Two

“Able! Don’t make me count to three.”

I regain my consciousness after collecting my thoughts, I’ve been in this world for 4 years already. All you need to know is that, this place is the real thing, Pokemon actually exist. The region of Koryn has a similar build to the Northern Hemisphere, one big landform with smaller islands. While it’s cool and all, it’s been difficult to gather information at all, being in a 3rd grade classroom doesn’t give you access to the best resources. Furthermore, if my parents find out they gave birth to some kind of genius, there’s no telling what they’d do. During my time in this world, I was thankful to be born into a wealthy family, and throughout these 5 years of starting a new life, my parents Gabriel and Tiana Oxford, had another son, only a year younger than me. However, he doesn’t seem to be reincarnated like me, I tried communicating with him..

“Nicholas, are you still awake?” I whispered.

“Yeah Able what’s up!”

“Keep your voice down, mom and dad will find out we’re awake.”

He covered his mouth with his hands and let out a giggle.

“I have a really important question for you Nick.”

“Uhhh yeah what’s up.”

I tensed.

I had no idea what to expect.

“What’s your opinion on trump winning the election?”

He goes silent, and we sit in it for a few moments that felt like forever. I’m not sure what I’m supposed to do if I find the other reincarnated people so soon, professor didn’t tell me what to do. Do I befriend them, battle them?.” But my train of thought is answered as he began to speak,

“Uh i really like trumpets, but i like flutes and stuff because they’re fun!”

I let out a sigh of relief.

Fast forward back to present day. I’m 5 years old and Nick is 4, Our parents have enrolled us into school to learn about Pokemon. Our dad has been determined to raise us into an aspiring Pokemon trainer, to go to the prestigious, Pokemon academy. I’ve only heard so much, but he’s been drilling trying to drill Pokemon into our skulls, while our mother only wants us to pursue our dreams, whether it be education or Pokemon, whatever makes us happy. And I would be lying if I said my little brother didn’t have potential, he listens to dad constantly soaking up Pokemon tactics like a sponge. 

I’d often overhear Gabriel talk to mom about his progress by the time I was 14 and he was 13.

“Our boy has real potential Tiana, he just might be able to-“

But Mom would always make the same argument,

“He might change what he wants to do in the future, don’t go enforcing your ideals on him. And what about Able? Why don’t you spend time with your oldest son?”

He didn’t know how to respond, but it was obvious that I wasn’t the favorite to him. But it looked like he took it to heart and when I got home from school he pulled me aside.

“Able, you’re reaching that age and you’re becoming a teenager. When kids turn into teens, they can choose their first starter Pokemon at 16, that’s only in 3 months. So I’m gonna train you so you can be ready to get your first Pokemon friend.”

And from then I started training with nick and my dad, of course the learning curve was difficult, with both of them training together being a daily routine for as long as I can remember. It was fun, but also sometimes easy because I knew all the type weaknesses already. The physical labor was brutal but Nick did most of it with ease received praise accordingly while I just got a look of indifference from my Dad.

Every day I’d walk with Nicholas to and from school, the breeze was nostalgic, the trees rustling with every gust. I walked in silence facing forward, as I turn to my right, my brother, whistling kicking a rock as we walk on the dirt path to the main road.

We’d laugh and talk about the rumors we’d hear at each others school, he’d always be like

“Wow so that’s what highschool is like. Not sure if I should be concerned or excited.”

I’d laugh, “be both because the world is too big to only feel one emotion.”

I was 16 before I even realized it. The journey to the lab begins.

A carriage waits outside the estate gates—reinforced wood, iron fittings, and a roof harness system designed for aerial transport.

Above it, already crouched and waiting, is a Corviknight.

It is enormous.

A black, armored bird-like Pokémon with metal-like feathers layered across its body like plated armor. Its wings are wide enough to block the sky when extended, and each movement produces a low, heavy rustle—like steel scraping against steel.

Its eyes are sharp, intelligent, and completely unreadable.

A living fortress with wings.

Nicholas is already excited before we even board.

I am not.

We climb into the harnessed carriage beneath it.

The moment the Corviknight takes off, the ground drops away.

Koryn opens beneath us.

From above, the world is not divided—it is continuous.

A massive landmass stretching in every direction, carved into ecosystems that bleed into one another.

Dense forests spill into open plains.

Plains collapse into jagged mountain ranges.

Rivers cut through everything like veins.

And far beyond that, the ocean wraps around the edges of the continent like a broken mirror reflecting the sky.

Wild Pokémon movement trails are visible even from here.

Dark shapes moving through forests.

Ripples in rivers where something large just passed.

Flashes of color between trees that disappear the moment you focus on them.

This world is alive in a way Earth never was.

And it doesn’t care that you’re watching.

The wind at this height is violent.

It pushes against the carriage like invisible pressure, forcing us to lean inward.

Nicholas presses his face to the edge of the opening, eyes wide.

I stay seated.

Watching.

Thinking.

Below, towns become small clusters of light-colored roofs.

Training fields appear like carved rectangles in the land.

And roads—thin, winding lines—connect everything like threads stitched through a living body.

Then, after hours of travel—

the lab comes into view.

It doesn’t look like a laboratory at first.

It looks like a research fortress built into the side of a mountain.

Glass observatories extend outward like eyes.

Metal walkways wrap around its exterior in layered spirals.

Large aerial platforms float nearby, used for Pokémon landing and transport.

And surrounding it—

enclosures.

Not cages.

Habitats.

Fenced ecosystems where different Pokémon move freely under controlled observation.

We land on a platform that vibrates slightly under the Corviknight’s weight.

The moment its talons release, the entire structure steadies again.

Like nothing massive had just arrived.

Inside, the air changes immediately.

Cooler.

Sterile.

Smelling faintly of metal, herbs, and something electric—like energy being contained rather than used.

The professor greets us.

Lab coat. Simple posture. Calm eyes that feel like they’ve seen too many children pass through this moment.

“Welcome. You must be the Oxford family.”

We nod.

Nicholas barely waits.

He’s already looking around at the Poké Ball displays lining the room.

Each one sits in a reinforced cradle above a small screen showing:

Even without knowing Pokémon, it’s obvious what they are.

Living creatures.

Stored.

Cataloged.

Waiting.

A small, monkey-like creature appears on one screen—orange fur, playful posture, eyes full of energy. Its tail flickers like it can barely sit still.

A tiny reptilian one shifts restlessly beside it—green, plant-like features along its body, leaf-shaped appendages catching light as it moves.

A small frog-like creature crouches low near water imagery—blue skin, wide eyes, calm but alert, like it’s always measuring distance.

Others follow.

Bird-like shapes.

Insect-like forms.

Some soft.

Some sharp.

All alive in their own way.

“Let’s begin,” the professor says.

Nicholas is first.

Of course he is.

He walks forward without hesitation.

The room reacts to him immediately—not loudly, but subtly.

Like the system recognizes confidence.

He scans the choices, then points almost playfully.

“That one.”

A Poké Ball is handed to him.

Inside—his first partner.

A small fire monkey-like Pokémon with a flame-shaped tuft of hair and bright, eager eyes.

It moves instantly upon release, full of energy, bouncing slightly on its feet like it’s already ready to run.

“Chimchar,” the professor says.

“A fire-type. Fast learner. High aggression potential.”

Nicholas turns to my father immediately, grinning.

And just like that—

the bond forms.

I watch it happen.

Not with envy.

Not with excitement.

With distance.

Then—

my turn.

“Last but not least… Able Oxford.”

The room shifts slightly.

Not physically.

Socially.

Attention lands on me.

I step forward.

Slow.

Measured.

In front of me: the remaining Poké Balls.

Still identical in structure.

Still containing different lives.

Still waiting.

I look at them.

And for a moment—

I don’t see Pokémon.

I see systems.

Choices disguised as freedom.

Paths disguised as individuality.

My hand lifts.

Hovers.

And then—

something inside me tightens.

Not fear.

Not hesitation.

Something older.

Heavier.

A memory I don’t fully see.

A place I refuse to return to.

A decision already made long before I ever stood here.

My fingers slowly lower.

Not onto a Poké Ball.

Not onto anything.

Back to my side.

Silence follows.

Not dramatic.

Not loud.

Worse.

Uncertain.

The professor blinks.

My father straightens slightly.

Nicholas stops moving.

“I’m not choosing a starter Pokémon.”

The words are simple.

But they don’t belong in this room.

Because this moment was never meant to end this way.

I turn slightly.

Not to explain.

But I can feel it.

The shift.

Something breaking away from expectation.

From design.

From what was supposed to happen.

“I won’t be taking one.”

A pause.

Long enough for everyone to realize it’s final.

Then I turn away completely.

Walking past the table.

Past the waiting Poké Balls.

Past the life I was supposed to begin.

And as I leave the room—

one thought sits quietly at the edge of everything else.

I vowed long ago—

after what happened—

never to play.

Never to touch.

Never to involve myself with anything Pokémon ever again.