Chapter 2-Starting A Journey

Joke 1- Why Can't you blindfold a Pokémon? *The answer is at the end in the author's note.*

Looking at the two Pokémon which I knew my decision would end up affecting the rest of their lives for. I first walked up to Squirtle so that I could turn it down hopefully without hurting it too much. I didn't want to leave any sort of psychological shadow in its growth. "Hello Squirtle," the creature perked up with a smile, but before it could say a word I continued. "I need to make something straight with you first, I'm sorry to say this, but I won't be choosing you to come along with me on my journey. Gary Oak is coming to pick you up and I'm sure he'll do a lot better at guiding you with Professor Oak's help. From what I understand he's been talking about getting a Squirtle for a while now and I'm not going to take that from him. He was also a classmate of mine and he's really good at training whatever he sets his mind to. So just look forward to seeing him soon. I'm sure he'll make you into a Blastoise."

The Pokémon took a moment to consider my words. It hadn't ever been seen or spoken to by me except for maybe these two seconds before I started turning it down. It hurt quite a bit to get turned down out of nowhere. Honestly it didn't trust Gary anyways, it remembered the kid's arrogant expressions he made at the researchers around its grandfather's facility. All it could do now was hope it could have a good life, and knowing the kid would at the least be knowledgeable on how to best grow its talents it could only leave its fate in the hands of others. On the plus side though, at least it wouldn't be separated from its dad.

Looking over at Charmander who started slouching after watching me interact with Squirtle first. It started thinking about the new trainer picking Squirtle first without hesitation. He hadn't even bothered making a big deal about who he was going to approach first after all. It started to wonder if it was really that unlikable of a Pokémon. Wasn't Charizards one of the coolest Pokémon? First Bulbasaur was chosen first out of all of them, and then this trainer had turned it down without even coming over to check on it. All it could think of was that maybe its tail was too big of a target for new trainers and it stressed them out. It knew that a Charmander's tail that went out was a dead Charmander.

Seeing the slouch in the Charmander's posture that kept getting worse and worse. I started hurrying over from Squirtle to snap it out of its thoughts. I hugged it from behind surprising the Charmander as well as Professor Oak with how stupid of an act I was pulling. Sure enough, Charmander quit its brooding. Nobody just grabbed a Pokémon without their permission, because nobody wanted a fireball or thunderbolt to the face. Still, I knew that while normally it would be a dangerous act; I could trust the world's foremost researcher to properly raise their starter Pokémon for people for them not to act out so easily.

The actions drew the Professor's direct attention. Looking over and observing the boy and Pokémon he seemed to find something in their actions. Charmander seemed to relax a bit almost at ease with the trainer like a burden had just lifted. While the boy looked... "Desperate." It was a look he recognized from trainers who lost Pokémon that were life partners and desperately sought out companionship. Still, he drew it up to maybe the fact of the boy being an orphan made him more desperate for company. He also was glad that Charmander could relax and not feel as timid.

"Hello, Charmander, I want to choose you as my partner as long as you're willing of course?" As the miniature dragon looking Pokémon observed me, I looked him back dead in the eyes with all of my seriousness. I knew that I wanted this Pokémon in particular protecting my back while we journeyed around. Especially in the future with his large draconian form, and... I felt something else. A connection of sorts that was deeper than anything else I had ever experienced in my lives. In fact, it was almost like I was destined on some deeper level to meet this little fellow. That feeling from my assumed soul seemed to respond.

"The Host Has Found His First Pokémon"

I obviously ignored the voice that came out of nowhere. I wasn't sure if it was caused by the constant running around and general craziness that I was experiencing, but I decided to focus on other things for now. Like the answer I was going to receive, which was a quick, heavy, and happy nod with tears that shined in the eyes of my new partner. "Then we're now a family," I muttered to him, finding it strange how close I wanted to bring the guy to my heart. It was a period where the feelings of my past stood out, and I realized just how lonely I'd been for so very long. The feelings and experiences from both lives compounded on my actions once more and brought tension to my body as I was forced to remember things that had happened across both my lives.

In my past life I had been an outcast in school. I had been the kid who liked Pokémon, and as such no one wanted to be near the weirdo known as Lazaro. Especially with that kind of Chunibyo sounding name. I was also put into the same situation when college came around. This time, not because of the Pokémon thing, but just my name and the general way I acted. While I wasn't really stuck up, being kind of antisocial from my past experiences didn't really let me "Shine" after coming to college. I didn't really try talking with people expecting the same things to happen as before, and then my name once more reared its head as I predicted.

My name made people look at me in the same way people would talk about a circus animal. Whispering statements on how unique it was and how weird it was, and it seemed to be a reason for people not to get to know me. Because where would I come from to get that name and so on. Still even with these things; when I went home, I could relax. So, it wasn't the worst life possible, but it made me melancholic. In this life, however, I had been subjected to an even greater loneliness. My life in this world was one without any family from the beginning. When the times had gotten hard, I had just wanted someone there to be with. At this moment I realized that the want of having a partner mostly came from this world; yet I knew it was still a part of who I was anyway, and I didn't want to ignore who I was inside, no matter which side it came from.

As the professor watched us bond, he looked over at me sadly wondering just what I had gone through to say such deep words at such a young age. After Charmander had regained his pep, we walked over to the professor who had gotten back to work secretly watching us occasionally to make sure he wouldn't lose us. After all he couldn't forget to give us a Pokédex. Once we had made it over, I tapped the Professor on his shoulder, and watched him with a smile as he turned around with a larger one. "Here's your Pokédex Lazaro. Smiling at my name I realized it might just be true. Why else would I be reincarnated into this unknown world and even that with the same name in both lives. Surely my name's meaning stayed true.

Showing my appreciation, I got up and grabbed the Pokéball that had been placed earlier on the table without me noticing, and so I left with Charmander now in my Pokéball. Waiting outside to watch Ash's spectacular failure, I started to go over everything that had happened to me. Wondering how I had ended up here, was it Arceus? Some other divine being? 

Getting out of my thoughts I couldn't help but wonder how in just one day so many things had happened such as my death, my Reincarnation into a new body gaining its memories and feelings, as well as picking my future Pokémon partner. As I continued going over these things, I finished processing all the memories of this life that I was now living in. My story had gone something like this.

I was born to and left by some couple at the Chansey Orphanage following their deaths. I remember watching as everyone else in my generation was picked for adoption but me. At these moments I realized something deep in my heart. No one wanted the useless child that I was. Hoping to become worthy of something to someone I had tried my hardest in all of my studies making any effort I could into a new goal for myself. I would be better than I was yesterday. I ended up getting some of the top grades in battling (self-explanatory), plotting (knowledge in ways to use moves, the names for special powers of Pokémon species that are learnable for certain species, and which Pokémon face each other the best overall ideally in certain situations ), Pokémon health assessing (another self-explanatory one, but this also includes first aid knowledge for other people as well since if a Pokémon was hurt, their trainer would likely be to), basic breeding (A study on how Pokémon mate, and their requirements nutrients wise to allow the best growth), as well as Pokémonology, (The overall study of Pokémon) every semester in my schooling.

Later in life people started to get closer to me in school thanks to my grades and I was glad my efforts were paying off; finally, I wouldn't need to be alone. Shortly after I realized how wrong I was. The kids only wanted to be my friends because of the benefits that they could gain and not one would go further than that. Some of them sought my scholarship money that I was gaining by the check one after the other, in fact I had around ten thousand Pokédollars was saved up from them, and they also wanted me to do their schoolwork so they could get better grades without the effort.

Some didn't show their greed towards material benefits and instead were looking for connections with me because I could end up being put under a professor to learn if I continued my schooling. It was with this I realized I still had no friends, and I knew at that moment that it wouldn't happen. No matter how much anything changed. No human that I knew was truly good; there were only those who were slightly better than others and kept their greed more in check. I could only trust a few people not to mess up my life for their own benefit and likely, they had bigger things to worry about. Since that was the case then I just needed to find a Pokémon. At least they knew companionship and wouldn't judge me for their own benefits. They stuck with those they chose to be with even in the worst situations.

As this happened, I doubled my efforts in my schoolwork, finding something out that I already had suspicions of; I would gain a partner and a Pokédex if I did well enough, and so I studied my days away hoping to gain a family in my future partner. I would keep them safe, and I wouldn't be so alone anymore. It was somebody that I could fully trust and hope to share my life with. This was my last resort. Truly in this life I was a bit of an Emo without all the makeup. Still, emotionally messed up from it as well tackling my own problems from my first life.