Awakening

'I don't understand'

I sat motionless in a small dimly-lit room, a series of flickering fluorescent lights blinking overhead, illuminating the grey, lifeless concrete walls around me.

The air was heavy with the scent of metal and machinery, my heart pounding in my chest as my mind spun.

'There's just no shot'

My skin was a warm chocolate, several shades darker than the pale white I was used to and my hands were rough and calloused. My body was far stronger than it should be, streamlined dense muscle shooting out of my skin.

'Am I actually in Pokemon World?'

Disbelief was stronger than panic or fear, a thick cloud of confusion plaguing my mind.

It didn't make any sense.

I scrambled to my feet, nearly falling over as I flew into the air with more power than I could normally summon.

My surroundings slowly resonated with my mind, allowing me to locate a mirror.

'How is this possible'

I immediately recognized the sharp green calculating eyes that stared back at me but just about everything else was different. 

For one thing, I was tall and jacked, a type of athleticism that wasn't obtainable via steroids or muscle-enhancers, only the fruit of frequent, rigorous training. Sleek dense muscle coated my form from head to toe, my features and jawline a lot sharper than I remembered while my hair was a completely different style than I was used to.

What really took the wind out of my sails was the fat red "R" at the center of my chest, the bold symbol being the notorious insignia of Team Rocket, something that could be noticed from miles away, probably even more visible than my face.

I was wearing a tight sleeveless turtleneck, primarily made of spandex, that only exaggerated my imposing physique, making me look like a budget superhero. 

'At least it was this guy'

I immediately recognized the person staring back at me, his name being Jay, a minor antagonist in Pokemon World.

Pokemon World was the brain child of a disgruntled Pokemon Fan that was tired of the monotony and repetitive nature of the mainline Pokemon Games. It was a massive fan-game that featured all eight of the mainline Pokemon Regions and the islands from the games and anime.

The entire geography of Pokemon World was a soft overhaul of the main regions, made to incorporate new technology and be more reflective of a connected vibrant world. 

Jay was a minor recurring antagonist that first appeared in the Kanto Region, who belittled and made fun of the main character before turning into a glorified fan-boy of them towards the end of the game.

To put it bluntly, he was an idiot, a walking embodiment of the "Jock" stereotype. Through sheer willpower, he was able to capture a number of Pseudo-Legendary and powerful pokemon but never really utilized them to their full potential.

'This is pretty much the best start I could have asked for'

Seeing Jay as my reflection sparked an epiphany that rippled through my brain. 

Rather irresponsibly, I had challenged myself to beat the whole of Pokemon World in one sitting, resulting in me not sleeping for a few days. 

'I'm not surprised my brain is stuck on the game, even while I'm sleeping'

A lengthy exhale passed through my lips as I understood my current circumstance, realizing that I was dreaming. 

'This should be fun'

Not too far from me was a large black backpack and inside I found a Rocket Phone, some standard Pokeballs and a single Master Ball.

In the lore of Pokemon World, it was established that Team Rocket actually ran a University that accepted students from all walks of life.

The Grunts of Team Rocket were former University students that were unable to pay their student loans, effectively tricked into supplying their labour for below minimum wage, functioning as debt slaves.

The false hope though, was the fact that the capture of rare and powerful Pokemon could be used to reduce their debts.

A single Legendary Pokemon able to pay off the debt in it's entirety. 

'Now that I think about it, I could capture a legendary relatively easily'

Pokemon World was, as the name implied, an open-world game where the player was free to traverse different regions and islands in any order they pleased. The difficulty was found in strategy, mechanics like Mega-Evolution, Terastallization and even brand new ones present in every single gym in every region. 

Cerulean Cave was a location in Kanto that, in Pokemon World, was guaranteed to house a single random Legendary Pokemon. The type of Pokemon found was randomly generated upon the download of the game and it could be literally anything.

'Ordinarily, capturing a Legendary would be very difficult'

In Pokemon World, each Legendary Pokemon was guaranteed to have three different abilities with an additional hidden ability that was only obtainable when friendship with that Pokemon was maxed out. 

Moreover, access to Master Balls was something the player character received in the Post-Game. In the wider lore, it was only really Team Rocket and it's associates that even knew of their existence, most famous Trainers and organizations using strategy to trap and track Legendaries. 

'So all I have to do is head to Cerulean Cave and pick up my free Legendary'

A spark of excitement resonated in my chest as my mind locked onto my objective, my body urging me to take action, a wide smile stretching onto my face.

I stretched my limbs, my heart pounding in my chest as I tried to get accustomed to this new body. In all truth, it felt really good, what felt like limitless power trapped inside me as I moved around.

'I suppose this is what all fictional characters enjoy'

A body that was not plagued with any lingering body pain, dry skin or niche disorder. It occurred to me that, at least for the duration of my dream, I had as close to a perfect body as I could ask for.

It was almost like a superpower if you really thought about it.

A soft exhale escaped my lips as I smiled at my reflection.

'Let's get it'