The Journal of Arthur Lindt
March 4th, 20XX
I am going to start writing for posterity's sake, before I forget anything important. My name is was, Shane Baron. I was a 22 year old Canadian college student. I had a mother and father and two younger brothers… 3 days ago I died. At least I’m pretty sure I died. Not much else could have happened given how fast that truck was going when it hit me. I felt my bones shatter I woke up here after the collision. Turns out getting isekaied is a thing that can actually happen to someone. Or this is some sort of afterlife, or a near death hallucination. Honestly I’m not sure which is which, but given I’ve slept several nights and still woken up here, I’m going to assume this place is real and I live here now.
I thought it would be harder to accept, but honestly I’ve kind of just been rolling with it. Don’t get me wrong, I’m definitely going to need therapy at some point but for now I think keeping a journal to record my more somber thoughts will be helpful. I can then focus on the positives in my day to day life. Because holy shit, there are some positives to be had here. Let’s start with the biggest one, god damn Pokémon. Or I guess I should say Arceus damn Pokémon? Eh, not important. The place I’ve woken up in appears to be the world of Pokémon I remember so fondly. It was kind of a shock but the transition was made easier by my new body's memories.
I should get to that. I am not in my old body, not even close. My current body is that of a 13 year old child. His name is Arthur Lindt, he has a younger sister named Morgana and a single mother. Dad isn't around anymore. I was worried for a second that I was headed dangerously towards protagonist territory but I was able to squash that fear pretty handedly while browsing Arthur's original memories. I was able to gather a lot of information right away actually. The big one is that I’m in Johto and I am definitely not the protagonist thank Arceus. I do have the problem of being next door neighbors with the protagonist, but from what I can remember Ethan and Arthur never really interacted much.
Ethan being the default name of Gen 2’s protagonist gives me a ton of information. First is that this is not the anime or the manga, at least not singularly. It’s most likely some combination of the 3 but the games do seem to be the foundation. I’ve found no evidence of an Ash Ketchum anywhere in the world, but 3 years ago 2 trainers named Red and Blue shocked the world by conquering the Kanto League and defeating the champion in the first year of their journey. They both eventually turned down the position of Champion, and Blue took over Vermillion’s gym while Red disappeared from the world stage. Pretty solid evidence in favor of the games and manga, and only minimal connection to the anime from what I can tell.
This is both great, and a problem. The great part is I do know the games way better than I know the anime, I haven’t watched it for years but I still played the games pretty regularly. The problem is that the power scaling in the manga is insane and If that’s the foundation then I am going to be thoroughly outclassed by anything I come across. Thankfully, from what I can tell at least, the power scaling seems a little closer to the games. This is mostly thanks to what I could find on the poké-net forums. While it would be a little much to compare the poke-net to my old internet, it’s still close enough that I was able to use it to gather a lot of information.
Pokémon actually do still have stats in this world, although it’s not quite as cut and dry as it was in the games. There’s an acknowledgment that all Pokémon have max potentials they can reach in any of their stats, hard work and specific training can occasionally overcome this limit. It’s incredibly rare and exceedingly difficult however, so most people work within the stats when planning and training their teams. It meant there was a pretty sound meta that existed in the competitive circuit, which actually made gym leaders all the more impressive. Being a type specialist was generally considered a bad idea if you wanted to be a top contender in the league, but they were still considered some of the strongest trainers around. Exceptions to a norm.
Speaking of exceptions, I attempted to learn about legendary Pokémon but there was nothing concrete. While it was generally accepted that some of them existed, most were considered to be rumors or stories that represented the power Pokémon held, as opposed to actual beings. That meant that they probably fell outside of the stat rules most other Pokémon fell into. The other big exception I believe to be mega evolution. Now, I couldn’t actually find any proof that mega evolution exists in the world, as no trainers had been documented using it as of yet, that didn’t mean it was impossible. The history textbook I remembered Arthur studying went over stories of the meteorite that nearly ended the world 3000 years ago. So mega evolution probably exists, but most people haven't found the key stones or correct mega stones needed to use them yet.
At least not publicly anyway, it’s entirely possible certain people already know the secret and have used it before, but given that the idea of recording and uploading gym battles to the league websites on the Poké-net is only a decade old or so… It’s possible that it just hasn’t been recorded, the stories of exceptionally powerful Beedrills or Sharpedos could be attributed to mega evolution.
As for the other games' gimmicks, Z-moves exist, as Alola just last year partnered their island challenge with the pokemon league, so their battles have been getting recorded for the first time in years. The confirmation of more powerful move variations people can learn has led rumors to circulate that the next league year is going to see a lot of trainers traveling to Alola to gain access to these powerful moves. The league has tried to step ahead of this by saying that until the technology of Z-crystals and Z-Rings can be mass produced and provided across all regions their use will be limited to Alola’s island challenge. They also will not be permitted for use in the world championships held every year, so after that announcement some of the hype for Alola died down.
Dynamax and Gigantimax are also definitely real, but are only possible in Galar. Galar has yet to partner with the Pokémon league, so it’s unlikely the world championship will see Dynamax occurring until Galar joins officially. That said Galar’s local champion tournament always see’s a lot of attention since it’s the only opportunity to see Pokémon on that kind of scale. Their tournament is usually aired just before the world championship is held, so I’ll probably watch it this year.
As for Paldea, well Paldea is strange. The island definitely exists, but it’s essentially empty. The Pokémon there are considered dangerous and while there are a few local communities on the island the league only recently sent over researchers to begin studying some of the island’s stranger phenomena. So no Pokémon academy yet, although I'm guess it can’t be long until it’s founded. Terrastilization will probably be kept pretty local for a long time after as well so that’s good news once again.
That’s most of the important information I was able to gather, although I’m sure you’re probably wondering why I’m writing this all down like this, and why I was researching this information. Two reasons. The first is that I will be starting my own journey into the Indigo league circuit once it starts in July. There’s a lot of risk with traveling a world where Pokémon actually exist, so in case I die again or something else tragic there will be a record of what happened to me so they can at least tell my mom and everyone the truth. The second reason is because I plan on creating the ultimate Pokémon team and conquering the world championship. Ideally I would love to do it in a year but given that even Red hasn’t tried I doubt it will be possible. Still I want to accomplish it as fast as possible, and knowing as much as possible about the limits of this world is important to doing so.
Knowledge is power so knowing the threats I might face as well as the standard behaviors is important. My first objective is going to be to find a starter. Arthur thankfully had been saving his allowance just for this so I’m going to go buy a few pokéballs tomorrow and start that journey. My rules for a starter are simple, they need to be capable of mega evolution, and must be able to compete with pseudo legendaries. Not technically a term that exists in this world from what I could find, they are definitely still a thing that is considered. Garchomp, Dragonite, Tyranitar, Metagross are all considered some of the strongest Pokémon that exist. There are others of course, but that’s the gist of it.
Unfortunately Johto doesn’t have most pseudo’s available to me, I could technically find a Larvitar or a Dratini. But both would require me getting to Mt.Silver or getting exceptionally lucky in the Games Corner or Safari Zone and Dragonite doesn’t even Mega Evolve as far as I know, so that one's out. I dislike relying on luck anyway, so my plan is something a little simpler. I hope to find a Heracross in the forests along route 29, and if that fails I would settle for a Pidgey that commonly graze the route. Pidgeot is powerful and fast, and capable of mega evolution to a form that rivals the fastest Pokémon out there. Not to mention it gains the ability that makes it impossible for moves to miss, both directions.
Pidgeot would be good, but Heracross is definitely the goal. Heracross has higher base stats, and gains an ability that guarantees moves hit the maximum number of times they can, every time. I’m not entirely certain how 1 to 1 the abilities are here compared to the games, but the stuff I’ve seen shows a lot of similarities. Abilities failing to work or being stronger than normal is often another exception from extreme cases of training and effort. Basically having access to a Mega Heracross would make me a force to be reckoned with.
From there I have some further ideas for the team, and it includes going for either a Magikarp or Ghastly on the next routes, and then hopefully an Onix in the dark cave. If you can see my goal, then you are probably from my world too, or know way more than anyone else has let on. I want a team of Pokémon all capable of Mega evolution. The goal is that I would be able to use any of them in any battle, and therefore make myself impossible to truly prepare for. Long term goals I’d want a Salamance and a Diancie as well, but those are just long term objectives.
My goal is to be the best of the best, because why not. I’m already in the world of Pokémon, If I’m going to be here I want to be sitting at the top. I’ll be keeping track of things in this journal. Tomorrow mom is taking me to Cherrygrove to shop for the pokéballs, and she will be supervising while I search for a partner Pokémon on the route. I get one week but then we have to be home for her work. Hopefully that’s plenty of time to find myself a Heracross.
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Arthur Lindt
I was surrounded by the glaring lights of a stadium. The field in front of me was large and flat, made of a brown packed dirt and marked with distinct white lines. I could feel the pressure of screaming fans all around but the sound was muted and faded, I was focused on what was in front of me.
Ethan had his distinct red hoodie and his black and gold hat atop his head. It was always meant to come down to this. If I wanted to be the best I would need to conquer the protagonists. First Ethan, and then I would take on Kanto’s gyms elite teams and then find Red himself atop Mount Silver. There, at the top of the world I would earn my title as the world’s greatest, and everyone would know my name. The chanting of the stadium began to pick up, louder and louder.
“Art, Art, Art, Art” I basked in the glory of their cheering, before reaching for the first ball on my belt. My hands grasped nothing but empty air. Looking down I could see no pokéballs on my belt.
“Art, Art, Art, ART, ART.” The screaming was getting loud, almost deafening, overtaking everything as I fell to my knees clutching my ears, yet the sound wouldn’t go away.
“ART. ART. ARTHUR!”
I woke up with a start in my bed, heart still pounding my chest from the bad dream. The light to the upstairs room had been turned on and my mom was looking over the railing of the stairs into the upper floor. This upstairs room was one my sister and I shared, and it took up the majority of the floor.
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“Arthur. I’ve been calling you for the last 5 minutes, you need to get up. We wanted to leave early today, right?” My mother called out to me, and as my breathing settled I recognized what the words she had said actually meant.
“Right. RIGHT! I’m getting dressed. I'll be down in a second.”
“Mhm, sure thing hun. Don’t take too long.” I heard her steps as she walked back down the stairs.
I threw off the sheets, running over to the dresser on my edge of the room. I dug through the drawers looking for the right outfit. It was surprisingly important picking the right clothing style. Every league champion, and the past and future game protagonists as well, all have distinct styles to how they present themselves in the world. Blues and reds were pretty common in the color scheme, usually using black or white as secondary colors. I needed something different to stand out.
“Mom told you to pick out what to wear last night.” The groggy voice spoke from behind me.
Glancing over my shoulder I could see the face of my younger sister looking through the curtains that divided our room. She still had sleep crud in her eyes and looked to barely be awake in the first place.
“Mhm whatever you say Morganna. I was too excited to plan little things like that. Other stuff to focus on.” I saw a red hat with a pokeball logo on the front and immediately tossed it to the side out of the way. I was not going to fall into default appearance off the bat. I was going to stand out, and that meant no mass produced easily marketable hat.
“Like what?” She sounded a little more awake, and crossed through our sheet divider to sit on my bed. She wrapped herself in a cocoon of blankets and was staring at me as I rummaged through all the clothes I owned.
“Like who I want for my starter. What path I’m going to take to find them, what the rest of my team will look like. You know basic stuff.”
“Oh. I guess that makes sense. Who did you decide to go with then? I know you tried to get a Pokémon from Elm but that didn’t work out?”
“Huh? Oh yeah Elm said he isn’t really interested in taking a bunch of sponsors, and he’s already taken Ethan as his. His area of research isn’t really focused on battling or anything, he cares more about Pokémon reproduction, studying eggs. That sort of thing.” Sponsorships were a pretty important thing for trainers in this world.
While you could fund yourself only on money you win from battling you would need to win a lot and pretty consistently for that to work. Sponsors would give bonuses like extra money, gear and supplies, as well as helping expand your influence. They weren’t as common in the Indigo League as they were in places like Unova and Kalos though, since Kanto and Johto tended to value raw power a little more than the other regions, but the increased globalization over the last few decades had made it a more common occurrence.
“Oh, that sucks. Professor's hand out stronger Pokémon, everyone knows that.” I could hear her rustling as she tightened her grip on the blankets.
I finished putting on the clothes I picked out so far. A set of dark gray jeans, and a stylized white and black undershirt, and a Yellow and black vest overtop of that. The vest didn't actually have any pockets, and was made out of a durable polyester material of some kind. The touches of black were a nice touch and gave me a strong Team Instinct vibe that I liked.
"Yeah, the professors will sometimes give rarer Pokémon to their lab trainers, but I’m alright. I plan on catching a Heracross if I can. Although a Pidgey would be good too. I might eventually get both but for now I just want one. Need to focus on forming a strong bond with my starter.”
“You should go for Pidgey. Bugs are gross. And most are pretty weak aren’t they. You’re always talking about being the strongest. How are you gonna do that with a bug as your starter?”
“There are plenty of strong bug Pokémon. Hoenn’s champion has a bug type on his team with Armaldo, and Unova’s Alder has a Volcarona. There are strong bug types, Heracross is one of them.” She gasped a little and seemed quiet for a moment as I casually named two champions that have Bug type Pokémon. Seems she didn’t expect that.
“Well.. I still think bugs are gross.” She sounded as though she was pouting. I looked back at her to see her moping in her lovely mound of blankets not bothering to look at me. It was pretty easy to tell that she was upset about more than just the idea of me catching a bug Pokémon. I walked over and sat down on the bed beside her.
“What’s the matter Morganna? Pretty sure you’re not just pouting about the idea of a bug Pokémon in the family.” She looked up at me, tears welling up in her eyes.
“No… It’s just. Once you catch a Pokémon, you’re gonna leave. You’ll go on your journey and go all over the world and I’ll never see you again.” Oh jeez. It was easy to forget from how grown up she likes to act sometimes but my dear sweet sister was only 9 years old. Of course me leaving felt way worse than it was.
“Morganna, come on. You know I’m not going to leave forever. A person can only attempt league challenges until they’re 21. I might become an ace trainer and still make my money battling and traveling and stuff, but no more league challenges.”
“But, but 21 is forever from now, that’s like 10 years. I’m not gonna see you for 10 years?” The sniffling was getting worse, as I clearly said the wrong thing to comfort.
“No no no. Sis come on. It’s me. I’ll be sure to come home in between the off season every year, and I’ll call you guys often. You’ll be able to watch all my battles online and once I get a flying license and a Pokémon for it I can visit you guys all the time.” Her sniffles slowed down, and she looked up at me. We had similar features, enough that it was pretty likely we would be mistaken for twins once she was older. Dark brown hair, brown eyes and fair olive skin.
“You.. You promise?” The tears stopped as she started to calm down.
“Of course I promise. Besides, soon enough you’ll start planning for your own journey and I promise I’ll be around for that.” She wiped her face and then leaned her little bundle of blankets against me. I couldn’t help but smile and give her a little side hug.
I never had a sister before, but Morganna is mine, and I’d do anything for her. It’s crazy how strong I feel that only having woken up here a few days ago. But I’m as much Arthur now as I am Shane. His family is mine, and I love them the same.
“Now come on, I’m sure mom made breakfast since we have to be up so early.” I give her a nudge and stand, while the pile of blankets that had contained my sister moments ago explodes as she sprints out of it.
“Ohhh I hope she made waffles. I love waffles.” I could hear the loud thumps as she made her way down the stairs as quickly as possible. I shook my head as I stood and followed her down the stairs.
Our stairs opened right at the back of the wall of the house, an open floor plan was the best way to describe the bottom floor of the house. The stairs left you in the living room, a sofa and large box tv filled the room, while just past the living room the kitchen took up most of the other half of the house. There I could see that my sister had already made it up to the island counter and was pestering our mother for some breakfast. It seems my sister's hope was correct and we were in luck for some waffles.
Then there was the entrance for the front door, where our family Pokémon slept comfortably on his very large dog bed. Lemon was a Boltund, and exceptionally lazy given how energetic electric types were supposed to be, but that likely had to do with his age as he was over 20 years old at this point. He spent most of everyday lazing around in bed or on the couch, and would only occasionally join us outside for a walk.
He gets some looks when that happens, a lot of ‘who’s that Pokémon’ from passersby and the like. It’s not surprising given his line is from Galar and they haven’t integrated into the league yet. Arthur’s My family is actually from Galar, at least originally. Well not my mom, she was born in Johto but traveled to Galar when contact with the region was first made. That’s where she met our dad and they eventually settled down.
Dad died not long after Morganna was born. We don’t talk about it much, but it was cancer. As advanced as medical technology is in this world, most are focused on healing Pokémon, as their bodies are just naturally more resilient than people. Cancer is still a beast that we just haven’t been able to overcome. After dad died, mom moved us three back to Johto. She would say it was because she was more comfortable here than Galar, but I think she just wanted distance from dad’s memory. Lemon is the only member of dad’s old team still with us, the rest decided they wanted to stay in Galar, getting reintegrated by rangers.
“Art, good come join us for breakfast, we have quite the journey ahead of us to Cherrygrove.” My mom placed a waffle on a plate and handed it over to me, quickly following it up with a plate for Morganna as she started to whine.
We took our food over to the table and sat down to eat. I liked honey on my waffles so the syrup went to Morganna who proceeded to drown her waffle with as much of the sugary liquid as she could get before mom snatched it out of her hands.
“Enough Morganna, you know that's too much.” She gave a small scowl before sitting at the end of her own table and adding a reasonable amount of syrup to her own waffle.
“Buth ith tathes bether.” she spoke with her mouth full, the extra syrup not doing her any favors for her pronunciation.
“And don’t speak with your mouth full. It’s not very lady-like.” Mom didn’t look up, instead looking over at lemon who had gotten up at some point to beg at the side of the table.
“Art could you -”
“Got it mom.” I got up from the table and walked over to the cabinet in the kitchen, grabbing Lemon’s bowl and filling it with some Poké-chow. I placed it on the floor next to the table and sat back down to finish eating.
We didn’t talk much, just eating in silence. Morganna finished her waffle first, practically inhaling the thing and then proceeded to move to the couch, calling over Lemon to sit with her. She turned on the TV, switching the channel from battlenet to Jubilife TV. It was the only station that we got in Johto that aired Pokémon contests, usually the contests that they held in Sinnoh.
Mom just smiled from across the table and gave me a look. She knew I had no interest in contests, but Morganna would almost certainly have an interest in participating once she started her Journey. Maybe I’d time my run at the Sinnoh league for when she started her Journey and I could take her there for it. Arceus knows Johto barely had any contest support.
“Well Art, are you ready for this? I know you’ve put some thought into who you want for a partner but it’s not always the best idea to plan ahead. Sometimes the strongest bonds are formed with Pokémon you don't expect to meet.” She spoke softly but I could see a sad look in her eye. She was worried I’d be disappointed if I couldn’t get the partner I want.
“I know mom. I’m not completely dead set on the idea I had. If I run across a Pokémon that just feels right I’ll go with them, whether or not they were the one I was hoping for.” She looked more content at that and nodded.
“Good good. It should take us two days or so to get to Cherrygrove. The route there is one of the safest in the region but we will still take Lemon just to be careful. Once we get your supplies we’ll have 3 days in the surrounding area to find your starter. Then we have to start making our way home okay.”
“Yup, that should be enough time.” I nodded in agreement, finishing my waffles and beginning to clean up the eating area. Putting the dishes into the sink and starting to wash them I could hear mom heading into the living room and sitting beside Morganna.
“Hey sweetheart, you know me and your brother are going to be gone for a week, and we will be taking Lemon with us. I don’t want to leave you here all on your own so I hired a babysitter to look after things and keep you company.” I could overhear her explaining things to Morgan, who silently listened. While my sister had a habit of pouting often, she still always listened to our mom without issue. Yes she would whine after the fact, but she very rarely interrupted people.
“She will be here soon and I’ll introduce you two. She has her own Pokémon and loves contests too, so you’ll have plenty to talk about.” That was interesting, as the number of people in town with Pokémon who could babysit was pretty small. From what I could remember there wasn’t anyone in town around my age that would have Pokémon to babysit, since Ethan hadn’t been given his Pokémon yet. Must be someone older.
The conversation was interrupted by a knock at the door.
“That must be her.” Mom stood from the couch and made her way to the door just as I finished washing the last of our dishes. I was drying my hands on the towel and looking to the door to see who it was that would be babysitting my sister while we were away. My mom reached the door and opened it, only for a small, and very fluffy Azurill to run through her feet and start sprinting around the house.
“Oh no, Zee, please stop that. I’m sorry missus Lindt she’s still a baby so she’s always excited to explore new places.” The voice was that of a younger girl who made her way inside. I had caught myself from gasping out loud as I saw her walk in, wearing a large white hat with a red bow. Her red jacket and short blue coveralls made a rather distinct impression.
“That’s no problem Lyra, I get how they can be at that age, baby Pokémon and children have a lot in common.” My mom said laughing as she stepped aside to let the young girl inside.
“That’s Morganna on the couch there, hiding from the new person as she debates whether she wants to be shy or play with your Azurill.” Mom’s comment got an embarrassed 'eep' from my sister who lowered herself out of sight, to a chuckle from both my mom and Lyra.
“And standing there in the kitchen is Arthur, he’s the one we are making the trip to Cherrygrove for.” Mom pointed in my direction and Lyra looked in my direction. Our eyes locked and she quickly ran her way up to me, before extending her hand.
“Hi. I’m Lyra.” I eyed her hand for a second before shaking it and remembering to smile.
“Hi Lyra. I’m Arthur.”
And that’s how I met the other protagonist of generation 2, and how the cracks in my great plan for my journey began to form. So much for avoiding the plot and becoming powerful away from the mess of the main story.