Welcome to my first foray into the world of Pokémon. I have been planning a story like this for a long time and finally decided to just try and write the first chapter. The muse to write this was just too much. Also, I tried to write it in first person, something I don't usually do. Not sure If I will continue to do so or not. SO, some warnings. This won't follow the games or show. I won't explain any more until the end but I hope you enjoy!

Of all the things that could happen when you die, from seeing the pearly gates to the fiery gates of hell, to the white lights of a hospital room if reincarnation was a thing. What nobody would expect would be a starry sky while a cold wind caressed your lightly clothed body. Of course, that was how I found himself waking up.

Blinking in confusion, I looked around trying to figure out how I ended up wherever here was. The last thing I remember was working on a construction site, using a crane to lift big HVAC units onto a roof before a loud snap and a yell sent everything to black.

I gasped and sat up, checking myself for injuries when I realized exactly what had happened. Or was it a dream? Looking around I noticed I was lying in a clearing by a lake, surrounded by a dense forest. Looking down only brought more confusion as the clothes I was wearing were nothing like anything I currently owned. A light blue T-shirt with tan shorts covered my body while a simple pair of sneakers covered my feet.

Seeing the outline of something in my right pocket I took out a black wallet. It certainly looked like my wallet but something wasn't right. Looking for my Drivers license I was disappointed when all I could find was a thick white card, eight blank white boxes on the bottom and the name read Torian Amdara.

"What the hell?" I muttered as I stared at the name. That wasn't my name. looking next to it there was a picture of me. And it was definitely me, although a couple years younger than what I currently was. Or thought I was. None of this was making sense. Crawling to the waters edge I saw that the picture on the ID must have been recent since I looked exactly like the picture. Same short black hair, hazel eyes, and clean-shaven face I had before I quit college and joined a trade school.

Now that I got a look, my head was slimmer than before and my stomach wasn't as round. Looking over my body I was in decent shape. Suddenly the water rippled before something popped its head out.

I gasped as the creature locked eyes with me. It was impossible. There was no way this was real because sitting in the water watching me freak out was a buizel. An actual real-life Pokémon. I started hyperventilating as the Pokémon tilted its head in confusion. It moved towards me, and I fell back trying to keep my distance and regain what little sanity I had.

"Bui!" The Pokémon cried and looked like it would leave the water but stopped when the sound of voices drifted into the clearing. I watched as the buizel quickly dove back into the lake and swam away.

I was just calming down when the owners of the voices came into the clearing. Turning I had my suspicions on who it would be. I mean, Buizel was first shown in the Diamond and pearl games. The region name escaped me as I haven't played those or the remakes in forever. But if we were following the games, then it should be the professor and his assistant. If we were following the anime, then I had no idea. It had been even longer since I watched that.

Of course, that meant the card I had was hopefully a trainer card. Which meant I was a trainer, or was going to be one. Noticing the voices stopped I finally turned around to see who had arrived. Turns out I was only half right.

Before me, wearing a white lad coat over a blue vest, black tie, and white shirt with navy pants, was professor Rowan. Unmistakable with his huge white mustache and side burns. The person with him though, threw me for a loop.

I remember that his assistant, depending on which gender you picked, would be a blue haired male, or female. But his woman had long blonde hair. Now I do recall your rival in the games having blonde hair but, the rival was also a boy. A bumbling, doofus of a boy. This was clearly a woman. She had grey eyes and long blonde hair that was held up in a loose ponytail by a teardrop shaped clip with a yellow stripe. Two bangs framed her heart shaped face and a tight V-neck long-sleeved shirt, hugged her rather generous bust. From the waist down she wore black pants and her shoes were black with a yellow stripe.

The closest character I could think of would-be Cynthia but the hair and lack of a coat was throwing me off. Then I noticed Professor Rowan had streaks of black in his hair while in the games and show, it was all white. Could I have woken up in a world before any stuff from the games or show happened? I mean, it would explain why Cynthia looks so different. If that even is Cynthia.

"Young man, are you ok?" Rowan asked.

I froze. I couldn't just say I was from another world. I would be considered crazy for sure. I guess the only thing to do is lie until I can get the truth about how and why I came here.

"Uh, hey, where am I?" It wasn't hard to feign confusion, especially when I really had no idea where in the Sinnoh region I was.

The professor seemed more concerned by my question than a normal person should while the Cynthia Look alike glanced around curiously. "Well, we are currently at Lake Varity, in the Sinnoh region." He shared a look with Blondie. "My name is Professor Rowen, and this is Cynthia. Do you remember how you got here?"

I shook my head negative before standing slowly. I swayed a bit as my felt a bit dizzy but quickly recovered. "To be honest, I have no idea. I Don't remember anything before I woke up here." I pulled out my ID. "All I know for sure is that my name is Torian Amdara." Looking back to the card I noticed some more information I missed before. "I'm 16 years old."

Cynthia brightened up a bit at that. "Are you a fellow Pokémon trainer?" She asked as she moved towards me.

I blushed a bit, she really was a beautiful woman. Especially in reality. "Uh, I guess. Maybe. I don't really have any Pokémon."

Cynthia perked up even more. "You're just starting out then. Just like me!" She held out her hand. "Like the professor said, my name is Cynthia. I hope we can be great friends."

Well, if it wasn't obvious before, she straight up confirmed this was before the anime and games. "But isn't the starting age for a journey like 10 or something? Aren't we a bit old to go on one?" I asked.

"Hey! I'm only 18!" Cynthia pouted a bit before shaking her ponytail. "Besides, one can go on their journey at anytime so long as they have a Pokémon partner."

Rowan coughed and our attention came back to him. "Yes, quite right. Sorry but my lab picked up a strange energy anomaly in this area. I know you don't remember much, but was anything different when you woke up? Anything out of the ordinary?"

I grimaced since I was the only out of the ordinary thing here. Whatever that weird energy signature they were picking up was probably my arrival. "Sorry but nothing has happened since I woke up."

The professor nodded sadly. "Well, I would usually stay for a few days and examine the area but since you appear to have some form of amnesia, I think it best to bring you back to the lab immediately." He laughed a bit. "Besides, if you want to start your journey then my lab is the perfect place to start. That's why dear Cynthia is here. She came down with an egg her mother gave her so that when it hatches, she can register for the gym challenge immediately."

"Gym challenge?" Now that confused me. None of the media from home said anything about registering for the gym challenge.

Rowan looked sympathetic as he turned. "Most new trainers sign up for the gym challenge in order to qualify for the Elite four competition." He glanced ahead of himself and froze. "Young man, is that your bag?" He pointed to a grey sling bag.

Picking it up and opening it, I found a laptop that looked exactly like the one I had from my original world and what had to be my iPod. It had the same exact cracks in the screen and the apple logo on the back. Turning back to my two companions I smiled and nodded. "Yep, I almost forgot about this."

"So where is this lab of yours?" I asked hoping to get more info on the region I hadn't visited in so long.

Cynthia spoke up this time moving next to me as Rowan lead us through the forest. "The lab is located in Sandgem town. Its north east of Twinleaf town and south of Jubilife city. Sandgem has a nice ranch for Pokémon the lab takes care of and is a great starting point for new trainers. Not a lot of high-level Pokémon live in that area and the ranch provides a safe area to train your Pokémon." Cynthia's eyes shone as she spoke. I took a moment to admire her clear love for being a trainer and the Pokémon there. "Once my egg hatches I plan on spending a few weeks raising it and learning how to take care of it." She sent him a small smile. "If you want, when you get your starter, I could help you take care of it and show you the ropes. If you really impress me, I might even travel with you." She teased and I blushed because pretty girl was paying attention to me. I stuttered a bit before she laughed and nudged my shoulder.

Getting my self back together I opened my mouth to ask a question when a swarm of starly flew across the trail ahead of us. Now that my attention wasn't solely focused on Cynthia, I realized we were surrounded by Pokémon. From the tiny shinx to the round bidoof. It was a dream come true for child me. To live and grow up in the world of Pokémon.

Turning back to Cynthia I noticed she was watching me closely. Noticing I was looking at her, she turned away with a small blush. Remembering my original question, I asked. "What kind of starter will I get?"

Before Cynthia could answer Rowan turned back around and answered. "Usually, I get an assortment of younger Pokémon from breeders across Sinnoh. I let the new trainers interact with them and they usually pair themselves. Of course, if someone has a particular Pokémon in mind it narrows it down but the most popular three are Turtwig, piplup and chimchar. Turtwig is a grass type Pokémon. Piplup is a water type and Chimchar is a fire type." Rowan began to explain how parents set appointments for their children to come pick starters and a new batch had been delivered for a new group arriving soon. I don't see any harm in you getting one."

I shook my head. Who was I to deprive these children of their first Pokémon. "I appreciate that Professor but I don't want to take away from those who called ahead. I would feel terrible if I took a Pokémon one of them was hoping to get."

Cynthia beamed her approval and Rowan hummed his acceptance. "No need for apologies young man, I have something else that might work. It's very rare in Sinnoh but it should work out rather well if you intend to travel with Cynthia. Now come along, we have a few hours yet before reaching the Lab and I still have to get you looked over and set up with a Pokédex."

True to the professor's words, it took us around 2 hours to reach Sandgem town. Along the journey Cynthia told me about her dream of being the regional champion and eventually a teacher for newer trainers. All that while enjoying all the ice-cream this region had to offer. It seemed her love of Pokémon was only rivaled by her love for the frozen treat.

When asked what my dreams were I actually had to think. Of course, Cynthia and Rowan thought my hesitance to answer was because of amnesia and I used that excuse to its fullest. Thinking carefully over what I wanted in this new life. Did I even want to stay? What about my family back home? Could I even go back? Did I really die or did something else happen?

For now, I figured I should believe I was stuck here. So, with that I looked into the sky and smiled. "I want to become the best trainer I can be, traveling the world and catch all sorts of amazing Pokémon before settling down and starting a family."

"Those are very respectable goals Torian." Rowan smiled at me.

Cynthia nodded her approval. "I can't wait to start our journeys Torian. We are gonna take this region by storm!" She cheered.

I counted myself lucky that I already had a friend in Cynthia. Based on her future from my world, she would be a strong ally to have. Now that we had arrived at the lab, Rowan immediately gave me a checkup. Turns out I was perfectly healthy with no signs of a concussion or other head injuries.

"This is strange indeed." Rowan muttered as he looked over the results. "Seems you have a clean bill of health."

"So why can't he remember anything Professor?" Cynthia asked.

Rowan shrugged his shoulders. "Who can say. We can only hope his memories return to him eventually." Rowan put my new file away before turning back to me. "I will be keeping an eye on you while you are here to make sure there truly is no injuries that I might have missed. For now, I will show you to your new partner." Rowan stood and motioned for us to follow him.

He took us to a clean room with a table in the center. On the table were two eggs. One was blue with a red stripe and the other was black with red dots over it. "These will be your starters. Cynthia's is the blue egg while the other is yours if you want it. A colleague of mine sent it over and I look forward to seeing what hatches from it. Apparently, it is a Pokémon that has never been seen in this region, or so she said."

Cynthia smiled before she retrieved her egg. "I'm going to put this back into my room Professor." She stated before turning to me. "I would recommend spending time around your egg as much as possible. The Pokémon inside will sense your presence and hatch sooner than it would if it was alone." With that tip she left.

Rowan laughed and held the egg out to me. "She is right. Come, I will show you your room and get you some new clothes. Until that egg hatches, you can help around the lab and ranch with Cynthia. It comes with a small stipend so you don't have to worry about money just yet." Rowan led me to the second floor where he said the guest quarters was located.

"I'm putting you across from Cynthia so if you need anything she will be close. Dinner shall be in 2 hours. I'm sure Cynthia will grab you when its time. For now, I must get back to work. It was a pleasure to meet you and help you get started young man."

Closing the door to my new room, I looked around. It was sparse with only a double bed, a dresser, and a desk but it would work. Placing my new egg on the bed I rubbed the top. "I can't wait to meet you little one. We are going to have such an amazing adventure together." Sitting next to it I pulled off my bag ad took out my laptop. Turning it on and perusing the files I noticed a bunch of new things I had never downloaded before. Opening up the first on, I was greeted by a video of the first Pokémon episode. Quickly pausing it, I opened up Note pad to start taking notes on what might work and what to check later.

*5 days later*

It had been 5 days since I arrived in Sinnoh and despite being in a new universe, nothing has really changed. Each day I would wake up, help feed the Pokémon on the ranch, spend time with Cynthia and our eggs, meeting with Professor Rowan to check my health and the eggs health, before finally dinner.

When the Professor had mentioned helping out the lab and ranch, I thought I would become like an intern but the reality was much more relaxed. The Pokémon generally took care of themselves and didn't need much of anything. So, me and Cynthia spent most of our time together talking. Going over training strategies, guessing what Pokémon would come from my egg and to my shock, exercising. Cynthia was determined to keep us in the best shape possible so that we could train alongside our Pokémon. I totally agreed with her. Especially since I didn't want to lose the body whatever deity gifted me when I got sent here.

Currently, Cynthia and I were sitting on the porch behind the lab overlooking the ranch. Our eggs in our laps as we gave them a rub down. It was mid-morning and all was quiet today. A few Bidoof and shinx were playing before us and some Staravia were playing in the air.

Looking to my left I watched Cynthia tend her egg. Over the past few days, I tried to get her to tell me what was in the egg. I had a good guess considering her strongest Pokémon in the games but I was curious if that really was her starter.

My attention was taken away from my friend when the egg in my lap moved. I gasped, drawing Cynthia's attention. The egg sat still for a moment before moving again drawing a gasp from Cynthia.

Perhaps hearing us, Professor Rowan came out and quickly took out a video camera and started recording as the egg moved more and more as cracks started appearing. Soon the egg started glowing a bright white causing all of us to cover our eyes.

As the light faded and my vision returned, my breath was blown away. there sitting in my lap was perhaps my favorite Pokémon that wasn't a dragon type. The Little black ball of fur looked up at me with bright blue eyes. Two red dots sat above those beautiful orbs and a tuft of red and black fur jutted between its foxlike ears. A mane of black fur covered its neck while the rest of the body was a lighter shade of black and its paws were the same red as the tuft of fur on its head.

"Zor?" The little thing cooed as I struggled not to cry out in joy and wonder. Instead, I hesitantly held up my hand for my new Pokémon to sniff, which it did before looking me in the eyes and wagging its tail excitedly. "Zorua!" It cried before jumping up at my face. I lost the battle with myself and cheered as I stood up grabbing Zorua in my arms and spinning around with it.

"It's so nice to finally meet you little one! My name is Torian." I finally managed to calm down enough to talk, not noticing Cynthia and Rowan pull out their Pokédex. "Zor!" It cried happily, snuggling into the crook of my neck.

'Zorua: the tricky fox Pokémon. Zorua hides its true form by changing its shape into people and Pokémon, and loves to surprise people.'

Me and my new partner looked up as Cynthia's Pokédex went off and I realized I forgot all about our audience.

'Amazing, truly astounding!" Rowan gushed. "I have only ever heard stories of this Pokémon. I don't think anyone here has ever seen one before." Rowan continued to record the baby Pokémon as I walked back to my seat, never letting go of my new partner.

Cynthia hummed her agreement, smiling fondly at me and Zorua. "You two are going to be good friends, I can feel it. Watching you two makes me can't wait for my own partner to join me." Cynthia rubbed her egg absentmindedly.

"Should we do a checkup on it?" I asked while rubbing Zorua's head.

Rowan froze before nodding his head enthusiastically. "Good idea my boy, come now let's get inside." Gesturing for everyone to follow him.

*3 weeks later*

In the three weeks since Zorua hatched, the little fox had grown a lot. It had hatched at about 8 pounds and now weighed 16 pounds. On top of that, Cynthia's egg had hatched the day after Zorua. They all welcomed a little Gible that Cynthia absolutely gushed over. The shark like dragon type had made quick friends with Zorua and the two often played together.

Thinking on the Gible, I couldn't wait to get my own hands on one. Garchomp was my favorite Pokémon from this region and was an absolute powerhouse. Alas, that would have to wait as for now Cynthia and I were busy bonding and training our new partners.

My laptop had been a huge help in that regard. Allowing me to look up Zorua and what moves it could and couldn't learn. So, making a regimen to build up its strength was fairly easy all things considered. I knew I had quite a while before Zorua would evolve and that would work against me, but hopefully with the right training, Zorua would be a powerhouse.

I also found out that my Zorua was in fact, a she. Apparently, she didn't take it too well when I accidently said good boy to her after she joined me one of my morning runs. The bite on my leg was more than enough proof that the little lady would not take that insult lying down.

Cynthia had gotten a kick out of it and showed me how to find out a Pokémon's gender with the Pokédex. She also showed how the moves a Pokémon knew would appear on the dex.

In the second week after hatching, Professor Rowan gifted both myself and Cynthia 10 Pokeballs. Cynthia then decided to add throwing practice to our training routine. Cynthia who had been raised in this world took to it like a fish to water. I however continued to struggle at the longer distances. Something she teased me for on occasion.

The third week was spent getting our supplies ready for our Pokémon journey. And planning where we would go and when. To be honest I was looking forward to traveling with Cynthia and seeing how she became the trainer we all saw in the games.

Now me and Zorua were running in the nearby forest outside of Sandgem hoping to get one last workout before the evening meal. Taking a moment at the top of a hill overlooking the town Zorua and I regained our breath.

Over the last few days, I had started trying to teach Zorua some basic moves. Tackle and scratch came easy but I was looking at dark type moves. I had started with the move bite. It was slow progress. Zorua seemed to have trouble dealing any damage as it tried to force any dark energy into the attack.

That was another thing we had been doing. Mock battles with Cynthia and her Gible. It was actually in one of these mock battles that Zorua had used its illusions the first time. Confusing Gible as Zorua transformed into Cynthia right before our eyes. I laughed as the memory came to me.

Zorua rubbed against my leg at my happiness and I motioned to the rest of the path, intent on getting back to town when the bushed behind us rustled. Zorua jumped in front of me and growled as a Skorupi emerged. The scorpion Pokémon looked at us and glared, flexing its tail pincer at us.

"Want to battle us eh Skorupi?" The bug type slapped its tail on the ground clearly impatient. "How about it Zorua? Ready for our first real battle?"

"Zor!" My partner chimed taking her fighting stance.

"Alright then, start off with Scratch!" Zorua rushed forward but Skorupi wasn't intimidated as it opened its mouth and released poison sting. "Dodge it and get closer!"

Zorua barely avoided the purple needles before she leapt once more for Skorupi. "Use growl then follow up with bite!" Zorua growled as menacingly as she could while her white fangs turned a dark black-purple. Skorupi shivered in what I can only guess was unease at the growl before its tail with some form of energy rearing it back.

As Zorua got close, Skorupi lunged it's tail forward. I gasped as it appeared to be a direct hit before the Zorua before us vanished and the tail pincer smashed into the ground. Suddenly Zorua appeared behind the bug type and used bite to clamp onto the tail. Skorupi cried out and flinched at the sharp pain in its tail.

"Great Job Zorua! Now finish this with Takedown!" Zorua used all her strength to jump into the air with Skorupi still in her clutches. AT the peak of the jump, Zorua flung her head forward spinning both of them into the ground. A small dust cloud covered the area where they landed but it soon cleared as Zorua wagged her tail, displacing the dirt. Skorupi was struggling to get up and I quickly brought out a pokeball and threw it. Thankfully my aim was good and soon Skorupi was sucked into the ball.

I watched as the ball jiggled once, twice three times before stilling and the light going out. Zorua and I watched for a few more seconds before a huge grin spread across my face. "We did it!"

SO what did you think? I know the final battle isn't great but I'm sure with practice I can improve. If you have any tips to make it better, please let me know. As for Cynthia. Well, I haven't really seen a story like this where we see her journey. Especially with a SI/OC. I thought it would be fun and different instead of using Ash or Dawn or any of the usual characters people use for rivals. Not sure when the next update will be as the muse was intense for this. (found a video on Zoroark and fell in love again/ also watched gun fails on YouTube because it helped somehow?) anyway should I continue through Sinnoh or pack it in?