Peter sat in the back row of the bus, his mind racing as he watched a Pidgey flutter past the window.
"I've been isekai-ed," he thought, a phrase he never imagined would apply to him, yet here he was, inside the world of Pokémon.
How was this possible?
"Okay, think, Asher, think. What's the last thing you remember?" Peter furrowed his brow, trying to trace his steps back to the last clear memory he had.
It was him, opening that Pokéball outside the 7-Eleven.
"No way was I brought here because of a... Pokéball," he thought incredulously.
"Was it... Arcus or... Arceus? Yeah, that’s the name of the God of Pokémon."
He puzzled over the mystery, feeling both out of place and oddly chosen.
"But why would Arceus bring me, of all people, to the world of Pokémon and inside the body of Ash Ketchum?"
What in the world is going on?
"But not the Ash Ketchum I remember. This is all wrong, yet so vivid."
He tried to piece together his current situation.
"So, I'm in Viridian City, not Pallet Town. And I'm 19, not 10. This is like some bizarre fanfiction version of Pokémon."
The idea of an exam for a trainer license seemed strange too.
"Since when do you need to take an exam to get a starter Pokémon? What's next, Pokémon tax returns?"
He chuckled dryly to himself.
Looking at his hand, Peter felt an itch, a strange sense of déjà vu, as if scratching the back of his head was something he was meant to do.
Weird.
He looked out of the window again, his thoughts wandering.
"What happened to Ash Ketchum anyway? Is he in my body on Earth? What is happening?"
He sighed, half-expecting, half-hoping for some divine message to pop up, telling him he was supposed to save the world or something.
"Don't be so nervous, Ash," a voice called out, drawing Peter's attention. He turned to see Yellow settling down beside him with a neck pillow.
"Is the journey long?" Peter asked, trying to sound casual.
"I think it's about 6 hours by bus," Yellow shrugged nonchalantly.
Peter's eyes widened in shock, his mind racing.
Six hours by bus?
How the hell is a normal trainer supposed to walk back and forth from there?
He remembered vividly how, in the first episode, Ash Ketchum had taken just a few minutes to get from Pallet Town to Viridian City.
Holy shit, is my knowledge of this world useless? he wondered, feeling more out of his depth than ever.
"Shit," he muttered under his breath, trying to mask his growing anxiety as he noticed Yellow comfortably laying her head on her neck pillow.
Desperate to distract himself from his spiraling thoughts, Peter racked his brain for any topic to focus on other than his bewildering situation.
"So, in this universe, Ash Ketchum has a girlfriend, and it’s not one of the usual suspects—Misty, May, Dawn, or Serena. It's Yellow. Yellow... Why does that ring a bell?" He chuckled quietly to himself.
"And of course, they're a secret couple. Just my luck. I step into Ash's shoes and instantly mess up his love life. Way to go, Peter."
The irony of his situation didn’t escape him. "I guess the only way I could get a girlfriend is by accidentally hijacking someone else’s body. But then, what does that make me? ... A loser. Yeah, it makes me a loser, being happy that I get a girlfriend in the body of another man."
Peter sighed, his gaze shifting to Yellow beside him.
Why do I feel like I know her from somewhere? Not from the anime, though, but the games, no? The manga, maybe?
The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
Peter noticed Yellow seemed eager to say something, which only intensified his anxiety.
Great, I'm being dumped for destroying the secret relationship, he thought grimly. Despite the oddness of the circumstances, he didn’t want to let this unexpected relationship slip away—it was the first time he had a girlfriend, even if it was technically not his own life.
Okay, idiot, just apologize and say you were drunk, that should fix it, Peter coached himself mentally.
They both started to speak at the same time, then abruptly stopped, each giving the other a hesitant look, waiting for the other to continue.
"I'm..." Peter stuttered, his nervousness apparent.
"Why..." Yellow began at the same time, her voice laced with a mix of confusion and annoyance.
Peter gestured with a shaky hand for Yellow to go on.
Yellow looked at him, a frown creasing her forehead.
"Why did you, uh... in front of everyone?" she asked.
"Weren't we, um, supposed to keep it... low-key?"
Peter bit his lip, feeling a wave of anxiety wash over him.
"I... I just wanted to... um, do that... before this dream, uh, ends," he confessed, his voice barely above a whisper.
"I didn't mean to, you know, make it a... spectacle."
Yellow sighed and leaned against his shoulder, her annoyance fading into a softer expression.
"So, it was just a mistake, huh."
"Things happen," she said, trying to ease the awkwardness.
"Let's not dwell on it, especially today. It's our big day, right? To become trainers."
Peter gazed at Yellow, lost in thought.
"What are you looking at?" she asked, a hint of embarrassment in her voice.
Peter realized he was staring and quickly looked away, sighing.
"Ash Ketchum really hit the jackpot... with someone cute, kind, and understanding like you," he murmured.
At his comment, Yellow's cheeks turned a bright shade of red.
Peter felt his own face heat up.
He hastily turned his gaze out of the bus window, trying to hide his embarrassment.
"In any other world, I'd never have this chance," Peter thought.
"Hey Ash, if you are on Earth, please get my original body a girlfriend."
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As the bus came to a halt, Peter's eyes widened at the sight of Samuel Oak's School of Pokémon.
The high school had a majestic entrance, marked by a large, intricately carved wooden gate that bore the school's emblem – a stylized Poké Ball intertwined with oak leaves.
The main building was a sprawling structure, its roof elegantly curved in the classic Japanese style, with tiles that shimmered in the sunlight. The windows were large and rectangular, allowing plenty of light to filter into the spacious classrooms. Along the sides of the building were rows of cherry trees, their blossoms adding a soft, pink hue to the landscape.
The school grounds were meticulously maintained, with neatly trimmed lawns and traditional stone pathways leading to various parts of the campus. To the side, there was a modern sports field, complete with a running track and areas designated for Pokémon training.
Behind the main building, a series of smaller, auxiliary structures housed specialized facilities for Pokémon care and study.
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Peter sat nervously in the exam hall, a vast room filled with rows of desks and chairs, all facing a large stage at the front. The walls were adorned with posters of various Pokémon and charts depicting their evolutionary stages.
The atmosphere was thick with anticipation and a hint of anxiety from the aspiring trainers.
As he tried to steady his nerves, an elderly man took the stage, immediately commanding the room's attention. His gray hair and kind demeanor, coupled with his scholarly attire, gave him an air of wisdom and authority.
A murmur of excitement rippled through the hall.
"That's Professor Oak," someone whispered in awe.
Professor Oak began his speech, his voice resonating throughout the hall.
"I want to congratulate each and every one of you for the bravery you've shown by coming here today. Bravery is the first and foremost quality every Pokémon trainer needs."
Peter listened, trying to focus on the professor's words.
Oak continued, "Today's exam will be in two parts. The first is a written test, assessing your knowledge of Pokémon types, habitats, and care. The second part is practical, where you will demonstrate your ability to interact and bond with Pokémon. Points will be allotted based on your performance in both sections."
The professor's eyes scanned the room. "Based on your total points, you will be given a chance to choose a starter Pokémon from a 10-tier system. Remember, the higher your points, the higher the tier and the stronger the starter Pokémon available to you."
He concluded with a smile, "Good luck to all of you. May this be the first step in your remarkable journey as Pokémon trainers."
The room erupted in cheers and claps, but Peter felt a wave of panic wash over him. "Shit," he thought. "I'm totally unprepared for this. A written test? A practical test? I don't know the first thing about actually being a Pokémon trainer." The realization of the challenge ahead made his stomach churn. "What have I gotten myself into?"
Peter's heart pounded in his chest as he stared at the written exam paper in front of him.
The test was dauntingly divided into three sections, totaling 50 points and needed to be completed in four hours.
The first section was multiple-choice questions, with 50 questions to answer. He read the first question:
"How many Pokémon types are there?"
The options were:
A) 15
B) 18
C) 20
D) 22
Peter felt a wave of panic wash over him.
It had been years since he last engaged with anything Pokémon-related, and his knowledge was rusty at best.
Yet, as he pondered over the question, a sense of déjà vu hit him.
"Could it be 18 types?" he wondered, his intuition nudging him towards that answer.
Subtly glancing to the side, he saw a classmate circle the option for 18 types.
"So my hunch was right," he thought, a flicker of relief passing through him. He marked the same answer and moved on to the next questions.
As he progressed, Peter realized that even though he was clueless about questions like "What is the capital of Kanto?" a strange, instinctive feeling guided him to the correct answers.
"This déjà vu... could it be Ash Ketchum's memories?" he speculated. "After all, memories are just neural connections in the brain. So, if I'm in Ash's body, his memories should still be here."
With this realization, Peter felt a newfound confidence. He breezed through the written exam, relying on these instinctive flashes of memory that felt like Ash's.
"I'm answering these questions not as Peter, but as Ash Ketchum," he thought, amazed at the strange turn of events.