❝You'll be fine, Trev! Just have fun in there! I'll see you in-game!❞

V's voice had faded away, replaced with upbeat music and a light stream tunnel that simulated him getting transported to somewhere else. Well, that made sense, he supposed, and it really felt like this body (his new body? Virtual body) was floating. It was an odd feeling, to be sure, and he couldn't help but look at his hands (not quite his, and they also didn't have the same realness as his own hands). Would he have a chance to look at a mirror soon? Well, he wasn't even sure where the game would place him first. Surely some kind of beginner's area. His friend was being intentionally vague about it for some reason.

It didn't take long before he found himself on solid ground, and before his eyes was...a mess. A mad scientist's lab, straight from the movies. Well, it was that and he couldn't help but realize he could smell this place, and it was not pleasant. So this was how far technology could take them, huh?

And then he heard a high-pitched voice. Err, wasn't there something about Pokemon Professors that he might be meeting? Was she one of them? And was she speaking in nya-speak? Trev, despite not being much of a gamer, was chronically online if he wasn't reading paperback books. He mostly spent his time reading still, but it was stuff like...wikia pages. Urban Dictionary, because language was weird and he couldn't keep up with the lingo of his peers nowadays. Nya-speak was...ancient though. Kind of cringy.

Oh, she was speaking to him. Somehow, it was easy to forget that he was in a game with the way she moved and the way the scenery was close to believable.

❝Oh, I'm Tre--Solar. Nice to meet you.❞ stage name, Trevor, stage name. It wouldn't do any good for people to realize who he actually was. He glanced at the numerous Pokeballs (he knew that much) on the display case. Was he going to be getting one of them? And questions? Like a "What kind of person are you?" sort of deal? And she'll just wing it?? He supposed this was all part of the game's programming...

❝Sure. I mean, fire.❞

He sat down and was immediately baffled by the questions she gave him. What kind of questions were these? They weren't multiple choice? How were they supposed to determine an optimal Pokemon out of it? Or was it really just random all along? Clearly bothered but still playing along, Solar gave it a good think before answering them like in a quiz show, where the expectation was meant to be snarky and eye-catching to an audience, in this case, an audience of one. That didn't mean that he was going to pretend he knew what she would like from him, though.

❝I'm not bulletproof,

Cereal with cold milk,

Aaand I have no fucking idea. 42?❞ he wondered what kind of reaction he would get out of them, or what Pokemon was going to be tossed onto him. He knew that Vernon was waiting for him though, wherever he was, he could already see the small notification box somewhere on the top right corner of his peripheral vision, but it was grayed out. Maybe it was inaccessible until he finished this.

Solar stole a glance at the paper, noting that there was a car, as mentioned in the question, and a blur of red that he had difficulty singling out. Were they supposed to be chameleons? Weren't they supposed to be green? (He knew that they could change color, especially if they were stressed out, and they must've been, being stuffed in such a cramped space, but he realized that this was silly and he should stop thinking about it so hard). He watched the Professor, who (now that he got a better look) appeared no older than a child, get something before tossing whatever it was to him. It was a Pokeball, perfectly shaped, and without him meaning to, he had pressed on the button without even checking the name of the Pokemon.

So he was very much surprised when the device clicked open and a blur of white jumped at him, obscuring his vision. ❝What the?! Get it off!❞ he had stumbled back a few steps before tripping over a pile of books that had already fallen over. Solar then fell butt first, using his arms to break the fall so that he wouldn't slam his head on the wooden floor. He cursed and hissed, only dawning on him that when that pain setting said realistic, it really meant realistic. He was sure he was going to feel this in the morning. He was already feeling it now.

Well, he still found it in him to peel off the Pokemon by pulling it from the scruff. Said creature did not offer much resistance, and that was when Solar got to take a better look at what he was dealing with. It was...err...long nosed...what was its name?

<Hello! >

He glanced at the paper on the Pokeball. ❝Sss...Cyn-da-quil.❞ Cinder and...Quill. Okay. ❝Fire Porcupine.❞

The little guy didn't open his eyes, and Solar wasn't sure how it could see. <That's me!>

Surprisingly very natural with its response, the player noted. It was very convincing so far. ❝So...you're my starter? I guess I should show you to my friend. He'll know what to do.❞

<Ohhh, a friend?> and the little thing was waving its tiniest arms around, <I wanna meet 'em! Let's go!>

Solar should stop holding this thing by the scruff, and with that thought gently set it on the ground. Since he was still sitting on the floor, though, that gave the Pokemon a chance to jump on the player's chest before scrambling up to his shoulder. He decided it was not worth the effort to shoo it off, especially since it wasn't too heavy. This was...AI, wasn't it? And perhaps a set personality or something. What starter did Vernon get, and how did they react? He supposed he would have to ask him when he got there.

He pushed himself up onto his feet, already feeling the soreness on his arms and behind. ❝Oh, thanks for the Pokemon. Do you have something else for me to do?❞