AN: A hopefully unique take on the idea of a SI fic, wherein the main character is by no means the GOAT Pokemon trainer. The story will try to stay somewhat grounded in realism.

The Thousand Mile Journey - Chapter 1

In any given situation, it was perfectly reasonable for a person to remain calm and not panic. But then there was me, a person who was perfectly capable of ruining any and all things that were reasonable. You see, I think I was just reincarnated, or maybe I was in a coma induced fever-dream. Also, I was panicking.

Let me backtrack for a second. I remember living on Earth, in the States, where nothing exciting ever happened, and people were generally boring and miserable. I was fourteen, and, well, now I'm not. I'm much younger than that. But maybe I didn't die at all, now that I think about it.

You see, I have lived here, in Pallet Town my entire life, my best friends are Ash Ketchum, Gary Oak, and Leaf Green. Well, Gary isn't so much my friend as he is the popular kid in school who we sometimes go on adventures with and sometimes get bullied by. He's harder to lock down than Ash and Leaf are, but what can you expect when his dad is the Champion of the Kanto Region, and his grandfather is the most famous Pokemon researcher in the world.

Now, it should be noted that this is just for context, because while we catch up, you need to know that I am still very much panicking. Today, I went with my friends to Oaks lab to register for the Pokemon League, and I got into an argument with Gary.

That's not entirely true. Ash got into the fight with Gary, and Leaf and I tried to break up the fight. But things were heated, Gary shouted at me, too. He shoved me off to keep arguing with Ash, and I ended up falling down the hill that leads up to Professor Oak's laboratory. And to top it all off, I hit my head on a rock on the way down.

Hitting my head changed something, though, and that's why I am telling my story from the beginning. I remember another life where this entire world was fictional, and I experienced the lives of my friends through games and cartoons and comics.

These people that I played with and bickered with would become the greatest of all time, how was I going to keep up with that? Oh, and also: how was I here!?

"Daniel!" Leaf yelled as she ran down the hill after me.

I lay motionless on the grass, my head hurt for more than one reason, and I was trying to wrap my head around what was happening to me. It didn't make any sense, and I had been such a skeptic. But how could skepticism explain anything like this? Maybe it was all in my head. Maybe it was a concussion.

"Are you okay?" Leaf was at my side now, she was holding my hand. I tried to smile, but everything hurt, and for the life of me I couldn't focus on anything but her eyes. They were so big and so brown and so entirely concerned with me that I felt trapped. It was different comparing the reality of my situation to the world I now remembered. And to compare that to how I had believed the world just moments ago…

"Yeah," I managed, albeit weakly. "Just… can I have a minute. My head hurts a bit." Understatement, but I didn't want her to worry.

I had known Leaf the longest. We were neighbors and we lived on the very edge of Pallet. It was me and my folks, and Leaf just had her mom. But everyone was always welcome at either house.

On days when we didn't see Ash, we spent time together. When we didn't see Gary, we spent time together. We'd been basically inseparable since we were four. Except I was like four years older than she was now, or was I? Because I didn't feel older, I felt like me, the youngest of our group, who was always trying to keep my other friends from fighting.

"Of course you can," Leaf said. She looked back up the hill, where I could still hear Ash and Gary bickering if I focused on it. "Those two are in so much trouble!"

I squeezed her hand. "Don't worry about them. They're just restless, all of you guys should have left already. You didn't have to wait for me to turn ten."

Leaf looked offended, and I had the good grace to flush with embarrassment. "How could you say that? We're friends, and we agreed on Gary's birthday that we'd set out together."

"I know," I said awkwardly.

In Kanto, aspiring trainers could set out four times per year, on the first day of each new season. The requirements were simple. You had to be ten years old, you had to register for the League, and you had to pass a Pokemon examination, and you had to pass a survival course.

We'd all completed the requirements, and all three of them were months older than I was. They could have left in fall or winter last year, but they had waited for springtime so I could go with them. They were good friends.

I sat up, which was a terrible choice, because my head was still spinning, and I sort of collapsed forward and buried by head in my hands. But at least I was sitting up.

"Ohh..." Leaf said. "You're bleeding. I didn't see it when you were laying in the grass." She tried to wipe some of the blood off my ear. From her expression I doubted it went well. "Let's get you inside so we can get you cleaned up."

I nodded, and Leaf helped me to my feet. I grasped her shoulders to balance myself, and smiled at Leaf. "I'm okay," I said.

She wasn't convinced, and I allowed her to help me back up the hill. We took the long way, back around the side of the grassy hill to the small path that led up to the lab.

Ash and Gary were both red in the face from yelling when we got back to the top of the hill. One of Professor Oak's lab assistants was trying, entirely unsuccessfully to break up the argument. I wasn't at all curious what the fight was about.

"You two idiots!" Leaf yelled as she left my side and stomped over to the boys.

They turned, to see Leaf glowering at them as she strode forward. The expression 'if looks could kill' seemed appropriate at this moment in time.

"Uh… what?" Ash asked.

Leaf rounded on Ash. "Stop fighting! Stop it right now! Look, just look at Daniel. You guys actually hurt him with your stupid fighting."

"What?" Gary asked, glancing at me. His eyes widened at the sight. It must have looked bad, and I decided to play it up for Leaf's sake. Also because teasing Ash and Gary was always, always fun.

"You pushed me down the hill," I said sadly. "I hit my head on something and now I feel really dizzy."

Leaf gave each boy another death glare, and then hurried back to my side.

With the momentary lapse in fighting, I allowed myself to be escorted into the lab. The assistant, who had taken advantage of the lapse in fighting to take control of the situation, directed me to sit down at a table just inside the building, and hurried off to fetch a first-aid kit.

Ash and Gary looked terrible. It was clear that they felt awful about having hurt me in the middle of their fight. "Are you okay?" Gary asked after a while. Ash was glaring at the wall, in his own immature way of apology. The context of knowing Ash through the other world made me a lot less angry than I normally would be. Ash was stubborn and immature and most of all he was sorry.

"I'll be fine, guys," I said. "No hard feelings, but I definitely get to pick my starter first." I smiled when I said that. If I was going to be entirely honest with them, I didn't care which starter I got. I knew now that Ash had to have Pikachu and Gary had to have Squirtle. That left Charmander and Bulbasaur for Leaf and I.

"What?!" Ash said, shooting to his feet. "No way!"

I waved him off. "I was just teasing, Ash. I'm the youngest. I'll pick last."

Leaf tilted her head at me. "Are you sure."

I nodded. "Of course I am. I already know what's going to happen. A bunch of other trainers will be here tomorrow to get their starter Pokemon, same as us. We'll get in line. Gary will pick his pokemon, Leaf will choose a Bulbasaur, and Ash will be late, so he'll pick last anyway."

We laughed. Well, Ash didn't. He instead declared that he'd beat us all here in the morning to make sure he got the strongest Pokemon of all. For some reason, that was even funnier.

Professor Oak came to the lobby in the midst of our laughing fit, and at the same time, the lab assistant returned from another doorway with a first aid kit. In short order, I was cleaned up and we were ushered to the registration desk.

Gary, as the oldest, was registered first, and assigned Kanto ID number 01300. Then Ash, who was number 01301. Leaf was 01302, and I was 01303.

It was over in moments, and we were all chatting excitedly about where we were going to go first. The professor told us our Pokedexes and Pokeballs would be ready first thing in the morning, and he ushered us out. We pretended not to notice when he gave Gary a big hug.

The walk back into the residential part of Pallet was slow, as the afternoon stretched out before us. Gary waved off as they passed his house, claiming that he needed to double check his bag, and that his sister Daisy had a present for him.

Daisy Oak was in college, and was a renowned Pokemon Coordinator, though she had challenged the Indigo League several years ago. Gary bragged that his sister finished top eight in the league during her first year as a trainer.

It hadn't seemed so awesome earlier. But I was comparing that with what I knew of this world now. Daisy Oak was a badass.

And I had been quieter than normal all day.

Ash was next, and he ran in to tell his mom about his incredible day.

Leaf and I walked on in companionable silence.

"Hey Daniel, are you sure you're okay? You've been awful quiet since you hit your head." Leaf looked concerned.

"I'm fine, I promise," I said. It was mostly true. "I'm just thinking about our journey. I'm going to challenge the gyms with Ash and Gary, and I'm nervous about it. Have you decided if you're going to compete in the Indigo League? There are so many ways to travel with and train Pokemon. I know you've given it a lot of thought."

Leaf smiled. "I have some more time to make up my mind for sure. But I am going to try each type of challenge. I don't know what I prefer, so I want to enter a Pokemon contest, battle in a gym, and visit a battle chateau. I might even try racing or Pokeathelons!" She giggled and twirled as we turned up the lane towards our houses.

"That's a great idea!" I said. "You'll be the best at whatever you choose, I just know it."

"What if I like battling the most?" Leaf asked.

"Well you'll be better than Ash and Gary, at least," I said.

"But not better than you?" She questioned.

"No way! I got the best score on the Pokemon examination that we had to take! I'm going all the way."

Leaf laughed, and I found it infectious. We were at the front door to her house now.

"Have fun, Daniel! I'll see you in the morning!" Leaf dashed to her front door and kicked off her shoes as she ran inside.

I found myself alone with my thoughts, and I had no desire to go home and face my parents right now. I wasn't even sure I was myself right now, as strange as that was to say.

And so, I went past my house and right to the edge of the woods that we'd travel through tomorrow. I sat in the shade of the nearest tree and looked back down the lane. A Pokemon journey awaited me. But that had seemed entirely normal until today. Because today I was both me and someone from some other place.

My hands were shaking. Had I died and been reincarnated here? Were these memories from another life I had led? The memories I had ended on my fourteenth birthday, which was terrifying on its own. Would I get more than four years with my friends here? I really, really wanted more than four more years here. Because I loved it here. I loved my family, and my friends, and I knew I would love my Pokemon, too.

So, while it is entirely possible for a person not to panic in any given situation. I was currently panicking. Tomorrow was going to be a wild ride and I was excited and scared and confused. But I'd face it head on, because I didn't think I could ever tell anyone that I knew about the Pokemon world from watching cartoons and playing video games.

I think I cried, but to be honest. I'm not really sure anymore.

AN: See you guys next time. Not sure which of my fics will be updated next. I just type as the wind takes me.