Pokemon: A New Age

Chapter 1: The Pokemon World

Viridian City

Nathan sighed and stared out the window of the small classroom, his textbook laying forgotten on the desk in front of him. It was hard to believe that almost six years had passed since he was flung into this world.

Back then, he was your typical teen; a bit of a nerd with very few friends that he barely talked to. Most people might have found him aloof, though in reality he simply didn't have the energy to keep up with the dramas caused by angsty teenagers.

He had been perched on the couch when it happened. One second, he was watching TV and next, he found himself in a forest, filled with trees of various shapes and sizes.

He got up, barely keeping his footing, and immediately noticed something was off. His clothing felt too large for his frame, like it was made for someone else. He peered down and saw his hands. To his shock, they were much smaller than he remembered.

A feeling of panic washed over him as he realized that he somehow had shrunk to the size of a child. He frantically searched for a way out of the forest but all he could see were trees that seemed to stretch on forever.

As he continued, every step felt uncertain, like he was going deeper into unknown territory. Strange creatures, some small, some large, lurked in the shadows of the forest's trees and bush, watching him pass by with beady eyes.

He tried walking in different directions, yet nothing seemed to change. Everywhere he looked, the same trees surrounded him and he found himself hopelessly lost. It seemed like that was the end - until a stranger stumbled across him.

The man, who he later learned was a trainer, asked if he wanted to lead him out of the forest. Not wanting to stay in this place any longer, he eagerly accepted the offer and followed the man.

The journey was a long one, but he barely noticed the passing of time. His mind was too busy processing all the events of the past few hours. He only noticed now that those strange creatures he saw earlier were in fact Pokemon!

Pidgey, Caterpie and even Rattata - they were everywhere! Nathan realized that he must have accidentally been transported into a world or place where Pokemon actually existed - a world he never dreamed existed!

Eventually, they made it to a small town, and the man who brought Nathan here dropped him off at the police station. He was questioned by the officers, but he had no answers for them; he could not tell them how he came to be in this strange place.

The officers took him in and before long, he became the newest resident of the Oxnard Orphanage. It took some getting used to, but he found the other kids to be nice and friendly, and the matron made sure he felt welcome.

About a month later, the orphanage had him enroll in a local school. Once again, he clutched his pencil and listened to the teacher's droning voice. He didn't really have much of a choice - with no money and no family to take him in, it seemed like becoming a Pokemon trainer was his only option.

The curriculum revolved around teaching students how to train their Pokemon, with subjects such as breeding and grooming getting coverage as well.

Nathan was relieved that he only had to learn about Pokemon, but his relief soon turned to fear as he remembered the grueling hours of studying that he endured in preparation for his exams. He could only shudder at the memory.

Nathan closed his eyes and whispered, "System."

Next, he opened his eyes, and a small, semi-transparent screen appeared in his field of view.

"Almost there," he thought to himself, taking in the swirling lines that indicated his system was in the process of restarting.

Around two months ago, he had stumbled onto an incredible discovery - a system.

At first he had gotten carried away with the idea of having some sort of cheat, like a protagonist from a novel, but soon realized how foolish that was. Everyone at the orphanage had begun to whisper about him.

Thankfully the matron put a stop to it. She thought that his behavior was nothing more than that of a typical boy growing up. Since then, Nathan had abandoned any hope of having a cheat and poured himself into his studies instead.

On a field trip with the school, he accidentally disturbed a Beedrill´s nest, resulting in a wild pursuit until he took refuge in a hidden cave.

To his surprise, the entryway led to a dungeon - a pocket dimension known to house rare items and Pokemon.

Eager to keep the place a secret, Nathan carefully disguised the entrance with leaves and vines. From then on, he would come here everyday to explore this dungeon.

After weeks of grueling search, he finally found the core. The instant his fingers made contact with the core, it was like every cell in his body was suddenly activated. The system in his brain awoke as if from a long sleep.

Later, he found out that it was the system that brought him here. However, because of the great distance separating the two worlds, the system used all of its energy in order to ensure his safe passage.

After tinkering with the system for a while, Nathan, to his joy, found that he could observe the stats of Pokemon. And thanks to that, he was able to get a Pokemon with a high potential.

For a student to graduate from the school, they must have a Pokemon. The students have the option of taking home a Pokemon egg provided by the school, or they could catch one on their own.

The first choice was mostly a matter of chance. You never know what you might get. The second choice is pure folly unless you have a relative who is a trainer.

Fortunately for Nathan, he had the system on his side. After scanning all the eggs from the school, he finally found an excellent Growlithe egg.

Pokemon: Growlithe

Level: 0

Type: Fire

Status: Incubating

Potential: Level 60 (Level-cap. Once a Pokemon reach the level-cap, it can no longer go further)

This was the reason why he picked the egg. Even the police might not receive this kind of Growlithe as their first partner.

"Beep!"

While in class, Nathan received an alert from the system. He felt his heart racing as he read the message. It had been three weeks since he got the egg, and now it was about to hatch.

He was ready for this to happen, so he quickly got to work on some planning.

As soon as the bell rang, he approached his homeroom teacher with a request to use the school's camping equipment. Back at the orphanage, he made sure to prepare enough food and milk for when his Pokemon finally did hatch, along with a change of clothes. He left the orphanage after informing the Matron that he would be out for a day and made his way to Viridian Forest.

It took about five minutes to reach the edge of the forest. Spraying a can of Repel over his body, he stepped into the Viridian Forest and began walking through a never-ending sea of trees and foliage.

Despite a few close calls with wild Pokemon, Nathan managed to reach the entrance of the dungeon. With a quick glance around, he made sure that no one was watching before concealing the entrance and slipping inside.

As he stepped into the dungeon, a strange tingling energy thrummed in his veins, like a low voltage electrical current. He looked around and discovered that he had been transported to some kind of underground cavern. The walls were covered with a thin layer of luminescent green moss, providing a dim but adequate light source.

He ventured further into the cavern, taking care to avoid any stalagmites jutting up from the ground, eyes darting around to try and spot anything of value. His bag soon filled up with various items he had picked up along the way: ore samples, herbs and plants, and other objects that could prove useful.

He was relieved that there were no Pokemon in this dungeon, otherwise he wouldn't have dared to enter it. As he inched ever closer to the center of the dungeon, a silvery ball of light appeared ahead of him, hovering in the air and illuminating his path.

This was the core of the dungeon. It acted as a tether to this world, preventing the dungeon from collapsing on itself. As he got closer to the core, the bar on the corner of his vision rose from 98% to 99%.

"Almost there," he murmured under his breath.

Excitement bubbled up within him as he watched the bar finally rise to 100%. With a loud 'Ding', the system was online once again. Nathan's eyes lit up as he found all of the options he had been unable to access before were now available for use.

He could now access the Shop and Inventory, in addition to the Observe feature he could already use. Out of pure curiosity, he selected the Shop option first. He wanted to see what, excuse the pun, was in store for him.

The screen expanded to a much larger size, filling Nathan's field of vision with rows of glittering items. Evolution Stones, Pokeballs, and more glimmered beneath his gaze. Some of these items were available for purchase with prices far lower than the ones found in everyday stores.

"Perhaps I could take advantage of this," Nathan mused out loud. He could see a good business opportunity there.

He scrolled through the marketplace, and something peculiar caught his eye: Psychic abilities. He could hardly believe what he was seeing.

Excited, he pressed the 'buy' button and waited as the system registered the purchase. Suddenly, he felt a rush of power surge through his body.

His arm moved of its own accord and reached for a small rock on the ground. He willed it to move, and it lifted gently into the air before his focus wavered and it fell back down with a thud.

Nathan sighed as he realized he would have to train up his power if he wanted to be able to use it effectively.

At that moment, a brilliant white light shone from within his bag, and Nathan stumbled back in surprise before remembering he had placed a Pokemon egg inside. He fumbled with the zipper and tore open the bag, coming face to face with a glowing egg.

Very carefully, he set the egg on the grass. Now, he just had to wait.

Time seemed to stand still as the light slowly diminished. Nathan held his breath and watched as a small, orange-and-black canine began to emerge from the light. Its thick cream mane was so invitingly soft, and its bright eyes were full of joy when it saw Nathan. Before he could prepare himself, Growlithe had already leaped into his arms with a bark of delight.

The boy was taken aback by the force of the impact but still handled Growlithe with care. He had read that all newborn Pokemon take about a week to mature and become strong enough for combat training, provided they get the proper care and nutrition during that time.

Nathan gently set Growlithe down and opened his bag, taking out the dinner he had prepared. As they ate together, he activated Observe on Growlithe.

Pokemon: Growlithe (Male)

Level: 1

Type: Fire

Ability: Flash Fire (Power up fire-type moves if it's hit by one)

Moves: Ember, Howl, Catch, Sniff (LOL)

Nathan squatted down to inspect the small puppy in front of him. He slowly extended his hand and ran his fingers along its soft, white fur. Growlithe responded with an excited yelp and ran around in circles. He smiled when he realized he'd found the perfect partner.

He reached into his bag and retrieved a brand new pokeball, his eyes twinkling with anticipation. Growlithe curiously tapped the pokeball with his paw, followed by the sound of a click as it disappeared into the ball. A second later, Growlithe was out in the open again, confused by what just happened.

Nathan smiled and picked up his new friend, cradling it carefully in his arms.

The two of them returned to the entrance of the dungeon, where he quickly lay open his sleeping bag and sat down. He logged into the Shop and browsed for items that could make Growlithe even stronger. His eyes lit up when he spotted an item; Charcoal, which would improve Growlithe's fire-type attacks.

Finally done with his shopping, Nathan tucked Growlithe into bed before crawling into his sleeping bag next to him. As he lay there and listened to the night wind rustling through the trees, a feeling of anticipation filled him as he thought about what the future might bring.

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MC's appearance: Hachiman