"So this is it huh?"
"Is this really how it ends?"
"If I had one wish… it would be… to continue this journey with you…"
Seth opened his eyes.
A second later, he shot up into a sitting position and let out a series of painful-sounding coughs, the residue splattering all over his palm, as he took deep breaths to help ease the pain. He laid his back firmly against the wet dirt beneath him and stared up at the sky, taking another series of slow and deep breaths, all the while pressing his hand against his chest, his thoughts slowly coming back to him.
"Good god…what's up with me this morning?" Seth thought, placing one of his hands on his head in an attempt to ease the pain, before suddenly feeling something on it. He looked at his hands seeing the tattered green gloves on his hands.
Well, this is weird, maybe Kevin is trying to do some weird social experiment on me? Seth thought to himself as he sat upright, as apparently the gloves weren't the only new get-up he had gotten. Seth now wore a tattered, blue short-sleeved jacket with gold trim, white collar, and sleeves, a dark-colored T-shirt that is ripped in several places, punctured blue jeans with light blue cuffs, a green backpack whose contents had been spilled all over the road, and creased black and white sneakers with red dots on it
Ok, what am I wearing!? I look like I came out of a convention and then wrestled a bull. What am I wearing?! Seth frantically thought as he stood up and noticed one last thing: a red and white hat, with a green stylized 'L' lying on the ground.
Now this looks familiar, looks like something from a con, Seth couldn't help but think, as he stooped down to pluck up the hat, and placed it onto his head. For all he knew, it could have been part of the outfit.
Seth took a look around where he had woken up at; he was surrounded by trees and grassy fields for what he believed went on for miles, and a naturally-made dirt path paved the way through the monotony with flowers growing on either side of the pathway, and through the many fields he saw, creating a sight that the young man would never forget. It was true, Seth wasn't the type to take his time and smell the flowers, but even he could at least admire the scenery quite a bit.
"I'm not sure who pulled this prank on me, but other than the loads of cuts I have on my body and clothes, then they failed in spooking me so far," Seth said while gathering the components of the bag that had been spilled out, which in his mind were really strange. Pink Rubber gloves? A clothing line? Several pairs of the same tacky clothing, as well as something he hasn't seen before.
"This looks old, almost retro? Is that the right word?" Seth pondered, as it looked eerily familiar to him as he gazed at it, fiddling with the red mechanical-like device. During his inspection, he ended up flipping the screen to see a rather simple interface of a screen with a keyboard beside it on the opposite screen and several buttons beneath it.
Weird… Nonetheless, he tried searching for a power button, and as he did, something unusual happened; the blue button near the top started to flash, before a robotic voice started speaking, startling him.
"Pikachu, the Mouse Pokémon. Electric Type. This forest-dwelling Pokémon stores electricity in its cheeks, so you'll feel a tingly shock if you touch it." The device spoke before the voice dissipated, leaving Seth even more confused.
"Ok… So, someone trained AI to help in trolling me…" Seth exhaled as he shook his head, now alarmed and mildly anxious at his predicament. He was as big of a fan of Pokémon as much as the next guy, but being part of what seems to be like a fanmade Pokémon Project doesn't really suit him. With caution, he places the Pokédex in the Jacket pocket, and as he does, a mass of yellow, with brown stripes, enters his line of sight.
"Okay, you guys had your fun, so what if I'm a little older than your typical fan, that doesn't give you guys the right to use some fancy new AI module and get this fak—" Seth's rant was immediately cut short as the creature turned to him, breathing heavily, eyes glazed, bruised and battered, and looking at him with a gaze of familiarity that gave Seth shivers.
He slowly approached the… Pikachu, his breathing intensifying as realization slowly dawned on him, he couldn't help but question the authenticity of what he was seeing: This… this has to be a charade, right? There's no way it can—could be real! Seth repeated these doubts almost like a prayer, as he came to a stop in front of the mouse, breathing heavily as he shakily looked at his hands, before clenching them as he picked the Pikachu up… it—he?—was warm and he could even feel their heart beating fast against his chest. Seth started breathing heavily, his thoughts circling with different questions as the world seemed dizzying to him.
How, why, when— but before he could descend deeper into the cacophony of thoughts in his head, Pikachu gripped onto his shirt causing him to look down at the creature with wide eyes.
"Pika…" He gave a pained cry, clearly hurting from the pain and the ordeals he had gone through, and this… sent its own string of pain into Seth, striking him with a critical attack in the chest. The Pikachu was in critical condition. His heart rate accelerated from this realization, as much as Seth would like to dwell on the series of questions in his head, the little guy clearly needed more help than him.
Seth frantically looked at his surroundings in hope of seeing some form of civilization, he quickly spotted the silhouette of a city straight ahead from him and down the dirt pathway. Great, coincidences aside, this is good news! He looked down at the Pikachu in his arms and took a deep breath, before speaking with as much confidence as he could muster.
"D-don't worry little guy, I got you," Seth assured with as much composure as he could force out, and quickly began running towards the city, completely ignoring a shout of 'Hey!' from a redheaded girl, who was calling for him in the distance.
Seth ran for what felt like ages, and more than he was aware he could. He was completely average in terms of athleticism, but even then you'd think that he'd feel a bit more tired as the bustling city came closer to the boy. He found himself in an, admittedly, weird part of town that he couldn't recognize, bu then again, he wasn't aware a literal Pikachu existed till, now so maybe he was somewhere completely—
Seth took a breath to calm the nerves. It wasn't the right time to dive into this; he did this a couple more times, pausing where he was to help calm himself down. Brushing away the unease that he felt, he approached the borders of the city.
"Attention citizens of Viridian City, attention citizens of Viridian City! Be on the lookout for Pokémon thieves! Appearances are—" Officer Jenny repeated on various intercoms of the city, but Seth wasn't listening much.
Seth took a breather as he reached the entrance of the city, as adrenaline slowly wore off, he felt his body tire quickly. Breathing heavily, he realized that he wasn't really built for that long of a run. As he was catching his breath, he wondered if he was almost at some kind of help. Seth continued to walk along the road, only to spot a booth on the side that looks oddly like a Police Hat. Maybe they can help me, he wondered to himself, either that or call the cops on him, he doesn't much care at this point.
"Uhhh, hello?" He called out, knocking on the glass of the booth with his left hand due to his right being occupied with holding Pikachu. There should be service here, right? He waited for what seemed like an eternity, before an older lady with blue hair adorning a police uniform popped her head out of the booth, and—Is that a goddamn Officer Jenny? Well considering he's holding a Pikachu, and if it tracks…
"Hello, welcome t—oh my you look terrible!" Realizing the state of Seth with a glance, the Officer Jenny yelled in panic, exiting the booth quickly. She was tall; being at least a foot above him at the low end he realized, as she checked his various scrapes and bruises covering the exposed parts of his body.
"Yeah, I know! Look, ma'am, I'm sorry, but can we not check on me and focus on my… Pikachu, okay? He could really use a Pokémon Center way more than I need a checkup," Seth urged, grabbing the officer's attention to the injured mouse in his arms.
"It seems to be in really bad shape… if you give me an ID, I'll drive you there as fast as I can!" Officer Jenny replied, making Seth feel some level of dread. He doesn't know if he was actually brought here with his wallet, nor does he think it'd work ... Wait, maybe… I mean, if it worked in the anime...
"Does this count?" Seth answered quickly, bringing out his Pokédex.
"Yes! This will do quite nicely." The officer nodded while taking the Pokédex off his hands.
Seth breathed a sigh of relief, looks like he is getting some help and maybe even some answers. Unfortunately, before he could really embrace these thoughts, the dex said something unusual.
"I'm Dexter, a Pokédex programmed by Professor Oak for Pokémon trainer Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town. My function is to provide Ash with information and advice regarding Pokémon and their training. If lost or stolen, I cannot be replaced." The device replied in its typical robotic-like voice.
What.
"Oh, that's interesting, you know, you're the fourth person I've seen today from Pallet town," Officer Jenny told him.
What.
"Officer, I know this is gonna sound weird, but do you have a mirror?" Seth said in a panicked tone of voice. No, this couldn't be right, right? I can't be—
"Huh, yeah? Why do you–?"
"Just please!" Seth frantically emphasized, Ain't no way he was just transported into the body of an anime character, he was still him at the very least. Right?
Officer Jenny huffed, pulling out a cosmetic mirror from a pocket in her skirt, handing it over to Seth, who swiped it quickly from her hand, leaving the woman remarking on his rudeness, as he looked at his reflection in the small mirror. His jaw dropped at what he saw.
Unnaturally spiky, black hair.
Slightly tanned skin.
Lightning bolt shaped birthmarks.
Seth simply stood there, completely motionless as it all clicked in his head, and yet… he couldn't bring himself to believe it. It was simply… unbelievable.
"Hello? Kid! Kid!" Officer Jenny called out, even snapping her fingers in front of his face, but Seth was not responding; he was completely out of it. Well, looks like she'd take the reins from here, as she instead grabbed the boy's hand and pulled him after her. Opening the garage next to her booth, she forced Seth into the kiddy cart.
"Hold on to something; the road will be bumpy!" Jenny informed him as she twisted the key in the ignition, and quickly sped off onto the road, and in the direction of the nearest Pokémon Center.
Seth was still processing this information even as the wind blew past his hair; he'd assumed that he had been transported to the Pokémon world which, while terrifying, he'd at least be able to deal with the idea of that. But now… he ended up in the shoes of Ash freaking Ketchum, of all people, and while most people would jump at the chance… he's not exactly one of them. And the realization of this, of the fact that he lost everything from his prior life, and stole the life of someone else—even if they were simply a fictional character… It wasn't a pretty sight.
While Seth was lost in thought, nobody seemed to notice the huge, hot-air balloon that was flying overhead, heading in the same direction that Seth and Officer Jenny were going in. The balloon itself was in the shape of a cat-like Pokémon, with a golden charm on its forehead that was called 'Meowth'. The balloon began lowering a hook from its basket and peeled off several 'wanted' posters from the side of the police booth and brought them back up to the balloon's occupants.
"A wanted poster; how flattering," a woman in her twenties griped in disgust, her face twitching from the poorly drawn sight of herself—At least get my beauty correct! She mentally attacked the artist of the poster with a huff, tossing the paper away.
She had long, dark red hair that reached all the way down her back and curled inward at the end; it was a work of art, taking an entire bottle of shampoo and then some. She also wore a white uniform that had a huge red "R" in the middle of the shirt, which also opened slightly at the bottom, exposing her stomach. She also had on black gloves and similarly colored boots.
"Flattering? This picture makes me look terrible," a man, also in his twenties, groused as he ripped apart the paper, flinging the pieces into the wind, not caring at all about the littering violation.
He had blue hair that was parted at the sides and reached just above his shoulders. Like his companion, he also wore a white uniform, but covered his whole body below the head instead of leaving bits peeking out; unlike her, he had dignity and class. Similar to the woman, he also had on gloves and boots of the same color.
"With this terrible picture, they will be sorry that they ever looked at this dashing face," the man added with a chuckle.
"We're all sorry after looking at your face! Stick to the plan, James!" the last member of the trio said, a small creature whose face was the same as the balloon—this was Meowth, the third member of this team.
"Well, time to show them who's boss, shall we?" Jessie giggled with a sinister smile curling her lips.
"You know it, Jessie," James replied with an evil grin that matched her own.
"Meowth, that's right!" Meowth exclaimed, as the hot air balloon approached the center of the city, which also served as the location of the biggest, and most well-staffed, Pokémon Center as well.