A/N: UPDATED: Like the previous three chaps, this one is getting a slight update as well. You know the drill, spell checks, grammar fixes, and some re-wording, blah blah. Enjoy, and please review!

Analysis Department – PokéGene Inc.

Danny hurriedly made his way to the end of the building, yet maintained a careful grip on the "ever-so-important" documents his father Brian and Dr. Peters gave him. He had no idea what the big deal was, as he himself couldn't make heads or tails of what all those overly complex words, numbers and equations meant. Maybe he should've stayed in college a bit longer…

After rushing past the Testing Room, Danny passed a few more random doorways until he came to a door made of metal with a plate that read 'Analysis Room' on the wall beside it. Attached to the door itself was a cheap novelty sticker that read "DANGER: RADIATION!" with a small diagram of a stick-figure with an extra arm and head. Danny couldn't help but chuckle to himself as he opened the door, since he knew it was false. And besides, people who get exposed to radiation in real life don't just sprout extra limbs! They either: A) End up in a casket; or (according to TV and comics), B) Get super-powers and save the world and stuff.

Stepping inside, he noticed that the room was very dark. The only sources of illumination came from a series of red-tinted lamps that gave the whole room a rather outlandish feel. He opened the door wider to let some of the hallway light in, and it revealed a bit more of the inside in detail. It was a very science-y and technological-esque room with several setups of complex-looking equipment and tools; not quite as 'homey' as the Testing Room and Medical Center, since few people were ever in here.

Danny looked around the room curiously, wondering where Carter was, until a voice came blazing out of the dark. "The light! Shut the door, boy! It's too bright! Shut it right now!" it shouted, startling Danny and prompting him to slam the door behind him, and the room became darkly-lit with redness as before. "T-That's better," the voice said, sounding relieved, and the person which the voice belonged to came within Danny's view.

Though it was hard to make out his features due to the poor lighting, he was a middle-aged man with black hair (it looked black in the dim red light anyway), wearing a lab coat that looked red, but Danny knew it had to be white. He realized that the man was in fact Carter, the guy who always works down here.

"Well, what do you need Danny? Does Frank or Brian have anything for me?" Carter asked.

"Uh, yes... You see, they wanted you to have a look at this here," Danny said, handing the papers to Carter. "I have no clue what it means, but...maybe you would know?"

Carter scoffed. "Of course I would know!" he snapped, snatching the documents. "If there were anything I couldn't understand, then they ought to throw me into a nuthouse!"

Danny smirked, remembering a question that dad would always tell him. "Okay then, if a tree falls in the forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?" he said, smirking.

The scientist was silent as he contemplated, then groaned with distaste. "Okay, maybe there are a few things," he admitted irritably, then walked over to a desk with a lamp focusing red light directly onto the surface and sat down at it.

Danny watched Carter begin to look through the documents on the desk's surface, and a thought struck him: Why does he always spend so much time in here? He looked around the room, his eyes now adjusting to the dim lighting, and noticed several vials, containers, samples, and loads more scattered around the room. Danny's eyes caught a glimpse of a bottle with the label 'Formula SPCH' on it, and immediately wondered what it was. Before he could get a better look at it, Carter called him over. "Danny? Have a look at this."

His curiosity of the bottle had to wait, so Danny quickly walked to Carter at the desk, who pointed at a spot on the document. Danny squinted to make out what it said: "Presence of DNA anomaly before CPT introduction = Positive; Presence of DNA anomaly after CPT introduction = Negative." He was unsure what this meant, so he asked Carter about it.

"It's simple really," he explained. "The DNA test is performed both before and after the CPT procedure. Before the CPT is given we extract a sample of DNA through hair or skin cells, and then take another sample post-procedure. Usually in this kind of test we look for any problems after the transformation, but as you can see in this test result, there were problems before the change that were actually fixed by the CPT formula. They had to be, as we've no other explanation."

Danny rubbed his forehead in contemplation. "Hm, I guess that makes sense... What kind of problem was it?" he asked.

"That...I'm not sure. I'll have to examine the 'pre-CPT' DNA of the subject more closely... Now, whose result was this again?" Carter said, and looked up the name that the DNA test belonged to: 'Subject CPT-19/6 - Maxwell.' "…So that's who it is. Maxwell."

"...Maxwell, eh?" Danny said, looking at the ceiling in thought. "That's the new one right?"

Carter nodded. "Yep, it is. I'm not sure what this 'anomaly' could be, but I'll have it figured out in no time flat," he assured, then sat up from the desk and walked over to a wall-hung cabinet. Opening it, Carter pulled out a small vial with a few bits of hair in it, and brought it to a weird-looking machine called a centrifuge. Before he did, Danny could just make out from his angle that the vial was labeled "Subject 6: Maxwell DNA Pre-CPT."

"Funny story about this sample," Carter said as he readied the machine. "From what Brian tells me, he actually forgot to get a sample of Maxwell's DNA before the CPT procedure! Guy panicked for a bit, but luckily for him he realized that Max had left behind some hair and skin samples on the chair the kid sat on earlier. He made me swear not to tell Frank…but I told him anyway. He got a kick out of it actually. It's all good though, no one's in trouble or anything, but just think..." He laughed, causing Danny to laugh too, albeit with a little hesitation.

The machine was finally loaded with the sample and turned on, and the drum began rotating. The centrifuge revolved quicker and quicker with each passing second, producing an ever-increasing whirring noise that droned throughout the otherwise quiet room. As the machine did its job separating the cells and DNA, neither man said anything for at least two minutes, until Danny asked, "How long is this gonna take?"

"Eh, it'll be a while," Carter said, shrugging. "DNA separation and analysis doesn't happen overnight, so to say. The centrifuge'll be done in about a half-hour, but analyzing the genetic structure will take a little longer."

"...How much longer?"

"Hm, I'd say about two or three days, depends on how easy it is to find that anomaly, or how complex the structure is. Bottom line, you may as well get to bed, it's late now."

"Huh? Is it? It's only like—" He looked at his watch. "…10 o'clock at night... Oookay, I guess it is time to turn in."

"Well then, go on, git! I have research to do, things to discover, and I don't need help, so bye!"

The young man's expression flattened. "...You're a really nice guy, you know that?"

"Heheh, of course I am. Now get going."

Danny didn't need to be told twice, so he turned and found the door, before being stopped by Carter. "Hey boy, do me a favor and don't open that door too much, will ya?"

Danny sighed. "What's with you and the dark? Why does it have to be so dim and…reddish in here?"

"I like the dark better, it helps me think," Carter explained. "Plus, the absence of bright light keeps it from interfering with any test results. The red lights are there to help me see a bit better than complete darkness, in any case."

"Well, okay then…if you say so," Danny said, and opened the door and quickly stepped outside before shutting the door behind him. He immediately realized he'd been in there too long, as the bright hall lights suddenly and briefly blinded him. He covered his eyes as they struggled to adjust to the dramatically brighter surroundings, and after a minute he finally managed to regain his composure.

Danny started down the hallway, still rubbing his slightly sore eyes, both from the glare of the fluorescent lights above and of sheer fatigue. Only now was his work day beginning to wear on him. He had never would've guessed that it was so late, since he'd been so busy, what with handling papers and doing loose chores and occasionally meeting some of those 'subjects'. He never met the newest one—Maxwell—yet, but he heard his father Brian and Frank talking about him, and how he was supposedly a good kid. Perhaps later he could meet him as well? That'd have to wait until tomorrow.

He finally made his way to his room (but not before letting his dad know he was going to bed for the night), and entered it. Danny lazily unbuttoned his lab coat and tossed it aside, then got onto his bed still wearing his pants and undershirt. He did that mostly because it would save him having to get dressed every morning, though his dad did make him change his clothing when the smell got a bit too unsavory.

As he gradually began to fall asleep, Danny's thoughts drifted on numerous topics: the strange discovery in the DNA results, all the work he did today, and that one kid Maxwell... He even wondered what the analysis of his human DNA would find. At last, Danny pushed aside these thoughts and drifted into sleep, still wondering about that 'funny story' about how dad almost lost that sample...

Living Quarter SUB - PokéGene Inc.

Well, all was fine and dandy about the settling-in thing, but I still feel a bit jittery from all that nonsense earlier. Still, I'm happy that Steve decided to come around at last and be friends with us.

To be honest, I had doubts about that guy and his demeanor, but so far he's shaping up to be something of a buddy. Granted, we just met and all, but I suppose we could already feel that 'connection'... Or maybe that's just because he could read our thoughts so he could know all of my locked up feelings and interests. That way, he could be friends with me and the others easier. If this is true, then I wonder why he never did that earlier...

I wanted to ask him, "Why be a loner?" But eh, I shouldn't really be asking him that without asking myself it (otherwise, it'd be pretty hypocritical). Before coming here, as you may remember, I was a bit of a recluse; never venturing far and always keeping to myself. That meant I never really became a socialite in that place, but then again, who was a socialite at the orphanage? Not the best trait in the world, but it was me. Of course, now that I'm here, with my new 'family', I'll have to change that.

I had lost track of time, as I was absentmindedly checking out my surroundings for anything of interest. Needless to say, there wasn't a whole lot. There were the Pokémon-sized sofas that I mentioned earlier (one of which had my bag still resting on it), a nearby television set that was turned off, a human-sized couch (I'm assuming this is for Brian, Frank, or whoever else when they visit), a mini-bar (basically a tiny little fridge for drinks or food or whatever), a fireplace with some wood being stowed next to it, and some kind of dining table set-up that was perfect for our size. It's as if the whole room had been readied just for us. And this was just the living room area. The kitchen and sleeping areas simply begged my interest, but I held off on that and decided to stick around this area.

After my curiosity died down a bit, I decided to return to the rest of the group near the pint-sized sofas. Steve and Samantha were talking, so I spent a little bit of time talking with Warren about some things.

"So, uh, what's your story, if you don't mind me asking?" I said, rather interested to hear about his past.

Warren shrugged. "Eh, it weren't nothin' real glamorous or anythin'. I was on mah own since, what? Like 6 years old?"

"Really?" I asked, quite surprised. "All on your own since then? What happened to your parents?"

He looked away, and sighed. "Well...it ain't a nice story, but it happens lots. Mah parents divorced ya see, so I was forced ta choose b'tween 'em. But...I didn't make a choice. I…couldn't make a choice..."

"...What'd you do?"

"One day, I just…left. Left without any word…"

"But...why?"

"...It's…complicated ya see... I didn't really like my parents. They always fought an' yelled, either at each other or at me. My life sucked more than a vacuum cleaner, so I had ta finda way outta it."

"Oooh... That's…pretty bad... Sorry about that..."

"Ah, ya don't hafta be. It was bound to happen anyway..."

"What'd you do after that? It's been years, according to you, so how did you survive?"

Warren sighed, and got up and lay down on the sofa. "I managed ta get a job at some local mechanic store, so I could live on my own fer a while. I was okay, 'till the shop had ta close 'cause of money troubles. I was there about...5 years. I then got taken to an orphanage—jus' as well, I had no money left—and I stayed there fer another year 'till that Brian feller came and found me. He offer'd me the chance, I took it, an' so...here I am."

"Wow, that's some life... All I ever did was spend 12 boring, wasted years at some orphanage and never got to do anything interesting..."

"At least ya didn't have ta put up with parents like mine. I sumtimes wunder whut 'came o' them... Or iffin' they're even still 'round…"

After that conversation with Warren, I became a bit bored and started to wander around the room a bit, which helped me get used to moving about with my new feet. After a minute, I became curious, so I decided to try and see if I could do any moves that a normal Oshawott could do.

First off: the shell thing. It was just there, somehow firmly attached to my stomach area. I curiously poked at it, though nothing really happened, as it was stuck surprisingly well. Since I lacked thumbs (or real fingers in general (a human feature that will be one of the few things I miss)), it was hard to get a good grip on the thing. Feeling around it, I noticed that the narrow end of the shell seemed to be like some kind of crude handle. I grabbed a hold of it, and in one swift move, effortlessly pulled it off. Wow. It was that easy?

I held the shell with one paw, examining it closely and silently debating how I should use it. According to the information I'd read, it could be used as a tool and a weapon...so I decided to try it out for the heck of it. Gripping it as tightly as I could, I swung it through the air as if it were a bladed weapon, and it made a light whooshing sound as I brought it down. Having tasted success, I tried it again a couple more times. Now feeling a bit bolder, I decided to try it out on an old, dried-up piece of wood near the fireplace, and to my mild surprise it was split cleanly in half with a sharp CRACK!

Feeling ecstatic at having mastered this trick already, I felt like doing a little celebratory dance, though I thankfully held off on that urge when I realized the others were watching me. Since I had just perfected a rather cool technique, I wanted to show off to them a bit. Eh-heh, yeah, that's just me again. I walked back to Warren, Samantha and Steve, still holding the shell in my paw.

"Hey guys!" I said excitedly. "Check out what I can do! I can use this shell thing now!" I led them closer to the fireplace area (but not too close, mind), and demonstrated my new move on another chunk of firewood. Like before, the chunk of timber was cut neatly in half.

The three of them seemed fairly impressed. "Neato, Max," Warren said, smiling. "Nice trick, Ah'm sure no one would wanna mess with ya now, eh? Heheheh..."

"That's pretty…impressive," Samantha said. "You haven't even been here more than a few hours and... Well, you're already learning!"

Steve looked both amazed and a bit afraid at the same time. "Wow. That's great and all Max, but…" He started cautiously rubbing his neck for some reason. "…Promise you won't try that on me, okay?"

It took me a moment to catch on to what he was implying with the whole 'rubbing-the-neck' deal, and when I did I chuckled. "Don't worry, don't worry... I hopefully won't need to," I said half-reassuringly and half-jokingly, and Steve just grimaced in response.

I spent a bit more time messing around with the shell, discovering all kinds of practical uses for it (I found that it made a nice tray), until I wore myself down. Now I was at a loss on how to reattach the shell to me. Hoping for some kind of beginner's luck, I simply returned the shell to its original position and pushed it onto my stomach a bit, then let go. It didn't fall off, the shell somehow just stayed there. To make sure it was on for good, I gave it another prod like before, and like the last time, it was well and truly attached. I silently praised my success, and I began to wonder what else Oshawott could do.

A thought struck me immediately. Oshawott is a Water-type, so it should know some water moves, like Water Gun or whatever. Now, how I was supposed to do THIS was beyond me. It was easier for me to figure out the shell thing, since it was already just…there, but trying to produce water from nowhere is kinda...unrealistic. What was I supposed to do? Barf? Ugh… I had no idea how to proceed, so I didn't even bother. A shell that slice n' dices is good enough, right?

Well, after all that "training" I must've worked up an appetite, since I could hear my stomach grumbling and complaining quite loudly. I suppose that's one thing Pokémon and humans have in common; a rumbling tummy means it's dinner time. I once again went back to the group, and asked if anyone else was hungry as well.

"Yeah, I could go fer sum chow myself," Warren said, rubbing his stomach.

"Food...that sounds like a good idea, yeah," Samantha concurred.

Steve looked from side to side, at me and the others, appearing to be thinking of something. "...Sure. It's been nearly a day since I've had something, so now might be a good time," he said rather nonchalantly.

Okay, let me tell you right now that fate has a weird system of deciding outcomes based on necessity. Wanna know why? …I don't know why exactly, but there are things that happen that suggests that idea.

For example, right as I was wondering where we were going to find us some good food (without preparing it ourselves of course, I'm lazy that way), who should come into the room but Brian. I heard the door open with a slight mechanical whir and spun around, to see the scientist walk in. When he caught of me and the others he smiled. "Well now, Max!" Brian said, beaming. "Look at you! It's only been a couple of hours and you've already made some friends!"

I smiled back at him, and replied with a happy-sounding "Osha!" to which he laughed.

"See? They weren't so scary now, were they?" he said, and laughed again. "Anyway, how's everyone else doing? Warren? Sam? Steve? Mary? Matt?"

Warren, Samantha, and Steve all answered in a positive tone, and I even heard those two loners (I almost forgot they were still there actually) answer as well, though they still refused to make eye contact with us. I looked at them rather hopelessly, sighed, and then turned back to Brian.

Brian must've noticed my looks at the two loners, so he started to make a point about it. "What's the matter? Is there some kind of problem?"

The Piplup and Snivy said nothing; they merely turned their heads away.

"Now guys, why can't you two just get along with these four here? Don't make me beg!" he said rather seriously.

Apparently this struck a chord with Mary and Matthew, as they came a bit closer, until they were almost right up to Brian (they were still a fair distance from me and the others though). Brian did make them move a bit closer to us though, which they did with a lot of hesitation. I took the opportunity to wave and say hi to Matthew, but the snooty Snivy simply scoffed (and try saying that twenty times fast).

"Don't hold your breath," he said rather harshly, glaring at me. "I'm not gonna be a "buddy", if that's what you're thinking. So forget about it!"

I stepped back a bit out of apprehension. It was a good idea I chose not negotiate with him earlier, since his cold shoulder would've froze me solid...for lack of a better expression.

Mary's response to my attempted greetings weren't a whole lot better; she kept silent and gave me a rather mean look. …Oddly enough though, she couldn't sustain this expression and started to look more and more upset. I couldn't really say anything about it though, since she turned away from me and refused to listen to any pleads, though she still looked rather disturbed. It's as if she was afraid of something...

I looked up at Brian and shook my head, and he sighed. "Hrmm. Still a bit "iffy" I see... No matter. We'll deal with this later." Brian then turned full attention to me. "Max... I need to talk with you in the hall for a sec. It's very important."

Nodding, I began to wonder why Brian wanted to talk to me. Hopefully I wasn't in trouble... Or...perhaps there was a problem with the test results? B-but…they said everything was fine...

Brian led me out into the (stuffy) hall, and made sure the door was closed and no one was around when he spoke. "You see, Maxwell... Hmm... I'm sure you're wondering why I'm speaking to you now."

Something about Brian seemed 'off', since he was acting pretty serious. And from what I know of Brian, he's rarely this serious. I nodded after a moment's thought.

"Well, we got your DNA test results back...and..." Here Brian seemed to be containing some kind of excitement mixed with ambiguity. "...We may have found something quite incredible."

"What? What is it?" I asked, and even though that only came out as, "Osh? Oshawott?" Brian seemed to understand regardless.

"Earlier, I had noticed an anomaly in your Pre-CPT—that's your human DNA—sample... And me and Frank discovered that this anomaly was absent Post-CPT—that's the way you are now. We think we have found a potential medical discovery involving the CPT formula."

I stared at him in bewilderment. A what? An "anomaly"? What's all about that? I had it when I was human? And now…it's gone...?

"We're not sure if that anomaly was anything serious, so that's why I had my son Danny bring the findings it to Carter at the Analysis Department to check it out. I'd let you meet Danny, but he's asleep right now, so that'd have to wait until tomorrow. The point is that the CPT formula somehow corrected that issue, leaving no trace of it whatsoever. Isn't that amazing?"

I made no noise; I simply looked up at Brian in surprise. I had a genetic problem—that may have or would have caused something bad—that I wasn't even aware of my whole life? And now he's saying my turning into a Pokémon fixed it? And he has a son?

Brian's atypical seriousness was giving in to typical excitement, so that made me feel a little less tense. "We've never had a result like that before, since the formulas of the past didn't have the complete genetic 'reset' that CPT-019 has as a feature... At least, that's what I'm guessing is the reason anyway. Though we have yet to confirm it, it seems we're finally on the right track to bring about some kind of medical miracle! And it's all thanks to you, Max! And to the others of course for being a part of this project!"

…Whoa, now I was starting to feel a bit…overwhelmed. What had I done? So far, all I've done is agree to be a part of their program and become a Pokémon (specifically an Oshawott) and make friends with some of the others who got involved as well. Just because I had some genetic anomaly thing meant I had helped the field of medicine?

"Granted... even if the in-depth analysis—which should reveal exactly what DNA problem you had—turns out to be as we hoped...it would only be a single step forward. From there we would have to figure out exactly what components of CPT brought this about, and then get our heads around to producing a workable cure or tonic of some kind...as turning people into Pokémon all the time doesn't quite sound like the ideal solution to have to solve disease problems, right? …Understand so far?"

I looked down at my body, then back at Brian and nodded.

"Well, I have little more to say except…hope you enjoy life! Heh." He coughed, and gave his glasses a little clean with his coat fabric. "Well...are you hungry? You do look like it, and I'm sure the others must be hungry by now as well. I'm a fairly decent cook, so..."

Did I need another excuse to agree? I had nearly forgotten about my hunger, but when Brian brought it up I felt my stomach making those noises again. He must've heard them, since he laughed.

"Okay, serious topics aside, I think I'll make you all a good meal after all! I know this great recipe for flavored Pokéfood and poffins for dessert..."

Let me tell you something, Brian understates his own cooking skill. This may be because I've been eating the same things for the last 12 years, but man oh man...this guy knows something about the culinary arts!

Though I wasn't very pleased initially with the fact that I was eating Pokéfood, I actually got around to trying some, and it was almost shockingly good! It kinda tasted like...seafood or tender fish bits or something, with a lot of good seasoning that gave it a little 'zip'. This wasn't the only flavor this food came in, but it is so far my favorite. When I talked to Warren, he said that his food was flavored a bit like meat and chicken. He offered me a piece, but I turned it down, mainly because the idea of eating food of that kind unsettled me. Though I can't even remember liking seafood, and I'm sure I liked meat products before... Eh, it's probably just the Oshawott side of me having that effect. Sue me.

The dessert was also excellent. Brian made these pastries for Pokémon called 'poffins', which are supposedly very easy to make, though Pokémon can't seem to get enough of them. I'll say right here and now that is 100% true, as the one he made for me was chocolate-flavored, my all-time favorite when I was human (thankfully, this is still true even after becoming a Pokémon). I would be lucky to get a small chocolate dessert once a month back at the orphanage…

As I enjoyed the rather lovely dinner, I glanced over around the little table we were sitting at. Warren, Samantha, and Steve were sitting with me, eating their respective meals as well. As could be expected, Mary and Matthew both were eating away from us (and each other). That didn't really surprise me at all, considering how they've been acting. Matthew would occasionally flash a rather cold stare in our direction every once in a while (God knows those eyes of his gave me chills every time), but Mary never even seemed to want to look at us at all.

The only occasion I saw her look at us happened to be the same instant I decided to glance in her direction, and I noticed that she didn't seem as disdainful or off-putting like before. She actually seemed to be eyeing our group with a distinct feeling of…longing? Though, judging from her earlier behavior and current expression...she seems afraid of talking to us. I began to wonder why, but then I remembered the little "issue" with Steve earlier. Even though it wasn't very pretty, he still got over it and decided to hang with us...so why isn't Mary acting any friendlier if she wants to be a part of our group too? She noticed me watching her, so she quickly turned around and tended to her food without saying anything.

Though something inside me wanted to try and reason with her, I decided to wait for her to come around on her own. After all, if she really wanted to join our 'family', then it would only be a matter of time 'til she came to us. Matthew, on the other hand, is gonna be a different situation...

All good things must come to an end, so they say, and that was true in this case since the entire dinner was soon devoured. Believe me when I say that I had a heck of a food coma after that, since I may have eaten a little bit too much... I'll have to watch that from now on. No sense in overindulging myself, since I'll be having many more regular meals like this anyway.

Brian came by our table as we finished, smiling. "So, how was the meal guys?" he asked, and we all gave a collective cry of agreement. "Haha, thanks! I'm not that great a cook you know, but at least it beats that bunk they serve in school cafeterias, eh?"

I couldn't help but laugh at that. Of course, I know that's true by experience. My old school's food was the worst...and the fare served at the orphanage wasn't all that much better, but at least it was edible.

Looking at a wall-mounted clock, I noticed that it was surprisingly late, at least 11 o'clock at night or somewhere around that time. Brian must've taken note of it too, as he suggested that we go get some sleep. He showed us all the way to the bedroom, where there were six Pokémon-sized beds of equivalent sizes, each colored slightly different. Three beds were on each side of the room, in a line facing the center of said room, and a fairly large window let in some light from outside. The star-filled sky looked rather pretty, and it stole my gaze for a moment, until I regained my senses and went to claim a bed as my own.

I settled for one on the left side of the room, right in between the two other beds (which were taken by both Warren and Samantha). Steve chose a bed on the right side of the room, and Mary took the middle of those beds (pushing it slightly away from us). Matthew claimed the last bed, and pushed it to the furthest edge of the room into a dark corner, apparently so he could be as far away as possible from us.

Brian sighed at Matthew's position of bed, but shook his head dismissively and bid us all goodnight before leaving out of the room.

I lay down on the bed, trying to get comfortable, though I could not for some reason. Funnily enough, I realized that my new tail was hindering my goal in finding a proper sleeping position, as whenever I tried to lie on my side that darn tail would make it less comfortable. The shell on my belly wasn't helping either, as this made sleeping on my stomach very uncomfortable. The only position that was tolerable enough for rest was directly on my back, and I'm one of those kids who think sleeping like that isn't all that comfy. It's just how I prefer it really, since I keep hearing that it's much more likely that you'll end up snoring through the night if you lie on your back.

So, to compensate, I simply removed the shell from my stomach and carefully slipped it under the pillow. With this impediment gone, I lay down on my stomach, and turned my head to the side, feeling loads better. Still, it'll take me a while to get used to this way of sleeping, since I would always normally sleep on my side. Life as a Pokémon really does have its quirks, eh?

I called out a goodnight to everyone, including Mary and Matthew, and everyone except them responded with a goodnight of their own. Seriously, I have no idea how I'll get through to those two, but I suppose there will be a time. Getting a bit drowsy, I began thinking about all that went on today... Just think, this morning I woke up, human, at that orphanage, and now I'm going to sleep as a Pokémon in some research facility miles away. What a life!

What Brian told me earlier about a "DNA anomaly" while I was human disturbed me a little bit, since I was clueless to anything of the sort! I'm actually very nervous about what kind of results that 'analysis' will bring... But at least now I'm fine and healthy. …Even though I'm no longer human.

But...if what Brian said is true, then…I would have contributed to making some kind of medical miracle? That would mean...that my life has purpose now... I lived my life never thinking that I could do anything so good or useful, and yet, here I am! It would be a good life after all…

Finally, my drowsiness soon overcame me, and I slipped into the welcoming blackness of sleep. The day was finally over, and another will arrive at my life's door tomorrow. It would just be another, new, fresh, and yet normal day.

But it was then that everything took a turn for the bizarre.

A/N: UPDATED! There we go, it's (mostly) fixed…I think. :P Anyway, for all new readers, I hope you enjoyed the chapter! For all old readers, then I hope it's…well, the same thing really, only with edits. But don't be shy to point any mistakes or whatnot via review or PM! I'm always available. :D

Review where it's due, osha! Until next update, fare thee well!

-TheAuthorGl1m0