My Pokemon Afterlife

by My Pokemon Afterlife

I died and was reborn in the body of the ten year-old protagonist of the first-gen Kanto region Pokemon game. It's like I got a second life... with Pokemon! I know everything that will happen in this world before they happen. Can I bend the rules? And can I successfully become the Pokemon master?

1. New Game

On my 30th birthday, I died.

It was a heart condition I was born with. I'd been in and out of the children's hospital all my childhood, going through multiple surgeries. Don't feel too sorry for me, though. I lived a lot longer than the doctors initially thought, actually.

I also had a wonderful family. My parents were always supportive of me, and even though I have (sorry, had) this medical condition, they taught me to keep my chin up and have respect for myself and for others. I had a younger sister too, three years my junior.

Three months before I died, when I collapsed from the first of the heart failures that would eventually lead to my death, it was my sister that gave me the old Gameboy that she and I played with in our childhood. To keep me entertained in the hospital, she said. Thanks, sis.

Thus I spent the last weeks of my life playing Pokemon, first-gen Kanto region games, and the FireRed remake. I was never a fan of the following generations, even Gold and Silver.

Then, my heart gave out on my thirtieth birthday. I felt my consciousness falling slowly but deeply into the darkness that would transition me to whatever afterlife that awaited me.

In the darkness I waited for some time, I think, because when you're a bodiless soul, time is a bit different. I awaited heaven (I hoped!), or hell (I don't feel like I deserved this), or something… but nothing happened for a while.

Then eventually, I heard a male voice.

"Hello, there!"

General Kenobi? Just kidding.

But it was a male voice, a middle-aged man's voice I had never heard before. It was gentle, a sincere greeting. Was this… Jesus? God? Oh, thank God!

Then he said, "Welcome to the world of Pokemon!"

Hmm. Odd. I'm pretty sure God just said 'Welcome to the world of Pokemon!'

I tried to speak but of course, I had no body, no vocal cords to use.

God went on: "My name is OAK. People call me the Pokemon Professor."

Then it hit me.

OH MY GOD. WHAT THE F-

And even as this thought was going through my head, he asked: "Are you a boy or a girl?"

I instinctively thought "a boy," as I was in my past life, and he moved onto "What is your name?"

And before I could think of anything else, he said "So your name is Ash!"

He didn't wait much before moving on to "this is my grandson" blah blah blah.

I think this is when I passed out, as best a bodiless soul reborn into a video game afterlife could pass out.