Obviously, I don't own Pokemon.
[=-CHAPTER 1-=]
Dear Izan Richter,
Congratulations! It is with great pleasure that we can inform you of your acceptance to the Youngster Program. This opportunity was granted to you in recognition of your expertise and practical achievements.
We have enclosed a few documents with this letter so you can familiarize yourself with the stipulations and benefits that come with this certification. Feel free to reach out at any time or ask a local League Admissions Center employee.
We look forward to seeing your future accomplishments.
Sincerely,
The Pokemon League.
Finally, it was here.
Izan slumped in his seat as he let out a satisfying sigh of relief. It had taken a while, but the stress of waiting was worth it.
Roughly a few weeks ago, he was just a normal high school graduate without any ambitions or dreams. His plans consisted of getting a job that required extensive manual labor and living with his parents until he was frugal enough to move out.
Nothing special, really.
That was until he was walking home one day and got beaned by a stray tire straight to the head.
From there, it was a roller-coaster of ups and downs.
With his untimely and unfortunate death, he was immediately transmigrated into the body of a kid in the Pokemon world.
That was a pretty good trade, in his opinion. His past life wasn't the most extravagant, and he didn't really have much going for him anyway.
A quiet life was his only goal since the 'excitement' of modern society was boring to him. There was no adventure.
Sure, he could build a life that that made him fulfilled. Maybe picked up an adrenaline-pumping hobby or made a risky life decision.
But for him, that wasn't what he wanted.
A life of fighting, swords, magic, bullshit abilities, and slapping young masters was the life he wanted to live.
A very naive mindset, but he didn't care. Either way, he knew it would never happen, so he resolved to live a quiet life and indulge in fantasy on his own time.
Until he woke up from his death. A miracle come true.
The issues came when he realized that the previous Izan was about as sharp as a bowling ball.
To be fair, he was just a teenager, but still.
After opening his eyes, he was immediately assaulted with a wave of pain when he realized that he was very much still injured from Izan's choices.
See, Izan was an orphan with a dream. Just like everyone else his age, he wanted to become a high-level trainer and surpass the Champion all on his own.
But for some reason, the legal age of adulthood was 14. It was also the age that which compulsory education ended.
Meaning the moment he hit fourteen, he was simply given the address to the nearest homeless shelter and promptly kicked out.
Plus with his limited funds and overall low grades, he wasn't cut out for attending any sort of Pokeschool.
Without a trainer license to fund his journey and give him a starter Pokemon, he was, to put it nicely, fucked.
Even if he did somehow get a Pokemon and some funds, he still needed a license to take on the league challenge.
His solution?
He decided to become a fisherman.
It paid decently well and with the ACE trainers, the equivalent to the military like the SAS or KGB stationed at the harbor, it was fairly safe as well.
They were usually there, making sure people didn't piss off and then get obliterated by a Gyarados' Hyper Beam.
The plan was to gather money, get some experience handling fish Pokemon, and then try and take the official trainer test alongside the Pokeschool graduates a few years later.
An alright plan, albeit with a bunch of holes in it.
But none of the holes in his plan mattered since he too was hit with a sudden slap of bad luck.
An encounter with some Team Rocket grunts.
He tried to defend himself with his Magikarp but there were a few glaring problems with that.
For one, it was a Magikarp.
The second and bigger problem was that he wasn't a trainer. Most wild Pokemon besides psychics and some powerful ones didn't have sapience.
To unlock their sapience they had to either reach a certain level of power, or bond with a human. Something only trainers were taught to do.
Without sapience, Magikarp was just a carp that flopped on the ground.
They paused, laughed at him, sicced their Rattatas at him, and then promptly fed his Magikarp to their Rattatas.
They took all his belongings, even if he didn't have much, and then threw his body in a dumpster where he bled out.
And that's when the transmigration happened.
It was jarring, and more than a little irritating trying to get used to having a smaller body again.
The injuries from the attack didn't help, and neither did the bills that he had to pay for treatment afterward.
Honestly, Izan really couldn't help but think that the previous owner of his body was a fairly stupid kid just trying his best.
It was admirable, sure, but man was it frustrating to know how many problems he could've avoided by just picking up a book.
Or a quick internet search.
See, there was actually a Pokemon League website that was moderated by the officials of pretty much every region with a Champion in it.
It had information about certain trainers and their current achievements. Discoveries about Pokemon, and even locked forums for trainers to converse.
All he had to do was take a quick look at the front page advertisements to get a solution to his license problem.
While you could take the test alongside the Pokeschool graduates, you were doomed to fail. They had experience and a full two years of extra studying.
But there was a little something called the Youngster Program.
Everyone knew that trainers had different rankings and classes to them. D, C, B, A, and S-Class.
Even below D-Class, however, was an F-Class trainer. Something that was only given to Youngsters while graduates received the D-Class ranking.
In reality, it wasn't a real trainer ranking. No one took you seriously if you were an F-Class, and no one expected you to go far. You barely got any money and your given starter Pokemon was noticeably worse than others.
But even so, you could rank up to become a D-Class level trainer with enough hard work.
And the test for joining the Youngster Program?
"Too fucking easy," Izan muttered out loud, cracking a pleased grin.
The biggest requirement for the test was that he was legally an adult. After that, it was a series of basic questions regarding Pokemon knowledge that you'd be able to find out by just using the internet.
A quick practical exam regarding survival in the wild, despite the fact that he didn't have a single outdoor survival skill, he'd passed.
'I most likely only passed because I aced the written portion. There were some serious no-brainers on there. Like who doesn't know all eighteen Pokemon types?' Izan internally scoffed.
Logging out of his email account and turning off the computer, Izan stood up and stretched before looking around the room.
It was a simple hotel room that he was staying in for the time being. A little expensive, in his opinion, but that was only because his budget was strained in the first place.
25 Pokedollars daily for a hotel was pretty much cheap considering that Pokedollars and actual dollars were about the same value.
But he only had 990 Pokedollars to his name. A paltry amount.
Gathering his things and making sure every appliance was cut off, he made his way to the door.
Catching himself in the mirror he stopped to make sure he looked okay before leaving.
All in all? He looked… presentable.
There wasn't much to work with, to be honest.
He was a lanky, early-stage puberty kid with a tan. He was fairly tall for his age, being 5 foot 9, but that only made him seem skinnier than he was.
Besides the beanie that tamed his wild brown hair, he had a simple brown backpack with a black hoodie and gray jeans. Barely anything substantial besides a shoddy map was in said backpack.
He sighed at his appearance. 'Man, I really need to start working out. Or just eat more. Either way, I'm way too thin.'
Shaking his head, he made his way out the door.
Izan had to admit that the league didn't half-ass anything they involved themselves in. Just the admissions center was an enormously wide building with a spotless visage.
Of course, he had already been there before to take the practical exam, but his gawking was warranted with how clean and massive it was.
A pristine steel skeleton combined with perfectly polished windows and a splatter of ingenious but small design choices made it stand out as a masterpiece of architecture.
He really should stop gaping at a building. It was just a building, after all.
Though he supposed it did fit in nicely with the tall buildings of Vermillion City.
Yet he couldn't help but grimace as he thought about the city itself. It was the home of various ACE trainers, experienced sailor trainers, and even a gym leader in the major eight.
So it was a bit vexing to Izan how he still got robbed in a city this protected. Team Rocket should've steered clear of the city by a mile, and yet they practically killed him in broad daylight.
It left a bad taste in his mouth and formed a pit in his stomach when he thought about it.
But worrying about that was for later.
He didn't even have a license yet.
And unlike when he first came in weeks earlier, there wasn't a line that went on for hours. The league season had already begun a few days prior so most trainers were already traveling.
For him though, there was no point in rushing. One of the stipulations that came with being an F-Class trainer meant that he wasn't allowed to register for the gym challenge.
That was reserved for D-Class trainers only.
And to get there, the first step was to get a Pokemon.
Shaking his head, he walked into the building, pointedly ignoring the looks he got for standing at the door for so long.
He reached the glass counter and waited patiently for the receptionist to notice him. She took a moment while focused on her computer, but she eventually noticed him.
"Welcome to the Pokemon League Admissions Center, how can I assist you?" She said with a smile. A practiced line for sure.
"Yeah, I'm here to get my trainer license. I was accepted into the Youngster Program."
Her nose wrinkled briefly before her smile came back strained, "Ah, of course. Do you have the acceptance letter by any chance?"
"I've got the email on my Pokegear. I didn't know I had to print it out." Izan pulled out his Pokegear, ignoring her odd looks.
It was the equivalent of a flip phone in the Pokemon world. Rotom phones existed but they were way too expensive.
Even then, the Pokegear was much more advanced than a simple flip phone. The entire thing could be configured with voice recognition as a plus. Internet, Map, Clock and calendar, radio, and various other things.
All things considered, it was pretty useful despite being seen as a phone used by broke or old-fashioned people.
She glanced at it for a second too long, most likely expecting him to have a better phone, "That works perfectly fine, don't worry. I just need the QR Code on the bottom of it to confirm a few details."
Taking out a scanner from under the desk she faced it at the Pokegear's screen before a dinging sound was heard.
Nodding to herself, she took a few minutes to type a few things on the computer. Most likely inputting his information alongside whatever else the process was.
"And done. Please take this to that room over there." She handed him a ticket and pointed to a door on the opposite side of the room.
He flashed her a smile before leaving, "Got it, thanks."
There weren't many people at all in that section of the building he noticed now that he looked around.
Sort of odd, but it made sense he supposed. There wasn't much to do in league buildings besides register for things.
Shrugging it off, he walked into the room and was greeted by an odd room.
Above him was what looked like a stretched flat screen. Below that was a mechanism that was supposed to be where his ticket went. On the right was a weird glowing device with a blue panel attached to the wall. And finally a tray table with a hole above it.
He was startled out of his stupor when a man's voice boomed from an intercom. His accent was odd, a mix of different cultures Izan knew of.
"Sorry for startlin' ya, little man. Got yer ticket?" Quietly, Izan placed the ticket into the middle machine. Without delay, the ticket disappeared into the vacuum.
The man took a moment before continuing, "Place yer thumb on the device to yer right for me."
As soon as he finished his words, Izan walked to the right and placed his thumb on the odd-looking scanner. Almost immediately, the device lit up with a cool blue.
"[Name: Izan Ritcher] [Birthplace: Vermillion City] [Age: 14] [Trainer Class: F+]" The mechanical voice intoned from a speaker next to the device.
"Yer fourteen? Ya don't look it. Ain't gonna get fair less ya put more meat on them bones. Hmm… Ah, ya paid for the F plus start. Not a big fan of Rattata, eh?"
Unlike regular Youngsters who simply got a Rattata as their starter Pokemon, Izan paid a little extra during the registration fee to get a chance for a better starter.
With the amount he paid, he was guaranteed to get a choice between three different Pokemon that only evolve once.
He could've paid more for a choice of starters that evolve twice, but it wouldn't be worth it. That version, F++, would've cost him an arm and a leg with his limited budget.
In any case, the choices would be inferior to official D-Class trainers since their starters were usually way stronger on average.
Where an F++ would get things like Pidgey, Zubat, or Oddish, D-Class would get starters such as Machop, Gastly, and Abra.
The gap in quality Pokemon meant he didn't care to stress over it.
Unused to the employees of the league speaking casually, Izan froze at the question, but he easily bounced back and shrugged it off.
"Nah, that ain't it. Rattata isn't that bad, to be honest. It's just that everyone and their mother has one if they're a Youngster. It'd be an uphill battle for fighting regular trainers with experience; Gym Leaders would slaughter me with ease." He answered.
"True. Though most F-Class trainers don't think that far ahead. Yer one of them all brain and no brawn ones, ain't ya?" The man quipped.
Izan rolled his eyes, "I'm not one to toot my own horn, but I ain't most F-Class trainers. And fuck off man, I just have a high metabolism."
The man snorted, "I'll believe it when I see it. Back to business though. Check the screen up top for yer starter choices oh great F plus."
Izan sobered as he watched the screen split into three different sections. A silhouette of various Pokemon appeared on each panel before sifting through hundreds of random species.
Eventually, the images settled onto three different types of Pokemon. A pangolin-looking creature with yellow keratin scales, a feminine white and red goldfish, and… a ball.
[Sandshrew, the Mouse Pokemon] - [Details: N/A]
[Goldeen, the Goldfish Pokemon] - [Details: N/A]
[Voltorb, the Ball Pokemon] - [Details: N/A]
"Huh. Did not expect those Pokemon," Izan muttered under his breath as he considered his choice.
Somehow hearing him, the man replied. "Unlucky, isn't it? Most expect to get a fire, grass, and water choice. But most of ye never remember there're other type trios."
Izan hummed as he intently looked at the three Pokemon.
Viability alone, Voltorb was the obvious choice. It was one of the fastest Pokemon alive when evolved and trained to perfection. Plus the electric typing meant that it only had one weakness. Alongside the fact that it got [Sonic Boom], a very powerful attack when fighting weaker Pokemon, only made it seem better.
But this was real life, not a game. Izan grimaced as he thought about how dangerous a Voltorb in real life would be, especially since it was his first Pokemon.
Their temperament was notoriously bad, and they tended to explode when annoyed. A bad choice for a starter Pokemon, no matter how much potential it had.
Goldeen's only saving grace was its hidden ability, [Lightning Rod]. Izan didn't know how abilities worked in real life, but if Goldeen did have it, it would be able to tank electric attacks with ease.
Sadly, he didn't know if Goldeen could even battle on land. Most of his battles wouldn't be anywhere near water, and he wasn't sure if aquatic Pokemon floated or just flopped on the ground.
With his only frame of reference being the useless Magikarp from before, the odds weren't looking too good.
Finally, there was Sandshrew. They were a species known for their mild temperament and reasonable nature even in the wild. In terms of a starter Pokemon, it was the best choice for a new trainer.
Sandslash's stats left much to be desired, however. If the games had any semblance of truth to them, they were frail to special attacks and their speed was fairly mediocre.
Without enough information, it was a very hard choice to make.
"Pokedollar for your thoughts?" The man boomed, snapping him out of his thoughts.
"I…" Izan began, before stopping himself. "Hey, do you think I can get some actual details on these guys?"
There was a momentary pause alongside some clicking on a computer before the man responded.
"All three? They haven't been evaluated from what aye can see, so ye'd have to do the assessment battle yer self. That'd be 100 Pokedollars each, though. Ye sure?"
Izan grimaced at the thought of spending money, but took a deep breath to steel his resolve, "…Yeah, I'm sure."
Izan scrutinized the odd-looking machines that vaguely resembled speakers, curious about what exactly their function was.
To the side of the speakers was a typical researcher-looking staff member with glasses and a slick hairstyle. Holding a tablet while a Porygon floated next to him, he looked ready to collect data.
Opposite Izan stood three Pokemon. A Bellsprout, Poliwag, and a Geodude. Each one seemed more subdued than a Pokemon should be, laying there obediently.
Izan frowned at them, not liking what he was seeing. Rather than looking like living creatures with magic powers like most Pokemon, these reminded him of weapons.
Of tools.
Then again, he mused, that might be a biased opinion from his past life's idea of Pokemon.
He hadn't seen many real Pokemon, after all.
The battling room they were in didn't help him with those thoughts. Completely white walls and a white floor. The lack of lights made him furrow his brows since there was definitely light coming from… somewhere.
'Stupid alternate universe technology confusing the shit out of me' He grumbled internally, chalking it up to just a lack of information.
Rather than dwell on maybes or other things he couldn't control, he decided to get started with whatever they were doing. Looking at the staff member, he opened his mouth.
"So how is this supposed to work, anyway? Am I supposed to battle those three Pokemon with my starter choices?"
The researcher looked up from his tablet quickly, "Huh? Oh, yes, that's it. A 3-on-3 battle should suffice. Porygon here will help with compiling the data."
Izan raised an eyebrow, skeptical. "That's it? Just a battle? Would I have to come back here and battle every single time I want a Pokemon evaluated?"
There was a glint in the researcher's eyes as he pushed his glasses up.
"Of course not. Once we have the data on whichever Pokemon you choose, we'll then scan it. After that, you can just get it re-scanned at a Pokemon Center whenever you need to and they'll give you an up-to-date evaluation based on the previous data." He finished with a harrumph.
Izan blinked at the info dump before slowly nodding. "…Right. Got it, I think. Do I have to pay for a scan every time?"
If so, he might have to just scan his Pokemon once a month or something. Paying each scan would be a huge setback, even if it was just a Pokedollar a day.
The scientist tilted his head in thought, "I don't think so. Porygon here is my only Pokemon so I wouldn't know. His data is connected to my PC, after all."
"I see. Well, I sure hope it costs less than this. 100 Pokedollars for each Pokemon? Ridiculous." He muttered that last part, still lamenting over his emptying pockets.
Somehow the scientist still heard him, "Yes for you I guess it would be a hefty amount of money. Are you ready to get started?"
Izan glanced at the three Pokeballs attached to his belt before picking one of them off and holding it in his hand.
It was going to be his first battle, even if it was only for a test, and he couldn't be more excited. The sound of his heart beating heavily in his chest was the proof of that.
"Yeah, let's do this."
"Mhm. Please switch out when I tell you to. The Pokemon opposite of you know what to do already."
Izan nodded, clicking the middle button and watching as it expanded and filled his hand, a large smile adorning his face.
"Begin!"
Suddenly, the white room morphed into the illusion of a battling field in the middle of a forest.
Izan's eyes widened at the rapid change, but he threw the ball with the sticker of a lightning bolt on it into the air anyway.
"Come on out, Voltorb!"
'I've always wanted to do that!' Izan would forever deny that he almost squealed in his head.
Voltorb, the ball Pokemon in the shape of an upside-down Pokeball, materialized on the field.
Geodude opened his eyes from where he was resting and pushed himself forward with his huge rocky arms.
"Alright, Voltorb, let's go for a [Sonic Boom] to start off!"
Voltorb grunted, looked back at him, and furrowed its brows. Then it began spinning in place at rapid speeds.
Patiently, Geodude watched as Voltorb did so, doing nothing in return.
After a few awkward seconds, it glowed white and shot off a shockwave at a high speed.
…Upwards.
The [Sonic Boom] impacted the ceiling heavily and Izan blinked. And then he blinked again.
Voltorb hummed happily as it rolled over to Izan's feet and looked up at him expectantly, its usual perpetual face of anger replaced by one that resembled a smile. Even if it didn't have a mouth.
The Starter Pokemon were already conditioned to understand what to do when given certain commands like 'dodge' or 'tackle'.
Besides that, however, they weren't taught anything else. Battle was a foreign concept to them since they were raised in peaceful captivity.
Izan sighed and crouched down to it, patting it on the head. It hummed again, leaning into his hand contentedly.
'It's like a goddamn cat. How the hell is a ball cute?' Izan almost facepalmed but calmed himself and spoke softly.
"Alright, buddy. I'm gonna need you to use [Tackle] on that Geodude over there, got it?" He said, pointing at the rock Pokemon.
Voltorb opened its eyes, looked over to the Geodude, and nodded with determination.
It began rolling forward in place, picking up speed as it winded up, before shooting forward in a burst of speed.
Geodude watched impassively as it rolled towards it. Raising one of its arms, it stopped Voltorb in place easily and caused it to recoil backward.
Izan frowned at the display, 'Well, that's not gonna work. Gotta try something else.'
"Try again, but use that speed to shoot off a [Sonic Boom] right in its face!" Izan called out.
Voltorb, seemingly not understanding, began to spin in place to go for a [Sonic Boom]. This time, the wind-up was much quicker as its frustration was building.
In response, Geodude pushed itself to the side with one of its arms.
"Uh, no, Voltorb, use [Tackle] and then [Sonic Boom] after tha- Oi!"
Ignoring his words and hopping up and down in anger, Voltorb began to glow a sinister white glow.
"Porygon."
The scientist suddenly spoke and Porygon seemingly teleported in front of Voltorb, a barrier appearing in front of it. The barrier twisted until it encompassed Voltorb's form and held it to the ground.
*BOOM!*
It exploded.
Porygon floated back to the researcher calmly as the dust settled off of Voltorb. It was unharmed, seemingly, but definitely fainted.
"We have enough information already so that's alright. Please, send out your next Pokemon." The scientist said matter-of-factly.
Izan, stunned, just stared at the Voltorb's fainted body. He had many questions about that Porygon just now, but he decided to settle for facepalming and returning Voltorb.
Moving on from that disaster, he threw out Sandshrew without saying a word.
The sandy pangolin Pokemon materialized onto the field with its head raised high.
The Poliwag stepped up while Geodude calmly went back to resting behind the line.
"Alright, Sandshrew, we're gonna be fighting that guy over there, got it?" Izan said, pointing at the Poliwag.
To his surprise, Sandshrew nodded in understanding before readying itself to fight, snarling at Poliwag.
Izan, taken aback, raised an eyebrow at the researcher. "Is Sandshrew already awakened or something? I thought it wouldn't understand that."
The man looked at his tablet for a moment before replying. "No, that doesn't seem to be the case. It is particularly intelligent for its species, but it's just arrogant and would've attacked Poliwag either way."
'Ah. That'd do it.' Izan thought, getting back into the battle.
"Dash into it, and then go for a [Sand Attack] up close!"
Without missing a beat, Sandshrew ran on all fours toward Poliwag, dodging the [Bubble] that Poliwag shot at it without being prompted.
Right before it rammed into Poliwag it stopped short, kicking up the dirt with a quick [Sand Attack], blinding Poliwag.
"Great! Now go for [Scratch] on its midsection. And then a [Poison Sting] if you've got it."
Briefly, Sandshrew tilted its head at the command, before nodding and pouncing onto Poliwag, letting out a flurry of Scratches.
It cried out in pain before it finally showed some emotion, countering Sandshrew with its furious unrelenting [Double Slap] and knocking it back several feet.
Sandshrew recovered quickly, flipping backward onto its feet, looking over its shoulder at Izan.
Izan's smile widened as the battle finally felt like a real fight, excited.
Angered, Poliwag began to shoot jets of water across the field, most likely being the [Water Gun] attack.
'Oh shit! I didn't think it had [Water Gun] already.'
"Retaliate with [Mud Shot] or use [Dig] to dodge if you have it. Don't get hit under any circumstance!"
Sandshrew reared its head back before sending off multiple Mud-like shots that impacted each water shot with pinpoint accuracy.
The bout ended with an explosion of dust that settled quickly, revealing both sides mostly unharmed but panting heavily.
Both Poliwag and Sandshrew were unrefined in controlling their power, and they had little energy in the first place. That exchange alone almost exhausted them.
Poliwag suddenly centered itself, closing its eyes in concentration as it pronounced its belly. It was preparing for a move.
"That's enough." The scientist interrupted, stopping Poliwag in its tracks.
Looking extremely disappointed, Poliwag kicked at the ground before walking back and flopping onto its butt.
Sandshrew on the other hand only nodded in satisfaction before walking toward Izan with its head held high.
Izan smiled sadly that the fight had to stop, before crouching down and petting Sandshrew on the head. "Thanks for the battle Sandshrew, you did really well."
"Shrew." Sandshrew nodded, before being returned back into the Pokeball.
Standing back up, Izan was excited again to continue the battle assessment.
"Here we go, Goldeen!"
The red and white goldfish Pokemon materialized onto the field in a flash of brilliant light.
And then proceeded to flop onto the ground like a regular fish, gulping and gasping the air for water.
Izan stared. Porygon stared. The scientist stared. Even the other Pokemon just stared at it.
The heavily awkward moment was broken when a [Vine Whip] cracked and slammed into Goldeen, causing it to faint on the spot.
Everyone looked at Bellsprout in shock. It shrugged.
"I think I know what starter Pokemon I want." Izan intoned. "…And can I get a refund on that last evaluation?"
A/N: Since the next few chapters are simply reuploads, I'll refrain from adding any more notes for a bit.
