Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon, or any other property in this work that I did not create myself.

Chapter 2: "I Choose You"

The following month isn't much eventful. The first week after being reincarnated I don't have much to do because of my legs. I can't even go out to see this new world. But some kids come here to visit me. They are friends of Hiro and now mine as well. I recognize even one of them, but they aren't from the game or Pokémon anime.

The one thing I couldn't believe was that Ash also came to check on me. That wasn't a surprise since I knew we were friends from Hiro's memories, but it was still amazing to see my hero in person. Gary also came; he was surprisingly not as bad as the anime portrayed him. I mean, he is somewhat of a rival to all of my friend group, but he is nice when it really counts. He was just more competitive with Ash for some reason.

Other than Ash and Gary, there is Akane. She is of our age group and has decided to go on her journey at the same time as us. I remember from the anime that there were four trainers from Pallet Town who started their journeys together. And what the Samurai and Musty's sister said was true; the other two trainers who started their journey with Ash and Gary were also very strong. However, I do not know what happened to them. In other words, after the Cerulean Gym, there is no mention of them.

Two weeks have passed since I reincarnated, and for the first time, I am able to walk. It's not that bad, but Mom insists on me resting. For a long time, I haven't been able to see my face. I remember the first day I woke up in this room; I tried to go there to see my face, but I couldn't because of my legs. Although I remember how I looked before, I wanted to see myself. I could have just asked my mom to give me a mirror when I couldn't go there, but it's hard to ask something like that. And I already knew what I looked like anyway.

I can see my reflection in the mirror clearly. My face looks as it should for a ten-year-old. I have blue hair, unlike my mother who has red. And I have dark blue eyes, just like Mom's. My face is quite simple, but I still like it.

My mother said, "Your journey is starting tomorrow. Are you sure you are okay? You don't have to go if you don't want to."

I am not very good at understanding other people's feelings, but I can tell she is really worried about me and really cares about me. Don't worry Mom. I am alright, I promise. And I really want to be a Pokemon Trainer.

She smiled. "I know how much you want to become a Pokemon Trainer. Just take care of yourself."

I had a day before my journey was supposed to start, and I couldn't wait. After I recovered, I started playing with other children. Well, it was a little weird for me since I am a fully grown man, and now I am playing with small children. But when you think about it, it felt nice to just forget everything and play like nothing matters. Their games were mainly focused on throwing balls and tagging each other. I think it was meant to prepare us for our journey ahead of time.

The following day passed by normally; there wasn't much of interest happening. I couldn't sleep that night because I was so excited about getting my own Pokémon. It was thrilling! However, I didn't want to end up like Ash, so I went to bed early. Although I wouldn't mind having Pikachu as my partner, I didn't want to take Pikachu away from Ash.

The other day I woke up early. To my relief, my mother was in the kitchen preparing lunch. "Mom," I said, "I'm ready to go to Professor Oak's laboratory to get my first Pokémon."

My mom comes out of the kitchen with an egg sandwich, which she gives to me. "Well son, good luck," she says. "I hope you catch the best Pokémon."

I started eating my sandwich and asked "Mom, which starter did you choose? I only see Pidgeot." She gave me a happy smile and answered my question. "I don't have any other Pokémon. You see, Pidgeot is my first and only Pokémon."

That's so cool. I wish whatever Pokémon I get becomes my best friend just like you and Pidgeotto. You will someday, I know it.

Then I finished my lunch and got up. "I'm going now, Mom," I said. "Okay, but come right back after you get your first Pokémon," she replied. "I'll pack your things while you are gone."

"Thank you so much Mom," I said as I started heading towards Professor Oak's lab.

I got there with little to no difficulty. I mean, it's not that far. When I entered the lab, I saw Professor Oak and his grandson Gary were talking about something. I walked towards them and said, "Professor, I am here as you asked me to. I am here to get my first Pokémon." He looked at me and smiled, "Ah, Hiro! You're here. And right on time too." Then he came towards me and said, "But you have to wait just a little longer. You see, Ash and Akane aren't here yet."

I was a little surprised by that in the anime, the professor didn't wait for everyone to come. Or at least wait and give up when Ash didn't show up at all. I understand.

I didn't have to wait very long before Akane came in. I was a little surprised to see that Ash had also come along, although he was a bit late. He apologized, "Sorry, I couldn't sleep last night and got up late."

"Don't worry about it, Ash," the Professor said. "Now that you're all here, I can get started. Here are four Pokemon for you to choose from. Charmander, Squirtle, Bulbasaur, and a Pikachu. You see, these are the Pokemon you already know about. But since there are four of you, I have to add one more from my lab. This is Pikachu, an Electric-type Mouse Pokemon. And he will be one of your partners. I know you all already know about the others from my show earlier."

Gary looked at Pikachu and said, "That Pikachu looks weak. Pikachus aren't that strong anyway." However, Pikachu didn't like Gary's comment and used Thunder Shock on him. Gary was surprised and angry about this, but Professor Oak stopped him. "As you can see, this Pikachu is very hard to control. So, how are we going to decide who goes first?"

Akane said, "We can play Rock Paper Sissors." Ash replied, "Good idea." We played Rock Paper Sissors, and Gary won first. So, he chose his Pokémon first, then it was my turn, followed by Akane, and finally Ash. He didn't like being last and wanted Squirtle, but since Gary had already chosen him, Ash couldn't have him. Ash was disappointed that he wouldn't be getting Squirtle, but he quickly told himself that he would become best friends with whatever Pokémon he ended up with.

I am next, and I know which Pokémon to choose. He is my favorite Pokémon of all Pokémon fans, and I am no exception to that. Most people who play Pokémon games choose him as their starter. Yes, I am talking about Charmander. I know that the first two Gyms are Rock and Water-type, both of which are strong against Charmander. However, I don't care. There are some Pokémon I like more than others, even if their types and powers are weak. I don't care about that. Besides, Charmanders will eventually evolve into Charizards, and they're incredibly strong.

I chose Charmender as my starter Pokemon. "Okay then, here's Charmender's Pokeball and your Pokedex," he said. I took both the Pokeball and the Pokedex and scanned Charmender's Pokeball. "Hmmm... It's a female." I said to Charmender. "I will give her a nickname." I said to Charmender. She nodded in agreement. "I shall call you Khalasi," I said to her. Now named Khalasi, she jumped up and down happily, clearly pleased with her new name.

Gary looked at me and said "Only weak trainers name their Pokémon". Ash gave him a look and said "What do you mean giving your Pokémon nicknames shows how much you care about them? Now I'm planning on giving my partner a nickname...if he wants one."

Akane said "Yes. And it's kind of cute. I want to give my partner a nickname too." She turned around to face the remaining two Pokemon. "And I was planning on choosing Bulbasaur. So..." She also took out the Pokeball and Pokédex. After checking that it was female, she gave her nickname. "I will call you Usagi. Do you like it?" The newly named Usagi nodded happily at having a name.

Now it was Ash's turn, and he only had Pikachu as his choice. He turned around and looked at Pikachu. "Hey buddy," he said, "it looks like we're going to become partners." But Pikachu didn't seem to like the idea of having Ash as its Trainer. It didn't respond. "Do you like the nicknames that Hiroshi and Akane gave their Pokémon?" Ash asked hopefully, trying to become friends with Pikachu. But Pikachu responded negatively. That made Ash somewhat disappointed, but he didn't give up. He was determined to become Pikachu's best friend.

Gary started to laugh, "Looks like your Pokemon know how much of a loser you are." He continued laughing, but then Akane spoke up, "It's not good to laugh at someone. And I know Ash somehow managed to become Pikachu's friend." Ash looked at Gary, "Thanks." She replied, "Don't worry, I meant it."

Professor Oak then said, "Now that you four have Pokémon, I wish you all the best of luck in your journeys, as well as good luck on whatever you want to do moving forward. I will help you however I can and make sure to catch good Pokémon for my research and stay out of danger. I will also give you each five empty Poké Balls. If you want more, you will have to buy them from the Poké Mart. Unfortunately, our town doesn't have a Poké Mart, so you will have to go to another town to buy more. The closest town is Viridian Town. Goodbye on your journey. Hope we see each other again soon."

We all said our goodbyes to Professor Oak and went to our homes to meet our families. Although Gary took off in his car, Me, Akane, and Ash agreed on going to Viridian together. So, we decided to meet outside after meeting with our parents.