Chapter 1 – New beginnings
There was no great struggle before death. I just went to bed tired of a day’s work and after I woke up. I couldn’t recognize my surroundings anymore.
At first, I had no idea what was going on. All I could perceive were spotty images in the form of human silhouettes infants have terrible eyesight.
“Congratulations! It’s a boy”
“Chancy chance!”
‘Wait was that…?’
it would take about a year for my vision to return to my previous level. In the meantime, I only had my hearing to accurately perceive my surroundings. My body was completely immobile it took about 6 months before I could even try to hold my head up. Not to mention the humiliation of not being able to control your bladder and bowel movements.
6 years later*
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“Gramps! I am going out to play!”
“Don’t forget to pull off your shoes at the entry way before coming back in the house!”
‘Stupid old-fashioned rules!’ Till this day I still can’t figure out why mum left me and my sister to wallow in this part of Hoenn which everyone of note considered the boonies. Lavaridge town was a popular tourist spot for the abundance of natural hot springs that could be found all over the village. But we had very little actual permanent residents if you find any younger people in this town, they were most likely trainers participating in the league circuit here to challenge the gym. The population of this town was mostly made up out of retired old folks living out their twilight years. That’s why as soon as I get my trainer’s license I was getting out of here. The hot springs were pretty novel and all that but, this body was still spry with youthfulness not old and arthritic the health benefits of a daily soak were minimal.
There were a few perks that come with living in Lavaridge though…
“Here you go boy! Want a cookie?”
“Num Num!”
The gluttonous yellow quadruped started chewing on my latest rake-off of the day one day away from getting stale lava cookies. Since no one was buying almost stale treats I could swipe as many as I wanted. Provided, I helped out manning the register whenever grandma was busy in the back. These cookies are a Pokémon favorite and a way healthier option than regular confectionaries made with my families’ secret blend of fermented berries.
“Yes, Yes, grow nice and big and when we’re older I am taking you with me out of this crotchety old town.”
“Num NUM!”
“Hey you! We told you to stop feeding that wild Numel it keeps pulling out old lady Greta’s energy roots!”
“Quick! Numsy use smokescreen so we can ditch these old bags!”
Before those slowpokes could get near us my bestest buddy showered them with something we like to call our getaway surprise.
“Oeugh... STOP! STOP!”
“Cmon Numsy! We have to get out of here before they whip out the hoses again!”
We quickly made our way to the part of town where people wouldn’t question the sight of a six-year-old walking around with a living flamethrower. Not that Numsy was dangerous mind you, Numel generally were very even tempered preferring to spend most of their day lounging around areas adjacent to or near volcanic activity. The hotter it got the less they needed to eat to keep up their internal body temperature and the areas around Lavaridge town are prime real estate for nearly every fire type Pokémon.
The past month I’ve been trying to win over our town’s latest little tourist successfully might I add. Head pats and Lava cookies did the trick quite well, but it would be a while until we actually got to training. The town’s people generally didn’t care what we did together with the exception of a few sticks in the mud but, it was illegal for me to attempt to train Numsy without authorized adult supervision not to mention training up a Pokémon that hasn’t been caught yet.
“Okay, I think we lost them Numsy. Good job on the smokescreen.”
“Num Num”
We neared a large traditional Japanese-style building with an open courtyard and tiled rooftop the walls surrounding the front gate built in the same style. The building itself was built into the slope of a semi-active volcano. The main gate was closed off though which could be a problem for us.
“Getting into trouble again Egon?”
A childish high-pitched voice called out to me behind the closed off gate. The source of this grating sound came from the red headed delinquent of a child and my only age contemporary in this rinky-dink town.
“Flannie could me and Numsy crash at your place until the heats off? It will only be an hour or two before those old folks need to take their midday nap”.
“Num num”
“I told you to stop calling me Flannie! And sure, if you have readied this time’s payment.”
She haughtily stuck her open hand out through the railing expecting a cut from my secret stash of emergency treats.
“Why should I share Numsy’s food rations with you? Lava cookies aren’t even meant for human consumption. They taste awful!”
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“NUM NUM!”
“It’s not for me you dolts! Grandpa brought in another stray, and he likes your grandma’s secret recipe!”
“Ehm... fine.”
I fish out the last Lava cookie in my pocket and place it in her cupped hands. Having fulfilled our bargain, she messes around with the gate’s mechanism until an audible click sound is generated. The gate swings open, and I get a full view of the gym’s courtyard. Despite being the home turf of one of Hoenn’s elite four Mr. Moore’s gym had very little Pokémon running around. The only Pokémon within eyesight was a relatively small Torkoal who seemed intent on following Flannery around the compound. As soon as me and Numsy showed up though the little guy froze up and retreated into its shell.
“Is this the stray Pokemon your grandfather picked up?”
“Yep, Torkoal here was found in an abandoned coal mine, but since gramps is always on the move, he said it would be better if this poor little guy stays with us at the gym. Mom says that I get to keep him if I keep my grades up for an entire year.”
“Torkoal tor!”
The turtle Pokémon enthusiastically pops back out of its shell and head punts against Flannery’s pantleg.
“You are lucky, my grandparents will only allow me to keep Numsy if I earn enough money to afford a Pokéball.”
Working at the store only gives me an allowance of 15 Pokedollars a month at this rate I’d have to wait for a bit more than a year before I could even afford to capture Numsy. Having no guarantee that in the time I am saving up Numsy won’t get reported and some ranger comes around and re-releases him back into some wasteland like the Fiery Path.
“Ehh that’s lame.”
“So, I was wondering if I could leave my Numsy here with you during the times that I have to watch the store and at night? I am sure that a fire-type gym like this has plenty of Numel around so that my Numsy can fly under the radar while I save up some cash.”
“Numel Num”
“I don’t know… for things like this I would usually need to ask my grandpa for permission. But we haven’t seen him since he dropped off Torkoal and that was over a week ago.”
“Numsy use Charm!”
“Num Num!”
My trusted compatriot rushed Flannery and rubbed her kneecaps with his head looking up at her face and crying cutely.
“But I can’t…”
“Full power Numsy!”
“Num num!”
“Damn you ugh...!”
“Okay you guys win but if gramps notices I am blaming you Egon.”
“Thanks, Flanny! I knew you were our comrade.”
Afterwards me and Flannery played smoke circles with our Pokémon until it was time for me to get home for dinner.
Walking back home my mind wandered back to the lingering questions I still had about this new world I found myself in. I couldn’t just keep living day to day as I had been, befriending Numsy has already put me on the path of being a Pokémon trainer. Having already talked about this with him Numsy was seemingly enthusiastic about training to become stronger. Evolutionarily speaking it made sense. Survival of the fittest and all that, it made sense that in the wild stronger Pokémon were more respected and looked at for guidance and leadership. Fighting others in matches wasn’t seen as cruel and Pokémon that disliked battling were the odd ones out in the group.
How accomplished did I want to become doing this? The champion’s seat had little appeal to me being responsible for the protection of this region’s citizens and Pokémon was too much of a hassle. Not to mention all the political aspects the job entailed Champions weren’t involved in the day to day running of the government, but they were expected to attend all sorts of diplomatic events and are the commander in chief in case war ever broke out.
Becoming an ace trainer was more up my alley. All you had to do was make it to the top 16 in the Ever Grande conference and you could apply for a stipend from the league. But that also meant the elite four and the champion were your direct superiors. None of the current powers were interested in propagating war though. It made sense really, no one wanted to risk the wrath of a legendary Pokémon by destabilizing the current ecosystem.
Having made up my mind I realize that I was already standing in front of my home. Sliding open the door I encounter my greatest source of joy in this life.
“Big Brother!”
My 5-year-old half-sister was already waiting for me at the entrance. With our grandparents busy running the store I’ve become the default role model.
In this world people had differing concepts on what good parentage looks like as long as someone is there to look after your progeny it was socially acceptable for parents to not be present in their child’s life. In our case that would be our grandparents. Me and my sister share the same mother but have different fathers. I’ve never seen my father and from what I can recall he was some Unovan trainer that had a single night of passion with my mom after traveling with him during her own League circuit. My mother tried finding him again afterwards to inform him of the pregnancy, but he immediately left for his home country after losing in the finals of the ever Grande conference. My sister’s dad is from some local tribe living it up in the sticks somewhere. I knew of him having met the guy briefly after him and my mom dropped my little sister off at her parents’ house. Both of them were completely irresponsible useless parents. So, I’ve made up my mind to raise my little sister into a responsible adult.
Our parents might be useless, but I will be a great big brother and will work hard to support my sister in any endeavour she might end up undertaking. In my previous life I was born as the youngest, so this is going to be a whole new experience for me.
“What are you standing around for? Come inside or your dinner will get cold.”
“Sorry, I was thinking about life and all that. How did your extra reading and writing lessons go?”
“It went fine I guess Mrs. Patterson says it won’t be long until I catch up with the rest of the class.”
“That’s awesome I knew my kid sister was a genius!”
“Not as smart as you humph…”
I finished up trainer’s school within 2 years of entering. As a former adult my grades spoke for themselves. Schooling in this world was free form you can graduate early if you demonstrate the required knowledge and skills. Classes were pretty interesting too. Besides the mandatory language and math classes you also got educated in wilderness survival, first aid and basic Pokémon physiology. I was too young to start going to classes with the teenagers and further schooling was optional. Not that I was interested in going back to the sweaty pubescent social nightmare that was high school.
“Don’t fret it Lil’ sis. Who in your class got highest mark this week for correctly identifying all forty berries that were brought to class?”
“Me.”
“Good now go brush your teeth and if your good I’ll tell you a bedtime story.”
My sister has always been insecure about her literacy skills even though she’s good with other subjects. Dyslexia has not been properly recognized as a learning disability in Hoenn but Mrs. Patterson the angel teacher recognized the symptoms and offered extra classes to help her keep up with the rest of class.
Taking her upstairs, I prepare a futon (Japanese style bed) for her.
After I heard gargling sounds, she came out of the bathroom, and I tucked her in.
“I want to hear another story about Zubatman!”
I had a penchant for telling stories inspired by those from my home world but this time I felt like telling a local one.
“Maybe tomorrow night this time I’ll tell you a story about big strong legendary Pokémon.”
“Long ago a great meteorite impacted on the surface of Hoenn, and natural energy poured out from deep beneath the earth.”
“What’s a meteorite?”
“Meteorites are big space rocks that survived the process of entering our world’s atmosphere without burning up.”
“And what’s an atmosphere?”
“It’s the air and natural gasses that surround a planet now hush and let me finish the story.”
“Two legendary Pokémon Groudon and Kyogre were attracted by this fount of energy. The legendary Pokémon fought amongst each other for ownership of this energy. Their clashes were destroying the environment and both Pokémon and humans suffered. During this time an ancient native tribe called the Draconids known for exclusively training dragon types prayed for salvation and received the attention of Rayquaza the Sky High Pokémon. They say the people’s fervent wish allowed Rayquaza to assume a completely different appearance and with this newfound power it quelled the battle between the two legendary Pokémon and made them retreat back beneath the earth’s surface and ocean respectively.“
“Wow Rayquaza is so cool! I want to be a dragon-type trainer when I grow up!”
“Well then you better eat all your vegetables and keep your room nice and clean. Dragon type Pokémon only like girls that listen to their big brothers.”
“Mouuu liar!”
I tuck her further in and kiss her forehead.
“Good night big bro.”
“Good night, Zinnia.”