Chapter no.4 Déjà vu

Peter settled into a seat on the bus, feeling the weight of the day on his shoulders.

He sat there, his mind a chaotic storm of thoughts and theories.

"What in the world is going on?" he wondered.

"I wake up, and suddenly I'm Ash Ketchum? But not the Ash Ketchum I remember. This is all wrong, yet so vivid."

He tried to piece together the situation.

"So, I'm in Viridian City, not Pallet Town. And I'm 19, not 10. This is like some bizarre fanfiction version of Pokémon."

The idea of an exam for a trainer license seemed strange too.

"Since when do you need to take an exam to get a starter Pokémon? What's next, Pokémon tax returns?"

His mind raced with wild possibilities.

"Is this some alternate reality? Did I somehow zap into a parallel universe? Maybe this is like 'The Matrix,' and I'm plugged into a Pokémon-themed simulation."

He glanced around half-expecting to see a glitch in the matrix, or an agent in a suit.

"Or could it be like 'Quantum Leap'? Have I jumped into someone else's body? But then, where's the real Ash? Is he in my body now, freaking out in my messy apartment?"

The idea of a hidden camera show crossed his mind. "Am I being pranked? Is Ashton Kutcher going to jump out and yell, 'You got Punk'd'?"

Peter's thoughts turned to 'Inception.' "Is this a dream within a dream? Do I need a spinning top or something to figure out if this is real?"

"Or maybe it's like the holodeck from 'Star Trek.' A virtual reality so real it's indistinguishable from the actual thing. But then, where's the 'End Program' button?"

He even considered the more outlandish scenarios.

"Am I in a 'Doctor Who' episode? Should I be expecting the TARDIS to appear with the Doctor popping out to explain this mess?"

He joked to himself, looking out the window half-expecting to see a blue police box.

"Or what if this is like 'Stranger Things'? An experiment gone wrong, and now I'm stuck in a Pokémon version of the Upside Down. Instead of Demogorgons, I'll be facing Gengars."

As he grappled with these theories, each seemed as unlikely as the next.

"None of this makes sense. It's like every sci-fi and fantasy scenario mashed into one. I need to figure this out."

As Yellow sat beside him, Peter's mind raced with a whirlwind of thoughts.

"So, in this universe, Ash Ketchum has a girlfriend, and it's not one of the usual suspects – Misty, May, Dawn, or Serena. It's Yellow. Yellow... Why does that ring a bell?"

He chuckled to himself.

"And of course, they're a secret couple. Just my luck. I step into Ash's shoes and instantly mess up his love life. Way to go, Peter."

The irony of the situation wasn't lost on him. "I guess the only way I could get a girlfriend is by accidentally hijacking someone else's body. But then, what does that make me? The cucker or the cucked? If I'm Ash, and Ash is me, who's out-cucking who in this Pokémon love triangle?"

Peter's mind continued.

"I mean, if I'm going to be stuck in someone else's body, at least it comes with a girlfriend. But then, does that mean I have to battle her exes, Scott Pilgrim style? 'Peter Asher vs. The World: Pokémon Edition.'"

He sighed, a mix of amusement and exasperation in his thoughts.

"Well, at least if we break up, I can always say it was Ash's fault. 'Sorry, Yellow, it's not you, it's Ash. Or me. Or... whoever I am today.'"

They both began to speak at the same time, then abruptly stopped, an unintentionally comedic moment unfolding between them.

"Is..." Peter stuttered, his nervousness apparent.

"Why..." Yellow began at the same time, her voice laced with a mix of confusion and annoyance.

Peter, feeling the tension, gestured with a shaky hand for Yellow to go on.

"Y-You first," he said, offering her a small, nervous smile.

Yellow looked at him, a frown creasing her forehead.

"Why did you, uh, scream about us... in front of everyone?" she asked. "Weren't we, um, supposed to keep it... low-key?"

Peter bit his lip, feeling a wave of guilt wash over him. He struggled to find the right words, his usual wit failing him.

"I... I just wanted to... um, say that... before this dream, uh, ends," he confessed, his voice barely above a whisper.

"I didn't mean to, you know, make it a... spectacle."

Yellow sighed and leaned against his shoulder, her annoyance fading into a softer expression.

"So, it was just a mistake, huh."

"Things happen," she said, trying to ease the awkwardness.

"Let's not dwell on it, especially today. It's our big day, right? To become trainers."

Peter gazed at Yellow, lost in thought.

"What are you looking at?" she asked, a hint of embarrassment in her voice.

Peter realized he was staring and quickly looked away, sighing. "

Ash Ketchum really hit the jackpot... with someone cute, kind, and understanding like you," he murmured.

At his comment, Yellow's cheeks turned a bright shade of red.

Peter felt his own face heat up.

He hastily turned his gaze out of the bus window, trying to hide his embarrassment.

"In any other world, I'd never have this chance," Peter thought, a mix of amazement and disbelief in his mind. "How would Ash handle this? Probably with more denseness than me."

.....

As the bus came to a halt, Peter's eyes widened at the sight of Samuel Oak's School of Pokémon.

The high school had a majestic entrance, marked by a large, intricately carved wooden gate that bore the school's emblem – a stylized Poké Ball intertwined with oak leaves.

The main building was a sprawling structure, its roof elegantly curved in the classic Japanese style, with tiles that shimmered in the sunlight. The windows were large and rectangular, allowing plenty of light to filter into the spacious classrooms. Along the sides of the building were rows of cherry trees, their blossoms adding a soft, pink hue to the landscape.

The school grounds were meticulously maintained, with neatly trimmed lawns and traditional stone pathways leading to various parts of the campus. To the side, there was a modern sports field, complete with a running track and areas designated for Pokémon training.

Behind the main building, a series of smaller, auxiliary structures housed specialized facilities for Pokémon care and study.

.....

Peter sat nervously in the exam hall, a vast room filled with rows of desks and chairs, all facing a large stage at the front. The walls were adorned with posters of various Pokémon and charts depicting their evolutionary stages.

The atmosphere was thick with anticipation and a hint of anxiety from the aspiring trainers.

As he tried to steady his nerves, an elderly man took the stage, immediately commanding the room's attention. His gray hair and kind demeanor, coupled with his scholarly attire, gave him an air of wisdom and authority.

A murmur of excitement rippled through the hall.

"That's Professor Oak," someone whispered in awe.

Professor Oak began his speech, his voice resonating throughout the hall.

"I want to congratulate each and every one of you for the bravery you've shown by coming here today. Bravery is the first and foremost quality every Pokémon trainer needs."

Peter listened, trying to focus on the professor's words.

Oak continued, "Today's exam will be in two parts. The first is a written test, assessing your knowledge of Pokémon types, habitats, and care. The second part is practical, where you will demonstrate your ability to interact and bond with Pokémon. Points will be allotted based on your performance in both sections."

The professor's eyes scanned the room. "Based on your total points, you will be given a chance to choose a starter Pokémon from a 10-tier system. Remember, the higher your points, the higher the tier and the stronger the starter Pokémon available to you."

He concluded with a smile, "Good luck to all of you. May this be the first step in your remarkable journey as Pokémon trainers."

The room erupted in cheers and claps, but Peter felt a wave of panic wash over him. "Shit," he thought. "I'm totally unprepared for this. A written test? A practical test? I don't know the first thing about actually being a Pokémon trainer." The realization of the challenge ahead made his stomach churn. "What have I gotten myself into?"

Peter's heart pounded in his chest as he stared at the written exam paper in front of him.

The test was dauntingly divided into three sections, totaling 50 points and needed to be completed in four hours.

The first section was multiple-choice questions, with 50 questions to answer. He read the first question:

"How many Pokémon types are there?"

The options were:

A) 15

B) 18

C) 20

D) 22

Peter felt a wave of panic wash over him.

It had been years since he last engaged with anything Pokémon-related, and his knowledge was rusty at best.

Yet, as he pondered over the question, a sense of déjà vu hit him.

"Could it be 18 types?" he wondered, his intuition nudging him towards that answer.

Subtly glancing to the side, he saw a classmate circle the option for 18 types.

"So my hunch was right," he thought, a flicker of relief passing through him. He marked the same answer and moved on to the next questions.

As he progressed, Peter realized that even though he was clueless about questions like "What is the capital of Kanto?" a strange, instinctive feeling guided him to the correct answers.

"This déjà vu... could it be Ash Ketchum's memories?" he speculated. "After all, memories are just neural connections in the brain. So, if I'm in Ash's body, his memories should still be here."

With this realization, Peter felt a newfound confidence. He breezed through the written exam, relying on these instinctive flashes of memory that felt like Ash's. "I'm answering these questions not as Peter, but as Ash Ketchum," he thought, amazed at the strange turn of events.