Chapter 2-New Friends at every Corner

Route One, as expected was rather boring. My hope was to get through it as quickly as possible knowing that not far behind was Ash and all the episode one madness that followed him. Sure at some point, I might like to meet the protagonist of this world but I was not yet ready to dive into messing with any canon events, so for now, I just kept moving. I had yet to run into any other Pokémon or people and the only noise I had heard was Bulbasaur happily trotting alongside me, minding his own business, and keeping an eye out for any possible threats. Taking use of the peace and quiet to get my head straight I attempted to put together some kind of story for myself, that however was easier said than done. Honestly, no matter how hard I tried I really didn't know who I was. I had practically no memories of my previous life short of being a college student, and even then I couldn't for the life of me remember my age or grade. All names and faces were just blurry images, even my own parents. "I mean for God's sake I couldn't even remember my own name or what I looked like," I thought. I couldn't remember hobbies, skills, friends, or even where I was from. What they don't tell you in movies or stories is how scary and frustrating amnesia is. You know you've lived a past life yet you know nothing of it, and it just eats at you.

I hadn't been keeping track of how long we'd been walking but I figured it'd been at least a few hours and my legs were starting to feel like jelly. I called Bulbasaur for a break and returned him to his pokéball for a nap. Laying back against a tree and feeling the nice cool winds against my face, I pulled out my trainer card and got to reading. I guess if I didn't know who I was yet, I may as well find out who I am now. The trainer card listed all my information such as my height, weight, eye, skin, and hair color. The most important piece of information was at the top, where it listed my full name.

Jackson McNeil

I take back what I said about not being extravagant. It sounded more like a name for a movie star than a trainer and I thought it was pretty cool. Another interesting fact I learned about myself was that I was far older than the average rookie trainer. While I had felt bigger and older than a ten-year-old I had not expected to read fifteen underneath the age category. "I suppose not all trainers have to start at ten years old, that's just when your legally old enough. It was most likely my mother that kept me in for a few extra years, though I can't blame her for being a responsible parent."

Now that I thought about it, Damian seemed a bit older than Gary and Ash as well, probably fourteen or fifteen. I guess the anime always pushed the narrative that trainers had to be young to ponder to the children who were watching it like myself, but this world is more realistic than that. "Thank God," I thought with a mental sigh of relief. "Alright breaks over, I got to get going if I wanna beat Ash to Viridian." I pulled myself up and dusted myself off, then released Bulbasaur out of his ball.

"Bulba...Bulbasauurrrrr!"

"Alright, Bulbasaur it's time to get moving. We gotta hustle if we wanna get there by the end of the night."

"Bulba-Bulba" Bulbasaur happily chanted as we started walking. I looked on at my little plant Pokémon and admired my partner. I knew at some point I'd have to catch more Pokémon and more than likely I'd want to catch enough to rotate out different teams. I mean only catching six to fill a team would get me through the eight gyms but once I got to the League my strategies would become predictable and trainers could plan out counters. But this little guy was gonna have to be my anchor, starter Pokémon always were. "When I was a kid I was always too lazy to grind up any other Pokémon, so my starter was usually heavily overleveled and ran through the game. Nowadays that would seem dull to me but back then there was nothing more fun the wrecking the Champion with your level seventy starter" I thought reminiscing about easier days. I looked back down again and a thought hit me. "I should give him a nickname!" How hadn't I thought about that before? That's the first thing a trainer's supposed to do.

"Hey Bulbasaur I got an idea," I said as we walked. "Buddy it's good time I gave you a name of your own, that way I don't have to keep calling you Bulbasaur. I mean if you could talk you wouldn't be calling me human would you?" I chuckled.

Bulbasaur responded to me with a giggle and a smile "Bulbbaaasaur."

"Alright I'm gonna throw some names out there and you pick your favorite okay?"

"Bulba-sauuur"

"What to name a Bulbasaur?" I began to form a list in my mind of possible fitting names. The obvious ones would be lettuce or Ivy but I needed something more creative.

"How about something like Spuds or Ceaser?" I questioned. Bulbasaur shifted uncomfortably signaling he didn't appreciate the names. "What about Rex or Greeny." The frown he had gave me my answers to those. "What about a human name like Tom or Greg?" I realized my list wasn't all that long.

"Bullbbbaasaaaaurrr" He cried in disapproval. This was harder than I thought and it would take forever at this rate.

"How bout I shoot some rapid-fire ones and you just smile if you like one" I offered.

"Bulbaaa"

"I'll take that as a yes" I took in a deep breath of air.

"Sprout, Sage, Michael, Petal, Onion, Bulbo, Tyler, Spinach, Moss, Blossom, Kyle" I rambled off every name I could think of to no avail. Bulbasaur just kept the same face for every name. "I wish you could speak so you could tell me what kinda name you'd like, it would sure make this easier." We sat there silently for ten more minutes as I pondered for any other names. He certainly was a picky Pokémon but I guess I can't blame him, it will be his name for life. I was almost ready to take a rain check on the whole nicknaming thing when suddenly it hit me.

"How do like Basil?" It was such a simple yet fitting name, matching his grass typing but not being too on the nose. Bulbasaur sat lost in thought for a moment and I expected him to turn it down just like the others, but to my surprise, his frown turned upside down and he slapped his vines on the ground with a happy cry. "I think we found the winner, huh Basil," I asked rhetorically. Bulbasaur gave me another smile and a happy growl as I stood up. "Alrighty then from here on out you'll be known as Basil the Bulbasaur!"

"Bulbbbaaasaaurrr" he responded as we chuckled together.

"Ya definitely fits him" I assured myself.

We kept skipping down the dirt road leading to Viridian for a few more hours but before long the town came Into view. The sky had become dark and filled with beautiful glowing stars, and lanterns hung off every house in town creating a very calming scenery. "I figure we'll find a nice center to stay the night and get some grub, then we can get up nice and early to start training before we head out" I explained my plan intending to stick to it. We got a few greetings from mostly senior citizens as we waltzed through town and a few young kids gathered around to get a closer look at Basil. "Most of these kids have probably never seen a starter Pokémon."

"Hey kid stop right there!" shouted a teal-haired woman dressed in a blue uniform and heels. "Young man I have to check your identification and make sure you possess that Pokémon legally! she command as she walked up to me.

"Ma'am I assure you Basil is my Pokémon. I received him from Professor Oak" I pleaded with the officer. Of course, I recognized the woman right away as the ever-famous Officer Jenny, or at least one of the Jennies seeing as there was one in every town and they just happened to all be cousins.

"Well unfortunately young man we've had a high rate of stolen Pokémon around here and we're checking all passing trainers, now again please show some identification, either your license or Pokédex will suffice" she commanded again.

"Alright, alright if we must" I huffed annoyed at the hassle of it all. I pulled my trainer license back out of my pocket and handed it over. She spent a few moments glossing over the piece of plastic, looking up at me a few times to match the faces.

"Alright, kid you've passed sorry for the inconvenience. Still though, keep a look out for any thieves in the area, as I said we've had a high rate of stolen Pokémon and we wouldn't want your Bulbasaur getting kidnapped" she informed me now smiling. Basil frowned and stepped behind me when hearing her talk about stolen Pokémon.

"You don't have to worry Basil, I'd never let something like that happen" I spoke with reassuring intent. "Now come on we should get to the Pokémon center and get some shuteye.

"You better hurry kid, I wouldn't recommend being caught out here in the dark" Jenny warned.

"Don't worry ma'am we'll be careful" I responded sincerely before we took off towards our home for the night. Now I knew very well that these thieves were the halfwitted but at times lovable Team Rocket. For the most part, they caused very little harm but were like annoying pests that Ash would run into along the way, personally, I grew bored with them at times and wished Ash would get to the cool stuff like gyms and rivals. Still there an essential part to the series and I'm sure I'd run into them at some point, but for now, I had more important objectives on my to-do list.

Me and Basil soon found ourselves at the Viridian City Pokémon Center and to say it was bigger than in the games would be an understatement. I had forgotten they were more like actual hospitals in the show than the little huts we got in the video games and it was well welcomed. " I'm sure there's plenty of room in this big sucker." We walked into the giant building and were hit with the fantastic feeling of air conditioning. The temperature wasn't too bad out but I was sweaty and hot after all that walking. I trotted over to the help desk smack dab in the middle of the room. There I was greeted by the red-headed beauty known as Nurse Joy.

"Hello and welcome to the Virdidian City Pokémon Center I'm Nurse Joy and here we can restore your tired and injured Pokémon to full health. We also offer food and shelter to traveling trainers. What will it be today young man?" Not only was she easy on the eyes but she was very welcoming and warm as well, I felt right at home.

"Uhhh ya I'd like one room for the night if that'd be alright, and we'll im here could you take a quick look at Basil" I said pointing to my partner.

"Of course sir, I'll just need you to sign this form and Chansey will take your Bulbasaur and then I'll show you to your room," Nurse Joy handed me some paperwork while the Chansey came around the corner of the desk and lifted Basil into her arms before carrying him into the back room. "When he's done with the routine checkup we'll deliver him to your room."

"Thank you very much Nurse Joy" I sheepishly said. I also grabbed out my Dex and took the opportunity to record Chanseys data while I had it.

"Chansey a gentle and kind hearted Pokémon that shares its nutritious eggs if it sees an injured Pokémon" The Pokedex stated in its robotic tone.

"Sorry miss I hope you don't mind me recording Chansey" I said while passing in the paperwork.

"Oh not at all young man, most trainers do it" she responded. After looking over the paper and typing into her computed she motioned for me to follow her down the hall. As I walked behind her it was hard for my eyes not to follow the sway of her hips. I mentally smacked myself for perving out but I honestly couldn't blame myself. She was so curvy that any red blooded male would stare. I hadn't been paying much attention to our surroundings and before and I almost walked right into her when she suddenly stopped. "Alright young man we've arrived at your room, the dining hall and laundry room are right down the hall and the bathrooms are behind that wall to the left, if you need anything there's a phone in the room to contact the front desk. I hope you enjoy your stay. She placed a room key in my hand before walking back to the front of the center.

I walked into my small abode for the night laying my backpack out in the corner. It was nice to kick my shoes off for a bit after a long day of walking, but before I could rest I had to take care of some hygienic duties. One nice hot shower and some teeth brushing later and I felt brand new. I took my dirty clothes down to the washer and set a mental reminder to switch them to the dryer before I went to bed, then I took a little stroll down to the dining hall. Said dining hall was bustling with trainers and Pokémon at every table. I quickly grabbed a plate of chicken, rice, and broccoli before sitting at an empty table. As I chewed on my food I looked around watched all the trainers laughing and joking with there Pokémon. Honestly all the happiness made me kinda miss Basil. I really didn't have any other friends here besides him and now that's he's gone I got no one to talk to. Plus i was hoping to bring him here to eat but his checkup was just taking to long. "I'll have to leave some food out for him for when he gets back."

My thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a chair being pulled out infront of me. The girl had shoulder length brown hair with blonde highlights, and she wore black shorts and a white cutoff tanktop with a blue jean jacket. The look was wrapped up with black shoes and white crew socks, and sunglasses on her head. "Anyone sitting here friend?" She said straight faced.

"Uhh no, go ahead" I guess it would be pretty rude to refuse her.

"Thanks pal" she said sitting down "hope you don't mind some Pokémon" she asked before taking out three Pokéballs and releasing all the Pokémon contained in them. You can imagine my surprise when instead of seeing Kanto Pokémon I saw an Electrike, Whismur, and Meditite all of which wre from the Hoenn Region.

"Now this is a shocker, I figured being placed in the first season of the anime meant I'd only see gen one Pokémon. Once again I'm reminded that this world is not completely restricted to what happened in the show, and infact this may be a good thing considering the variety of Pokémon I may encounter" The more I thought about it the more exciting this idea became. However I once again got lost in my thoughts and must've been looking for a while.

"You got a staring problem there buddy?" she asked defensively as she layer out food for them.

"Oh no, sorry it's just not often that you see Pokémon from another region" I said as if I was from around here.

"Apology accepted, and ya there pretty great. They tagged along when I decided to come to the Kanto region for some exploration" she stated proudly.

"Oh so your a trainer?" I inquired.

"Sure am, as are most people here, you couldn't tell from all the Pokémon?"

"Well ya I guess that was a stupid question, anyways what did you come all the way here for. Have you already explored another Region?"

"You know pal usually you ask a lady her name before getting personal" she replied with a smirk. Look at me forgetting basic social rules.

"Of course how could I be so rude, what's your name?"

"It's Veronica" she said and pointed to her Pokémon who were all chowing down on there own food "and this is Sparky, Echo, and Sage" She boasted. Each one looked up from there meals at the sound of there names with Echo giving a quick wave before returning to eating and Sage the Meditite didn't even bat an eye.

"Trike trike.. Electrike" Sparky yipped as they stood and cuddled into Veronicas foot.

"They look like a fun crew" I laughed. "And nice to meet you Veronica, my names Jackson" I extended my hand for a shake which she accepted. she had a strong grip, telling since she seemed like a confident person.

"Nice to meet ya Jack, and oh ya there a handfull alright. Now before I tell you my story I gotta hear about yours. You don't seem to have any Pokémon yourself yet your sitting in the middle of a Pokécenter."

"Uh ya well my partners just getting a checkup done then were on our way out in the morning, were taking the Gym challenge and Pewter City has our first stop."

"Hmmm the Gym challenge huh, don't your normally need more then one Pokémon for that" she questioned.

"Well ya of course..." my cheeks flushed with embarrassment. "I just plan on only filling my team with carefully selected teammates." That of course was a lie made up on the spot to save face, truth be told I just hadnt tried yet. None the less shes kinda had a point, what trainer takes on there first Gym without backup.

"Hmmmh well good luck with that rookie. I thought about doing the Gym challenge back in my home region of Hoenn, but after some family drama I decided against it" she groaned. It seemed like a sensitive topic so I decided against pushing it.

"So you came to Kanto instead, are you challenging the Gyms here then?"

"No no I just decided I needed to find myself and do some self exploring, and a journey in a region like this feels like it would do just the trick" responded Veronica.

"Seems like a good way to do it. I hope you find whatever it is your looking for." I guess I hadn't considered this journey for anything but the gyms, but it is a pretty good opportunity to figure out who I want to be in this world, beyond just a prize fighter that is.

"Ya well we'll see, anyways thanks for the chat my friend but I think its time me and this group hits the hay" Veronica said as she got up and stretched. During our chat I hadn't even noticed that they had all finished there food, and i had barely touched my own.

"Oh alright do you wanna like trade numbers or something before you go?" The look on her face told me I shouldn't have asked that.

"Well that figures, can't have a conversation with a guy without them hitting on you or asking for your

number, just typical."

"NO NO NO" I yelled slightly louder then I should've. My outburst gathered some attention from around the hall but after a few minutes all the looking ceased. "Sorry I just meant that as trainers we should keep contact, you know so if were ever in the same towns or anything we could compare how our journeys have gone" I explained now using my inside voice.

"Dude relax, 'm just busting your balls" she chuckled. "But still no, the way I see it is if were meant to meet again then our paths will cross naturally. She them recalled her Pokemon into there respective Pokéballs. "With that said it really is about time I get these guys to bed or they'll be very cranky in the morning."

"Right, well good luck on your travels Veronica" I said with a wave.

"You as well Jackson, Ta-ta" she gave me a wave and took off into the distance.

"I have a pretty strong feeling I'll be seeing her again in the future."

After cleaning my plate I headed back to my room, where a surprise was waiting for me as soon as I opened the door. "Bulba-Bubasauuuurr." Basil barked as he lept from my bed and into my arms. He must've finished his checkup and they just dropped him off.

"Woaahhhhhh" I yelped as I almost dropped him. "Pffft... hahaha! Cmon dude you can't scare me like that or I'll have a heart attack" I couldn't keep my laughter in as he nozzled into my chest. "I'm happy to see you to man" I chuckled as I layed into bed. "Alright Basil tommorows the day, were gonna get some training in real early in the morning and then before we leave..." I wanted to paus for dramatic effect, unfortunately this was lost on Basil as he just started blankly. "Were gonna get our first catch."

"Bulbaaasaauuurrrrrr" Basil cheered and danced on my chest clearly excited for another friend around here.

"I knew I could count on you for some enthusiasm bud. Now let's get some shut-eye, we got an early start to tomorrow." As I flicked off the lights and got into a sleeping position. Basil crawled down to the edge of the bed and fell asleep. I listened to the sound of his snoring mixed euth the faint noise of a thunderstorm in the distance. "I wonder if that's what I think it is" I pondered as my eyelids grew heavy. Before I knew it I was taking my first sleep in this new body. I'd just hope I'd wake up and still be here.

The Next Day-6:00 AM

Waking up the next morning was very difficult As the bedside alarm clock started going off it took all the willpower I had not to hit snooze and go back to sleep. "Seriously how did I do this every day for high school?" After questioning all my life choices I eventually dragged myself out of bed and got dressed in the dark trying not to wake Basil up. "Today's training will be more on his body than mine so I may as well let him get plenty of sleep" I considered. I packed my stuff up and lightly shook Basil awake. He barely opened his eyes and yawned before hopping down beside me. "Glad to see your not too groggy on me bud" I whispered.

"Bulbaaa" He quietly groaned. He was actually pretty cute when he was tired. We took a trip down to the dining hall to get some fuel before heading out. I knew if I didn't leave soon I might get roped into the first Team Rocket appearance and I wasn't too keen on that, so we had to eat quick. I crushed two bottles of water, a cup of coffee, and some eggs while Basil munched on his food. Then it was out to Route Twenty-Two for a little bit of training.

"Alright Basil first I want to work on the precision of your vines, so I'm gonna softly toss some rocks, at you and you slice 'em open."

"Bulbasaurrr"

Basil was already pretty experienced so the first few rocks he hit dead on, so I started picking up the pace. we continued this until his vines got tired and I gotta say, I was pretty impressed. He hit probably ninety percent of the rocks.

"Alright now let's try using this on some actual opponents." We spent the next hour or some sparring with some wild Rattatas. Most of them were pretty short-lived fights and I could tell Basil was leveling up quickly. After a long training session, Basil was pretty exhausted and sweaty so we broke for lunch. I placed out some food and water for him to indulge in while I scouted the area. Now that training was done the second part of my plan came into action.

"I figure since we're heading into Viridian Forest a flying type would be pretty helpful." As I looked around the area for any signs of a Pidgey, I instead found something better. Over on the perch of a branch was a red and brown colored avian who was too focused on the berry he was eating to notice me. I pulled out my Dex in order to record his information.

"Spearow, the bird Pokémon. Known for its bad attitude and for eating bugs in grassy areas. It has to flap its short wings at high speeds to stay airborne"

Basil now done with his food came up behind me curious as to what I was doing.

"Hey, bud I wanna try to catch that Spearow, do u think you could use your vine whips to whack its head and stun it, and then I'll throw the Pokéball. Basil nodded in agreement.

Basil's vines then shot out of his back slamming into the Spearows head and knocking him off the branch. I took my opportunity during his descent to capture him, both because it was a golden chance and also to make sure he avoided hitting the ground. "Pokéball Go!" I yelled as I slung the capturing device at Spearow. The ball bounced off the falling bird and swallowed him in red energy. The Pokéball then fell to the ground and rolled upright before it started shaking and blinking red.

Zwoosh

Zwoosh

Zwoosh

Click

The Pokéball stopped glowing red and the gears stopped moving the machine. Just like that, I had caught a Pokémon. Something about it was more fulfilling in a way than just being given one. Me and Basil rushed over to meet our new friend, collecting his capsule off the ground and releasing him. A bright white light was released and Spearows silhouette took form.

"Spearow-Spearow" the bird Pokémon cawed angrily.

"Aw shoot Basil I think we made him mad" I laughed half nervously. "Hey sorry about attacking you bud but you looked pretty strong and I was hoping you'd wanna join our team.

"Spearow-Spearow" the bird looked lost in thought as if he was weighing his options. Not that he honestly had many, I mean he was my Pokémon and had to listen to me. But I figured it wouldn't lead to a good relationship if it started like that. "Spearoowwww" he cawed again as if he'd made up his mind. He used his wings to jump up into the air and landed right on my shoulder.

"Oh, so I guess that means you've decided to join us?"

"Spear-Spearow"

"I'll take that as a yes then" Me and Basil laughed while our new friend gave off a look of indifference. "Alrighty then we got our crew for Viridian forest, let's get going guys."

And with that, we took off for the forest of bugs where our next adventure lay. "Let's hope there aren't too many creepy crawlies hanging around!"

A/N

And with that our second chapter has wrapped up. A few things to note, I decided I'm gonna do these at the end of chapters instead of putting notes at the beginning that way I don't mess with the flow of the story. I also wanted to thank any of you who followed, favorited or reviewed the story after the first chapter. I'm really excited with the potential of this story and I got alot of cool ideas. I'm trying to get a chapter out every Sunday but with my schedule I unfortunately can't promise that right now. Also if you couldn't tell this is my first story so I truly am trying my best. As of right now I'm doing everything on my own but I hope to find someone in the future to help me edit the story that way I can produce faster. Anyways enough rambling and thank you guys for reading.