I was just coming to terms with the fact that I'd been reborn, had been enough to almost scare me half to death.
But I digressed.
I did my best to calm my racing heart as my new parents continued their discussion, frowning a bit once I really started paying attention to their voices. It sounded like English, but both of them had accents, making it more than clear that foreign languages, and therefore other countries, were still a thing. I supposed I shouldn't have been surprised, given that Lieutenant Surge's nickname was the "Lightning American." Still, I'd never thought about what that would mean from a more realistic standpoint. Honestly, this whole thing had brought up like, a million questions in absolutely no semblance of order.
How had this happened? My new parents sounded like they had French and British accents, so did that mean they were from Kalos and Galar? What was this reality based on? Why had it happened? When and where had I been reborn? Could they still be considered French and British accents, or were they something else now? Did my parents have more than a Herdier?
I paused, then felt a spark of excitement.
Pokemon were real.
Shoot, even thinking it was amazing.
I may not ever learn how or why this had happened, but I did know that as much as it hurt, I had to keep moving forward. It was what my family would have wanted, and to be honest, I kind of wanted it too. It was pokemon. Regardless of the loneliness and loss I felt, it was hard not to be excited. I would be able to interact and be a part of this incredible world in a way I had only dreamt of before. It was amazing and exhilarating, and I couldn't believe it was actually happening.
How many more would I see? Would I have any of my own? Would I get to travel and battle with them?
Herdier came back, bringing me out of my thoughts as it carefully poked my arm with its nose through the bars of my crib...and I smiled.
This was going to be awesome.
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~ 2-3 ~
My new mother looked...familiar.
My new father had been easy to place, though more than a little surprising. Even without the cartoon quality of the anime and games, the dark skin, green eyes, and goofy behavior had been a dead giveaway. Once it had clicked, I could only laugh (which made him gush in a way worthy of Maes Hughes). I had loved Peony when he'd been introduced in the games, so having him as a father in this life could only be a plus. Really, I was lucky to be born to such a kind, devoted man.
Although that did bring the question of who my mother was into another light. From what I could vaguely remember of Peony's special League Card, his wife had been a blonde. She was also a lady who looked like one of those rich trainers in the games that you battled with an amulet coin equipped because you knew they'd pay out well. The woman in front of me, however, was not a blonde.
Though I couldn't say it was a bad thing. In fact, this woman could still very well fit into the upper crusts without anyone being the wiser. She had dark hair, storm-grey eyes, well-defined cheekbones, and a slim, elegant body. She was definitely beautiful.
And still so frustratingly familiar, somehow.
For the most part, I left it alone, content in the fact that she was also a very kind and loving woman. The thought would pop up once in a while, usually whenever I caught my reflection and saw those same storm-grey eyes staring back. Still, I had pretty much accepted that this was just how things would be. At almost three years of age, my mobility had improved enough that new aspects of exploration had opened up. This meant that there were other things to focus my attention on than the mystery of my second mother.
Of course, that would be the time when I got hit with a metaphorical curveball of an answer.
"Aurelia! Ma chère soeur! Dgjlkfgjknglksdgn!"
There was a man in the entryway, and apparently, he was my uncle in this life.
I blinked in surprise as I watched the man sweep my mother up into a tight embrace and twirl her around, talking all the while. Huh, guess I'd been right about the French accent. At least...I was pretty sure he was speaking French. I only remembered a couple of things from my class in high school, after all, and the second half of the man's statement had been said way too fast to sound like anything other than gibberish to me. You would think I'd be more familiar with it, given that it was clearly my new mother's first language, but...
Despite hearing the accents, and despite the conversation I knew they'd had in English a year or so back, my parents had been speaking to me in Japanese ever since. Heck if I knew why. Maybe we lived somewhere where it was the local language like Kanto or Johto, and they thought it was more important for me to learn that first.
...Eh, I'd figure it out.
Still, I supposed I should just be happy that foreign languages existed at all. The anime had, in later seasons, settled for one universal language and pretended like they'd never used Japanese in the show (I'm looking at you, season one). While it probably made things simpler for them since they wouldn't have to worry about using the corresponding language the game's region was based on, the lack of variety in my new reality would have really detracted from the whole experience of travel and adventure.
Not that the universal language didn't exist, because that was totally a thing too, but it worked pretty much like any other language. The ones who learned it were usually those who traveled around a lot (trainers) or those who knew they'd encounter a lot of foreigners (people in populated cities or ones with gyms). In a world like this one, where traveling around was way more common, that meant that the chances were high that you'd be able to find someone who understood you. Still, there was always that small possibility you'd find yourself lost in the middle of nowhere with no way to communicate (and that made the fact that Ash always had at least one local as a traveling companion take on a whole new aspect, didn't it).
Huh...I wondered if that meant I'd be a polyglot by the time I was an adult again, because there was no way I wasn't going to see the world once I was old enough, but I didn't want to rely on the universal language if I could help it.
"Augustine!" Mama laughed, bringing me out of my thoughts. "We spoke just last week!"
"Ah, but phone calls are always so different than talking face-to-face!"
My apparent uncle had a heavy accent, too- much heavier than my mother's. It actually made me smile a bit to hear it. I'd never heard Japanese spoken quite like this before, after all. It was fascinating, although more challenging to understand because of it.
Hey, I may have been doing okay thanks to the studying I'd done before I'd found myself here, but there were still limits, okay? Accents were definitely one of them.
"And just where is my darling niece? She is three now, non?"
Oh, jeez. Yeah, just casually mix languages now, why don't you. It's fine, I didn't want to know what you were saying anyway.
"There you are!" I blinked in surprise as he suddenly came around the couch I'd been loitering behind and crouched down with a smile.
That's-...That's Professor Sycamore.
The casual clothes and lack of a lab coat had made it harder to tell, but just like with Peony, there was no mistaking this man now that I'd gotten a closer look. His hair wasn't nearly as awkward looking as those chunks had been in the games and anime. Instead, dark locks curled around and away from his face in medium waves, framing it quite nicely. Combined with his well-defined jaw, lean physique, and eyes that were the same familiar grey as my mother's, he was a very handsome man, though very clearly related to us.
Oh.
My new mother was Professor Sycamore's sister...
Professor Sycamore was my uncle.
"Hjdshgjfgnak?"
Not knowing what else to do, or even how to respond, I looked up at my mother. I must have looked particularly helpless since she was quick to shove him aside.
"You're confusing her," Mama scolded. "Amelia doesn't know any Kalosian, Augustine."
This, in turn, made him look positively aghast. "Eh?! Pourquoi ne lldsagahjngas?! Avez-tu tejhlkghl asdf asgsha?!"
"Don't be ridiculous! I simply wished to have her focus on one language at a time! I was going to start teaching her once she turned five."
Professor Sycamore, or rather, Uncle Augustine (and I wondered if that was ever going to sound less surreal than it did now) frowned and crossed his arms as he stood. "Non, non, non! The younger a child is, the easier it is to learn! Now is the best time!"
Mama said something back, and the two quickly fell into an argument. My head went back and forth as they bickered (both of them now speaking rapid Fr-er...Kalosian), following the speaker like one would a tennis match, even if I didn't understand a lick of it.
Well, if there was any doubt they were siblings before...
I felt myself be plucked up and turned my head to see Peony looking at the two with a bemused expression.
"Huh. I'd wondered what all the ruckus was," he muttered in English (his accent was more pronounced when he did that, too) before looking down at me and grinning. "Your mama and Uncle August are gonna be busy for a while, so let's say you and me go get some ice cream, yeah?"
"Yeah!" I cheered while throwing my hands up in the air.
A childish reaction? Maybe, but from the looks of things, he was going to take me farther than the front yard- something I hadn't yet done in this life. Not to mention that you really haven't lived until you've had ice cream made with Moomoo milk. It was delicious.
The icing on the cake was being introduced to his corviknight, which was so much more awesome looking in real life.
"Whoa! Papa's pokemon is so cool!" I didn't hesitate to state aloud, staring up at the giant steel bird and running my hand over dark, somewhat metallic feathers with a wide grin.
I was- and would probably always be -a fan of the pidgey line myself, but...well, I couldn't deny Corviknight cut a striking figure.
I saw both Corviknight and Peony's chest puff up a bit at the praise and giggled- more so when the pokemon leaned down and began to gently preen my hair.
Have I mentioned how amazing being reborn in this world was?
"You'll have time for that later, Corvi," Peony cut in with a chuckle. "We gotta get to Viridian and back before the other two realize we've gone."
Ah, I guess that answered the question of where I was. Huh...wonder what had gone differently for Peony to end up in Kanto with a different woman than in the games...
Well, they seemed happy, and they both had shown me such love and care these past few years that I was really getting used to thinking of them as "Mama" and "Papa," so that was good enough for me. I could leave that mystery for another time. For now, ice cream!
Thirty minutes later, we exited the ice-cream parlor in Viridian City (which was larger than in the games and more akin to the one in the anime).
"Ah...don't tell Mama we flew," Papa laughed sheepishly as we sat down by a small fountain. "She didn't want you riding a pokemon 'till you were a bit older."
I nodded, more than ready to keep this quiet. While I could understand my new mother's concern, Peony had kept a firm hold of me the whole time, and Corviknight had kept its speed to safe levels. It had been a lot of fun, and I didn't want to give that up anytime soon.
"I kind of have to agree with your uncle, though..." he sighed quietly a minute later, looking up at the sky with a slight smile. "I think it might be better if you started learning now. I know seven years seems like a lot of time, but I bet before we know it, you'll be off on your journey, and then you won't have the spare time to do it properly..."
He looked back down with a grin, clearly not expecting me to have understood all of that.
"Amy, want to play a game?"
I smiled inwardly, having an idea where this was going. "Game?"
"A super-mega-ultra fun game!" he continued with an eager nod. "It goes like this..."
As he began teaching me simple words in Galarian English (as opposed to Unovan English, I guess, but I still found it kind of funny that the word 'English' was still used in conjunction with it) I did my best to follow along. While English was the language I'd grown up with, who knew if there were some differences between the one I'd known and the one he was trying to teach me.
No, it was better if I paid attention, even if it got a little boring.
On the bright side, if Spanish still existed somehow in this world (I was leaning towards yes), that meant I should have a working knowledge of at least five different languages before I left on my journey! I really was on my way to becoming a polyglot! How cool was that?
...Wait.
How did pokemon understand people so well then? Corviknight had understood Peony perfectly when he'd spoken Japanese earlier, but I couldn't really see him sitting down with his pokemon and teaching them the language. The same could be said of migratory pokemon who found themselves going to different countries or those caught by a trainer from a different region. Sure, it might have been anime logic, but I got the feeling that there was something else at play here.
Now this was a mystery that needed some investigating.
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"Tapi?"
"Is that how you say my name in Pokemon? Or just in Caterpie?...Is there even a difference?" I asked the pokemon in question- one that had somehow found itself in my backyard one sunny afternoon- after introducing myself.
I was lying on my stomach as I stared at it, idly kicking my legs back and forth in the air. Herdier lay a few feet away, seemingly asleep, but occasionally peeking an eye open and looking in my direction for a moment before settling back down.
He was such a worrywart, I thought fondly.
Professor Sycamore had stayed for a week before he had to return to Kalos. During that time, I'd gotten to know him a bit more and was honestly a bit sad to see him go. He was very easy to get along with, and it was clear that he cared about all of us despite the argument he'd had with Mama (which he had won). He'd even given me a coat styled to look like a mareep- complete with a little tail and hood. It was absolutely adorable, and I had no qualms in hugging his legs in excitement, much to his amusement.
I was a sucker for themed or novelty apparel. They were just so much fun to wear.
Anyway, it had been a few months since his visit. Today, Mama and Papa had gone somewhere, though not without making absolutely sure that I had everything I needed to survive the few hours they'd be gone- and Herdier, of course. It seemed pokemon were deemed perfectly acceptable babysitters in this sort of instance (though it may have also been due to the fact that I was more mature than other kids my age and therefore less likely to get into trouble). Since it was such a nice day- and I meant a nice day because I'd never seen a bluer sky or had such fresh, clean air to breathe in my previous life -I went outside to cloudgaze and came across my new friend.
"Prii."
Oooh, a trill. The little guy must be close to evolving. Even though Metapod was the next stage, you could still catch hints of Butterfree speech patterns in Caterpie nearing evolution.
I grinned at the reminder that I even knew something like that now.
"Here," I said, offering it one of the sitrus berries in my bowl. "You should get your strength up. 'S not gonna be easy being a Metapod, you know."
Caterpie stared at the berry for a long moment before hesitantly inching forward and nibbling at it. Once the bug-type deemed it safe, it was a lot less cautious and made happy noises as it ate.
"Hey, Caterpie, can you teach me how to understand what pokemon are saying?"
It had to be possible. Regardless of which media you went with- manga, anime, or games -there was always at least one person who had the ability. Speaking their language wasn't the issue since all pokemon seemed to understand humans (and I was going to figure out how they did that). Although, if this was the anime-verse, that might still be next on the list given what I remembered of the Khangaskhan boy in the safari zone.
One step at a time.
I'd already asked Herdier, and he hadn't exactly said no, which had bolstered my hopes on this being possible, but he wasn't exactly the teaching sort. After a few months, I think I was able to kind of differentiate between his calls, whines, and barks, but that was more or less what I'd been able to do with my dog in my last life. It wasn't actual comprehension.
It didn't help that it was hard to get a moment alone with him and not have Mama or Papa nearby, but I kind of wanted to see if it was feasible first before letting them know what I was up to. Asking any of Papa's pokemon was out too since he would definitely be there for that- not to mention we were keeping my meeting them a secret. I wouldn't have that problem with Caterpie, though. It could crawl up to my window and we could have lessons if we were quiet and careful.
Caterpie stopped eating and stared at me. I stared back, a tentative hope welling up in me the longer it went on...then I sighed, letting out the breath I hadn't known I'd been holding when it took the sitrus berry in its mouth and scurried off.
"It was worth a shot," I muttered, rolling onto my back and continuing with my original plan of cloud gazing.
There was a sort of snuffling sound to my right, and I immediately threw an oran berry at Herdier.
"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up," I told him, smiling a bit when I heard him eat my makeshift weapon.
I didn't need to understand pokemon to understand that.
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~4 years old~
Probably one of the best things about being a kid again in a world where pokemon were real was being small enough to enjoy something like being swung about in a copperajah's trunk to the fullest.
"Ahaha! Again! Again!"
I'd been a bit wary at first, admittedly, but Rajah was always careful and had yet to drop me even once. Still, it was something Papa only indulged in when Mama was out since she was definitely the worrier of the two.
"You heard her!" came a booming laugh that made me grin. "One more time!"
With a trumpet of agreement, I was gently lifted and swung around a few times before being tossed into the air. My cackles of glee were probably more like giggles in this body, but the point was that I was having a blast.
"I'm ho- Peony, what in the world are you doing?!"
I landed in my papa's arms with a fwump and exchanged a guilty look with him. Behind us, Rajah fidgeted and tried to make herself as small as possible.
It didn't work.
That evening, I sighed quietly as I filled in another worksheet on the coffee table, taking a glance out the window.
"Oh? Why the long face today, mon Wattouat?" a concerned voice came from the computer screen propped open on the other side. "You normally enjoy practicing your Kalosian with me."
"I...got in trouble, Tonton," I told him (I was not pouting. Nope. Not at all). "Maman came home early and saw me playing with Papa and Rajah."
"Why would you get in trouble for that?"
"...Because Rajah was throwing me up in the air," I admitted.
My uncle paused, blinking in surprise before he chuckled. "Ah, yes, that does sound like something your maman would get upset over. Did you know, when we were younger, she once didn't speak to me at all for a whole month because I went chasing after a pokemon and didn't come back for a few hours?"
"Really?"
"Yes. By the time I made it back home, she was crying on your grandmother's lap because she thought I'd never return."
I smiled a bit at just how dramatic that sounded, and he shook his head with a fond grin.
"She's always been like that- worrying too much about things that might never happen. But it shows how much she loves us, to be worrying about them at all."
"Mmm."
There was a brief, though comfortable, pause before he smiled and took on a mock-stern expression while shaking his finger at me.
"I'm sure your papa was very careful, but maybe don't play in secret from now on, hm? That will only make her worry more."
"Okay."
"Now, since we're talking about it, what are copperajah called in Kalosian?"
"Er...Pa-...Pachy-...radjah?"
"Correct!"
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~ 5 ~
The question of when and where I had been born was fully answered when I was five years old. Since most children began their pokemon journeys at a young age (you didn't think about it when you're a kid yourself, but eleven really was young), school was a bit more...condensed. As such, parents did their best to impart as much of the basics into their children before they reached school age so that the teachers could focus on harder content. Luckily for my parents, I came with most of that knowledge, so their years were relatively stress-free other than finally teaching me their native languages. Soon, however, I eventually found myself rounded up and brought to what seemed to be a small but well-kept schoolhouse.
That was also where I discoverd that Ash Ketchum (though he really was Satoshi here, just like in the Japanese version) was an adorable little boy.
"I'm gonna catch all the pokemon in the whole world! An' then-"
I couldn't help smiling around the kid as he rambled. With his bright eyes and wide, cheerful grin, he just sort of pulled people in. Like Naruto. Or Luffy.
...The implications of those comparisons were actually a bit worrying to think about, moreso when I considered the fact that I'd met him about ten minutes ago.
"What's your dream, Amy?"
I was pulled out of my thoughts at the eager question and quickly flashed a smile worthy of a little girl. "I'm gonna explore the world! But after that- maybe once I'm too old to travel so much -I'm gonna open up a pokemon adoption center."
Honestly, exploring a world with pokemon in it was practically a given. I was more than curious to see not only the regions I knew about from the games, but all of the ones I didn't- and there were so many of those within the confines of all the continents I'd been familiar with in my old life. From what I'd seen on the map hanging in our living room, the United States alone was divided into four! Other big continents like Russia and Africa seemed to have been split in similar manners, but Australia remained curiously intact as a single region.
As for my plans after I'd had my fill of traveling the world...
It was something I'd thought about in my other life whenever I'd, ironically enough, considered what I would do if I was ever in the pokemon world. There had been whole episodes revolving around abandoned pokemon, and I wasn't stupid enough to think that there would always be people like Ash to take them in (Satoshi or not, I was just so used to calling him Ash that I doubted I would ever call him anything different in my mind). So, just what happened to them? It could be assumed that the more well adjusted ones could go back into the wild, but what about those that weren't? Surely, some were too used to humans to be able to survive on their own, not to mention pokemon that had been abused.
Obviously, I still had a lot of details to work out, but if I managed to come up with a good system, there would be a place they could go to until they found a good home. I wanted to talk about it with Mr. Fuji if I could, but I wasn't sure he even existed in the anime-verse.
Here's hoping.
"That's stupid," another voice cut in, the amount of disdain in the tone actually kind of impressive for a kid. "At least Satoshi here has a cool dream. Kinda."
I just stuck my tongue out while Ash spluttered at the slight. "Says you. I bet you're gonna be a professor like your gramps."
"No way! I'm gonna be a pokemon master!"
I hid a smirk at the insulted expression, a part of me laughing at the denial- mostly because I knew what lay in store for him.
"What's a pokemon master?"
"It's only being the greatest pokemon trainer ever. Didn't you know?"
"Oh...Then I wanna be a pokemon master too!"
"There can't be two pokemon masters!"
"Why not?!"
"Because!"
As the two of them fell into an argument, I sighed. Though all children here were a bit more mature than those of the same age in my old life, they were still children in the end. I had done well enough to seem like a normal- if not clever -little girl, but there were times that I longed to speak to someone who was my mental age rather than my physical one.
Just six more years to go...
"Owowow! Amy, help!"
"What kind of man are you?! You can't cry to girls for help!"
"I'm a kid! An' Amy's my friend, not a girl!"
I choked back a laugh but couldn't hide my amusement. "Hang on, Satoshi. Shigeru, let him go!"
At least life wouldn't be boring with those two around.
As we were just starting, class didn't last all that long. We were all dismissed at about noon, but since Pallet was considered such a sleepy, secure little town, most of us were trusted to make it home by ourselves, getting us used to being more independent at the same time (I'd say I was surprised, but I wasn't really).
"Amy! Amy! You should come over to my house!" Ash exclaimed with an excited grin, Gary having taken off somewhere down the path opposite my own. "Mama makes the best food, and I know she's gonna make lots of tasty things because Papa's home for a while! Oh! Papa has this huuuuge rapidash we can play with, so you gotta come!"
My steps faltered, and my eyes grew wide.
Ash's...dad?
I bit my lip, very tempted to accept the invitation. This was one of the show's greatest mysteries in my old life, and the answer was being dangled right in front of me (plus, you know, getting to see a giant fire horse and all). I probably didn't have a lot of time before the man left again, and who knew if he'd come back before we all took off. Now was probably my best chance.
But...
Mama and Papa might not have been here right now, but I just knew they were waiting anxiously for my return. The two were from regions where people didn't set out on journies unless they were teenagers or endorsed, which only happened if the individual was deemed responsible enough to handle it. No doubt Kanto's more...not lenient, per se, but different customs were hard for them to adjust to. They were doing their best (turned out the few hours they'd left me alone that one day had been them deciding they needed to start practicing- and they'd both come back as nervous wrecks), but as it was, I could see Herdier waiting for me a little bit further down the path, no doubt waiting to accompany me home.
I didn't think much on why the two of them had chosen to settle down here anymore, but times like these I couldn't help but wonder...
"I want to," I told him, and I really did, "but...my mama and papa will worry if I don't come home."
"Then let's go ask'm!"
He took hold of my wrist and started dragging me down the road.
"Wha-?! Wait! Won't your parents worry then?"
"I used to go hang out with Shigeru all the time," he brushed off. "Mama won't worry if I'm a bit late. Whoa! What's that pokemon?! I've never seen it before!"
"That's Herdier," I told him, with a fond- if not a bit exasperated -smile. "He's my mama's pokemon, and he's probably here for me."
"So cool! Hi, Herdier! I'm Amy's friend, Satoshi! Nice to meet you!" Herdier sniffed him in response, drawing a series of giggles. "H-Hey, stop! Hahaha! That tickles!"
Ash carefully pushed Herdier's head away, though his hand stayed on top in order to pet him.
"Papa rides on Rapidash all the time but tells me I'm still too small to do it. I kinda wish I could ride Herdier, but I think I'm a bit too big for that," he sighed almost wistfully.
Herdier stared at him a moment, then proceeded to send me into seven different levels of shock when he started to glow a bright blue. The part of me that wasn't dumbly gaping at this sudden turn of events couldn't help but stare in awe. No wonder everyone in the anime always seemed to pause whenever an evolution happened. It was...
Beautiful.
The light was bright but not blinding. Particles of it swirled around Herdier, looking almost like tiny little fairies as his shining form shifted and grew. There was also a feeling of something in the air- a sort of pressure that left you breathless, but not in a bad way. The best way I could describe it was that it was like standing on the edge of a cliff overlooking a magnificent view.
It seemed to last a lifetime, and yet it was over all too soon.
When the light faded, I had to blink a few times. Herd- no, Stoutland -was at least a good thirty centimeters taller (as someone who had used the imperial system their whole lives, retraining myself to use the metric system had been more challenging than I'd expected. That was what Kanto used, however, so I had to get used to it). Whereas before, he had come up to about my shoulders in height, he was now almost a head taller, and much bulkier. I didn't doubt that he could easily carry Ash now- and probably me too.
Which was probably the whole point, I realized.
Ash must have come to the same conclusion a moment later since he cheered and quickly clambered onto Stoutland's back. "Come on, Amy! I bet we'll get to your house way faster on Herdier!"
"Stoutland," I corrected, though I did as he asked and climbed on behind him. "He evolved, so he's Stoutland now."
"Right! Let's go then, Stoutland!"
Stoutland barked in agreement and took off, Ash's whoops of glee and my screams of half excitement/half terror trailing behind in his wake (Rajah had never run with me on her and flying on Corvi had been a much different experience). When we arrived back home shortly after, I was quick to get off, falling onto my back as my legs were shaky from nerves and unable to support me.
"That was so much fun!" Ash laughed, hopping down beside my prone form. "Thanks, Stoutland!"
This kid...even at five he was completely ridiculous.
I glared half-heartedly when I heard a familiar snuffling laugh. Admittedly, it was kind of funny in retrospect, but I couldn't just let him get away with teasing me.
"Amy?! Are you home?! I thought I heard- oh."
"Hi, Mama. Hi, Papa," I smiled helplessly, looking up at them from my place on the ground. What a sight this must have been! "Herdier evolved, and this is my new friend Satoshi. He wants to know if I can go to his house today."
"Well, it's about time you evolved!" Papa laughed. "You've been holding off on it for years! What made you finally decide it was time?"
"Satoshi called him cool," I answered flatly, inwardly smirking when Stoutland did the pokemon equivalent of coughing and looking away in embarrassment.
Take that.
OoOoOoOoOoOoOo
I'd always had a soft spot towards fire-type pokemon as a kid, and that hadn't changed even an adult. Now that I was seeing my first, real fire-type up close and personal?
Yeah, that love wasn't going anywhere anytime soon.
"You are such a beautiful pokemon," I told the rapidash I was petting, my cheeks starting to hurt from grinning so widely. "As I thought, I definitely love fire-types."
I heard a choke of shock from somewhere behind me, and sent a mental apology towards Papa, who had come with Mama to meet the Ketchum family- or Tabimoto, as it so happened (and there was another mystery solved). Papa always hoped I'd specialize in steel-types like him, but here I was gushing over the type with a super-effective advantage against them. That had probably been a blow to hear...
Warm laughter brought me out of my thoughts, and I looked up at the man most pokemon fans had probably wondered about at some point.
Ash's father was not Giovanni, as so many had speculated. I hadn't really thought about that possibility until we'd already been on our way over, so I was more than a little relieved that that hadn't been the case. In fact, his father wasn't anyone I recognized. He was a pretty normal looking guy, actually. Bit taller than average, brown hair, steel-blue eyes...
I will admit the last part took me by surprise. I guess I'd been expecting them to be brown like Ash's, but the color suited him.
"I like your new friend," he told his son with a smile. "Then again, anyone who compliments Rapidash like that would probably be good in my book."
"I hope it wasn't too inconvenient to come over so suddenly," Mrs. Ketchum was telling Mama, both glancing over for a moment when Ash started passionately listing off all the reasons why Rapidash was awesome, so of course people were going to say good things-, "Satoshi gets so excited, and he doesn't think things through all the way."
"It's fine," Mama waved off with a smile. "I'm actually a bit glad he's latched on so strongly. Amelia is very mature, so I was worried she might have some trouble making friends. Maybe they'll balance each other out!"
They shared a laugh, and I resigned myself to the fact that I would probably be seeing a lot more of the Ketchums. Well, it wasn't like that was a bad thing, so I could live with it.
I blinked and shook my head a bit to clear it of a weird, soft buzz before looking back at Rapidash.
"When I go on my journey, I'm gonna look for a ponyta," I told her with a smile.
I wasn't planning on trying to 'catch them all,' but I would also be lying if I said I would be satisfied with six so that the rest wouldn't have to be stuck on Professor Oak's ranch. I would have to figure out when and how I would rotate them, but that was probably going to depend a lot on the circumstances I found myself in, so there wasn't much I could do about it at the moment. Still, I had a feeling I would end up with a lot of fire-types by the time I decided to stop traveling.
Ha. Maybe I could take over for Blaine in Cinnabar when I was an old lady.
(I tried not to wonder if I would even make it that far in this second life)
Rapidash nuzzled my cheek, making me laugh and pulling me out of my thoughts.
I frowned, pressing down on the little curved part of my ear a couple times. I really hoped that that buzzing wasn't a sign that they were going to plug up from allergies or something. I had been more than relieved to be rid of those when I'd found myself here, and it would suck to have them again.
"You okay, kid?"
I nodded at Mr. Ketchum's question and offered a smile. "I'm okay."
Strangely, he didn't reply right away. Instead, he looked at me for a moment longer, looking almost contemplative for a second before finally grinning and offering a nod of his own.
"If you're sure." He turned back to Ash and ruffled his hair. "You make sure to stick with this one, alright? Though I doubt she would want to fight with you over an old pokeball, but who knows."
"Wha-? Papa, who told you?!"
"Did you really think your Mother and I wouldn't be curious when you and Shigeru suddenly stopped talking to each other?"
Which wasn't an answer at all, but it seemed enough to placate Ash. I, on the other hand, was willing to bet Professor Oak had gotten the story from Gary somehow and then later told Mrs. Ketchum.
"He started it," Ash grumbled unhappily, mulishly crossing his arms and pouting.
Mr. Ketchum just smiled wryly and laughed. "Yeah, the Okido family can be a bit...adamant about certain things."
And didn't that just hint at a whole history I wanted to hear? Not to mention that it brought up the question of how long both families had known one another.
"I remember when Daiki and I-"
"Honey, maybe that story isn't the best to tell the children," Mrs. Ketchum interrupted.
Mr. Ketchum froze, then laughed and sheepishly rubbed the back of his head very reminiscent of the way Ash did in the anime. "Ah, perhaps you're right."
"What? Aww, I want to hear it!" Ash complained.
That made two of us. He couldn't just leave it like that!
Unfortunately, that was exactly what ended up happening. The rest of the visit was pretty uneventful after that, and there were promises for more in the future. I ended up visiting the Ketchum household three more times before Mr. Ketchum left at the end of the month, ready to continue his journey. Mrs. Ketchum, Ash, Papa, Mama, and I were there to see him off and smiled as he gave a whoop of excitement when Rapidash took off running.
...None of us knew that that was the last we would see of him for a long, long time.
OoOoOoOoOoOoOo
Taptaptap...
Taptaptaptap...
I groaned lightly and blearily opened my eyes, blinking a few times when I realized how dark it was.
Taptaptaptaptap
I turned my head towards the window, but it took my mind a few seconds to register what I was seeing, at which point I found myself sitting up and staring in surprise.
"What the...?"
It was a hoothoot, which, given the hour, wasn't all that surprising other than the fact that it was rare to actually spot one in Kanto. What had caught my attention was that there was a butterfree hovering beside it. That was a bit more unusual- moreso when you took into account that both of them were staring straight at me.
"Uh..."
To my dying day, I would swear I saw butterfree roll its eyes.
"Free!"
It made a motion towards the window, and I blinked. Why were these pokemon here? What could they possibly want from me that required them to wake me up in the middle of the night? Not only that, but why at this hour? Sleepiness faded as I thought about it, but I couldn't come up with a reasonable explanation no matter how long I mulled it over.
Of course, all of those thoughts were pushed to the side once I gave in to my curiosity and got up to open the window.
Butterfree...were a lot bigger than I thought they'd be.
Until this moment, I'd never seen one up close. Once in a while, I'd see one flying around above Pallet, but not face-to-face like this. Maybe it was due to the fact that I was still five, and therefore, short, but having grown up in a world where butterflies weren't as big as you, it was a bit startling to see it now.
-"Ee! Free!"
Butterfree had turned around but had its head turned toward me almost...like it wanted me to get on its back. Hoothoot remained silent but gave me a look as if urging me on. I stared at the two a moment longer, trying to decid if I was really willing to randomly jump onto a butterfree's back and be taken who knew where.
...Well, if there were ever a time to use the term yolo and be completely serious about it (though did it really apply to me considering the rebirth?)...
"At least give me a second to write a note," I finally sighed.
That way, if I ended up going missing, at least Mama and Papa would have an idea on how to start searching.
"And don't blame me if I'm too heavy," I added dryly once I was climbing on.
This was probably one of the most reckless things I'd done in either of my lives- a majority of the cases I had to compare it to coming from this life, shockingly. Clearly, my friendship with Ash was starting to rub off on me. Seriously, it seemed that boy was a magnet for the weirdest things even before he'd started his journey.
...Eh. Could be worse. At least I wasn't as bored anymore.
With a slight smile at that thought, I carefully wrapped my arms around butterfree, and we were off.
For a while, things were quiet. The only sounds I could hear were the flapping of hoothoot and butterfree's wings and the occasional faint pokemon cry from below. It was also around that time that I became certain that flying was definitely the way to travel...although perhaps on larger pokemon.
It wasn't that butterfree was making it an uncomfortable trip- other than a slight bobbing motion, the flight was smooth -but with so little space, I felt like I had to stay as still as possible or risk falling off.
Not so good if you wanted to look around.
Still, I held back the urge until I noticed we were starting to descend. Once I figured we were at a height where I'd only chance some broken bones and not certain death, I relaxed...
...and then promptly fell off with a yelp when my eyes locked with a ruby red gaze.
Right before hitting the ground, I felt myself freeze in place before my body floated up and around until I was standing in front of a scruffy, though no less intimidating, noctowl.
'Peace, young one,' a voice echoed in my mind, sounding almost amused. 'I mean you no harm.'
I jerked, my jaw dropping slightly as I looked up. "You can-...!"
'Yes. A skill not so easily gained, even by psychic pokemon. But I am old, and have had much time to perfect it.'
That was actually pretty amazing. I wondered if all pokemon with some psychic capabilities had the chance, however slim, of learning how to communicate in this way.
It would certainly explain a lot of the pokemon from the movies, at any rate.
'My, you are interesting, aren't you?'
I could feel myself pale. "You-...you heard that?"
'As I have yet to sever the connection between us, yes. Thoughts are much more difficult to keep to oneself this way. Do take note of that in case you ever run into one of those mind-readers. Perhaps I should also teach you a few ways to quiet them...'
Teach?
Also?
"Sorry, but...what's going on? I'm completely lost here."
This time the noctowl did laugh, sounding a lot like the owls in the cartoons I watched as a kid in my first life.
'Do you not wish to learn how to listen, Renewed-One? That is why you were brought here tonight.'
Wait, what?
OoOoOoOoOoOoOo ~Chapter 1 End
Okay, so there's chapter one. Got a few things to talk about.
Regarding names:
I plan on making the characters' names match the language their regions are meant to be based on. So characters from Kanto through Sinnoh will have Japanese names, Unova characters will have English Names, Kalos characters will have French names, and so on. Yes, it might be a bit hard to follow along, but as Amy will be having a bit of a hard time herself, she'll usually refer to a character by their English or Japanese name in her mind, depending on which one she's used to referring to them as.
For those of you who aren't too familiar with the Japanese version and had a bit of a hard time knowing who's who, here's a list of characters I used/mentioned in this chapter:
Ash Ketchum- Satoshi Tabimoto
Delia Ketchum- Hanako Tabimoto
Ash's Dad- Isamu Tabimoto
Gary Oak- Shigeru Okido
Gary's dad- Daiki Okido
Professor Oak- Yukinari Okido
Peony Rose- same name
(I know Peony's name sounds weird, but I doubt they'd address the Chairman of the Galar region by his first name, so Rose has to be the last name, right?)
Aurelia Rose- same name
Augustine Sycamore- Augustine Platane
(I couldn't find what his first name is in French, so I kept it as is. If there's anyone out there who knows if it's different, let me know)
As for pokemon names...I originally planned on doing the same thing, but then I realized that would be a bit too much. So, other than a few instances where I'll be emphasizing or bringing attention to how a pokemon is called in another language, assume that they're usuing the corresponding region's name for the pokemon. As an example, while I may use pidgey or spearow in writing, just assume a person is saying poppo and onisuzume while in Kanto and other Japan based regions.
Amy will be refer to them by their English names more often than not, but some of the later ones might go by their Japanese names, due to the influence of watching a lot of the later seasons subbed rather than dubbed. She's aslo bound to eventually mix up a name or two and confuse a few people along the way. Should be fun.
And that's it for names at the moment. I'll be sure to post the list of characters up once every few chapters just as a refresher.
This fic is going to follow the anime, although I might throw in some bits and pieces from the games and manga. Pokemon also won't be limited to four moves, as I feel that just wouldn't be realistic in the actual pokemon world.
Speaking of which, normal animals will exist, too, as some of those pokedex entries would make no sense otherwise, haha. Joking aside, there is a bit of evidence that there are normal animals in the pokemon world, though it's mostly in the first season when they probably had no idea pokemon was going to be as big as it is now. For example, you can see normal fish in the episode where they need to escape the SS Anne.
I know that now the writers try to make you forget about that, but as it actually was canon at some point, I'm going with it. Mostly because I don't want Amy to eat a tauros burger or fried whiscash or something...I honestly don't think she could. I mean, not that there won't be people that do that because there have been examples of that too, but Amy, as much as she likes meat, would probably become a vegetarian if faced with the knowledge that she'd be eating a pokemon.
So...yeah. Worldbuilding ahoy.
I feel like I was going to say more, but I forgot what it was, so I'll just leave it here. Hope you liked the first chapter. Take care and until next time!
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