Work Text:
A whole new world
A new fantastic point of view
Unbelievable sights
No one to tell us no
Or where to go
Or say we're only dreaming
Indescribable feeling
Soaring, tumbling, freewheeling
A whole new world
(Don't you dare close your eyes)
A whole new world
(Every turn a surprise)
A hundred thousand things to see
(Hold your breath, it gets better)
He didn’t die or anything like that. In fact, nothing dramatic happened before he found himself in a situation not dissimilar to some of his favourite fanfics. He’d merely gone asleep, after hours of staring at his ceiling, waiting for his insomnia medications to kick in- and then he woke up, staring at a ceiling that was very different than the one he’d fallen asleep to. He blinked, once, twice- slowly - and, feeling the leftovers of sleep crust fighting the movement, found that the unfamiliar visage above him didn’t change. Bringing a hand up to rub the crust away from his eyes, he gave a loud yawn, stretched, and slowly sat up.
He found himself squinting as he did, shifting to look at the light from a window that was also unfamiliar and missing his usual blackout curtains. He closed his eyes for a moment and counted to ten, and yet- when he opened his eyes once more the visage in front of him did not change. A semi hysterical laugh bubbled from his throat, and as it did he paused- because that sound wasn’t his voice. Trying to breathe slowly without giving in to his growing anxiety attack, his - the hands he was currently stuck with began to shake as he lifted them up to stare. The skin he saw was a healthy olive tan. Similar to his deceased grandfather but very different from his own skin tone. The only thing familiar was freckles, but even those were wrong - different than he remembered.
He took a moment to curse in his mind, before trying to get out of the comfortable bed he’d found himself in. As he did so, he had to grab onto said bed in a panic when he almost fell from a change in equilibrium and what he realised with some horror was quite a bit of lost height. He had to take another moment to try and calm himself before he was able to continue. Once he was sure he wasn’t going to curl into a ball of panic, he stumbled his way to a mirror he could see nearby- where he found himself blinking at a familiar, unfamiliar face in the reflection.
It looked almost like Ash Ketchum, but- also.. Not. The skintone was a bit darker, he was covered in freckles a couple shades darker than the olive toned skin- and his eyes were.. Not brown. They were a pretty caramel hazel- with rings of blue around both the pupil and edge. The hairstyle(messy and spiked mainly in the back reminiscent to his own did when he went to bed after a shower and his hair was still wet when he fell asleep) was correct, as were the facial features, but those zig zag markings on the cheeks were missing, and the hair colour was a deep black instead of dark brown it should be. Also- he looked.. Older, than ten. He was still staring at the uncanny differences when a loud voice of a woman yelled out.
‘’Ash! You’re going to be late!’’
He jerked, the eyes he was staring at in disbelief in the mirror widening along with his disbelief and shock as he got both confirmation and a warning all in one. His horror seemed to only grow when, in a panic, he yelled back at the woman- Ash’s mother - his mother now, oh gODS !
‘’I’m huRR-YING!’’
The voice break in the middle of his yelled reply only horrified him anew as the reminder of the fact he seemed to be a teenager again. Puberty had sucked the first time around, but now he was in an unfamiliar body and he had no idea if it would be the same or different, and that terrified him. He wanted to take a moment once again to try and calm himself down but Deliah had mentioned being late and- and a lack of Pikachu nearby told him everything he needed to know.
This was Ash’s day to probably get his starter, and he was going to be late- but that was normal? And everything should be alright- but the idea of taking it slow made his hands begin to sweat and his heartbeat speed up anew. A new body didn’t seem to have freed him from his chronic anxiety disorder, and he wondered if any other things had followed, other than maybe the freckles(even changed)? He had no idea what the hell was happening or why Ash was different than he remembered him being- but this was, is , his body now, and he was sure it wasn’t a dream. He didn’t have dreams like this- it was too real and-
It helped that he had just stubbed Ash’s- now his- toes, when going to open the closet to grab some clothing.
He let out a curse under his breath, even as he forced the closet to slide open and found himself staring at.. well, an annoying amount of the colour red- which was his grandfather's favourite colour but one of his least. He grimaced, grabbed one of the only pair of black baggy cargo pants that was practically buried behind an annoying amount of blue jeans, and quickly pushed each shirt and jacket by before he found a shirt that was, ironically enough, black and sleeveless. There was a single blue and black jacket/hoodie that seemed hidden on the shelf above the clothes which he also grabbed and slipped on, leaving it unzipped. It was too big on him, baggy and oversized. It was perfect . It also smelled like vanilla and bourbon- plus a woody smokeyness, which helped calm him down at least a little due to how nice it smelled.
As quick as he could, he got dressed in the clothing he’d found. He didn’t bother to try and fix Ash’s hair- his hair now, instead stumbling to the door and then hurrying down the stairs. He had to use the wall of the stairway to keep himself from falling, but thankfully, his equilibrium seemed to be righting itself the more he moved and, by the time he was finally on the ground floor he felt like he wouldn't trip in front of the woman who was now his mother.
‘’Oh Ash..’’
The watery whisper interrupted his thoughts, and he looked up and blinked at Deliah Ketchum- who looked different as well. Her skin was the same skintone his now was, covered in the same freckles. Unlike his black hair, hers was a chocolate brown. Her eyes were the same caramel of his own, yet missing the blue.
‘’Mom?’’ He choked out, still overwhelmed. To his panic, the woman let out a choked sob, and it wasn’t long after that he found himself tense and held in a deathgrip of a hug.
‘’I don’t know how you found his jacket but- oh baby..’’
Suddenly he wondered if his choice might have been wrong, and if he should have just worn that horrifying amalgamation of a beginner outfit Ash usually wore. He tried to ignore what she said, but he also found himself confused and curious- who was he ? He was interrupted from such thoughts when Deliah let out a loud sniff while rubbing her eyes and kissed him on the cheek.
‘’He’d love that you were using it Ash, oh baby I’m so proud of you.’’
Still a bit tense, he- Ash , awkwardly patted the womans- his mother’s - shoulder in a way he hoped was comforting.
‘’Thanks mom. Uh, you said I was gonna be late so-’’ He winced slightly as he realised how.. Lacking in tact what he’d just said was but-
Delilah pulled back, giving a watery smile. ‘’Sorry baby, you’re right. Go straight to Sam’s place alright? Don’t get distracted. Come back and say goodbye before you go though, for me, please?’’
Swallowing thickly, Ash- he needs to get used to that, because that’s who he is now, and he’s pretty sure he’s stuck, gives a jerky nod of agreement. ‘’Okay mom. I’ll see you soon?’’
Giving a chuckle, Deliah gives him one more kiss, this one on his forehead, and waves him on. She heads to an area he’s pretty sure is the kitchen, and he uses the chance to run toward the door where he see’s some shoes waiting to the side.
He’s barely begun to tie the shoes waiting at the door on, before a gasp and then footsteps run back. He looks up and is met by Deliah holding out both a fresh apple and what looks like a piece of toast. He gives an awkward smile of thanks and takes both before he rushes out, though not before he verbally thanks her in a slightly breathless way of course. ‘’Thank’s mom gotta go, see you soon!’’
The door closes behind him with a soft click and he rushes forward down a pretty stone walkway, his eyes glancing over a beautiful garden and what looks like a full on gazebo to the side of the house where the pretty stone walkway also leads to. It doesn’t look like how he thought, though he also doesn’t really remember what Ash’s house really looked like. He shakes the thought away and runs forward, glad that at least Professor Oak’s lab seems to be tall enough to spot in the small town. The town is a bit bigger, but considering that this is now all real, he’s not too surprised about that fact. Video game scaling versus what is now real life has to have some major differences.
He begins to stuff himself with the toast he was handed, absently glad this hoodie jacket has pockets as he shoves the surprisingly large apple into them. He’d eat the apple later, maybe sharing it with Pikachu would make him have a better start with the starter? Maybe he could avoid that whole Spearow incident. He grimaces of the thought of that crazy bullshit. Yeah, no thanks. He’d rather not. Honestly he’s not looking forward to some of the shit Ash went through. He has no idea if he’ll go through the same or if things will be different. The only thing he does know is that Pokemon are amazing and the very idea of becoming friends with them causes him to be less upset about this whole situation.
Unconsciously his eyes dart around, taking in the Pidgey that seem to be flying around, a Caterpie climbing up the wall of a house he’s passing- what looks like an Espeon on the porch of another house. His steps begin to have a slight bounce to them and a grin pulls across his lips.
Pokemon.
They were real.
He’s still unsure why he’s in this situation- and he’ll let himself be upset over what he left behind later, hopefully when he’s able to be alone other than probably Pikachu, but for now- he lets the excitement and love of the creatures surrounding him distract him from the situation he’s found himself in.
Hello, come in, welcome to the show
Take your seat, but don't look out the windows
The monsters like to jump out of the dark
Buckle up, 'cause this is just the start