Last Second Changes and Pokémon

"Neil Haze, are you awake yet," called a female voice. "You're going to be late, young man!"

"Yeah, I'm up," Neil called - a big grin on his face even as he heard a distinctly different voice come from his mouth.

The change had been so instantaneous Neil was slow to react. The room, his body, his voice. Everything about it fell in line with his memories of the classic Pokémon anime!

Checking around, Neil found himself fully dressed in Ash Ketchum's classic outfit sitting at a desk with an old-fashioned computer. Seeing that the computer was on, he ignored the decorations and layout of the room - only mildly noting how it resembled the staring room in Pokémon Red. Checking the time, he found it was the morning of March 31st, 1995.

Although he has questions, Neil decides to get moving as he doesn't have time to ask them right now. From a calendar to his left, he sees Ash marked this day as the day he starts his Pokémon journey. He even kindly pointed out that what time he had to arrive at Professor Oak's Laboratory.

Checking the clock on the computer, Neil still had an hour before the appointed time.

"I wonder why I appeared here instead of at the very start of the anime," Neil thought idly. Turning his gaze around the room, he saw the broken alarm clock on the ground. "Okay, so I'm guessing the start of the anime did happen, Ash went to bed, broke his alarm clock in his sleep, and instead of getting up late, I was put in. Since I was at my desk during the day…Why am I questioning this? The important thing to do now is get up, maybe eat breakfast and go get my first Pokémon. Hmm…I could just go the basic route, or I could rig it…"

Neil looked down at the desk and saw the reality-altering notebook. Grabbing a pen from a nearby pencil cup, he began trying to write. "First, let's test my theory."

Ash Ketchum has super strength.

Neil's theory was whether or not he could treat a character as distinct from himself. Could he try to change the character and because he is that character receive those changes, or would it not work because that character was now him and he could not affect himself.

Walking over to the bed, Neil proceeded to try lifting it. Nothing happened.

Deciding that that was a bust, Neil felt a little anxious. Not because his theory was wrong - he expected that. Instead, it was because he could not tell any difference in his strength. That meant he either retained his natural, adult strength despite being put into the body of ten-year-old Ash Ketchum, he simply cannot tell the difference, or a ten-year-old Ash Ketchum is already as strong as he was. The idea he might be as strong as a ten-year-old bothered him.

Returning to the desk, Neil proceeded to make some last second changes and an adjustment to the world as a whole.

The three starting Pokémon for new trainers in the Kanto region are Bulbasaur, Charmander, and Squirtel.

Gary Oak chooses Squirtel as his starter.

Leaf Green chooses Bulbasaur as her starter.

Sarah Yellow comes from Viridian City near Viridian Forest where she met, saved, and befriended a Pikachu who would be registered as her starter.

Neil nodded to himself. He had nothing against Ash and Pikachu being together, but his mild OCD insists that Red gets Charmander, Blue gets Squirtle, etc. Since he is now Ash Ketchum - the anime's equivalent of Red before Pokémon Origins was released -, he felt he had to stick to form.

Imagining how this will play out, another thought crossed Neil's mind, "Eh, while I'm at it, how about…" He then wrote in the notebook.

All basic level Pokémon are typically cute and cuddly.

As Pokémon evolve they grow cuter, more beautiful, creepier, or cooler with the bigger the change, the stronger they become.

"Since I'm making this world, why not make a few artistic choices," Neil muttered.

Neil proceeded to grab Ash's prepared backpack and open it to add his notebook and some writing utensils.

Leaving the room, Neil descended the stairs.

"There you are, Neil, I was worried you slept in after being up so late," said a auburn-haired woman as Neil walked into the kitchen.

The woman was Delia Ketchum - or maybe Delia now -, Ash Ketchum's mother. However, she differed slightly from Neil's recollection. She still had the same auburn hair pulled back into a medium-length ponytail and brown eyes, and she still wore the same yellow top under a short-sleeve, pink light jacket with red buttons; purple, calf-length skirt; and yellow slippers. Where she differed though was her figure. The Delia in his memory was average or even lithe, while the one standing before him was the very definition of buxom to the point of bordering on ridiculous.

"I may not know sizes to well, but I'm guessing…K-cup…at minimum. She'd fit right in with the cast of Eiken. I wonder what caused that? Was it the 'quickly matures' thing or is it some sort of feedback from how I changed Ash to give a genetic explanation for his own development?"

Seeming to ignore her 'son's' expression, Delia proceeded to say, "Well, it's a good thing you woke up. I wasn't going to wake you after all the times I warned you last night to be to bed on time. Now, I've made you breakfast. So, have a seat and eat up before you have to go."

Neil absentmindedly does as instructed and begins eating the prepared hash browns, scrambled eggs, sausages, fruit and vegetables, and maple syrup covered blueberry pancakes with a glass of milk. He could not help but keep glancing at Delia as he ate. It was not because he was interested in her body - though he was - but more just him marveling at having never met someone with such proportions and finding it baffling.

Delia was not just an anime character now but a real person. The resemblance gave a similar feeling, but the differences combined with her new figure was still something that threw him off to the point Neil did not know how to react.

Once he finished eating, Neil put on his backpack and passingly said, "I'm off."

"Wait," Delia called as Neil had already reached the front door.

"Yeah," Neil responded turning around.

Delia had exited the kitchen and approached Neil. She then reached out and pulled him into her embrace. "Just promise me you'll be safe and come home sometime. I know this is all you've ever wanted. But you're still so young. After losing your father, I'm not sure if I could handle losing you too."

Neil was unsure how to react. For one thing, he was never one for deep displays of emotion around others. Second, he had no emotional attachment here. He lost his own father to cancer some years ago, yes, but the most he could muster then was feeling 'sad' about it. Thirdly, being at chest height to Delia meant he was being crushed into her bosom and could not breath - barely even hearing her as her breasts encompassed his head.

Half hugging her back to show some degree of sympathy and half trying to indicate for air, Neil was eventually released and able to take a deep breath.

Delia did not sound embarrassed as she said, "Oops, well, I guess we wont have any more scares like that will we." Neil attributed her lack of remorse to this being a common occurrence between her and her child and her sadness over him leaving.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Arriving at Professor Oak's lab, Neil sees three other children waiting by the base of the staircase leading to the entrance.

One is Gary Oak who looks exactly as Neil remembers him to. He has styled, spiky brown hair, brown eyes, and is wearing a long-sleeved purple shirt, brown pants, and boots. He is talking to two girls with one not seeming to even realize he is talking to her and another that has en expression saying she is too nice to tell him to stop talking.

The oblivious girl is Leaf Green. Despite being ten-years-old like the rest of them, she was noticeably more developed - looking to be around thirteen. She is the tallest of the group with long grayish hair reaching past her shoulders, hazel eyes, and a noticeable bulge at her chest. She is wearing a white, brimmed hat with a red band around it; a sleeveless, teal top with a black collar; black wristbands; red, pleated miniskirt; scrunched up, teal long socks; white and red shoes; and a yellow satchel. Her attention is focused on some sort of white and pink, flip-phone like device in her hand.

The last person here was another girl who actually looked ten-years-old. Sarah Yellow had noticeable yellow hair cut short with a tiny pony tail in back and big gray eyes. She had on a long-sleeve, black shirt under a bright yellow long shirt that reached her knees but had slits up the sides to her waist, jean pants with rolled up cuffs, and purple boots.

As Neil grew closer, he noticed something else. Further ahead was a bright red convertible with a gaggle of seven women…or possibly young girls…talking and lounging about.

Gary was the first to notice Neil. "'Bout time you got here," he said condescendingly. "You're never going to be a Pokémon Master like that Snivel."

Hearing the name, Neil froze. "Snivel? Is that supposed to be his version of Ashy-boy for me? LAME!"

While frozen in disbelief, Sarah took the opportunity to escape Gary' constant boasting to approach Neil and extend her hand in greeting. "Hello there! I'm Sarah Yellow, are you also being sponsored by Professor Oak?"

Neil accepted the handshake. "Yeah, I am. Neil Haze."

"I don't know why though," Gary interjected - seemingly annoyed at Sarah's attention being focused on not him. "Snivel here 'll probably wipeout in no time."

Neil was quickly getting annoyed. Fortunately, Professor Oak seemed to chose that moment to arrive down the staircase. He was an older man who looked to be in his fifties with gray, spiky hair and the same brown eyes as Gary. He wore a red, collared shirt, tan slacks with a brown belt, brown shoes, and a white lab coat.

"My it's good to see all of you," the professor greeted.

"Hello, Professor," the children greeted - Leaf putting away her device and clipping it onto the yellow strap of her satchel.

"Can we get a move on gramps," Gary asked impatiently. "I've got places to be."

"Be patient, Gary. Now, all of you follow me inside." Oak then turned and began heading back up the staircase.

The four children quickly followed. Ascending the staircase, they led into the lab and guided to a room with several bookshelves, cases, and a large table. Situated on the table were three Pokéballs - softball-sized, round capsules with a red top, white bottom, and circular white button on front - and a large yellow mouse with bright red cheeks, and lightning bolt tail ending in a heart shape.

Upon seeing Sarah, the yellow mouse - the electric Pokémon, Pikachu - perked up excitedly and called "Pika!" From the shape of the tail, Neil identified it as female. She hopped off the table and scurried her way over to Sara.

"Chuchu," Sarah said happily as she kneeled down to pick up the approaching rodent. "Were you a good girl?"

Neil eyed the pair. "The nickname you gave your Pikachu was 'Chuchu'? Even for a kid, that seems kinda dumb."

Professor Oak just looked on fondly at the pair before saying, "You'll be happy to know, Ms. Yellow, that your Pikachu has been fully registered to your Trainer ID. And, since you've already started us off." He began rummaging around his lab coat as he approached. "Ah, here it is." He then pulled out a small, red, rectangular device and miniaturized Pokéball.

The professor handed the items to Sarah and explained, "This is your Pokédex and Chuchu's Pokéball." After Sarah accepted the items, he stepped back and continued - addressing them all now, "You will each receive your own Pokédex and Pokéballs from me. Your Pokédex will serve as your form of identification and will serve many other functions for you on your Pokémon journey. Be sure not to lose it because it's a bit of a problem to try and replace it. I've taken the liberty of setting each of you up with a bank account that is tied to your Trainer IDs and connected them to your Pokédex."

"We already know all that gramps," Gary said imploringly to hurry along.

Oak gave a slightly stern glance to his grandson before continuing. "I have also gone ahead and registered Ms. Green, Mr. Haze, and Mr. Oak for the Indigo Plateau as requested and you Ms. Yellow with the Kanto Grand Festival. You all have roughly four months to meet the requirements to be eligible for competition, so make the most of the time you've been given."

"Since I'm sponsoring you, any Pokémon you would like to place in reserve or have looked after can be left with me. It will also help my research if you allowed me to conduct some tests on their growth and development while journeying with you. Now, why don't we get to the main showing and have you pick your starters provided by the Pokémon League Breeder Association." Oak then turned to approach the table.

"About time," Gary quietly grumbled.

Standing behind the table, Oak turned to Gary. "Gary, since you seem so eager, you choose first."

This brightened the bratty boy's mood. "Now we're talking." He marched up to the table and looked over the three Pokéballs. His eyes locked onto the one with an image of three blue bubbles just above the white button. Picking it up, he smirked. "Come on out, Squirtle!"

The Pokéball then opened and a flash of white light was released. Energy jumped out of the ball and onto the ground before taking form and condensing into the form of a small, light blue turtle creature with a brown shell and curled tail. "Squirtle," it cheered.

"Now, if you'd be so kind as to step back," Oak instructed.

Gary smirked but did as told and walked back to the others - Squirtle walking behind him.

"Who would like to go next," Oak asked.

"Oh, me, pick me," Leaf requested with her hand raised and bouncing on her heels.

Oak looked to Neil who seemed unfazed. "Alright Ms. Green, go right ahead."

Leaf bounced forward and grabbed the Pokéball closest to her that happened to have a green leaf chiseled into it.

"That Pokéball contains the Pokémon, Bulbasaur," Oak explained.

Leaf nodded and then pointed the ball away from her as she called out, "Okay! Come on out, Bulbasaur!"

Repeating what happened before, the Pokéball opening and in a flash of light a mass of energy leaped out, landed on the ground, and took form before fading. What appeared was a stout, blue-green reptilian creature with a large, dark green plant bulb on its back. It looked up to Leaf and gave a pleasant, "Baulbasaur."

"Now, if your wouldn't mind stepping back so Mr. Haze can collect his Pokémon?"

Leaf did as asked and returned to the group with Bulbasaue following close behind.

Neil stepped forward and took the last Pokéball that had an orange flame etched into it. Unable to help the anticipation and nostalgia within him, a genuine smile appeared on his face as he simply said, "Charmander."

The same thing happened again, but this time, the creature that emerged was an orange lizard resembling a salamander with a pale underbelly and red flame burning at the tip of its tail. It looked up at Neil with big eyes before giving a cheerful, "Char, charmander."