New Beginnings – A Pokemon Slice of Life. [OC/Isekai/Move Tutor/Breeder]

As it turns out, a Kadabra is much smaller than Ethan imagined. For some reason, he’d thought that they would be around his height, which was six foot. They were more around the height of a child. Around the upper three to lower four foot range. 

This Kadabra was one of the Pokemon League mandated teleport Pokemon, used by the Rangers in search and rescue. Rangers Roberts had brought it along, and they were in the process of explaining how teleportation would affect him. 

Long story short, it's about what he would expect. They were telling him that he was going to throw up his berry breakfast. There was apparently no question about that. It would happen on your first time, but if you teleported often, you’d grow accustomed to its effects. 

“...Do you understand?” Ranger Roberts asked. 

“Yeah, I understand. Can I say goodbye to the Pokemon before I leave?” 

Roberts, an older man around the age of thirty nodded and waved him towards the Oddish and floating Hoppip and Skiploom. “I’ll be right here. Take your time.” 

Ethan started with the Oddish, who looked happy that he was being saved. He wasn’t sure if they properly understood the scenario, but they recognised that he seemed relieved. He thanked them, and when he was finished, they all puffed out their sweet scent together in a brilliant sparkle of pink. 

The Hoppip just floated about as they usually did, but the Skiploom gave him a hug—directly to his face. He thanked it for its company, and said that he might come back one day.

“... you can all eat as many berries as you want. If you see him, can you tell Pachirisu that I left, and that I hope we meet again?” 

Skiploom bobbed in the air and did a little backflip while fanning its little arms in circles. That looked like a yes to him. “Thanks…”

Ethan returned to the three Pokemon Rangers, who all watched on with conflicting expressions and gave them a nod. “I’m ready.” 

The Kadabra looked around at everyone near and waited for each of them to say that they were ready to depart. When Ethan gave his approval, Kadabra’s held up its signature spoon to his forehead and began glowing purple. 

The next second, Ethan felt like he was compressed, blinded by a phantasmagoria of colors, stretched like a noodle, spun around at mach three speed, and then hit in the head with a club. All in a single second. 

When it was over, as he was told, he fell to his knees and vomited what little he had in his stomach all over the grassy ground. As he heaved, Kadabra walked over and patted his back in comfort, which helped a lot. If he had the HM-Cut, he’d pass it along. 

The next thing he noticed were the sounds. In his clearing, the only sounds he heard were the mumbles of Hoppip and Oddish, the leaves rustling in the wind, and the occasional fall of a berry. Now, he heard people chatting all around him, footsteps clacking on cobbled stone, and mechanical sliding doors. Of course, there were loads of Pokemon sounds as well. 

He gazed around to get his bearings and saw Eterna City for the first time. The first thing he noticed was the gawking crowd of bystanders watching his arrival with a mix of pity, shock, and empathy. Past the murmuring crowd, he saw that he was right out front of a Pokemon center. Unlike the games, the Pokemon center was much larger than a single story. This one in particular had four floors, and had its signature red roof with white walls. Flowers were planted around the building in planter pots and right next to the center, a large cleared area filled of dirt squares was setup, and there were a host of people having Pokemon battles within. 

As for the Pokemon he saw around him, there was much more diversity than he imagined. While he couldn’t tell you every single pokemon and what region they were from, he was fairly certain and some of the Pokemon around him did not belong in Sinnoh. There were some he recognised, and some he did not. 

For the ones he did indeed know of, he saw a duo of elemental monkeys, a Pansage and Panpour, hugging the knees of their trainer as they stared at him with confusion. One younger girl had a Zigzagoon cradled in her arms, which looked off color. It was black instead of brown. Was that a shiny? 

There were lots of other Pokemon, such as Pidgey, Rattata, Shinx, HootHoot, Maril, and even a Pichu. There was so much variety that it threw him off guard. 

Slowly he stood and signaled that he was okay to the Rangers. Elise took the lead and led him into the Pokemon Center. Inside, people waited in chairs with their Pokemon, some stood in line at the front desk, where several Chansey and normal colored hair nurses helped them with what they needed. Off in the corner, some people sat by computers, talking in a video call, watching videos, or doing research. 

Ethan was led past the Lobby and into the back rooms where he could see various Pokemon getting the help they needed. As he passed a window, he even saw a bright pink head of hair bent down consoling a little yellow sheep. A Mareep if he had to guess, but it was only for a second. 

He was led into a meeting room of some sort, where several other people stood or sat around a large oval table. One was Nurse Joy, who looked nearly identical as they did in the games, if slightly older. Bright pink hair with two looping pigtails in the back, a small nurse's hat, and adorned in pink and white made up her look. She gave him a gentle smile as their eyes met.

Next, was a woman in her thirties who Ethan vaguely remembered. She had short black and orange hair, and wore a green pancho across her shoulder. Her slim waist was exposed, and she was relaxed back into her chair, seemingly at ease. 

Next was an older gentleman in his forties who wore a dark brown trench coat. He looked fairly unassuming, but Ethan was pretty sure he knew who this guy was. He didn’t want to just blurt out his name, but he thought that this might be Agent Looker from the International Police. Why would he be here for a random missing person? He didn’t know, but it certainly made this more serious than he first thought.  

Elise nudged him with an elbow and Ethan realized that he was standing there gawking. Quickly, he moved into a seat next to the woman with the pancho. Elise and Roberts sat down as well, but the third ranger who Ethan had yet to get the name of left the room and went on his way. Probably doing a host paperwork, if Ethan had to guess. 

Nurse Joy was the first to speak. “Hello. I’m glad to see that you’re safe and sound. After the discussions here, I’d like for you to get a checkup to ensure the health of you and your Pokemon. To my understanding, you’ve been lost in a forest for nearly a year?” 

She spoke gently and calmly, but there was a presence to her words. Ethan didn’t think that he had the option to decline. “That’s roughly accurate, but I don’t have any Pokemon. I would like a checkup though.” 

Next, the woman in the green poncho spoke. She straightened in her seat, and looked at him closely for a few seconds. Ethan just stared back, mildly off put by the stare.

“You have no idea who I am, do you?” She asked. 

Ethan just nodded and looked around at the others for any help. The woman sighed and introduced herself. “I’m Gardenia, Eterna City Gym Leader.” 

“Okay? It’s nice to meet you..?” Ethan said. Yeah, sure, he could probably remember some of her Pokemon, but he didn’t know anything about Gardenia from the games. He normally just beat the gym then went about collecting more Pokemon. 

Gardenia shrugged and relaxed back into her seat, seemingly done with her introduction.

Next, the man who Ethan assumed was Agent Looker spoke. “I’m here as a member from InterPol. I’m here to oversee the Psychic mind reading. Please, pretend I'm not here.” 

Ethan nodded, this was probably Agent Looker. Maybe saying his name would give him some credence? Or would that make him look more suspect? Well, he didn’t really have anything to lose. “Are you Agent Looker?” 

Looker’s look of surprise was genuine, but after that, suspicion through glinting eyes was all that remained. He never answered back. 

Ethan looked around the quiet room, and decided he should start. “Would you like me to explain how and why I got lost first? Or would you like the Psychic Pokemon to read my memories, then have me explain?” 

Elise, who sat a few seats away from him leaned against the table. “Why don’t you explain first, then we can verify from the Pokemon.” 

Ethan took a shuddering breath and took a second to mentally prepare himself. “As I said, you all would think I am insane if I didn't get verification. The truth is… I’m not from this world. One day, I was on my way home from work, and I appeared in that clearing in Eterna Forest without any notice. While I know you’re probably thinking, ‘Oh, it’s probably just a random teleport incident’ or something… There was no Pokemon where I was from, at least, not in real life.” 

Ethan grabbed his wallet from his pocket and slid it to Gardenia, who was now sitting up in her seat, intently focused on the conversation. “That’s my wallet from before I arrived. You can look through it, and you will see that everything is going to be foreign. Feel free to pass it around.” 

Gardenia took a moment to inspect his ID, cards, and the few dollars he had in bills, before she slid it to Nurse Joy, who did the same. 

“I know that this sounds insane, that’s why I requested mind reading. Pokemon didn’t exist in real life, but it did exist as a—a for of entertainment. An electronic video game, a TV show, a card game... While I was never an expert, I at least know some information. That’s why I am familiar with some of the Pokemon and people.” Ethan finished by looking at Agent Looker, who stared down at the table in deep thought. 

Nobody spoke up after a few seconds, and Elise and Roberts just had a pitying frown on their faces. Ethan’s chest tightened. They didn’t believe him. “Feel free to ask any questions. I’ll try to answer to the best of my ability.” 

Nurse Joy was the first to speak, after she passed his wallet down towards Looker. “Mr. Reed, You’ve had a harrowing experience…” She started, but Looker interrupted her. 

“What do you know of Agent Looker?” 

Everyone’s head swiveled towards him, but his eyes were placed solely on Ethan. “I know that they are one of the main agents for the International Police, and that they have tracked down numerous villainous terrorists and gangs. They’ve rooted out Team Galactic… and some others. They have a Croagunk and a Growlithe. They’re someone that I know can be trusted.” 

Looker didn’t make any movements or show any emotion, but he asked some more questions. “In the Pokemon that you know, is there a main character?” 

As it looked like he was getting somewhere, Ethan quickly nodded. “Yes! It depends which form of entertainment you liked, but the main protagonist is Ash Ketchum. He’s from Pallet town in Kanto.” 

“Can you list any of his achievements?” Looker asked. 

“I can name a few, but there’s way too many for me to remember. Also, I don’t know if the entertainment from my world really translated to this one, one-for-one. He’s been involved with a lot of legenda—” 

“That’s enough. We’ll start the mind reading.” Looker reached toward his hip and tossed out a plain, but very clean standard Pokeball. Out of it, came a five foot tall Alakazam. It instantly looked to Looker and they had a silent conversation. 

Once they were done, Looker looked to Ranger Elise and Ranger Roberts. “I’d like to ask for you two to leave.” His tone brokered no arguments, so they both shared a startled look with one another, before darting. Elise gave him a final worrying glance before she left. 

Alakazam walked towards him, and Ethan turned his chair around to face the Pokemon fully. Just like with the Gardevior from months past, the Pokemon spoke in his mind. Its voice was old, that of a wizened wizard. “Do you consent to my Psychic influence? Everyone in this room will be linked, and they will all see your memories. If at any point you wish for me to stop, simply will it and I will do so. As you are requesting this service and not required by law to undergo this procedure, you still have your rights. Do not let anyone tell you otherwise. May I proceed?” 

Ethan took a deep breath. “Will this be painful?” 

Alakazam smiled, and comforted him in the tone of an elderly grandpa. “No. It might actually be helpful. Some things are not easily forgotten completely.” 

“I give you my consent.” Ethan gripped the armrest of his chair and prepared for the worst.