Chapter 1: The Beginning After the End

[General POV]

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Since the first Pokémon game he ever got, Eli had been obsessed with the franchise. From the anime and manga to the games, any form of Pokémon content would be devoured by him the moment it came out. One thing that stood out to him was competitive Pokémon. The depth of competitive Pokémon, especially VGC, was mind-blowing to him. Though he did try his hand in some tournaments here and there, he couldn't give time to Pokémon as he grew older. Yet, he still readily consumed all the new content of his childhood obsession.

At age 23, as always, he was making his way to his mundane job, living his mundane life. But that day, life had some other plans for him. While on the way to work, he took a shortcut through an alleyway. As his luck would have it, he was caught by a mugger in the alley. As he tried to fight back, the mugger stabbed him to death.

"Is this how my life ends? I wanted to at least win one Pokémon world championship, no matter how impossible it would be for someone like me," Eli lamented at his mundane life with no accomplishments.

As he felt the cold embrace of death near, he could slowly feel his life fading away. Until one moment, he closed his eyes, and the next, he was in a white room with nothing in sight. 'What's going on? Aren't I supposed to be dead?' Eli had a million questions racing across his head.

"Yes, but actually no, my child," an ethereal voice rang out, seemingly from everywhere. Eli looked around frantically to find the source of the voice, but the voice rang out again with slight amusement. "You won't find me, no matter how hard you look, child, for I am in your head. You are in limbo right now, and I have come here to give you an offer."

Eli stopped and realized that this might indeed be God. "Yes, child, I am indeed the one you refer to as 'The Creator.' Let me present you with an offer: either be transmigrated into a world of your choosing or be sent to heaven. Which would you prefer?" God affirmed his realization.

Eli spoke without a moment's hesitation, "I want to be transmigrated into the world of Pokémon, specifically the Kanto region." God gave a thoughtful hum. "Hmm, not an impossible wish. Anything else, my child?" Eli thought long and hard about it before he replied, "If possible, I want knowledge of the world I am being transmigrated into and how it differs from the Pokémon world we have come to know, as well as get a system and a starter of my choosing."

"Very well, I shall give you the information and this 'System' as your folk have started calling it. But even I have my limitations, so try not to be too disappointed about this 'System.' Regrettably, this is also the same case for the starter Pokémon. I will give you a list." As the words were said, a tome was conjured in front of Eli with the list of Pokémon he could have as a starter.

"Don't rush, child. I have more than enough time to wait. Comes with being a God," God gave out a chuckle at his own joke. Eli focused on the list, and while he could have picked the Royal Trio of any generation, he wanted to have something else. Hoping to find something good, he scoured the tome until he finally found something unique.

After thinking of the pros and cons, Eli decided to pick this Pokémon. "I want a Kubfu as my starter, and I want it to evolve into Rapid Strike Urshifu." God seemed intrigued by the answer. "Hmmm, there's a lot of grey area with this one, but it is in the tome, so I'll allow it. But I know your question already: how will you evolve him? Don't worry, I will, as a courtesy, give you the Scroll of Waters as well to allow your starter to evolve once the conditions are met."

"I wish you luck on your journey, child. May you accomplish great things in your second life. Good luck and farewell." As soon as God finished speaking, Eli felt himself be blinded by a bright light. He felt an inexplicable sensation befall him, but after it ended, he finally saw the light at the end of the tunnel.