So, apparently waking up surrounded by unconscious zubats was a thing. Also this world appeared to literally be animated. My body was wiry, everything looked a little too big (and animated - did I mention animated?), and I had a headache. I had no idea the drawback shenanigans would begin before I even arrived, or that Washu would take the cartoon thing this far. Taking a look around revealed that I was in a garden area adjacent to a walkway between two apartment buildings and it was night time. I had my backpack on and an adorable fuzzy critter with lots of fluffy tails sniffing my face. The new memories streaming into my head (and not helping with my headache at all) indicated we'd met six months ago when I rescued her from a shelter. I'd been attacked by the flying rats (zubats) shortly after the sun had finally dropped below the horizon, and was across town from my apartment.
I had no idea I'd start the Jump knowing an actual psychic attack, and I really wasn't sure which one it was I'd used or if it even had a name. I'd apparently just tried throwing mental power at the darn things and doing so knocked me out after a while. During the entire encounter my vulpix had defended me from actual physical harm, and had gotten away with surprisingly few injuries. Knowing the vulpix was probably the equivalent of level five or lower, that was suspiciously easy. The drawback text HAD specified the zubats would be easily beaten, though. Hopefully they didn't scale up with my own skill or that of my pokémon. I didn't want to be knocked unconscious every time that particular quirk came up.
Patting my vulpix on the head, I tried to stand. I was wobbly at first, and memories were still flooding in. It had a name...what was it? Please tell me I didn't name it something stupid.
"You didn't," I heard more in my head than with my ears. Was that Washu? "Yes, and you still need to choose a name for your yourself and your partner. I can't fill in all of the details and get you fully integrated into your new universe without that data. Get to it!"
Trying to think of names while being bombarded with new memories proved difficult, but I eventually settled on a name for myself. I often used Wrin as an online user name, but it had taken on kind of a feminine cast over the years I'd used it (and played a wide variety of female characters). I'd go with the more masculine Wren for now, and Black for a family name since it was easy to remember and reminded me of all the ridiculous Harry Potter fanfiction I'd read.
"Wren. Gaelic for ruler. Cute. Also, just for that if you visit the Potter-verse you're going to be a metamorph, and a Black by blood," Washu muttered in my mind as I felt the memories shift to include a family history. Being in my thirties when I was taken for the Jump-chain meant the thirteen years of memories pouring into my head weren't going to completely overwrite who I was, but dear Jump-chan was it confusing me trying to reconcile the two lives! Hopefully that would become easier with time. Oh! There were the memories of learning to speak via telepathy. Neat.
"Now, a name for the furball?" Washu asked as I assimilated the fact that I'd been effectively mute for this entire life. My parents had told me to visit Saffron city to learn from the only widely-known psychic human other than myself, the Gym Leader Sabrina. It was already informally arranged and she'd be expecting me, but knew I couldn't use phones for vocal communication so the schedule was pretty loose. I wasn't expected to make a real pokémon journey, but my parents had encouraged me to treat this as a one anyway. Apparently it was both a coming-of-age ritual-type-thing and a way to get me some real-world experience before I settled down with a job and a family. What the hell kind of place let preteens and young teenagers venture into the wild on their own, anyway? It seemed like a bad idea to me. At least mine was more like an unsupervised trip to a boarding school, since I was going to be staying with Sabrina for quite a while.
"You knew this was coming. It's Pokémon. Also, your Vulpix needs a name. Now," echoed in my mind at a slightly higher volume, if you could call it that. With more force, at least. I tried to come up with something appropriate, since I didn't want Washu annoyed with me. Aiming back at the voice in my head didn't take too much in the way of mental contortions, and I directed my mental voice in that direction.
"Shouldn't I ask the creature I'm supposed to be naming at least?"
Since I got no reply, I mentally aimed at the Vulpix who was now sitting at my feet staring up at me. I had a decent idea, but I'd run it by the little fox-thing first.
"How would you like to be called Ember?"
The little Vulpix cocked its head to one side as if in thought, which was absolutely adorable. Then it nodded, and I felt a faint sense of approval from it. Without waiting for me to address her, Jump-chan finished my background and I suddenly remembered asking that question when I first picked Ember up at the shelter. I nodded back at the Vulpix, unsure exactly how that worked with the timeline but not really caring enough to ask.
Deciding to take stock of my belongings before I continued, I sat down and pulled Ember into my lap so I could pet her for a while. With only one of my hands now free, I checked my belt. Five PokéBalls and a PokéDex on my belt, all which looked exactly like they did in the show. No wallet in my pockets, so all of it must be in my account accessible via my PokéGear. Apparently that was an unholy combination of a wristwatch and a flip phone that functioned much like the smart phones back home; complete with clock, navigation, telephone, radio, and identity/money management. I'd never trusted my phone with any personal information at home, but it seemed like I wouldn't have a choice here. There was a keyring with a single key on it, though.
My backpack came next, and it looked pretty normal. It was made from tough leather and canvas with a PokéBall logo on it; nothing extraordinary. Inside were a red hat, three spray bottles that I assumed were potions, and a rebreather that I wouldn't have recognized before the new memories.
'Rules as written, indeed. No clothes or toiletries, no tent, no water, and no food. No basic tools, either. I'll have to either buy those or go back to the apartment I got with my background and hope there's something I can use,' I thought to myself. Considering I'd apparently spent a the short walk back, promise of a place to sleep, and the fact that I had memories to consolidate, I decided to walk back to the apartment. On the way I spotted a PokéCenter with PokéMart, a bicycle maintenance store, the Viridian city gym, a grocery store, and several specialty shops ranging from books to tea. The city was definitely bigger than in Pokémon Blue (the only game I'd played), but not as big as I'd expect a real city to be. The city itself was surrounded by trees, with some large hills in the distance.
When I reached the apartment I unlocked the front door with the only key I had, then headed inside. It was fairly small, with a kitchen and living room in front and two bedrooms separated by a single bathroom in back. There was a note on the fridge informing me my parents weren't going to be back for a few weeks, and that I forgot to grab the stuff from my room but they'd left a message on my PokéGear to come back for it. Relieved both that I didn't have to deal with people that up to this point I'd never actually spoken to and that my background apparently DID include having personal belongings, I entered the room to see a lot of boxes and a pile of stuff on the bed. My bed. From when Jump-chan abducted me. It looked a little too big for the room, but at least it was familiar.
I found another note with the stuff, apparently from Jump-chan congratulating me on thinking logically and not racing off without any of the survival gear, clothing, etc. it had been implied but not explicitly stated I owned. I just got the impression she was being obnoxious because I'd started rules-lawyering almost as soon as she picked me up. Either way I now had a survival guide, multi-tool, canteen, field rations, supplies for Ember, a tent, a sleeping bag, camping dishes, toiletries, and a bunch of other fiddly things to stuff in my backpack.
I took the bag off and compared the size of it to the size of the pile, then remembered that the bag was described as "bigger on the inside." I really hoped that included "doesn't weigh a ton when stuffed full of camping gear," but I wasn't optimistic given the "rules as written" agreement. Sure enough, when I started to add things to the bag they fit just fine but it did get heavier. I'd have to limit the amount of stuff I kept or find a better bag, if one existed here. I vaguely remembered that they had ways to store and move both living and non-living things as energy, so there might be one available.
I was a little tired, which makes sense given that I was knocked unconscious rather than asleep before I got here. Ember could probably use some rest too, so I decided to spend one last night in the apartment before I headed out. After preparing a small meal for myself from the ingredients in the freezer and giving Ember food and water, I stripped down and prepared for bed. It was about then that I remembered that Ember wasn't a cat, and might need to go outside to relieve herself. My new memories showed that there would normally be a box with paper in it similar to a litter box indoors, but since I wasn't expected back for a long while it had been cleaned up and put away.
"Ember," I called out mentally. "Do you need to go outside, since the box is put away?"
It was only after I did it that I realized she wasn't even in the room with me, but the feelings I got back from her over the connection were mostly amusement. It took me a moment to sort out the rest, but when I did I headed back to the front door to find her patiently waiting. Opening the door for her and stepping out in only my short pants, and I kept an eye out for anything wrong while she did her business. I also contemplated the feedback I'd been getting from Ember. Washu had been able to communicate with me telepathically, and I was able to send my thoughts to her and my pokémon. What confused me was that I got anything back from Ember. Was it because I was focusing on her at the time? I hadn't sensed anything from anyone or anything I'd seen on the way back to the apartment, and I wasn't picking up emotions from Washu.
Washu herself might be immune to psionics and using my ability as an interface for her powers, so I couldn't really count on that. Ember, though...and now that I thought about it, I'd picked up things from my parents before too. Even words, but only after about my sixth birthday. Sometimes Mom or Dad would get my attention and I could sort of reach out to hear what they wanted me to. We'd share inside jokes, birthday plans, and other little secrets that way. How flexible was psionics, if I wasn't limited to actual Pokémon moves?
More memories flashed by. I'd levitated a glass to prevent it from breaking once, and I seemed to be aware as soon as someone unfamiliar entered the apartment. Could I stretch those; achieve some sort of psychic sonar? Float like Mew and MewTwo? Hmm...I remember the perk itself said it capped at the power of a Gardevoir. I had no idea what they could do, so I pulled out my PokéDex and looked it up.
Holy crap. That can't be right. Some gardevoir can create miniature BLACK HOLES!? They can TELEPORT!? Who wrote this Jump document!? Let's see...they could use Reflect, Psyshock, Future Sight, Energy Ball, Stored Power, Moonblast, Calm Mind, Dazzling Gleam, Psychic, and a variety of other moves. How many of those are actually psychic, though? Hmm... Stored Power, Healing Wish, Confusion, and Teleport were all starting powers for it. I couldn't do any of that yet so I must be pretty far behind, but this power was looking better and better! Heal Pulse, Calm Mind, Psychic, Imprison, Future Sight, Hypnosis, and Dream Eater were also psychic moves a gardevoir could learn as it leveled up, and there were a ton of TMs and HMs I hadn't looked at yet.
I was going to learn to teleport and see the future. Neat. I wasn't sure I liked the idea of eating dreams, but maybe if I limited myself to nightmares it'd be ok? Oh. Oh, no. It damaged the target's health. Maybe just against bad guys then? Eh. I'd wait to make that decision. It wasn't like there were a dearth of jerks in the world, and it wasn't physical damage so it should heal with rest even if I used it on a human. Telepathy was apparently more useful than I thought, allowing some pokémon to speak mentally amongst themselves and to humans. It also seemed to include some level of feedback from the other participants, since it allowed them to anticipate allied attacks. I must be picking up limited information like emotions since I'd never used it that way. That was promising.
By the time I finished looking everything up Ember was already back inside and sleeping on my bed, and I'd gotten a couple of odd looks standing there with no shirt and a PokéDex at my front door from the few people who were still awake. I decided to call it a night.
When I woke up the next morning I felt great. Better than ever, really. The memories were coming more smoothly now, and I no longer had any trouble telling which ones were from my old life. I wondered if that was from Savant or just an effect of the Jump-Chain? Perfect memory was kind of ambiguous, but if Washu was still following the rules as written agreement...was it perfect by her standards? I tried remembering something from my first childhood, and while the memory was clearer than normal it wasn't what I'd call perfect. Then I tried remembering something from my childhood in the PokéVerse, and it was like I was there all over again. I remembered the exact date and everything I'd seen, heard, or otherwise sensed. If I'd looked at a clock or seen the sky recently I could estimate the time. It was almost overwhelming, really.
A wet nose and a pair of adorable almond eyes brought me out of my memory-induced shock. Ember was in my bed, and apparently she wanted attention. A few minutes of grooming and a mental query later, I let her out again to do her business. After that I got washed up and made breakfast for myself. Looking around the apartment, I wrote a note for my parents indicating I'd been back for my forgotten things and took out the garbage that had accumulated while I was there.
Now freshly changed into clean clothes and with the apartment pretty much as it was when I arrived, I scooped up Ember and locked the door behind me. When I turned around I noticed something else I hadn't anticipated: when an animal does its business, sometimes that business is solid. And you're expected to clean it up, you animal. I sighed softly, then remembered I had powers now and decided this would either be the greatest thing ever or I was going to make a terrific mess. Focusing on the odious leavings by the path, I attempted to pick them up with my mind. It worked, for a given value of success. They certainly moved, and they didn't explode like I was half-afraid they would. Unfortunately what they did was shoot straight up faster than I could track. Hopefully the wind would blow them over the forest, rather than onto someone's head.
I walked away with a shrug, heading south toward Pallet town. If I was going to interact with the plot in any way, I'd have to catch Ash in the first episode. I didn't remember enough of the cartoon to find him anywhere else. If I found him I could mess with him a bit and give him some advice, and if I missed him I'd still get to explore the easiest route in the games: Route One.
The route itself was fairly scenic, with only parts of the path overgrown to the point I'd have to walk through high grass or around other obstacles. There were pokémon basically everywhere, but there were some non-pokémon animals around too. I hadn't anticipated that, but it matched my new memories so I wasn't terribly worried. I was kind of surprised that I made it nearly an hour down the path before I encountered another trainer, and he seemed confused when I didn't shout back at him about accepting his challenge. Instead I just kept walking, Ember following closely behind me. He didn't seem to know how to respond to that.
Another thing that struck me was that none of the pokémon I'd encountered so far had tried to start a fight with me or Ember. The bug-looking ones (grass-types, I reminded myself) shied away from us, and the bird-types seemed more interested in the grass-types. I'm pretty sure most of what I saw were pidgeys, and rustling in the bushes indicated smaller things that might or might not have been more bugs. I thought there were rattata here in the game, but really didn't care. When the bugs got in the way I had Ember take care of them with the move I'd named her after. Fire breath was awesome, no matter what you called it. I can only assume the birds took care of them after that. When we were finally confronted by a rattata I aimed my thoughts at it and pushed a disinterested feeling at it. The poor thing was so confused it almost let us walk right by it, but when it tried to bite me Ember kind of tackled it away from me, then lit it on fire. I moved it off the path and left it passed out.
It was only a few minutes later that I heard a sound like a transformer overloading, and walked around some brush to a scene of devastation. There stood a kid with obnoxious hair, an injured Pikachu, a partially melted bicycle, and a bunch of Spearow either passed out or flying away. I had found the plot, apparently. Oh. And there was a giant legendary thunderbird flying overhead. Just for kicks, I directed my thoughts at it.
"Have a good day! Your plumage is very nice!"
The bird, apparently not expecting any sort of communication, faltered and dived into a short turn to look around. I waved at it, but didn't get an acknowledgement or even any emotions back from it.
"If you see Mew can you tell it I'd like a chance to meet?" I sent again. There was an emotional reaction that time, and I wasn't sure how to interpret it. It was pretty nuanced, but there seemed to be some annoyance layered over curiosity with amusement underneath it all. It turned back around a flew off after that, and I noticed a slightly older girl yelling at the boy with the weird hair. Assuming these were Misty and Ash, I approached them.
"You loser! Look what you did to my bike! You're gonna pay for that!"
You know, I don't think this is how it happened in the cartoon but it works for me. I pulled my PokéGear from my wrist and scrolled down to Officer Jenny's number, then tapped on Misty's shoulder. She spun around angrily, then looked at the contact I had highlighted. Nodding to herself, she took it from my hand and hit the icon to connect. It took her a little bit to convince the officer she hadn't stolen my PokéGear (I was mute, and this wasn't a text message), but she eventually got around to reporting the incident. In the meantime I grabbed a potion from my backpack and approached Ash. He seemed really nervous, which was understandable. He'd been chased by a bunch of potentially killer birds, his new pokémon was hurt, and now someone was calling the police on him.
When I handed him the spray bottle he looked a little confused, but turning it in his hand so the directions were visible got the message across. With a grateful look he went about treating his Pikachu, who seemed to perk up with each spritz. He still looked tired, but his wounds were closing at a downright supernatural pace. I wondered for a moment if that was magic, technology, or both before deciding it didn't matter unless I could learn how to make them.
Ember was sniffing around Misty's feet by then, probably trying to figure out why she smelled faintly of fish or something. She used water pokémon, so maybe she was making her hungry? Either way the girl seemed to have calmed down by now and was wrapping up her conversation, so she squatted down to pet my partner. I took a seat and pulled out my PokéDex to make a note of the Zapdos spotting and the Spearow attack that'd prompted Ash to "borrow" Misty's bike. They might be valuable to researchers or whatever form of wildlife control they had around here. When I finished, I found Misty handing me back my PokéGear.
"Thanks! Officer Jenny told me she'll be here soon with a car. Apparently she can give us a lift to Pallet Town or back to Viridian City after she gets our information." I nodded to her, took the device, and made first contact.
"I'm glad. Even with the potion I gave him, the kid's Pikachu isn't in great shape. It needs rest," I projected into Misty's mind. She jumped, then game me a look that of confusion that quickly switched to curiosity and excitement.
"You're like Sabrina! I've never met a psychic human before. Do you use telepathy for everything?" She asked. I ignored the startled noise from behind me, which I assumed was Ash catching the psychic part of the conversation. "Can you talk to your pokémon? Can you talk to MY pokémon!?"
"Please slow down," I replied. "Yes, I'm like Sabrina in that I'm psychic. Yes, I use telepathy for everything but that's mostly because I can't actually speak. You may have noticed that Office Jenny said I was mute?" A look of understanding crossed her face and she nodded, so I continued. "I can talk to pokémon the same as anyone else, but I don't really understand them any more than you do. Sometimes I get emotions back, but so far that's it. I'm actually headed to Saffron to meet Sabrina, and wanted to see if I could rent a boat in Pallet town."
"Wow! That's pretty cool. I don't know if they do boat rentals in Pallet town, though."
"They don't normally, but you could probably convince someone to take you to Cinnabar if you mention you helped me," Ash called from behind me. "Pikachu looks like he'll be alright now. Thanks."
I turned and nodded at him before glancing over at Pikachu. He was pretty chubby at the start of the series, and I was never sure if that was because the animators were new at it or because Oak spoiled him or something. Come to think of it, I wasn't entirely certain how the Professor had gotten a Pikachu. Wasn't Ash late to pick up a starter and all the normal ones were gone? It didn't really matter to me all that much, so I let it go.
Sensing that I wasn't going to talk much, Ash and Misty struck up a conversation. I think I heard her call him "kid" or "twerp" at least four times before Officer Jenny arrived. Ash was given a ticket that his mother was probably going to have to pay in order to replace Misty's bike, Misty decided to stick by Ash until she got a new bicycle, and I was offered a ride back to the Viridian PokéMart since Ash's Pikachu still wasn't at 100% and he didn't know if Professor Oak could heal the poor thing as quickly as Nurse Joy. Apparently I was walking the rest of the way to Pallet Town on my own. Now, what was I going to do with all these passed out birds?