1 CH. 01 - Where Am I?
Ahh man, I am dead, ain't I?
Oh, you wanna know how I died?
Okay, lemme tell ya...
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My name is Alex Riziero, and I turned 24 last Sunday. I am just *ahem* a NEET.
Who is a NEET you ask?
Somebody who is always shut indoors, who likes playing games, watching anime and reading mangas without any form of social contact.
Yeah, I know.
What a terrible way to live, ain't it?
My parents died in an accident when I was 10, and I lived in an orphanage till my 18th birthday. After which I moved out and stayed in a rundown apartment and barely lived off several part-time jobs.
On my 21st birthday, I inherited the money in my parent's bank account, after which I stopped going to work and became a total shut-in, only going to the grocery to get food for my sustenance. I never really interacted with other people and my social skills were rather lacking.
To pass the time, I started playing Pokémon: FireRed on my mobile using the Drastic Emulator, which I got hooked up on in no time. Huh? Why use an emulator when you can buy a Gameboy console? Being raised in an orphanage makes you learn how to be stingy with money since we barely have any on hand. So why bother buying a console when you can use an emulator and play the same? I know. I know. You are gonna berate me by saying - buy the games through official means so that we support the game creators. I truly support that ideology. But what do I do? I scarcely have the means to support myself and you want me to buy a console. No way. Na ah!!
(Spoiler Alert!!)
Other than the game, I even binge-watched the whole Pokémon show. I even let out a tear when Ash defeated Leon. Even then, the first season of the Pokemon series was the best in my opinion. What about you guys?
So, today after a long time, I went to the park, for a walk (Duh, obviously), wearing a hoodie. The park was almost always rather devoid of people, so it was my go-to spot. After walking for a while, I relaxed on a bench and took my phone out. By now, I have now beaten several Pokémon games. The latest one that I had completed was 'Black 2' and 'White 2'. Man, I really wanna play the rest of 'em but the newest ones can't be played on Drastic Emulator. Gotta find some other means. (;P)
But still 'Pokémon: FireRed' has the most sentimental value for me. I even play it time and time again, trying to speedrun it. And, that was what I was doing while sitting on the bench.
SCREECH!!
A loud sound rebounded throughout the block and I noticed a truck which was veering out of control and had found its way into the park. It was speeding dangerously and was about to hit a blonde girl who was jogging with her headphones on.
Ahh, how many isekai mangas have I read where the protagonist was hit by a truck-kun only to get transmigrated to a different world? *sigh*
Hmm? Huh?
What am I doing?
Why is my body moving on its own as if it's on autopilot?
F*ck.
I don't know what spurred me on, but I dashed forward and found myself hugging the girl closely and jumping out of the truck's way.
THUD.
We landed a few feet away, with me still holding her close.
CRASH!!
The truck came to a stop after crashing into a large tree.
Phew. Safe... Just hope the driver's uninjured.
Squish.
Hmm? Ahh. My hands are on something nice and soft. I gave it a few more presses.
Squish. Squish. Squish.
"Hey!!" An angry voice bellowed at me.
I glanced down at the person that was sprawled on the ground below me. A beautiful blonde girl with a petite-looking face and a ponytail. Crystal blue eyes. She was wearing a black tracksuit with a white stripe across her chest. And finally, she was well-endowed. Why do I know that? My hands have been groping for the past few seconds.
"Shit. Sorry about that. Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm okay. Could y-", she stopped midway with her jaws wide open and eyes opened wide in fear. It all happened instantly. There was nothing that could have been done which would have changed the outcome.
All my senses were giving me warning signs. To move away from the place. A tingling sensation crept over me. All the hair on my air stood up in goosebumps.
BLITZZ! CRACK!!
A bolt of lightning hit us!
That's right. F*cking lightning hit us!!
Haaah... I lost my consciousness at that point.
And I believe that's how I died.
Huh? Then how am I talking now? Who am I talking to? *sigh* I am just rambling to myself. I think I am in a coma. Why? Cuz I can't see or hear or feel anything. Only my thoughts. I feel like I am floating in space-
Hmm??
Why do I feel a prickly sensation as if I am laying down on the grass?
Ow, ow, ow.
Something's pecking at my head. Pecking? I suddenly opened my eyes and stared at the thing that was pecking at my head.
It was a brown-coloured bird with cream coloured throat and belly. Hmm? Where have I seen it before? I stared at it while it stopped pecking and stared back at me.
At that instant, a blue translucent screen hovered at the right corner of my sight displaying...
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[Pokémon]: Pidgey
[Gender]: Male
[Level]: 2
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"A PIDGEY!!?", I yelled wide-eyed. The Pidgey on getting scared pecked me once again on the head and flew away.
"Ow!" I stood up from the ground while my forehead, grimacing in pain. "F*cking Pidgey." I looked at the Pidgey that was flying away at a distance. "What's a Pidgey doing here? Where the f*ck am I?"
And what is this blue screen?
Why can I see info regarding the Pidgey?
Level 2?
Am I in a game?
Have I gone crazy?
Or Am I dreaming?
Subconsciously I pinched myself as if to wake up from this dream. "Ah!", shit, that hurt. That pretty much confirms I am alive and not dreaming. Hmm.. So have I teleported or transmigrated or something? I should check it out.
First things first, what is this blue screen? Am I the only one seeing it? The screen disappeared when the Pidgey went out of my sight. I started looking around at the different things in my surroundings. Hmm.. I am in a clearing surrounded by some trees. And the area in which I am standing has some sort of weird symbols in a circle burnt onto the ground. Appears to be some kind of summoning circle. Was this how I was brought here?
Hmm...
The screen appears only when looking at an object for some time. Okay. That's one thing down.
I looked at myself. Hmm? Have I gotten smaller?
My hands and feet look like they have shrunk. My dress seems to be the same one that I have been wearing before I lost consciousness but some sizes smaller. A plain white T-shirt with a black zipper hoodie on top of it, and blue baggy jeans with extra pockets. Looking through my jeans pocket, I got my phone.
Hmm...
It isn't damaged or anything. After getting hit by a bolt of lightning you would think it would get burnt to a crisp or something.
Wait. Oh my god..! I got hit by a bolt of lightning..! And I didn't care about it till now.
Now that I think about it, are the lightning and this weird circle connected in some way? Then what about that girl that I had saved? I was laying on top of her when it happened. If I got teleported to some sort of Pokémon-esque land after getting hit by that bolt of lightning, then she should have been here along with me since she got hit too. Or could she be teleported to some other place or even an entirely different universe?
I hope she made it out all right wherever she is.
Putting my thoughts aside, I checked out my phone.
It turned on.
Hmm?
Only two apps are present - Map and Trainer ID.
Where are my other apps? At least where's the Spotify app? My thousands of songs and my premium plan? Man, I wanna cry my heart out.
F*ck
Let's do with what I have now - and I clicked on the Map app. Hmm? Pallet Town? I am in Kanto. Holy Shit. I am in Pokémon alright. My dream of getting a Charizard for real can finally come true. According to the map, it looks like I am on the outskirts of Pallet Town just before Route 1.
As soon as I finished checking the Map, multiple blue screens started popping up at the right corner of my eye where it popped up previously.
*Ding*
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[Quest Completed]
1. Open Map App.
• Exp gained +2
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*Ding*
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[New Quest(s)]
1. Open the Trainer ID App.
2. Open System Interface.
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Quests? Are there blue screens or some type of System dialogue? Is this some kind of a joke? Am I in a Manga or something?
Haah. Let's check. There's a quest to open the Trainer ID app. Okay. Here. It reads:
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[Trainer ID] (Unregistered) :
"[Name]:
"[Age]:
"[Hometown]:
"[ID No]:
"₽ : 0
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*Ding*
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[Quest(s) Completed]
1. Open the Trainer ID App.
• Exp Gained +2
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*Ding*
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[New Quest(s)]
1. Unlock System Interface
1. Visit a Professor
2 Visit a Pokémon Centre
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*Ding*
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[System Tutorial]:
• To unlock your Main System Interface, please think of the words 'Unlock System Interface'.
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*Ding*
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[System Tutorial]:
• Visit a Professor or Pokémon Centre to register your Trainer ID
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Neat. This thing even provides a Tutorial mode to guide me through this. But how is the System still working with it being still needed to be unlocked?
Hmm...
Anyways, to visit a Professor I would have to go to Pallet Town which is Prof. Oak. And to visit a Pokémon Center, I gotta reach Viridian City which is in the opposite direction. Going to Viridian City after visiting the Professor would be the safest bet.
And I started walking towards Pallet Town with the help of the map.
On the way, I decided to unlock the System Interface.
'Unlock System Interface'
*Ding*
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[System Interface]
• Welcome User 'Alex Riziero' to the world of Pokémon!!
• Please wait till the System Integration completes
- 0%
- 10%
.
.
.
- 100%
• Thank you for your patience.
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Wow.
.
.
.
