Act 1: That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Pokémon

[Rei - ? - Lv. ? - HP: ?/?]

I just want a peaceful life.

I'm not asking for much, am I? All I want is to live normally. A mundane life with little to no conflict. Like a slice-of-life anime, y'know? If my life were an anime, I'd opt for just that. Yes, it's boring, but beats your average isekai plot where you're at constant risk of dying to weird-ass fantasy monsters and you have to fight and kill in order to survive. I don't want that kinda life, it's too stressful.

Fuck isekai anime, honestly. Too generic. I've seen the same thing over and over; a depressed NEET gets hit by Truck-kun and gets reincarnated into fantasy land because the world pities them.

Wanna know why I've suddenly gone into a tangent about isekai anime?

Because that's what my life has pretty much devolved into now as I plummet thousands of miles down from the sky.

"This is just a dream, right?! There's no way this can be real!" I screamed as the cold wind blowed past me as I fell.

I mean, I did fall asleep at around one in the morning, thanks to binging Webtoons for two hours straight while in bed… Is my mind punishing me for sleeping late? Most likely, especially since I had a test in Biology the next day…

The ground slowly but surely approaches me as the wind violently blows against my skin. The trees get bigger and bigger as I get closer to them. Everything's too bright… The sun is in the dead center of the sky.

"Wait, since I realized that it's a dream, I can just stop it, right?! Like, uh… what do you call em… Lucid dreams! Yeah!" I clenched my eyes shut, hoping I'd just stop and everything would be fine.

And of course, given my horrible luck, I continue my descent. This isn't a dream.

Suddenly I make an impact on the ground, and everything goes blank.

It felt like mere seconds before I could hear a faint voice.

"Hey… wake up…! Come on, wake up!"

I slowly open my eyes. In front of me is some kind of figure… it looks yellow and has… rabbit ears? Something blue is around its neck, too…

Dammit, my head hurts. It's too hard to see.

My vision clears up, and the figure becomes…

"...is that a Pikachu…?" I thought. "No way… Pokémon aren't real, they're just video game characters… my mind must be fucking with me."

Yellow fur, red cheeks, lightning bolt tail… Yeah, that's definitely a Pikachu. He's wearing a blue bandana with the number 1 on it.

"Oh, thank goodness you're awake, Snivy! I saw you plummeting from the sky and fall here, so I rushed over to see if you're okay!" He exclaimed.

"Uh, thanks…" I muttered, still in pain. The most shocking thing is that I have no broken bones at all. Just some bruises and probably a concussion. Strange.

"Wait. 'Snivy'?" I whispered.

I look around. No sign of the grass snake around me.

"Yeah, Snivy. That is what you are, right? Sorry, I can sometimes get species mixed up…"

Hold up.

I look down, expecting to see my normal, average self, but instead, I am met with green paper-thin arms, a cream-colored belly, and stubby little feet. On my shoulders are some yellow arch-like protrusions, and behind me is a huge leaf attached to my tail.

My tail.

"Am I hallucinating…? What the hell is going on…" I mutter.

"Hey, Snivy!"

"I fell out of the sky."

"Snivy!"

"I turned into a fucking snake thing."

"SNIVY!"

I jump as I realize he was yelling at me. It took a while for me to register that he was referring to me.

And it's gonna take a hell lot longer to register that I've become a Snivy.

Yeah, Snivy's a pretty decent Pokémon, it's one of my favorite starters, but I would've preferred something cool like a Lucario or a Greninja…

"You ok? You kept muttering to yourself about some strange things…" The Pikachu's ears drooped downward.

"Oh, uh, I'm okay," I say. "Aside from, y'know, suddenly becoming a Pokémon and falling out of the sky…"

The Pikachu turned his head to the side a little, confused. "Huh? Were you not a Pokémon before?"

Fuck, I said too much. No way he'll believe me if I say I used to be human…

I sighed. Might as well tell him. Got nothing to lose.

"So here's the thing… I used to be human. The last thing I remember is being at home, sleeping in bed, and then suddenly I wake up crashing down here as a Snivy," I bluntly answered.

The Pokémon stood in front of me, eyes wide.

"Uh, what…? That's impossible, no way…" he said.

"Then how do you explain me plummeting, what, thousands of feet from the sky and somehow surviving? It's not like Snivys are known for being able to fly…"

He stared at me, dumbfounded. I might have gone too far.

He looked like he was thinking to himself for a moment, then said, "Okay, I guess you make a good point… I'll give you the benefit of the doubt for now."

Not what I was expecting. I was definitely anticipating him thinking I was mentally ill or something.

"I suppose it makes sense… after all I keep hearing stories about humans suddenly appearing in this world as Pokémon…"

"Wait, there are other humans here?!" I said.

"They're just rumors, I'm not entirely sure," he replied. "And they're really rare situations, too. Humans mainly come here if the world is under attack."

"...under attack..?" Don't tell me I have to save the world or some shit. There's no way I can do that, anyways.

"Eh, the world looks fine to me, so maybe it was just some kind of fluke!" He said blissfully.

"Maybe…" I whispered. There's no way I'm risking my life for people I don't know. I'm too weak for that shit anyways.

Suddenly, the Pikachu grows pale. "Oh, shit, I forgot! Right, I was going to buy that plot of land from Quagsire! How could I forget?!"

He starts running off. "I gotta go!"

"W-wait!" I exclaim. "Can I come with you? I don't have anywhere else to go, so can I just follow you to the nearest town?"

"O-oh, right, of course!" He replied. "Sorry, I forgot about you… You're able to run, right?"

"Uh… probably." Snivys are known for being fast, right? How the hell are they able to do that with these stubs for legs…?

As the Pikachu runs through the forest, I lag behind, trying to run. "Speed-walking" would better describe what I'm doing. I can't seem to figure out how to run like this…

"Someone please tell me how the hell I'm supposed to run… Why'd I get stuck with such stubby legs?!" I exclaimed to myself.

I try to push myself to run faster. Suddenly I feel this burst of energy from my tail, and I start zooming forward. "Right, I think I remember reading on the Pokémon wiki that Snivy's tail absorbs sunlight, helping them to move fast…" I went on it, like, once just to find a guide for Black and White.

Swiftly slithering forward, I finally catch up to the Pikachu, running on all fours.

"Heh, you're pretty fast! But not as fast as me!" He challenged me as he gained speed, dashing past me.

"Hey, wait up!" I yelled.

It didn't take long for us to exit the forest. We ran until we reached a crossroad. There was a sign on our left that said "Post Town" with an arrow pointing to the left.

"Is this the place?" I asked.

"Yeah, should be. Quagsire should be waiting in Post Town for me," he answered. "So, uh, now that we're here, I suppose we part ways, right? I mean, I helped you get to town, which is what you asked for, so..."

"Uh, yeah, I suppose. Although I dunno if I'm able to do anything here on my own… I was just planning to ask around for help, maybe get some info about those rumors, or maybe some kind of job to get some money…" Now that I think about it, I didn't have much of a plan. Didn't really think I'd get this far.

"Well, uh, good luck, I suppose! I hope you find what you're looking for!" He started walking into town, looking for the Quagsire guy he mentioned.

"Wait, one more thing!" I stopped him. "I, uh, never really got your name."

"It's Ichi," he answered. "And your name?"

"Rei."

"Well, I'll see you around, Rei," Ichi said, and he walked off.

Okay. I'm stuck in this world, in the body of a Pokémon, with no money or friends.

Perfectly fine.