It was a beautiful day outside, the Pidgey were singing, Sunflora blooming... On days like this? Kids like me should not be making ill-timed Undertale references- the scent of nature was blowing in through an ajar window, bathing my still mostly unfamiliar resting spot in the scent of grass and leaves. Along with other smells I couldn't quite identify so absently.
The wind rustled the clear cyan curtains gently, brushing an errant strand of my newly anime-fied hair directly into my field of vision. Huffing to myself, I blow it away, focusing on the strange device in-front of me. A computer, of some sort, one that holds the answers I so desperately seek.
In aid of my survival, future… and the satiation of my mundane curiosity.
It actually wasn't rocket science to unlock or operate the device, though it may as well have been considering the tech level. I'd not really understood the ramifications of the few bits and pieces of advanced technology I'd interacted with thus far- the bag was a useful novelty during a highly stressful situation, and the alarm clock was just annoying.
Actually beholding something so advanced that if I didn't know where I was I might suspect that I'd been transported into some kind of high culture sci-fi show, in a word was… jarring. Compared to the more modern aesthetics of the building and the honestly normal decor in… my room, this unassuming box of flashing lights, sleek slopes and holographic magic was contrasting to say the least.
I'd momentarily had a panic when I realised I also lacked any of the privacy knowledge that might be required to operate Clair's personal devices, only to get an immense stroke of luck in the form of a fingerprint, (I assume anyway), scanner. Yes, wonderful, that was not at all a weird and upsetting discovery whatsoever.
Apparently alternate dimension future people are too good for pass-codes. Hmph.
Thankfully I was in quickly, after Clair's actual blood related mother wandered off I'd seen another resurgence in guilt- obviously. I'm not a cold hearted monster who can shrug off random magical fresh-corpse possessions in order to game the system, seemingly. It was made all the worse by how at home I suddenly felt in the body, like it had been mine forever, I hadn't even realised it before but I'd perfectly adjusted to it at some point during my sleep.
My centre of balance was completely normal, I had no issues with hand eye coordination- everything was as it was in my old body, if not better thanks to the new upgrades. Like the ridiculous and unnatural upsurge in energy levels… There was a comfortability, an awareness that I just did not have before. 'I feel like I could lift a-'
Wait, hold up a moment.
Hadn't I also broken an arm in that cave?! I guess I might've just been mistaken… but I swear it was out of action entirely for that entire fiasco. Yet I was just tossed into 'my' bedroom as they washed their hands of me, all 'as good as new' with the equivalent of a slap on the wrist and an amused smirk. If you squint really hard and read into the subtext of a lot of assumptions...
'What the actual fuck.'
I'd also always had a bit of a problem with motivation, sleep and the like- probably like a lot of teenagers of my generation. I really don't understand how any of this works- it's just all so maddening. Even just having so much… much should've been a jarring change, but honestly with all the other weirdness of my post-adventure wakeup I wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth.
It was a crucial component of the rudimentary plan I'd started to form in my mind- thinking of less beneficial circumstances that did not come to pass is rather pointless at this stage. I'd ran around the room a little bit before tackling my current goal trying to get my thoughts in order and figured out a few more basic things about my new biology.
I'd also gotten an impression of the Original Clair- that's the best way I can explain it. Despite not having her memories- the feeling of contentedness, that instinct of normality in what should be very foreign to me seemingly extends to my mentality. I am unsure of its influence, however… I don't feel too different, but then again how would I know?
At this suggestion I'd instantly begun mentally listing out my options- that woman had caught me entirely off guard. Amidst the identity problems, existential crisis and being caught flat footed I'd completely blanked on any half-baked plan, falling into the awkwardness and missing my one chance to start anew with the classic 'amnesia' excuse.
I'd beat my head into the covers of the bed a few times to muffle out my frustration with that little oversight. Which basically locked me into a very uncomfortable and morally reprehensible route of pretending to be someone I'm not… Yeah this really isn't going to last very long at this rate.
Still, it wasn't as if I didn't have anything to work with, the amount of freedom I'd been allowed and the little tidbits of information the caped woman had dropped had given me… ideas. Also, in retrospect I was somewhat glad I'd dodged such a cliche bullet as claiming amnesia, despite it's possible validity and whilst they say not to fix working things- there was a very real chance it might not have come through as cleanly as one would expect...
The big problem with that idea was that I now possessed the vaunted 'Anime body', of that I was certain. Pokemon isn't a setting one typically thinks of when they think 'anime physics' and the human body specifically, but it very much counts. Of course that was a bit of a simplification, and I made a mental note to look up some extra specifics of how that all differed when I had some free time…
Free time that didn't need to be entirely donated to pretty much any other local topic of study.
Regardless, the fact that I did not know the limits or the quirks of this body nor humanity in this universe made that claim… an iffy prospect. What would have happened had I said that, then they just whipped up some medical records somehow and proved that I was so utterly wrong that I would be ousted instantly. While over a protracted period of time, it's normally the little things that give away peoples lies - when claiming such a whopper of lie as that, the linchpin of the whole deceit relying upon something that might not even work like that here? Dangerous. No matter how small the odds of them having such things at hand, or whatever it was still incredibly foolish, just because I assume they hadn't run me through a medical device of some sort…
I think I inadvertently made the right decision in my anxiety, they make this whole thing look so much easier on TV… Sure, I'm fairly certain they had plot points relating to memory loss via thunk to the head in the anime multiple times that I could recall. But that's just it, in the anime.
I had no idea where or when I was, in the grand scheme of things, and that would be the deciding factor of a lot of my steps going forward. My arm was feeling better than, ever, after all. I was on a time limit here, that much was clear- I suppose it's just a question of how long I can keep up the charade before someone starts asking… pointed questions.
At any rate, the next hour or so was spent on this world's version of the internet. The web browser itself was… strange. It seemed Google hadn't cracked world travel yet, the search engine was an unassuming page with the only text outside of the search box being 'Browse' in a large font I didn't recognise.
Now, given that I had been granted a lot of time to get my bearings- I didn't make any immediately obvious ametuer mistakes. I knew my fanon… slightly, and didn't feel like getting sniped in the face by an Octillery for typing up mutually exclusive questions, like Mega Evolutions or the like.
I thankfully caught myself before making such a pathetic mistake after all this.
After all, there are probably swarms of Porygons existing… digitally, somehow, in this verse's internet all spying and collecting data on everyone in the world… That's actually a genuinely massively terrifying prospect- and I thought my world had privacy problems.
The computer itself was a weird mix of touch screens, holograms and a physical mouse- it was something you'd totally expect to find in the show, combined with that early Diamond/Pearl tech changes and the hinting of later stuff. The difference being that these weren't simple renditions on a TV screen, but fully working devices that I could interact with. They also certainly weren't those clunky videophones from the first season, it was an odd mix and I wasn't at all sure how it had developed this way.
I was starting to get a better picture of what time period I was in, or rather now I understood that I couldn't really take any massive leaps in logic from the games, manga or a show because this seemed pretty… random. I'd initially ran into the thought that perhaps this world developed somewhat on the same basis as our own- if a lot more advanced, what with the Sinnoh Pokedex having a touchscreen, the Kalos one being 3d- etc. Only that seemed less and less likely as I analysed the content further.
With all the hardware alienness it took me a while to even get onto the web surfing, but when I got there I went up, down and sideways like a desert hiker in an oasis, and what I learnt shocked me. First things first, Clair had a couple things bookmarked that I shamelessly sorted through for relevant context. Number one on the list was a website called 'Pikipek' which quickly revealed itself to be basically just Twitter. Alola confirmed?
A curiously early Twitter-expy, judging by the features and apparently rather new of a concept in general here. I checked and there wasn't really a Facebook, either. Clair hadn't used the account much, and the whole thing seemed somewhat… niche. It was strange, for what I had a little prematurely pegged up until this point as a popular trend hopper to use something so alternative. I suppose she was either going through a phase or she changed a lot in the inter-meaning time between now and the events of the Johto games or anime.
On that note, I only poked around on her homepage for a few moments before closing the tab and getting into the meat of my queries. I started by looking up key events and figures that wouldn't arouse suspicion, sprinkled in a few unassuming searches as I slowly got more acquainted with the technology.
'Team Rocket still exists, they seem like quite the staple in recent history too, I don't know what to do about that but it's safe to assume Red hasn't kicked their asses… But is that just because I got here too soon, or because I'm in a different timeline.'
I had been masterfully maneuvering myself around the news stories and articles, the web had a very late 2010's feel to it- not at all what I would expect from a culturally late 90's game. That's a pretty big clue on it's own, the tech level should have really tipped me off. Still, I'd only really confirmed some fringe assumptions, Silph was a big deal- as was Devon. There had even been some weird events over the last few decades, but nothing that matched the World ending terror of some of the main series' plots.
'Hmm, so it looks like I'm in a bit of a mashup, also far before even Red and Blue- so I won't really be able to tell the specifics until more time passes. Annoying… What else is there?' Slightly frustrated that I couldn't simply type up canon character names and expect to find my answers wholesale, I kept slogging through.
A few interesting tidbits, such as how new the Fairy Type was- interestingly Steel and Dark have been around for centuries at this point, but the Fairy Type was only discovered roughly 6 years ago. That caused quite a stir, naturally, to the point that it's still a topic of rapt discussion in the current day. A side note being that Clair apparently despised them with a slow burning anger from day one, now I wonder why ever might that be? Pfft, these messages are hilarious.
I even looked up some of the educational standards, both in terms of Pokemon battling, laws and the like as well as more general topics of study. What I found was varied, what threw me off to start with was how the geography actually worked here. Pokemon was slightly weird in that it's landmasses were classified as 'regions', it also never really boasted an obvious governmental system outside of the Pokemon League.
Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, Unova, Kalos, Alola and even Galar. They were all here alongside a few spin-off places like Orre, Fiore and Ferrum which I half recognised from Pokken. No Pasio, though which somewhat amused me, I suppose it would be a bit too early for that even if it does end up a thing in this world.
Obviously a few hours of browsing the web wasn't enough to work everything out, but I think I got the general jist of it. Each Region was far larger here than in the games, we never got exact numbers in the anime regardless, but all in all the human population of this world was far, far smaller than on Earth. Intellectually, I suspected as much but seeing the total number of all known humans in the world not even reaching a single Billion was… jarring.
Despite the vast advantage of technology, power motivation and even bloody biology the humanity of this world was still outclassed by the real number one species on the planet- Pokemon. It really shouldn't have been a surprise and I don't think I've properly internalised what that actually means yet… even still, it shook me.
Humans not being the dominant species, oh sure they have cities and civilisations- Pokemon Training is a thing and it all works stupidly well together. At least according to the internet… which, I suppose might not be wise to take at face value. Had this not already been a massive series of psyche shattering worldly revelations I probably would've been far more disturbed by this plot twist.
The planet itself- well I didn't have the statistics off the top of my head to compare sizes or anything. They have plenty of satellites in orbit, though curiously no space stations or the like- despite what I could quickly uncover that the technology did exist, there were plenty of 'publicly known' undersea bases and the like. It baffled me that the furthest all that had ever gone was the establishment of space stations that seemed more like a token private endeavour than a combined fascination of the world… Then again, is there much of a point in trying to expand off the planet when so much of the world was steeped in immense mystery?
All I could think of after that was how… logical it was. The world could never really be claimed as 'fully explored' because Pokemon were constantly rearranging landscapes- civilisations of humans had come on gone at the drop of a hat. Be it by the whims of these ridiculously powerful Pokemon or sometimes the hubris of man- even in an anime world, perhaps especially in an anime world wannabe gods and the like would flourish in their schemes…
Just look at the plots of the games… None of that even covered the socio-political climate of sapience, species interaction and the modern day classifications of life; be they biological, mechanical, or beyond. That was where things truly got… insane.
Of course after scanning through the relatively expected subjects I eventually realised that I was in a position to finally answer some burning questions that had been on my mind since I was a kid! Err, the first time I was a child. Mysteries, dropped plot threads- the works, I had the ability to actually just get some of these gripping questions answered, just like that!
That turned my frown upside down, I even stopped for a bit to gather my thoughts for interesting tidbits that I could actually work out as I was now. I eventually settled for Professor Oak and was just about to look up some specific data on him when I remembered something 'my' mother had said beforehand.
Lance was fighting for the Champion spot.
It had actually slipped my mind for a moment that Lance, my now very own cousin, would only be competing for the Champion spot. Not that he already possessed it. Mainly due to the fact that when I heard the name I always thought of his HG/SS Champion fight, so the fact that I was here before he got that title meant that I'd get to find out who the Kanto Champion was prior!
So what better way to start this off than to answer one of the most interesting unanswered mysteries of the first generation? Smirking to myself, I stopped avoiding the news sites and dove right in. Clicking on the first article with impunity, a few images popping up, my body was ready, who could possibly have held the prestigious title of Kanto Champion befo-
My inner monologue cuts off as my eyes landed on an image of the current champion, they quickly widen to comical degrees, my jaw dropping to the floor at incredible speeds as I drank in the image of a figure I had not suspected in the least.
'...Is that?' Blinking rapidly in a daze, I rub my eyes with a sleeve- nope, not hallucinating.
"Oh, what the fu-"
I started blankly into the still water of the pond, poking at the sandbanks idly with a stick. I'm basically alone now, out here with only a few Slowpoke on the other side of the bank watching me lazily. A pokeball nestled into the ground beside me, my thoughts scattered and confused. Dressed now in a proper set of clothes, Clair had a surprisingly tame wardrobe, though perhaps that's just what I get for assuming these things about her despite never having any real proof of her personality outside of vague intuition.
Instead of the skin-tight jumpsuit and cape she wore as an adult in all the canon material, younger Clair seemed to mostly favour function over form. It hadn't hit me until I opened the doors to see the same set of clothes printed multiple times in a line, all of which being the exact same thing I had woken up within the Dragon's Den.
I grimaced slightly at the reminder- wet, pressed skin matted in uncomfortable, borderline cutting fabric strangling weary bones, one step, another- Shaking the thoughts away I ran my eyes over my current ensemble
A deep blue, sturdy looking jacket with a lot of pockets matched with some stone grey baggy cargo shorts. There were a myriad of blue and grey shirts in the closet, I'd picked out a random cyan one- just going to skip over the entire dressing fiasco- I don't want to think about it. The weirdest bit being my shoes, apparently these were the exact same ones I'd worn in the caves.
Some kind of super-tech ultra boots and shoes combination with all the modern knick knacks added on. You know, simple trendy stuff like complete waterproofing, nigh indestructibility and a pocket space for in-built floatation, shielding and propellent devices. That sure was a baffling discovery, how much did these things cost?! Even my bag wasn't this over the top!
In my world people spent thousands of their equivalent currencies to buy overpriced designer junk with 'stylish patterns'. Here they spend thousands of their equivalent currency to buy Batman's utility belt in footwear form. Just another quirk of the verse, I suppose.
'Though it's not like they served their original owner all that well… Shit.'
Turning my gaze from the calm water I gaze into the Pokeballs reflective surface I let out a heartfelt sigh. Shaking my head to dislodge the depressive turn my thoughts were taking, I jump to my feet, snatching the Pokeball as I do. Snorting in a mix of frustration and humour I twist on the spot in a full rotation. I keep spinning, I've heard it's a good trick, perhaps It can explain to me how the hell any of this happened or works.
Twirling around with my arms to my sides, I start giggling hysterically, it's just so dumb. All so, so dumb. A Pidgey in a tree above me squawks before fluttering off as I spin on the spot. The reserve-like park is blurring into a stream of colours, zipping past me in rotation. It's getting dizzy but I don't want to stop
'Oh, right, yeah the current Champ- the biggest fish in the pond, the current strongest trainer not only in Kanto, but also Johto. Well, until tomorrow anyway. Mhm, but who could it be? What is the identity of our mystery man, woman or perhaps child prodigy?'
Silver. SILVER. SILVER!
Ah, ah, ah! And not any old Silver, either! Not even Giovanni's kid or something weird with time-travel. Nuh, uh, the current Champion of the Kanto-Johto Regions is Silver…
KETCHUM.
I fell to my ass unceremoniously, dazed and bemused. How? How did this even happen? I'd freaked out after discovering the identity of the current Champion- two massive mysteries of the series just… rolled into one. It doesn't even make any sense! Silver was a character from a Pokemon Chronicles side episode with Ritchie, there were plenty of theories after over the years after that episode was released- from the Chikorita on his shoulder, to having seen a legendary fire bird in his childhood.
There were problems with this though, on first glance the simple stuff like 'how would Ash not know his own father was the champion of the region' and 'He was just a 1-off filler character'. That only really seemed to add to his mystery, though, despite the fact that he literally never made another appearance ever and the only reason people even suspected him as a candidate for the 'protagonists absent parent' role was due to him acting as if he knew Ash, even though he had never met Ash on screen in any episode of the show. Which- ok, that's a pretty good reason to suspect some sort of different relation, but still.
Lying on my back I palm the Pokeball as the afternoon sun beams down on my prone form, it's strange to think about all this so seriously. It bugged me as a loose end, sure, but to think that it would be so important to me now… and that's only just the tip of the iceberg. My eyes unfocused as I briefly recall the list of names of recent Kanto-Johto Champions…
That was a really long list.
At least this confirms that I'm at least in some sort of anime-verse, while it's possible the game protagonists exist in the game-form specifically, It's probably unlikely. May, Dawn and Serena would be pretty good examples to make sure I'm right on this… but it's all kind of moot when they're probably in diapers still.
But this extended family business of the Ketchum's is… I'm not sure how I'm supposed to take it, we got deceptively little on the background workings of the world of Pokemon in both the show and the games, it's all from the perspective of impressionable children with goals. Anime goals, not exactly the most partial structure of story to real life…
'Hah, 'real' life.'
The worst part is that I'm not even sure of the guys relation to Ash now, while it could be his father it could equally be some unseen uncle, or whatever. It listed his age, he's only in his late 20's, but I don't even know how old Ash is right now- let alone all the kids that followed his immortal ass over land, sea and sky throughout the years.
"Will Ash ever even age in this universe?'
That thought makes me snort in amusement. Blinking away the spots in my eyes, I push myself up into a sitting position again, cradling the ball. I guess all that was a little melodramatic. Tilting my head from side to side, the surrealness of the situation striking me again as my eyes dart down to the red orb in my palm.
The ambience of the area returns to me, letting my guard down like that may have been a bit foolish but I can't deny how strangely… safe I feel here. It's a little discomforting, but I don't even know what I want to do with this life yet so jumping at shadows isn't going to help. It would probably just make me look suspicious, just in case on the off chance they stuck a shadow on me or something.
Hey, it's not paranoia if you're the unwilling perpetrator of a cross dimensional, borderline necromantic body-snatching phenomenon that cannot be revealed to the public at any cost on pain of immediate and swift exorcism. By that I mean they're really out to get me.
Still, the interpersonal horrors awaiting me in the short term were the least of my problems if this Silver is actually the protagonist of the entire series' father. Like, what am I even supposed to do in the face of that?! It recontextualizes literally everything around it- I don't know exactly how it does that- but it does!
'Though, to be fair… He has only had the title for a year, and he will be losing it tomorrow. Unless this was a rematch situation with Lance, but I doubt that heavily. So I guess this specific issue won't matter beyond that- well, until Lance becomes a 'Pokemon G-Man' or whatever...' Lifting the ball to eye level, I take a deep breath. Regardless, I didn't choose to come here- I currently have no stake in anything, the most I could draw out if I really stretched it is that I owe the 'real Clair' to complete her dream for her, or some tripe.
I don't agree with that. I don't want to live someone else's life- never admitting to anyone that the real Clair is gone. Not even subsumed, just dead- I may as well be a clone, I don't feel guilt over that… But, the family… that's a different story. They really don't deserve this.
'Myeh, well at the end of the day it's not like it changes anything all that much for me. If anything I should be happy- I was always more partial to Silver than the other choices, guess I can be 'happy' with the timeline I'm in. It could've been worse, imagine if it'd been someone… like, I don't know, Red? Pfft.'
I pull myself to my feet, a small amused smile now on my lips as I twist back to the lake- pond, thing. I'd wandered out of the housing area of the… compound, I suppose. It was massive, easily stretching a full neighbourhood. I'd drifted aimlessly at first in a daze, the information overload of my little study session having completely erased all my prior worries for a moment. Eventually after getting my bearings, I'd realised that my feet had taken me to this large undeveloped area with a ton of Pokemon and people about.
Some had even waved at me.
I'd taken Horsea's Pokeball with me almost on instinct as I'd left, half thoughts collecting into somewhat of a plan of action for the day. I wanted to be out and away from any more social interactions that might be thrown my way, hell, I don't even know for sure what the mother took from our little… chat. I can guess- but that's not really good enough when my life is literally on the line.
It was weird to think about- surreal. I don't think that part of the whole 'isekai magical adventure' had really sunk in yet, I wasn't quite ready to die. No one ever is, and while I may not have been typically reincarnated- this was pretty much a second chance. Honestly I'd even gotten a pretty good 'spawn area', if I wanted to be a jackass and look at this whole thing like a VR game, trick myself into some way of thinking- it would've been far easier than I'd like to admit to just… go. I'd done some research into the logistics of that kind of thing in this world, and even the little I'd picked out of the literal tomes worth of writing on the subject made it a very agreeable idea- at least on paper.
I needed to get out of here, and I needed to get out yesterday.
This was at odds with me, though as I was naturally a cautious individual, that type of behaviour- even in a world as allegedly wondrous as this one would be quite out of character. I'm not claiming to be some 15-steps ahead master planner or anything but what else was there for me here? Honestly?
The thought of just ignoring everything around me and walking head-first out on the road to becoming the Champion with only unconfirmed meta-knowledge and a Seahorse was deceptively enticing, I had to admit. Until I thought about it for literally any more than a second and saw all the flaws in such an approach, even in just walking out the door right this instant.
Let alone embarking on a years-spanning life changing journey to become the very best like no one ever was… No matter how excitingly nostalgic of a prospect that was. I'd even pulled up the rules of Pokemon Battling, the ethics here checked out- it was all consensual. Even better than that this world seemed to genuinely run off anime logic- to the point that I could technically start down that road and all those pesky little 'realistic issues' wouldn't get in my way.
Because they aren't even a problem.
Pokemon attacks aren't lethal outside of very specific circumstances, intent matters- and despite the perhaps bleak picture I might paint when quoting statistics in comparison to my old world, it's not nearly as bad as I was making it out to be. The population count has never gotten anywhere near the size of Earth but not due to mass deaths or such. In-fact death itself seems… weird, here.
Not sure if Yveltal and Xerneas are messing about or something- oh it happens, statistically speaking though it happens far, far less than you would expect. Perhaps there really is some force causing that here, God DOES exist after all. Especially for kids- it basically just does not happen. Despite what you might expect, or maybe exactly how you may think depending- the Trainer mortality rate is completely opposed to the numbers. Rarely having more than 3 deaths every decade.
So from what I could gather… that whole situation with this body's prior owner in the cave?
That was either a horribly big coincidence or something intervened. Things were at work then- I'm aware of this, I remember the feeling- the primal knowledge imparted upon my fraying psyche as I pulled myself out of those depths… I don't know why I'm so sure of it, I don't know much about half of this shit.
I want to blame myself naturally, it was horrible- I am directly involved. My self loathing should be legendary, yet here I am somewhat functional, somehow. There's something in me that just… won't accept giving up like that. It's nothing grand or ridiculous like a feeling of purpose, exactly. Though I don't feel like I'm missing anything from that situation either- strangely, which is what's confusing me in turn.
Bizarrely, I am fully confident that I was an afterthought- a patch up. Not the goal. I don't remotely understand why I feel so unfailingly resolute in this, either, the memories of the old Clair are all but gone- I'm stuck in a situation where a single slip up is a one way trip to terrifying, unimaginable consequences. The future is completely unknown, and I have less purpose than I did already living a pointless existence from day to day before this. Yet I feel fully at home in this position…
It's odd, yet at the same time contrastingly alluring. Other than a lingering distaste for the exact specifics of this body, things I would and probably will change if given or find the power to… I rather suddenly no longer possess such visceral care over the concept of my driving around a stolen almost-corpse in aspirations to benefit my own, selfish ends.
I'm simultaneously disturbed and intrigued. What with suddenly being more focused on the specifics of the world, a giant real life sandbox for my own exploration rather than the angst-ridden existential questions of existence. My own manipulations- a second life just… started. Time waits for no one- and apparently neither do spontaneous reincarnations. Could these strange convictions, this immense feeling of certainty be a sign? Fire, Ice and Lighting- I felt those but I don't know, (Seems to be a theme here), how they factor into this totally. Yet I cannot forget their appearance, they were almost branded into me… and that dream…
'Ugh, what does it all mean? Is this what it's like to be an anime protagonist? Oh, damn I'm on the first step into becoming the brooding anti-hero, aren't I?' Shaking away the deeply philosophical introspection I pull my thoughts back to the more pressing matters.
Pokemon are still all giant masochists no matter how you slice it, though.
My eyes dipped to the city-line in the distance, and the mountains beyond even that. This world was so large- so unexplored. The Blackthorn compound itself was a decent way away from the city proper and I'd wandered even further away for some privacy. I could just leave, right now, considering what I was treated too upon awakening. Just… waddle out the city with that Silph bag on my back and Pokeballs in hand and see what happens.
Except that would not only be incredibly foolish, it would also be ridiculously selfish. It had occurred to me that as 'my' starter, the Pokemon that tried to save me so desperately really should get some say in our next move- I'd honestly not been thinking of it at all, subconsciously I think I was worried that it would reject me.
'Obviously.'
Which I honestly wouldn't blame it for, animals back on Earth were very attuned to moods and feelings, Pokemon… I can only imagine how much more so they are to such things. They don't even need to be psychic or ghosts if the show is to be believed. That made this… quite terrifying. If there was anyone, anything, that I'd run into so far that could tell I wasn't Clair- it would be this Seahorse.
The only reason I wasn't entirely freaking out about it was because there wasn't much I could do- I had no options here other than manning- or I suppose 'womaning' up and dealing with it or dumping it on someone else. I was selfish, but I wasn't a monster, and 'abandoning' the Pokemon just because I couldn't face it would set a very bad precedent both for myself and for others. It would also be really, really dumb.
It was also worth noting that it had listened to me in the cave without delay or hesitance against that fucking slug, but I wasn't quite all there in the head back then so who knows how it'll react now? Can it sense auras or some bullshit, mine is most certainly very different to Clair's… 'Oh, shit, will I have to worry about that with the humans too? Wait- no, no, Clair's own MOTHER didn't notice anything different, or didn't show it... But did she really seem the type to play the long-con or confront a problem head on?'
In the end it didn't matter, I had a short term goal to strive for and the means to achieve it. The 'plan' would need more steps than just 'don't get caught lol', but for now I had a Pokemon to… acquaint myself with.
'Moment of truth.'
Shaking the bangs of my un-styled hair out of my face, I slapped my cheeks and started hopping on the spot. My idea was simple, I'd hype myself up so much all this energy would just ferry me across the awkwardness and uncertainty of the coming interaction. As long as I was confident in myself, as long as I didn't look back- hesitate or doubt, I was putting the snark on hold.
'Piece of cake, what's hard about blindly charging a conversation with the emotional equivalent of ?!' Truly I was a genius of unparalleled quality, fear me World!
Holding down the middle button in the centre, I marvel momentarily as the small orb seemingly magically expands, growing to a larger size. 'Huh, so that's what this does… then how do I get them out? Eh, whatever, let's just try this...' Instantly throwing the ball in an underhanded toss it occurs to me a moment too late that I don't know how to release Pokemon from Pokeballs, I dumbfoundedly watch as the ball rises in a small arc before plonking into the lake- a few Poliwag and Magikarp visible just under the surface fleeing at the impact.
Everything's quiet for a moment as I blink vapidly at the utter failure of an attempt I'd just botched- I can feel my cheeks rapidly heating up in pure embarrassment as the blood migrates to my face. That feeling multiplied tenfold before shooting through the roof as a small Poliwag wades its way through the still water, bobbing up and down with the errant Pokeball balanced on its head.
It wafts its way through the shallow waters, before waddling on its little stubby legs up the dirt bank and the short grass. It honestly looks adorable as it hobbles its way up towards me with a giant, innocent smile on its… face-body thing… And despite the uncanny valley effect poking its way into my interpretation it feels… lesser. Not as intrusive, though still slightly present. Despite my 'bravery' in the face of the Mon's in the cave, a lot of that was just bluster- a necessity in what I reasonably assumed to be a life or death somewhat belated realisation that this sight was not eliciting such a bone-deep response of subconscious existential fear as before was enlightening.
Coughing into a fist I reach down and pluck the ball from its precarious perch, somewhat perturbed by the situation I mutter out a quick thank you to the small creature before awkwardly turning off and circling the pond to find another spot. A few Surskit skating on the surface tittering in amusement at my exit.
"That… uh, that didn't happen. None of you saw anything- I meant for that to happen!" The embarrassment overflows leaving me agitated and understandably angry. Gritting my teeth and taking a breath I heft the now relatively damp orb up for inspection, desperate to take my mind off that ridiculous blunder. 'Now how do I work this thing? I'm lucky Poke-tech is borderline magic, imagine if this thing wasn't waterproof… Oh! Wait, didn't that book say something about voice activated commands?'
Shrugging to myself I decide to keep things basic and simply press the button in the middle again, this time only holding it down for a second- rather than going with my other plan of screaming Horsea's name at the top of my lungs and lobbing the ball into the pond again… Yeah, I learnt my lesson. Stupid animation corner cutting giving me false expectations.
Totally not pouting like a child, I jam my arms forward slightly bent in the direction of the pond and remove the pressure on the Pokeball's centre button, then muttering out a quick 'Horsea, come out'- the lid snapping open smoothly with a small aesthetic hiss, sending goosebumps up and down my arms. I don't suppress the now wild grin adorning my visage, this a dream in the making all on its own!
The bright scarlet light coalesces into a bright flash momentarily forcing me to blink, as I clear out the spots a plonking sound heralds a small splash of water spraying over my raised arms. A quick look to the side reveals that a few of the Pokemon that had witnessed my incredible talent beforehand had wandered over and were now watching the water with interest.
My attention is recalled to the pond as a silhouette breaks the water's surface, baby blue scales covering its stubby body- a large snout splitting two big, innocent eyes that regarded their surroundings curiously before closing in sheer, unadulterated joy as they lock onto my form, the small seahorse letting out a trilling cry. My already wild smile grows to truly prodigious proportions, absently working the mechanisms on the ball to shrink it down.
Something resonates within me- it clicks, like a piece of a puzzle just slightly offset finally pushed down- my view of the emergent creature altering almost imperceptibly. A spell of dizziness setting me off-kilter for a moment as I blink a few times. Still smiling, I push through the weird feeling, instinctively starting to scan the familiar Horsea's body language for recognisable tells.
Hands on hips, I take a step infused with all the self-confidence I can muster. A deep breath leaves me as I perk up, pointing defiantly at the now confusedly blinking seahorse that only tilts its head in completely visual bafflement as my next words register in its mind- 'Oh wait, didn't this little guy get his shiny blue butt handed to him by that snail? Oh shit-'
"Hello there, bra-aaaaave soldier! *cough* not a brat *cough*. Uhh, um- right, you and I, the future. Do the talk!" Fucking nailed it.
We both remained in our respective postures, my back tilted backwards and arm jabbed in the seahorses general direction- a pose reminiscent more of Boa Hancock than anything else now that I think about it. My conversation partner matches my limber stance with a slowly growing completely deadpan stare as it bobs up and down contentedly.
"Uhh… thanks for trying to save me, before, you know- pal. Um… Buddy? Partner? That fucking slug- *cough* I mean, that Sliggoo really did a number on us, eh? But… uhhh, alls well but ends well?" The mere reminder of that stupid, cheating snail fills me with undignified rage- forcibly clamping down on the building anger, I try to smooth out my now openly scowling features, a comparatively brittle smile taking it's place instead.
The strange, almost puppy-like countenance of it's gaze wears out slightly, now the cartoon come to life was shooting me a look that you might expect out of a cat on a particular unimpressed day. Judgmentally. It's stare also held a quality of- was I imagining that or was that a hint of melancholy. My eyes widened dramatically as a suspicion hit me. Just like I had been visited by forces beyond my comprehension…
Perhaps this little water dweller wasn't quite so out of the loop as I had assumed.
Those same eyes then narrowed to slits as I realised this would not be so easy to figure out what this little guy knew. Still, I would not fold, I had made my bed and now I would lie in it. It was obvious to me, crystalline in it's glaring truths. The Horsea's look of sad exasperation was clear as day, even to one as new to Pokemon facial expressions as I. It was practically written all over the small creatures very large mug.
But, no, seriously it was no surprise I was gleaming so much information for this thing- it's almost like those eyes were made specifically for a convoluted cross-species charades-based communication system! Look at those eyes! How do they even function!? Right magical super-creature in a cartoon world. Almost forgot.
"Right… well, I don't know how much you remember-" The Pokemon twitched slightly, it's joy draining out of it's face momentarily, replaced by a reluctantly saddened expression. Before restoring back in excitement- however, noticeably still bitter. Oh dear.
"Ah, well, that's not good." I conclude, smile instantly dimming into a thin line- jaw setting into a rictus.
Dropping the ridiculous pose, I feel the weight of this conversation bearing down on me in full. My arms drop alongside my shoulders as I deflate, goosebumps rising over my flesh- I fail to suppress the full body cold chill that runs through me, clamping down on my arm until my knuckles turn white.
"You… you know, don't you? Haaah, that… really didn't last very long. Yeah, I'm not- ah, y'know..." The little seahorse nods reluctantly, saddened emotion clear in it's big red eyes resulting in my priorly excited mood to now be thoroughly ruined, an empty laugh escapes me- the last vestiges of my excitement and the subsequent incredulous disbelief mixing into a half-formed- then aborted wisp of a self deprecating chuckle.
No, that's not sufficient- the selfishly huge false-bravado I'd been building had been unceremoniously dragged out back, filled full of bullets, waterboarded then set on fire for good luck before being buried under the ocean floor. It was well and truly dead now. I should've known better than to expect that this would be easy.
I felt emotions rise in me, strong ones. Was this it? Was this how far I got, caving at literally the first sign of upleasentantness I confront despite all those ramblings. 'I have to be strong', 'I have to act like I've never acted before', 'no one can know, but let's make this life worth something'... Were those empty platitudes truly the extent of my ambition- my willpower.
Daring a glance up, expecting the vitriolic, righteous hate of a grieving family member- instead I'm met with something different… pity. It takes a moment for the sight to register and by the time I'd rubbed my eyes to confirm, I noted that the small Seahorse was looking at me with a somewhat subdued look of… saddened understanding. It was also subtly jabbing it's head towards our still existent spectators as I remember that we were still in quite the public locale.
My gut twists, hints of self loathing mixed with confusion mix together into a concoction of hypocritical anger. Unconsciously my face flares in anger, eyes wide- borderline frenzied, a single step is taken back before I catch myself, gulping. Taking a breath, I stamp down on the building hysteria then tear my eyes off the unfairly-too sympathetic looking Pokemon, I throw a quick wave towards our curious onlookers before twisting on the spot with a raised finger.
"Right, let's… uh, relocate, then…" My eyes dart back and forth, then widening as I catch motion in the pond causing me to leap to the side in panic to avoid the Horsea which had genuinely flung itself out of the pond on a collision course with my prior place of standing. Expecting well earned vengeance in the form of a small blue seahorse smashing into me at immense speeds, I scrambled away to create distance.
A few moments of silence passed after a small thud on the dirt marked the Pokemon's time of landing, and I waited for it's follow up attack. Heart in my throat, eyes somewhat wild in well established fear. The subsequent lethargic glare I got from its resting place on the floor in return for taking evasive manoeuvres somehow managed to convey both its dry amusement and a very real annoyance at my skittishness, making me feel like even more of a jerk.
Only a little more, though, the silly seahorse had been the one to literally tackle me without warning. How was I supposed to know it just wanted to be caught in my arms?! Have you seen some of these Pokemon's ideas of fair retaliation for perceived slights?! W-well, no, neither have I but I'm still not a mind reader!
'Augh! Not fair!'
Just to clarify in-case my blatant lore dumping confused you, this is primarily based off the anime- in terms of plot and tone. Other media will influence the world- however most of it is being structured by me and I'm not fully confident in my world-building yet. Also, while I can understand their place, I personally don't really enjoy the more 'grim-dark' Pokemon stories you can find everywhere. I do get the appeal- in a vague sense, though it is disconnected for me. I just find that when some write stories -adding 'Realism' into a children's cartoon- uncaring of the things the original works tone did to keep the setting consistent, it more often than not turns into a depressing macabre horror show. The Pokemon world is not our own, acting like is, is counterproductive most of the time, I find. Of course the extent to which its differs from our reality is up to the writer of any slightly deeper take on the setting, and it just so happens that a lot of people like taking things in the direction of the uber-dark, gore-filled death fights that Pokemon could be. Again, not hating on those stories, I know people like them. They just aren't my favourite- or where this one will be going remotely.
I would like to hang on the opposite side of that spectrum, if I can help it. I know the starting point of this story somewhat pushes that- but I'm trying to make that contrast a part of the universe, the story, as opposed to solely 4th wall breaking demographic bashing. Yes, Clair is dead, yes this character insert is a quite rightfully a bit of a paranoid coward and so the perspective is coloured from their interpretation. They are not a native to this reality, so they will naturally find issues where others would not. This world is, however, not meant to be some uber-realistic interpretation of the Pokemon anime- nor is it meant to follow it word for word, if you couldn't tell with me starting out years and years before Ash even set out on his adventure.
Ash is currently 4 years old, if you were curious.