c2: I Choose You – Part 2
Gary's iconic catchphrase might have been cool to a kid watching Saturday morning cartoons, but to Austin? It was just… absurd.
"Smell ya later?"
He almost snorted, struggling to keep a straight face. Who even says that with a straight face in real life? Was Gary obsessed with being as punchable as possible?
Before Austin could lose himself in that spiral of sarcasm, an unmistakable voice broke through the tension.
"So, you decided to show up after all."
Austin turned so fast he nearly gave himself whiplash, heart thudding in his chest. And there he was—Professor Samuel Oak in the flesh.
He stared like an idiot, momentarily stunned by the sheer realism. The professor looked exactly as he had in The Electric Tale of Pikachu manga: dignified but not cartoonishly pristine. His greying hair was windswept, and his lab coat flared slightly over a red shirt and rugged cargo pants—like he'd just gotten back from some fieldwork in Viridian Forest studying wild Pokémon migration patterns.
Before Austin could respond, he stumbled backward and landed on his rear with a hard thud.
Smooth. Real smooth.
"P-Professor Oak?!" The words tumbled out of his mouth before he could stop them.
The professor arched an eyebrow, half curious, half amused. "Well, you certainly don't look like someone ready to start a Pokémon journey," he said, eyeing Austin's wrinkled shirt and tousled hair.
Austin glanced down and sure enough, he looked like a carbon copy of Ash on his first day in both the manga and the anime: rumpled pajamas, bedhead, and a general aura of last-minute panic.
"I can fix this," Austin stammered, his voice cracking like a broken Pokegear.
But something shifted inside him. Wait a minute… why am I panicking? If this was all a dream no matter how vivid it was the kind of dream he'd had a dozen times. But now he was in it.
A small, reckless grin tugged at his lips.
"Well, dream or not… I'm ready for my first Pokémon," he said, straightening up with renewed confidence.
---
Inside the lab, the scene felt even more surreal. Machines hummed softly. The air smelled faintly of metal, old paper, and berries. Austin's eyes darted from the shelves of books to a tank filled with tiny Goldeen, and then to the mechanical Pokéball dispenser—just like the one described in Pokémon Adventures.
He took a deep breath. Relax, just act the part.
A hiss sounded as the glass dome slid open, revealing three Pokéballs nestled on a rotating platform.
"Feeling alright, Ash?" Oak asked, voice tinged with concern as he watched Austin a little too closely.
Austin winced at the name again. Ash.
"Yeah, Professor. Just excited." He forced a smile that felt more like a grimace. The sooner he got this over with, the better.
Oak gave him a searching look, as though comparing the kid in front of him to the one he'd watched grow up. "Well then. Go ahead choose your partner."
Austin nodded, his mind racing. Gary took Squirtle, just like in both the anime and Pokémon Adventures, where Blue (Gary's counterpart) started with the Water-type. So that left…
He reached for the first ball.
Charmander.
Let's go full Kanto classic.
But the ball was empty.
"Already taken," Oak said, folding his arms. "Kid from Viridian. On time."
Austin resisted the urge to groan and reached for the second.
"Bulbasaur is a perfectly solid—" Nope. Empty too.
"Gone before the sun even rose," Oak said with a philosophical nod. "The early bird gets the Pokémon."
Austin rubbed his temples. "So… what, I missed the party?"
Oak hesitated, a flicker of discomfort crossing his face. "Well… there's still one left. But I hesitate to recommend it. The last trainer who tried—well, it didn't go smoothly."
"I'll take it!" Austin cut in, perhaps too eagerly. He didn't care. He knew what was coming.
Oak blinked. "You don't even want to know what the issue is?"
"Nope. Give me the wildcard."
With a shrug and a muttered "teenagers," Oak pressed a button. A mechanical tray rose from the lab's floor with a lone Pokéball adorned with a faint yellow lightning bolt insignia. The air around it almost seemed to crackle with static.
"I must warn you," Oak said gravely, "this one's… unusual. We've had behavioral problems. It's not like other Pokémon."
Austin practically bounced on his toes.
Oh, I know exactly who this is.
"I'll take my chances," he said with a grin, reaching for Pikachu's Pokéball without hesitation.
Oak handed over the Pokéball, and Austin couldn't resist the excitement bubbling up as he pressed the button. A flash of light erupted, and there he was Pikachu, small, yellow, and just as grumpy-looking as ever, his cheeks sparking faintly with static electricity.
"His name is Pikachu," Professor Oak introduced. Pikachu shot them a glare, his crimson cheeks crackling with warning sparks, as though they had dared to disturb his afternoon nap.
"Hi, Pikachu," Austin said, extending a hand. This'll be fine. No problem.
But before he could make contact, Oak's warning came a second too late.
A surge of electricity coursed through Austin, lighting up every nerve in his body like a stadium on Indigo Plateau during the Pokémon League Finals.
Oh God, why did I forget this part?!
His muscles locked up, a spasmodic reaction familiar to readers of The Electric Tale of Pikachu, as Pikachu unleashed a shock powerful enough to leave Austin sprawled, trembling, on the floor. The pain wasn't a dream. It wasn't even close to a dream.
Pikachu huffed, crossing his arms, his tail flicking in irritation as Austin lay there, his mind spinning.
"Shocking, isn't it?" Oak said, deadpan.
Screw you, Oak. Austin groaned internally, his body still jerking from the aftershocks of what must have been a solid Thundershock attack, likely the same one Red's Pikachu used to take down a flock of Spearow in Pokémon Adventures.
---
Once he could finally move again, Austin shot Pikachu a wary glance. Pikachu avoided eye contact, his ears twitching with residual static a classic sign of irritation noted in Oak's Pokémon Field Guide.
Okay, this is real. Definitely real.
A thousand questions swirled in Austin's head. How the hell did I end up here? Was he in Ash's body? Was the real Ash stuck back in his own world, maybe trapped in Pokémon Adventures canon?
Oh no. Oh crap. What if Ash is in my body? Austin's stomach dropped. How would my parents react to someone claiming to be me?
He swallowed hard. I need to find a way to fix this.
"Here, you'll need these." Oak handed Austin a Pokédex the Kanto Model and a couple of standard Pokéballs, the familiar weight of them grounding him amidst his spiraling thoughts.
Austin took them, the enormity of it settling in. I'm Ash now… for however long this lasts.
Curious, he pointed the Pokédex at Pikachu, who glanced over, the device's scanning light reflecting in his sharp, determined eyes.
"Pikachu, the Electric Mouse Pokémon. It stores electricity in the red sacs on its cheeks, which can discharge with a power equal to a lightning bolt. If one finds a charred berry in the wild, it's a clear sign a Pikachu is nearby."
The familiar digital voice of the Pokédex felt both nostalgic and unsettling, but what really threw Austin off was the level of detail.
"This Pikachu is male, with the ability Static. He knows Thundershock, Growl, and Tail Whip. Height: 0.4 meters. Weight: 6 kilograms. Age: Two years and five months."
Huh, age and measurements too? That's a level of detail the anime never bothered with.
Pikachu huffed again, clearly unimpressed.
"You may want to return him to his Pokéball," Oak suggested, causing Pikachu's ears to flick in warning.
Austin remembered what happened in The Electric Tale of Pikachu manga and quickly shook his head. "Nah, I think he'd prefer to stay out."
Pikachu side-eyed Austin as if to say, Yeah, right. You stay in the ball.
"Besides," Austin added, trying to play it cool, "how can I be his friend if I keep him in the ball all the time?"
Pikachu's scoff was almost audible. Good luck with that, his look said.
Oak scratched his cheek, a little sheepish. "If you're sure, Ash."
Ash. Gotta get used to that.
Austin swallowed again, his throat dry. I need to keep pretending to be him. No one can know I'm not Ash.
Taking a deep breath, Austin closed his eyes, trying to channel the reckless determination Ash often displayed during gym battles or Team Rocket encounters. Excitement, definitely. He could fake that.
When Austin opened his eyes again, Oak was watching him closely, concern etched in the older man's face.
"You alright, Ash?"
"Uh, yeah," Austin answered with a sheepish grin. "Just trying to calm myself. You know… 'cause I'm so excited."
Oak chuckled softly, a knowing twinkle in his eye. "Well, excitement is a good start for any Pokémon Trainer."
Yeah, excitement... or pure panic.
---