Pokemon : An Unexpected Journey

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[ Austin's POV ] 

I held the warm teacup tighter, the delicate porcelain a comforting barrier between my restless fingers and the world swirling around me. 

What would I do if I could spill my darkest secrets without any repercussions?

The thought teased the edges of my mind, poking at the barriers I'd so carefully built. Would I dare?

I couldn't help but snort softly at the irony. Back on Earth, I was a staunch coffee enthusiast, yet here, I had cultivated a taste for tea. 

Earth.

Even thinking the word made my chest feel heavy, a dull ache of nostalgia and loss.

"Ready whenever you are, Ash," Caitlin's voice broke through my reverie, gentle yet laden with an unspoken promise of patience. 

I took a slow sip of the tea, allowing the floral notes and the faint scent of jasmine from the garden to wash over me. 

They did little to ease the tension coiling tighter in my shoulders. 

Outwardly calm like the lake's surface brushed by a gentle breeze, inwardly I was a storm, thoughts and fears crashing violently within.

Caitlin's eyes met mine. 

They held patience, a calm willingness to wait for eternity if needed. 

She was giving me space, the opportunity to take the first step. 

Her understanding, her silence, it urged me on.

"Do it?" 

The whisper in my mind was both a question and a push. 

I exhaled, feeling the weight of unspoken truths pressing against my lips.

"I am not from this world." 

The words tumbled out, clumsy yet liberating. 

As I confessed, the relief that coursed through me was indescribable—it was as if chains I hadn't realized I'd been wearing were suddenly unlocked, falling away from my shoulders, my heart, my very soul.

"Hmm." Caitlin nodded, her expression unreadable. I searched her face for signs of disbelief, of shock, perhaps even a hint of ridicule. 

But there was none. 

Just the steady, unwavering acceptance that had first drawn me to her.

Could she truly understand what it meant, though? 

The enormity of my confession, not just the strangeness but the isolation of it? Here was my deepest secret laid bare, and yet the world didn't crumble; Caitlin didn't recoil. 

It was both a profound relief and a new worry. 

Did she believe me? 

Or did she think it was a metaphor, a cry for help from a soul too weary to speak directly?

My hands relaxed slightly around the cup, the porcelain no longer a lifeline but just a cup again. 

I realized then that regardless of her belief, Caitlin had given me something invaluable at that moment—the space to be vulnerable, to be honest, and to be heard. 

"Can you tell me what being here means for you?" Caitlin asked. 

Her question hung in the air, and I realized that her belief was pivotal for me to continue this conversation. 

"I am telling the truth," I blurted out, the words escaping before I could think them through. 

It was as if some part of me, deep down, needed to affirm my reality, regardless of the consequences—even if Caitlin's memories would later be erased.

"I believe you," Caitlin responded instantly, her voice steady, free of hesitation or doubt.

"Why?" I found myself asking, driven by a mix of hope and skepticism. 

How could she accept something so outlandish so easily?

"As a psychic, I have to keep an open mind. There are things in this world I don't know of. The Four Realities to the world are just a theory yet to be a reality. A being from one of..." she began to explain, but I couldn't let her finish.

"I am not from the Four Realities," I interjected, my impatience peaking as she paused, prompting her next question.

"What do you mean?"

"Do you know the multiverse theory?" 

"Yes," she replied, her tone unsure.

"The multiverse is real, and I am from a world where Pokémon don't exist other than being a form of entertainment," I confessed, each word making my heart race faster. It felt like standing on the edge of a cliff, the wind ready to either push me into the abyss or pull me back to safety.

Caitlin paused, processing my words. 

"In an infinite amount of realities, I guess anything can be true. But how did you get here?"

"I don't know."

"And how does that make you feel?" 

At her words, a smile broke through my nervous facade. 

There was something incredibly reassuring about her response. 

Caitlin didn't press for the mechanics or the impossibilities. She didn't need to dissect my story or challenge my experience. Instead, she chose to focus on me, on my feelings and my well-being amidst revelations that would stagger anyone.

It was this empathy, this genuine concern, that helped the smile cement itself on my face. 

Even with this overwhelming secret shared, even with the immense burden of my truth laid bare, Caitlin showed that her priority remained—she wanted to help, to understand, to be there. 

I drained the cup, the aura I conjured coating my throat so the searing heat of the tea couldn't burn me. 

While the warmth slid down, I struggled to find the right words. 

Articulating the turmoil within was always a battle, but deep down, the clarity of my feelings shone through like a beacon.

"Caitlin, do you read books or watch movies?" I ventured, hoping to draw a parallel that might help her understand.

"Not the biggest fan of movies, I like books though," Caitlin responded, her eyes curious, focused on me.

"What if one day you woke up as the protagonist of your favorite book?" I asked, watching her closely.

"That would be..." she paused, her eyes widening in sudden realization as she whispered, "You aren't Ash Ketchum, are you?"

"Nope, Ash Ketchum is the protagonist of the Pokémon anime in my world," I clarified, seeing the puzzle piece fall into place in her mind.

"Anime?" 

I explained briefly, "Anime is a style of Japanese film and television animation."

"Is this world an anime?" Caitlin paused, giving weight to the question before continuing. 

I exhaled, the memory of my initial denial washing over me. 

"I used to think that it was an anime," I confessed. 

"I used to ignore everything that made this world seem more than what it was because it was easier to digest."

"Can you go further into it?" Caitlin pressed, leaning forward slightly, her eyes locked on mine.

"How?" 

"What did you ignore?" 

I took a deep breath, diving into the confession. 

"I ignored my first red flag—Yellow. She wasn't someone from the anime. Then I slowly ignored whenever another friend of mine, Brock, would reference some piece of media from this world. I used to ignore the TVs, the radios, the magazines Misty would read. Anything that hinted at this world being more than just an anime, I ignored."

"Why?" 

"Because Pokémon was a children's anime; it was safe, it was predictable. It was just a simple journey I could enjoy until I could meet up with Arceus or Dialga or Palkia in Sinnoh," I explained.

Caitlin spat out her tea, coughing slightly in surprise. 

"Sorry, I didn't expect to hear that you could meet up with the God of Time—Dialga—and God of Space—Palkia."

"What about Arceus?" 

"Who?" 

"The God of all Pokémon," I clarified.

"I don't think I've ever heard of that name before, but I'll take your word for it," Caitlin conceded.

I nodded, making a mental note to do some research on Arceus later. 

Something about her lack of recognition gnawed at me, suggesting deeper layers of reality here that I hadn't yet uncovered.

"So you chose to believe that this world was like this anime because it was better than the alternative," Caitlin summarized.

"Pretty much," I admitted, feeling a pang of embarrassment for my earlier naivety. "I finally realized that this world was its own reality, like the anime being just a children fairy tale of this world," I added, the admission feeling like a definitive closing of one chapter and the uneasy start of another.

Caitlin nodded, digesting the information before she probed deeper, "Can you tell me what you initially thought when you woke up as Ash?"

"Initially, I thought it was cool," I began, the memory vivid in my mind. 

"But that slowly morphed into something horrifying." 

I paused, seeing her nod in understanding.

"It would be horrifying to be in the body of someone else, especially when you are ignorant as to how it happened," she echoed my sentiments.

"What about now?" 

"Now, I have accepted this reality and this body to be my own. I am not Ash Ketchum; I am Austin Kevin," I declared, a firmness in my voice that I sometimes felt I didn't fully possess.

Caitlin frowned, her expression telling me she sensed the layers beneath my statement. 

"When did this acceptance come?"

I hesitated, the darker parts of my journey threatening to surface. 

"When... when Raticate died," I finally admitted, the words heavy, laden with a grief that was still fresh.

The shock on Caitlin's face was palpable. She was visibly shaken, her eyes wide with a mix of horror and sympathy.

"Can you clarify what you mean?" Caitlin's voice pulled me back from the edge of my reverie, her hand motioning gently, urging me to unpack the layers of my story.

Before I could answer, memories rushed through me, each one sharp and vivid. "Before Raticate died, the world was just the Pokémon anime for me," I began, my voice low, almost a murmur. 

"I didn't accept my identity; I tried to just have fun until the world took Raticate from me." 

My fingers tightened around the now empty teacup, the porcelain cool against my skin. "Then it felt personal. I felt my place in this world. I felt my anger, my despair, my pain. And like a fire burning through something, the veil that I put on myself, the veil I hid behind, it burned away and I found myself chained in this world. I accepted my place." My eyes remained fixed on the cup, not daring to meet Caitlin's gaze, as the sounds of my heart beating and my breaths filled the silence around us.

There was a pregnant pause, heavy with the weight of my confession, before Caitlin spoke again. 

"How does that make you feel?" 

"Afraid," I replied, the word slipping out almost against my will. 

It was the truth, raw and unadorned.

"Why?" 

"This world is like my own; it has its good and its evils," I said, feeling a strange clarity as I articulated my thoughts. 

"I accepted my place when I saw the evils of this world, and I chose to burn it all." 

I finally lifted my gaze to meet Caitlin's, the intensity of my declaration mirrored in my eyes. 

"I am Ashura."

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[ Author's Note:

Okay, so yeah, I didn't upload yesterday even though I promised daily uploads. Guess I'm a bit of a hypocrite. But putting hypocrisy aside, the reason was that I was kind of stumped on what to write for Austin's therapy session. Initially, I planned not to have Austin reveal his transmigration because it felt too intimate, but then I changed my mind. I wanted to add and remove a lot of stuff until I ended up with this version that I liked.

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I also added a reason why this fanfic was more childlike, with hints of darker aspects throughout. After Raticate's death, the series took a darker turn. Plus, this chapter, in my opinion, added a lot to Austin's character and how he feels.

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In the next chapter, his therapy will be concluded, and we'll move on to reuniting with Misty and Brock. So, how do you guys like a trip into Austin's mind in this chapter? Did it make sense? Was it cool? Was it lame? Please let me know your thoughts in the comments below.

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Thank you for enjoying my work, and thank you for your support. I hope you all have a blessed rest of the day, and please share your thoughts in the comments. ]

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[Omake Paragraph]

Once, there were no humans on the island. The Nosepass lived unmoving, as they had since birth, in a long line through the cave at the island's center; they fed by attracting scrap from dead steel-types with their magnetic noses.

Then the humans came. They mined the cave for resources, but somehow determined they were gods. They carried the Nosepass out to the north side, facing the sea. Every clan, tribe, or city would try to outdo each other, building them higher and higher platforms and sacrificing to them more and more steel. And still they did not move.

Then the island was mined dry. The drive to please the Nosepass had gone too far, and stone and steel alike were gone. Without these resources, civilization collapsed. The people turned their anger on the clergy, and when they learned they could defy them without bringing anyone's wrath, they grew bold enough that they tore down their platforms and toppled their gods. The people fought each other for food and died off until only a hundredth of their number remained. The Nosepass lay facedown for a hundred years. And still they did not move.

Then the island was found by explorers on Lapras who had come from the outside world. The pokeball spread to the island, and a brave few concluded that the face-down creatures were not false gods left behind to remember their ancestors' folly, but pokemon like any other. They captured them. They brought them back to the cave they had called home when their ancestors first discovered the Nosepass – not for ritual, but to see what they could do against the pokemon of the cave. And they fought, but did not move.

Then they gained so much experience that their form changed. And then the Probopass moved.