I remember sleeping on my bed after a late night gaming session, too tired to even turn off the lights in my room.
I woke up in a stranger's bed, if that wasn't as terrifying already I felt shorter, like my feet and arms were that of a child's.
I looked down to check if that's true and it is. 'oh it's just a dream' I think, feeling relaxed.
'Still, it's so weird to see myself like this. When is the dream going to end though? Now that I've become conscious the dream should end immediately, or am I lucid dreaming?'.
Getting up from the bed covered in a red and white blanket, I look around the room covered in green wallpaper with some peculiar pattern on them. In a corner I spot a PC lying on a desk, just large enough to place a PC and have some extra space to read some books together.
'Maybe that's a study table. A neat and minimalistic setup not gonna lie'
Next to the desk I spot a bookshelf, I walk towards it, curious about the books it stores. Being a huge bibliophile, I forget all about being in a dream and take a peek at the books.
Official Pokémon League Trainer's Handbook, Gym Strategy Case Studies, A Field Guide to Pokémon of Kanto, and several other titles pop up. Books I've never seen or heard of.
I pick up one named Legends of Ancient Kanto, opening it and flipping to it's first chapter, I read about the times where people lived with pokemon without pokeballs. Relying on offerings to please the strong pokemon so they can leave their crops undamaged. Pokemon hunters specialising in hunting Pokemon that ate the produce of the farmers.
'This is too detailed for it to be in a dream'. If I'm not dreaming then what the actual fuck is going on right now?
I scoot to the book's last chapter, it entailing the contents of past wars of pokemon and humans. How the Pokemon league aka Indigo League was formed to maintain peace and protect people from the hostile Pokémon that are capable of reshaping environments, controlling weather, or destroying cities via creating pokemon trainers and standardizing their capabilities by introducing Gym leaders, each badge earned by defeating a Gym leader will allow trainers to challenge the next in line, each win earning them a badge.
Pokémon Trainers who earn eight Gym Badges from sanctioned Indigo League Gyms qualify to participate in Indigo League competitions, one of which is the Indigo Plateau Conference.
The Johto League and Indigo League share a single group of Elite Four and Champion; eight Badges from either region will allow a Trainer to battle the Elite Four at Indigo Plateau. And only after defeating the Elite four you may challenge the Champion, Lance, the dragon Trainer.
'My dull mind can never conjure up this level of information' even if I'm dreaming, these books feel so real to hold, I can feel the smoothness of each page like it's never been opened before and the unique aroma of books I can recognise.
Where am I exactly? I look towards the center of the room, there's a TV and before it lay some sort of controller, maybe it was for gaming. I don't recognise this room at all. Even it were of my friend's house, I could've called for them. But I can instinctively tell that I'm not anywhere close to my friend's home or mine.
I move towards the only window in the room, open the curtains to see the morning sunrays hit my eyes. After the initial shock I look at the street below to gauge where I am at.
Only to see a purple mouse eating from some trash dump. ' Oh my god is that a fucking rattata?' I don't believe what I'm seeing here. I don't think I am really conscious now at all, maybe I was drugged by some burglar and...
"Red! Come down already! You are late for breakfast!"
I flinch at the shout, who is this woman? I struggle to answer but i think I'm actually the person she's calling to right now.
"I'm coming soon" I say half expectant that I'll wake up anytime now.
"Hurry UP! Your father would be disappointed to know his son is waking up at 10 AM" she shouts back.
'She sounds angry as fuck' Who is she? maybe I could ask her, once I went down. Before that I look at myself in the mirror beside the bed.
'What have I become' I find someone else staring at me, a young boy no older than 12 years, short build, jet black hair, the clothes i wore were mostly red too.
'HUH' this looks guy looks like Red, the male protagonist of the Pokemon Games of Generation 1.
'WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS BULLSHIT'
I touch my face only to feel the soft white skin, when I try to pull at my cheek it hurts. 'Am i Red now?' I know of this situation very well from the countless fanfics I've read, 'It's a transmigration or something like that'.
"holy shit" I say quietly, maybe this is like VR but it doesn't feel like one. 'It's real, I'm in the world of Pokemon HAHA!'
I look back at the mirror now, seeing myself with the body of a young child, I felt weak physically but also young and light, like all the junk from my body was removed.
'I need to find out more before I try to understand what happened to me' with that thought I go downstairs.
"Wash your hands before you sit at the table, Red." this must be Red's mom saying this. She looks young but must be in her 40s estimating by the wrinkles on her hands unlike her face which seems young.
I do what I'm told and sit at the table, the breakfast consisted of some toast and eggs with milk. I'm curious as to what eggs I'm eating right now but I don't ask aloud.
Next to where Red's mom was seated I spot a small reddish-brown animal with six tails, 'Ah that's obviously Vulpix, he looks so cute'. I don't know how I knew it was a male but I just did.
"Red, are you having any problems with sleeping upstairs? You can always sleep with me. You aren't that old to be sleeping alone anyways."
'how do i respond like Red without giving away that I'm not' I think fast to say something brief but just then she starts saying something important.
"Right, I remember you telling me that you'd go visit that Pokemon Professor Oak in the outskirts of the town, to become a pokemon trainer. Were you so excited that you couldn't fall asleep?"
"Ya" I blurt out.
"You should leave right away If you want to return by the evening then"
'That's my cue I guess, but I don't know the path to his house', if I ask her for directions she'd find it suspicious.
I finishing eating in silence and went upstairs to get ready to go meet the esteemed Pokemon Professor, I'll find a way either by asking for help from strangers or by going to a certain character's house I just remembered, Red's Rival since childhood, Professor Oak's grandson, Blue. If I recall correctly his house is right beside mine.
Right before leaving I try to pet the vulpix, since I don't know it's name yet I just try to gesture it to come towards me. But it straight up ignores me and walks outside toward the sun.
When I go to see what it'll do I notice it start to releases flames from its mouth into the sky, the flames were too hot to even approach the vulpix. I don't know why it's doing what it's doing but I know that this may cause trouble as it's literally a walking fire hazard. I don't have any pokemon yet, so what can I do by myself?
Just then I hear some guy behind me speak aloud for everyone to hear "HUH Red, have you become dumber since I went away to study abroad?"
"What do you mean by that, Blue?" I know this must be Blue judging from the way he spoke like he knew me and the clothes he's wearing, all of it seemingly expensive.
"You don't even know the fact that during the daytime, when the temperatures rise, Vulpix releases flames from its mouth to prevent its body from growing too hot. Are you really trying to become a Pokemon trainer for real?".
"hmph I knew that already, I was just observing it" I lie.
"Sure, with that look on your face like you'd seen a ghastly for the first time?" I hate his cocky ass already, but maybe he'll be of some use to me right now.
"Were you going to your Grandpa's house today? I'm headed there to become a Pokemon trainer." I say.
"Grandpa will never give a pokemon to the likes of you Red. What makes you think he'll even allow you to enter?"
"Well for the fact that he's legally obligated to do so to everyone" I say. I know from reading the book that the Pokemon league encourages people to become trainers and even support them.
"Well, let's go together and find out shall we? Grandpa only gives Pokemon to the people he deems worthy enough"
'Worthy enough for what' I wanna ask but I keep quiet, I don't wanna converse with this kid anymore than I have to.
After a long walk to the outskirts of the town, I'm greeted by the only huge house on a hill, Blue tells me it's Prof Oak's lab but to me it's more like a house. We go inside the huge building, inside i find shelves packed with books, Computers and some machines like scanners.
It smells faintly of paper, electronics, and disinfectant here, I find various rows of Poké Balls, field gear, and notes left openly. I look inside a individual pokeball and find a pokemon staring back at me, a pidgey.
"Where's Grandpa at?" Blue askes one of Prof Oak's assistants.
"At the fields, researching Pokemon as always" the assistant replies.
'Man they weren't exaggerating the big glasses in the anime, they look very heavy to wear' I think after looking over at the assistant. Not one but many were present seemingly busy in some research or organising the books or notes of the Professor.
Blue knows the house like the back of his hand, it wasn't long before we found the Professor fishing at the lake in the garden behind the lab.
"Another damn Magikarp again" he says frustrated.
"Hey Gramps you have some visitors waiting for you!" Blue shouts.
"Huh don't startle me like that ... What was your name again?" I try not to laugh out loud at that joke by the Prof.
I already knew why he acted in this way, treating his grandson indifferently even though he knew Blue was smart and talented to be a Pokemon trainer.
"It's Blue! You old geezer! Did you get hypnotised by a Hypno again?"
"Ah Blue, it's been so long, how was your trip to the Kalos region?"
"Gramps stop with the unnecessary questions. Red here wants to become a Pokemon trainer and so am I."
"It's already time huh, do you know what it means to become a great trainer Blue?"
"Yes, it's all about having the most powerful pokemon team than anyone else's"
"And you, Red?" he says as he looks at me for the first time since the conversation started.
'I don't know what to answer really, I'm very excited to become a Pokemon trainer but why is that? To be the most powerful ever and govern the world? To play Hero and receive attention and love? I admit I crave attention the most but not from people but from the Pokemon themselves'
"To be loved by my pokemon?" I answer unassured.
"Hmph, I couldn't fathom in a million years I would hear this answer from a kid of this small town" he says. He starts to look more his age, his shriveled eyes expanding.
"Listen carefully both of you, you don't need a bunch of good tricks or a team of powerful pokemon, what makes a great trainer is the bonds you form with your pokemon. Even if you don't undestand it now, keep this knowledge in your mind because it's one thing to enjoy leisurely battles, but real battles can be a severe trial. Only the truly strong trainers can overcome the walls with the connections they've built with their Pokemon."
'Wow he became emotional for a second there, is this a part of his research?' I think before nodding excessively.
"Let me give both of you my new invention, the Pokedex, an encyclopedia of Pokemon, whenever you see a Pokemon it's data is recorded in here. By the time you've completed this pokedex, you might've become one of the greatest trainers ever"
Even Blue is quiet now, I noticed him looking downward. He's probably dejected that I one upped him.
"Come inside you two, I can't let y'all go into the grass without a starter Pokemon now can I?" with that the Prof leads us inside the lab through the back door.
It's finally time to choose my starter, and I know just the pokemon to choose.