"Pokémon Legends: ZA" was about to be released. Sam was lying on the sofa, watching Nintendo's newest trailer, full of excitement.
"Mega Evolution is coming back!!" he shouted.
In his excitement, he accidentally stepped on a watermelon rind he had tossed on the floor. His foot slipped, his head slammed against the coffee table—and everything went dark.
In the darkness, Sam vaguely heard a mechanical voice:
"Pokémon world traversal complete. System successfully bound. Awakening host…"
Sam slowly opened his eyes. Dazzling sunlight poured onto his face. Right in front of him, a small Rattata stood cautiously, its whiskers twitching.
"What is this? A purple mouse? Kinda cute. Wait… did I actually travel to another world?"
"Ding Dong! Host has awakened. Pokémon world memory is now loading—"
Suddenly, a splitting headache overwhelmed him. After a few moments, the pain faded, and Sam began to process the memories flooding into his mind. This was the Pokémon world. It looked almost exactly like the world from the games—but his identity and the local language had already been embedded into his consciousness by the system.
Sam was now the adoptive brother of Ash Ketchum, the protagonist of the Pokémon anime. According to the world's setting, Ash's mom, Delia Ketchum (Hanako in the Japanese version), had picked him up as a child. In this world, Sam was now ten years old—the age when one officially becomes a Pokémon Trainer.
And today was the day he and Ash would begin their journey.
Realizing this, Sam sat up. Judging from the scenery, he was still in Professor Oak's backyard. It wouldn't be long until the selection of the starter Pokémon began.
He jumped to his feet and dashed toward Professor Oak's lab.
---
Ten minutes later, Sam arrived at the lab. Inside, he saw a man in a white lab coat scolding a kid. The man looked exactly like Professor Oak from the anime.
"Good morning, Professor Oak!" Sam called out.
The professor turned and smiled. "Ah, Sam! You're heading out on your journey today, aren't you? Where's Ash?"
"Still asleep, probably. I got too excited to sleep last night, so I ended up napping in your backyard." Sam walked closer and finally noticed who was being scolded—it was Gary Oak, Ash's rival and Professor Oak's grandson.
"Haha, Sam, you've always been a bit reckless. Growing up with Ash must've rubbed off on you." Oak chuckled. "Come on, this is perfect timing. You can choose your first partner Pokémon alongside Gary."
"Morning, Gary. Which one are you going to choose?" Sam asked casually.
Gary looked a bit grumpy, clearly still annoyed at getting scolded. "I'm picking Squirtle. What about you?"
Sam already knew what was going to happen—Ash would end up being late and missing the starter Pokémon selection, which would lead him to receive his destined Pikachu. Sam didn't want to interfere with that timeline, so he decided not to go wake Ash.
"Haven't decided yet," Sam smirked. "But maybe I'll pick Bulbasaur to counter your Squirtle. Heh."
The two approached the three Poké Balls on the table. Professor Oak summoned the Kanto starters: Bulbasaur, Charmander, and Squirtle.
"Since Gary arrived first, he'll choose first. Sam, you'll go next."
Sam grumbled internally. "Of course Gary gets first pick—he lives here. But whatever. According to the system's setup, Professor Oak is supposed to treat me well anyway."
Gary took a quick glance and said, "I choose Squirtle."
"Very well. Here's Squirtle's Poké Ball. Take good care of it, Gary," said Professor Oak.
"Got it, Grandpa." Gary was still sulking.
"Now it's your turn, Sam," Professor Oak smiled. "Go ahead and choose."
Sam looked at the three Pokémon. Charmander seemed lively and energetic, while Bulbasaur was playfully swatting the air with a Vine Whip.
Just then, a mechanical chime rang in his mind.
"Ding Dong! Host is currently choosing a starter. Activating bonus feature: You have two opportunities to communicate with Pokémon!"
Sam's eyes widened. He had almost forgotten he had a system. "System, since I'm a transmigrator, don't I get the ability to see a Pokémon's stats or something? Otherwise, what's the point of having a cheat?"
"Ding Dong! Per host request, ability to view Pokémon status has been activated."
Excited, Sam focused on Bulbasaur and thought, "Open panel."