Although this story is set in the Pokemon Horizons world, it will not just be a plot rewrite with my character added. He will be having his own adventure, though as a student, it won't be your typical Ash-style adventure.
You'll understand better as long as you stick with the story. On that note, I really do hope you enjoy this first chapter, and make sure to give me some feedback. This is the first time I've ever written a fanfiction!
-(O)-
Have you ever felt like your life is nothing more than a lie?
Put yourself in a hypothetical situation. You're living your life like any other day when your entire world suddenly gets turned upside down. You gain memories of another life, memories that superimpose themselves onto your current ones.
How would you respond?
The first outcome.
Some would suffer from anxiety, their personalities would shift, and even relationships with those from their current lives would be reevaluated. Although a scary outcome, it's no doubt the most common. After all, memories are the foundation of our identities.
The second outcome.
For those who are more emotionally vulnerable, the very fact that they would never see countless loved ones that they once knew could throw them into despair. Out of desperation, they could spend their entire new life searching for people who no longer exist in the same world as them.
The third outcome.
Alongside the first, this was no doubt the most common. Some would simply fall into denial and outright reject their new memories, seeing them as mere illusions. Whether it was calm or an outburst depended entirely on the person.
However, these three outcomes are only three of countless others.
For someone like Xander, after regaining those memories of a distant past, he chose one of the more uncommon paths. With the knowledge he now possessed, he was fully determined to put them to the test, using them as his secret weapon to success in this life.
This path was not uncommon, in fact, it was one that many would choose. However, very few would be truly capable of accomplishing it. After all, coming to terms with such a situation was far more than simply making a conscious decision, some things simply couldn't be controlled.
Whatever outcome you embark on, one thing remains unchanged...
"...We all have to move on."
With a somewhat blank and distant look on his face, Xander stuck his head slightly out of the car window with his arm supporting his head as he rested against it. His smooth yet spiky blue hair was violently fluttering against the rushing winds.
Aside from him, there were three other individuals in the expensive black car he was being driven in. Two of whom appeared to be butlers, wearing fancy black suits, while the other was a sword-shaped pokemon.
"Young master, please refrain from placing your head outside of the vehicle." The male butler with smooth, straight, snow-white hair, seated together with him in the back, spoke up calmly with closed eyes. "It is a dangerous act."
"Yeah, yeah." With a small sigh, Xander retracted his head before rolling the window back up, and the inside of the car returned to a peaceful silence due to the absence of rushing wind. "How much longer until we arrive, Kane?"
"If you are referring to the location that you specified to be dropped at..." Opening his eyes, Kane rolled up his sleeve and checked his watch. "We will be arriving in approximately ten minutes. Right on schedule."
"Alright, that's good to hear." Satisfied, Xander nodded his head before glancing at the pokemon sat between him and Kane. "How about that, buddy? Not much longer, and we'll be officially starting my first ever day of school."
Well, at least in this life.
Unless you consider being taught by private tutors to be going to school, today would indeed be his first-ever day at school. If it were his last life, going to school would sound like a horrifying nightmare, but it was different in this world.
Xander was certain that anyone from his previous life would be ecstatic to attend school in this world filled with Pokemon, they'd all no doubt turn into educational maniacs, that or they'd throw themselves into a wild journey across the region.
Honedge, upon hearing his trainer's words, simply responded with a calm yet happy cry as his eye curled into a crescent shape. Due to his form, there was little that Honedge could do to express his emotions, but this was more than enough for Xander to understand.
Like himself, Honedge too was looking forward to this newfound freedom. Back home, being his Pokemon, Honedge was typically always with him. Thus, the ghost-type was naturally as bored and sheltered as Xander was.
Being rich was always great, but his freedom was minimal.
Convincing his parents took a great deal of effort.
"If you don't mind me asking, young master." Kane spoke up as Xander glanced at him, nodding his head, prompting Kane to continue. "Why is it you chose Indigo Academy? Why not a higher-end institute like Pokemon Tech?"
"Pokemon Tech...?" With restrained disdain, Xander scoffed slightly. "That school may have incredible resources, but it's full of delusional, snobby, rich kids. The teachers are even worse than the students. I refuse to ever step foot in that place again."
"I... see..." Uncertain how to respond to such a response, Kane blinked a few times before speaking up once again. "From what I've heard, Pokemon Tech ensures participation for the league upon graduation. The other benefits are nothing to scoff at either."
"And?" Xander cocked an eyebrow at this. "How many of those graduates actually got past the preliminary round?"
"..."
"As I said. Delusional." Seeing Xander's deadpanned expression, Kane could only scratch his cheek with one finger while Honedge gave an amused laugh. "I'd rather earn my place in the competition, not bought in."
That honestly made him wonder how much money Pokemon Tech actually gives the league to even allow such a system to exist. The amount had to be astronomical if trainers of their level were given a pass into the competition.
"If I'm not mistaken, doesn't Indigo Academy also have such a means?" Kane thought for a moment before continuing. "If a trainer has proven themselves, the academy would nominate them for the league competition. So far, none have been known to have been given this opportunity."
"That's simply because Indigo Academy actually has standards for who they choose." Xander rolled his eyes as he responded. "Pokemon Tech is all about following the textbook to a tee. Indigo Academy, along with many others, at least promote the idea of individual growth in the world. They value experience as much as knowledge."
"I guess I can't argue against that." Kane nodded after hearing this. "Is that why you chose Indigo Academy?"
"..." Hearing this question, Xander fell silent as he awkwardly glanced out the window with a strained smile. "Yeah, totally. At least earning my place here actually means something, unlike if I attended Pokemon Tech."
Okay, this was mostly a lie.
He had actually wanted to head off on a journey rather than attend school, but it was already insanely difficult to convince his parents to let him study at Indigo Academy, let alone live there for the next few years.
As for convincing them to allow him, a sheltered rich kid with doting parents, to set off on an adventure into the wilderness where literally anything could happen? Yeah, there was no chance in hell that was going to happen!
Also, as appealing as it was to participate in the league by proving himself in school, he personally had his own plans for that. If what he learnt about the school online, like many other schools, there were typically long breaks for students to do what they wanted...
'This is an opportunity.' Xander thought to himself as he clenched his fist slightly. 'One that I refuse to let get away.'
-(O)-
As stated by Kane, they had arrived at Xander's requested location at the appointed time, quite a distance from the actual school. After all, Xander had no intention of being the centre of attention if he got dropped off in an expensive vehicle.
Indigo Academy was in an isolated area away from the main city, so it was quite a distance to walk. Even so, Xander didn't mind, he'd take full joy in embracing the cold winds as he made his way there.
"Hm? Is that the academy?" Xander blinked as he glanced up, a popsicle that he had bought from the convenience store before heading off in his mouth as he muttered this. "That didn't take as long as I expected."
Walking wasn't the method Xander chose, instead he had brought along his skateboard to cover the distance. Since he was using that, exhaustion wasn't really that much of an issue. The only issue was the uniform.
Before leaving, he used a public toilet to change into casual clothes for a more comfortable travel. He now also had his backpack secured with one strap hanging over his right shoulder, and what looked like a pair of compact headphones around his neck.
The road leading to the school had several hills, so there were many ups and downs. The thought of traversing this in a school uniform was horrifying to say the least, but at least the higher hills gave him a view of the school below.
True, he could've taken a bus, but what was the fun in that? It's not like he was going to be late or anything, he'd always been punctual.
Anyway, after Xander looked up, he could see the academy coming into view ahead of him. The entire campus couldn't be clearly seen, but you could at least see that the sheer size of it was anything but small.
"The next three years, huh?" Xander chuckled to himself. "I hope it'll prove to be interesting... Hm?"
Blinking, he glanced to the side to see a bus coming up next to him, watching casually as it drove past him. As it passed by, he saw a number of students glancing at him curiously, while others were simply talking to one another or minding their own business.
However, one particular individual caught his attention, not because their appearance stood out greatly among the others, but simply because it'd be hard for him not to notice the person literally waving at him like they were waving a flag.
It was hard to make out their appearance clearly, but he could at least tell that the person was a female. From what he could see, she seemed to have either short or tied-up purple hair, it was difficult to tell.
"What an energetic girl." Xander couldn't help but comment before shaking his head and focusing back on the path ahead. "Honedge, why don't we race the bus to the finish line? Give me a good boost!"
Hearing this, the ghost-type that had been resting while being held under Xander's perked up before hovering out from underneath and moving to float in front of his trainer. Xander then raised his arm as Honedge used his cloth to wrap around it.
"Alright... let's go!"
Just like that, Honedge began flying forward as fast as he could, dragging Xander along as the latter bent his knees slightly to stabilise himself on the skateboard. With the sudden burst of speed, Xander held his backpack strap tightly as he shot forward.
Although it wasn't fast enough to fully catch up to the bus, the distance between them did shorten a fair amount upon reaching the top of the hill. At the top, Xander looked down to see the bus already having descended around halfway.
Not at all discouraged, Xander grinned sharply.
"Get ready, Honedge. We're shifting into a higher gear!"
Using one hand, Xander placed his headphones over his ears as Honedge narrowed his singular eye, adopting a look of pure determination. Taking a deep breath, Xander nodded heavily before kicking against the ground.
Now beginning his descent, it took only a few seconds before Xander began descending at outright dangerous speeds, which was only improved on with Honedge's assistance. Despite this, he managed to maintain a steady form.
Naturally, for a safe drive, the bus wasn't going as fast as it could, and was, of course, going more slowly while descending such a steep hill. This allowed Xander to begin rapidly catching up, closing the distance quickly.
"Come back, Honedge! Thanks for the help!" Xander called out as Honedge quickly returned to being held under Xander's arm. Their current speed wasn't something the ghost-type could assist with any longer. "Looks like a curve up ahead, alright..."
Just before he rushed past them, Xander slowed himself down a bit before giving them all a quick salute, to which he then had to quickly readjust himself. The students who noticed were stunned for a moment as they all pressed against the window to get a better view.
All they saw was Xander speeding past, and then they saw him disappear around the corner up ahead.