Shalour City, the location of the regionally famous Tower of Mastery, within which sat the Shalour Gym, was a scenic coastal city with white sand beaches, a seasonally fluctuating population that rarely exceeded ten thousand, and multi-story structures that sat atop cliffs overlooking the bay. As the helicopter prepared to land atop a helipad at the back of the Tower of Mastery, a tall, predominantly brick and concrete structure encircled by buildings reminiscent of a French chateau, Jason got a good look at the small but charming city from above.
'This is incredible...' thought Jason, his gaze fixed on the sea, in particular. He had never seen such a pristine shade of blue, and wherever he looked, Pokémon could be seen living alongside humans. There were Machokes working alongside human construction teams, Lapras pulling beachgoers around atop Gyrados-themed floats, and while there were a handful of vehicles present—most of which were service, delivery, or supply trucks—the majority of people appeared to get around on foot, accompanied by a wide array of Pokémon or riding atop them like mounts...
With the helicopter touching down and its engines whirring down, Korrina removed her headset and stared at Jason with a smile, waiting for him to do the same before she said, "Once we're cleared to depart, I'm going to take you to my Gym. We have dorms for Gym Trainers and a bath you can use to get yourself cleaned up while I talk to my Grandpa and contact the League. You won't be able to move freely without an ID, so the sooner we get you one, the better."
"I greatly appreciate the consideration..." stated Jason, closing his eyes and bowing his head while simultaneously wondering how he would go about repaying Korrina for her kindness. Being indebted to people made him uncomfortable, and if she was providing him with clothes, a place to stay, and presumably food to eat, he was going to accrue a considerable debt in a short period.
"No worries. Even if we're from different worlds, we're still people. We've got to look out for one another~" hummed Korrina, smiling radiantly and making a peace sign with her left hand before undoing her straps. Jason did the same and, shortly thereafter, the two departed the helicopter with her Lucario tailing behind.
Inhaling the fresh, somewhat salty air, Jason couldn't help but crack a faint smile. As far as he could tell, there was no pollution, and though it was a sunny day with few clouds, a cool breeze blowing in from the sea ensured the temperature remained a temperate 27 degrees.
"Is this your first time near the sea?" asked Korrina, noticing Jason's deep inhale and restrained, contented look.
"It's not," responded Jason, calmly shaking his head and pausing for a moment before explaining, "It's just that the air here is a lot fresher than what I'm used to. I feel refreshed just breathing it in."
"Oh? Is there a lot of pollution where you came from...?" asked Korrina, walking backward toward the back entrance of the Tower of Mastery, a colossal spire that, from afar, appeared to rise from the sea like the crown of an ancient monarch. Its base was especially broad and cylindrical, like a fortress of red-bricked walls and sharp battlements formed of concrete. From there, it tapered into sweeping tiers of stone and steel, its balconies and terraces jutting out like a giant's staircase—rising 120m aboveground and who knew how deep below.
"It wasn't that bad near my hometown, but in some of our more populous cities, the pollution can get so bad that acid and chemicals rain from the sky, damaging houses and vehicles and causing those with compromised immune systems to suffer from chronic health issues..." revealed Jason, a slight frown marring his face.
"Well, I can't say that Kalos is totally without pollution, but companies that get caught dumping or disposing of waste illegally get hit with fines so massive that it typically bankrupts them," stated Korrina. "Because of that, you very rarely hear about such cases."
"That's how it should be..." affirmed Jason, nodding approvingly. He had never understood how companies, particularly mega-corporations, were routinely allowed to get away with doing things that the average person would go to prison for. Instead, they would get fined an inconsequential amount, using the incident as an excuse to restructure and rehire people at lower wages—often with those in charge receiving millions of dollars in bonuses. And society just allowed it despite countless people recognizing and pointing out what is usually industry-wide corruption...
As Jason was recalling how various HOAs (Home Owners Associations) tried to create trouble for him or force his companies to perform free labor when they were doing community beautification projects, a noisy Wingull swooped overhead and nearly bombarded him with poop. Fortunately, he was promptly pulled out of the splash zone by Korrina's Lucario, its four-digit, vaguely human hands grabbing his collar and pulling him back as if he were a ragdoll.
'The weak should be better aware of their surroundings...' asserted Luca, his expression and telepathic tone firm as he released his hold on Jason's tunic and gave him a hard shove between his shoulders. It wasn't that he put a lot of strength into the action, but due to his Steel Typing, Lucario's well-trained, hand-like paws were exceptionally hard.
"You'll have to excuse Luca's temper..." said Korrina, catching Jason by his shoulders and smiling awkwardly as she excused, "He's been cranky ever since we lost to a long-time rival of ours in the most recent WCS. The two of us were actually out searching for Trainers to challenge when he heard you being attacked."
'I am not cranky...' countered Luca, crossing his arms and exhaling from his elongated snout in a way that made it apparent that he was, in fact, in an ill-tempered mood.
"Of course you aren't~" chimmed Korrina, pulling the tensing Jason along by his left hand. She evidently found his pace too slow, so she pulled him along like a kid pulling their parent at a theme park. Jason had never been pulled along in such a manner, much less by an attractive girl, so he found himself not knowing how to react. One thing he knew for certain was that he didn't want to ruin her impression of him by behaving rudely, so after a brief moment of hesitation, he found himself attempting to keep pace with the slightly shorter and energetic woman as she ushered him through the Tower of Mastery's automated doors, through a foyer, and into a spacious chamber where a fifteen-meter-tall statue of a Lucario stood proudly...
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After being ushered to a surprisingly spacious room with a large bed, a workout area, a small kitchenette, and a bathroom with a shower but no bath, Jason got his first full look at his cartoonified form.
'This is so surreal...' thought Jason, staring at his reflection in the mirror above his bathroom sink, his right hand instinctively touching his face to confirm that it was himself reflected.
Though his height, general proportions, hair, and eye color were more or less the same as Jason remembered, their colors were richer, almost as if they emitted light. One notable change was that the structure of his eyes had changed, becoming larger and slightly angular with sharp brows and lashes that tapered into points at the outer edges. And then there was his hair. He could separate it into individual strands if he made an effort, but if left alone, it naturally formed into distinctive, currently messy clumps that gave the impression he could style it into a variety of hairstyles that would have been impossible without a gratuitous amount of mousse or hairspray in his previous world.
'This explains how Korrina's able to retain such a wild hairstyle without it losing its shape as she moves around...' noted Jason, using both a brush and a comb to experiment with a variety of hairstyles. He didn't ordinarily care about such things, but he was trying to understand what caused hair to clump together and hold certain shapes over others.
toktoktok
Not expecting anyone to come and knock on his door so soon, Jason's body briefly tensed. It had only been a few minutes since Korrina left him, saying she would return within an hour, so he was currently shirtless and still wearing his ragged trousers, having yet to shower or change.
After quickly donning his threadbare tunic, Jason exited the bathroom, made his way over to the dorm room's entrance, and peered through the topmost of its three vertically aligned peepholes to see who had knocked. To his surprise, it was a Pokémon resembling a small, primarily white and red drone with a large, spherical head, red, lens-like eyes, and points on the top and bottom of its body, presumably to help it balance.
Recognizing the Pokémon as a Rotom, though he had never seen any that resembled the one before him, Jason opened the door a crack and asked, "Can I help you with something...?"
Instead of responding with words, the Rotom used a camera lens at the center of its chest to scan Jason's face and body through the door with a fast-moving beam of bluish-white light. The entire process took less than a second, so Jason didn't have the time to consider retreating before the scan was completed, followed by the Rotom, in a distinctly robotic voice, stating, "No Trainer or Regional Identification Card on file. You are the one called Jason Springfield, correct?"
"I am..." responded Jason, sporting a slightly annoyed frown as he didn't appreciate being scanned without his consent.
"I am one of the Pokémon League's Surveillance Rotoms, Identification Code PL-CPU-00492," revealed the Rotom, its large blue eyes producing a sound akin to a camera shutter as it blinked and explained, "I have been sent to verify the claim that a being from another world has appeared. My scans indicate that your body is comprised of foreign matter, so with your permission, I would like to ask you a number of questions on the League's behalf. Please note that if you refuse to cooperate, you may be brought in for more comprehensive testing and questioning."
'Am I being threatened...?' Jason wondered, his eyes narrowing slightly as he opened the door the rest of the way to let the Rotom in. If he were an outsider arriving in his previous world, there was no doubt in his mind that he would be captured, imprisoned, and likely experimented on, regardless of the country he appeared in. He wanted to believe that those who ruled the world of Pokémon were more reasonable, so the best course of action was to cooperate. If he was wrong, then he was screwed—simple as that. After all, even if he could flee, there was no way he could survive alone in a world of superpowered monsters without being hunted, either by agents of the Pokémon League or Pokémon themselves.
Answering one of the many questions Jason had, the Rotom made its way over to a circular table with a deep, metal, cone-shaped indentation on its surface. He had wondered what it was used for, and he promptly received the answer as the Rotom settled into the hole and allowed its four rapidly-spinning rotors to slow and eventually stop before stating, "Please pull up a chair. Once you're prepared, we will begin with you providing your name, age, date of birth, height, weight, and blood type. Please note that if your application is approved, the information you provide now will be reflected on your record and Regional ID Card. To that end, it is recommended that you answer as truthfully as you're able."
"I understand..." affirmed Jason, taking a seat in front of the Rotom before kicking off the surprisingly short, ten-minute interrogation by stating, "My given name is Jason Springfield. I recently turned nineteen, with a year in my world consisting of a single, 365-day rotation around our primary star, Sol. My date of birth is June 19th, 2010, with the 2010 reflecting the years that have passed since the death of an important figure in our world using a system known as the Gregorian calendar. My height..."
With Jason readily volunteering more information than he was asked for, the Rotom and, more importantly, those watching the interview through its eyes, paid close attention to his every word. They had been wondering what kind of person the so-called 'otherworlder' was, so it was a relief to see that he was cooperative, honest, and intelligent. It would take them a while to reconcile the fact that other worlds existed, but with Jason as an example, they could conclude that, at the very least, not all otherworlders were hostile...
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