1.Waking Up

"Uh..."

There was a long groan.

It belonged to someone. Someone lying in the middle of the forest. Someone who felt like shit. And it was a man with a short beard and a quite an ornate look.

"Oh, fuck." came again from this seemingly neat-looking man.

Dressed in a white shirt with a dark trench coat over it, he was wearing dark pants and the same color expensive shoes. At the front pocket of his shirt, he had a pair of dark gold glasses dangling.

The most surprising feature of this man was his height, 8.2 feet. Incredible numbers for a man, he is in fact one of the tallest people in history, amazing isn't it? Well, it depends on how you look at it.

The man raised his hand and reached for his head. Grasping it he sighed. " I've never had a drink, but this is probably how people feel after drinking. It's a disgusting feeling, definitely." he scratched the top of his head in slow movements trying to come to his senses.

He blinked. And the leaves of a tree met him.

"Hmm? A tree? " he asked himself. "There shouldn't be any trees here. " he blinked again, same picture.

He clenched his hand into a fist. Something gathered in his fist, it felt like earth and grass, and it wasn't what he expected.

The man decided to stand up to look around. Plus he didn't want to contaminate his trench coat even more, he really loved that cape.

As he tried to get up and assume a sitting position, while feeling slightly weak, he realized one thing, or rather felt it.

There was something else on top of his shirt. And he knew for a fact that he was wearing nothing but a trench coat.

The man slowly lowered his gaze to his chest, feeling the unfamiliar weight on his body. His gaze slid over the dark fabric, revealing something unexpected in its path - a breastplate or perhaps a bulletproof vest. It was modern and dark, lightweight as the heaviness was not felt. But what caught his attention the most was a strange badge protruding from the middle of his chest. "Hmm, what is that?"

The man slowly stood up from his seated position, scrutinizing every detail of his new 'outfit' carefully. His gaze was a bit disoriented from waking up, but trying to come to his senses. And despite the fact that his height reached an astonishing 2.5 meters, he was anything but a "scrawny git" as people of his height usually are.

On the contrary, he was impressively pumped up, his broad shoulders and powerful neck testifying to the fact that he paid attention to his body and took care of it, and God knows how hard he had to work to get in that shape, going through some sort of torture.

He felt the heaviness of that body armor on him, but it didn't stop him from moving freely. "Hmm, light enough, and pretty big if they found one in my size too. " he pondered aloud.

He shook his pants off the dirt, glad he woke up on the grass and not somewhere worse. To his delight, his pants didn't even turn green from the grass ( some fabrics do that ).

Finished with his pants, he ran his hand down the trench coat, first from the bottom and so to the top. Near the pockets he came upon something. "Hmm? " pulling his hand there, he grabbed something, and already realized what was there, "My favorite" his glasses.

A sudden joyful expression appeared on his face as he pulled out the dark gold glasses. The iron frame made them look solid, and the dark tint and gold accents made them look very classy and expensive. He felt the weight of the glass and metal that made them feel special.

He instantly placed them on his forehead, feeling the fullness of feeling them all over his head.

" Okay, back to our situation. Is this some kind of simulation again or are the guys making some kind of video for their youtube channel again? I understand to move to another location while I'm sleeping that time, but right during the intermission of my show... How did I even lose consciousness in the first place?"

What he was talking about was an old story. His friends, who had a pretty popular YouTube channel, had decided to give him a surprise birthday party. So, the day before, they came to visit him, purely for the sake of a "friendly" meeting, and put a rather strong sleeping pill in his drink.

Thanks to that, he didn't even wake up when they took him out in the middle of the night on his bed to some asshole of the world, where he woke up in the morning. And woke him up with the loud words "Surprise" followed by the closest standing friend getting punched in the face. It's never a good idea to be shouted at by a super high, pumped-up ambo who can box perfectly. Well, they've learned their lesson.

After all, no one was yelling in his ear right now, and today wasn't his birthday.

"Okay, first things first. What the fuck am I wearing? And why is this thing so comfortable. And where the hell am I?!" he was talking about the weird body armor he was wearing. For interest's sake, he wanted to get a better look at the dial in the middle. So he pulled out his cell phone from his second pocket, which he had discovered when he was cleaning his clothes. Swiping his finger across the screen and transferring the camera to the function.

" Here we go. " he took a picture of his chest with the front camera. Noting the rather familiar design as he pointed the camera. "Weird." He opened the picture.

" Hmm, isn't this... What's his name... " he scratched the back of his head, " Tren, Gren, Gren, Gwen ... Ben... Yes! Ben 10." digging through his memories he counted the different options, because he knows exactly what he was watching.

Of course at some point it just went away, and became a decrepit memory, until now. "Even though I'm 31, I wouldn't mind watching this masterpiece from the 2010s. Those were good times. " he reflected with a smile. One thing though," That kind of armor wasn't in the cartoon, if memory serves, or did they add it in later seasons? " he raised an eyebrow.

Looking at that dial, and remembering how Ben Tennyson had used it, i.e. to turn into aliens at a push.... He decided to fulfill a childhood dream, and for a second he imagined something like this, "Ah, fuck it. " and he put his finger to the end of the dial and pressed it.

[ Beep]

"What?"

And right in front of his face, the screen turned on. A hologram, flying, no screen, no touchscreen or anything. "A projector?" he gibbered, but for that there had to be a surface for the light to fall on to display what was being shown. It wasn't until five seconds later that the man noticed the "screen" in the air and what it said.

[Wielder : Thomas Andre

Location : Earth-011997

Task : At the sole discretion of the Wielder ]

Thomas Andere, that was the man's name. And Thomas immediately noticed the 'Location'. It was clear that it was Earth, but how long ago did they start attributing it? "What is this number? Has the scientific world made some kind of discovery that now they have to number the planet? And it's definitely a projector, or a projector... Maybe a new invention I don't know about? "

"Pika-Pikachu? "

A thin voice sounded behind him. Thomas turned around abruptly, and with his movements the flying screen retracted as well. Without hearing exactly who the voice belonged to, nor what was said he got into a ready stance.

He was probably being filmed by a hidden camera somewhere, so he had to look his best, plus get a good shot.

***

Thomas Andre's gaze narrowed as he watched a peculiar sight emerge from the dense foliage: an oversized mouse-like creature with a vibrant yellow hue, its form unmistakably reminiscent of a creature from his distant memories – Pikachu. Could this be some other hologram? Like the Omnitrix?

As the creature cautiously advanced, Thomas observed its movements with a mixture of fascination and wariness. Its slow approach seemed almost deliberate, as if it were assessing him just as he was scrutinizing it. With each cautious step, Thomas couldn't shake the feeling of déjà vu that washed over him, as if he were experiencing a surreal blend of reality and fiction.

Despite the absurdity of the situation, Thomas found himself strangely drawn to the creature, his gaze locked onto its every movement with a mixture of curiosity and apprehension. He had never seen such a realistic Pikachu, even though Nintendo tried to come up with something new every time to advertise their products. But this is something... And apparently they succeeded. "Amazing... I hope their recording all this... "

As Pikachu drew nearer, Thomas remained rooted to the spot, his expression a study in bemusement and intrigue. Though his rational mind struggled to comprehend the spectacle before him.

His curiosity continued to gnaw at him, he found himself succumbing to its relentless pull. With a mixture of trepidation and fascination, he slowly lowered himself to one knee, his hand extending tentatively toward the Pikachu parody before him.

"Screw this," he muttered under his breath, a wry grin tugging at the corners of his lips. Despite his certainty that the creature was nothing more than a projection, he couldn't resist the urge to test its reality, if only to satisfy his own curiosity.

As his fingertips grazed the air where the Pikachu stood, he couldn't help but feel a twinge of self-consciousness. What if this was all just an elaborate prank, captured on hidden cameras for the amusement of his friends? The thought of being caught in their trap elicited a mixture of annoyance and amusement, but he was prepared to play along, ready to laugh it off as a momentary lapse in judgment

As Thomas Andre's hand hovered closer to the Pikachu parody, he could almost sense the anticipation crackling in the air. With a little excitement, he extended his fingers, inching closer to the illusionary creature before him.

"Pika-Pika?" said it little louder. This projection may have been scripted, but it didn't scared of Andre's height. It was precisely because of this reason that small animals were afraid to approach him.

As Thomas's towering form loomed over the Pikachu, he watched intently as it sniffed the air, its tiny nostrils twitching with each breath.

Then, with a sudden movement, Pikachu leaned forward, its small nose brushing against Thomas's outstretched hand. In that fleeting moment, Thomas felt a gentle puff of air against his skin, warm and strangely comforting.

His eyes widened in astonishment, his shock mirrored in the startled expression that crossed his features. It was a surreal moment, a collision of reality and fantasy that left him momentarily speechless.

For a heartbeat, time seemed to stand still as Thomas processed the unexpected sensation. Then, with a mixture of wonder and disbelief, he slowly withdrew his hand, his mind racing with a whirlwind of questions and possibilities

He stood frozen in place as Pikachu sniffed him a few more times, and then raised his little head and looked at him with beady eyes, a million questions racing through his mind like a whirlwind.

How could a mere projection exhibit such lifelike behavior? Was this Pikachu some kind of advanced animatronic, meticulously crafted to mimic the movements of its fictional counterpart? But if so, why was it so remarkably realistic, right down to the gentle rise and fall of its chest as it breathed?

Pikachu's movements continued to captivate him, Thomas couldn't help but notice the subtle details that defied explanation. The slight moisture of its nose, the twitch of its ears, the glint of curiosity in its eyes – all were attributes that shouldn't exist in a mere projection or animatronic.

A wave of skepticism washed over him as he considered the possibility that this Pikachu was some kind of hybrid creature, engineered by scientists and unleashed upon the world as part of an elaborate prank or experiment. Perhaps hidden cameras were capturing his every reaction, ready to broadcast the spectacle to an unsuspecting audience.

Or is it?

Andre couldn't shake the nagging feeling of doubt that crept into his mind. Was this all just an elaborate setup, orchestrated for the amusement of hidden cameras lurking in the underbrush? The thought gnawed at him, casting a shadow of suspicion over the surreal scene unfolding before him

Standing rooted to the spot, Thomas delved deep into his memories, retracing the events leading up to his unexpected awakening in the forest.

"My show went to advertising, I went to my dressing room," his thoughts retracing the familiar routine of his daily life. "After drinking a little water, I sat down in my chair, and then..."

His train of thought faltered as he grappled with the memory of that inexplicable sensation in his chest, a fleeting discomfort he felt. "And then I woke up here," he murmured to himself, his voice barely above a whisper.

With a determined resolve, Thomas rose to his feet, withdrawing his hand from Pikachu's proximity. The creature responded with a curious tilt of its head and a questioning "Pika-Pi?" that echoed in the stillness of the forest.

Andre tore his gaze away from the Pikachu, his eyes scanning the surrounding landscape with renewed focus. From the lush foliage to the vast expanse of the sky above.

" Did I died? "