Five days have passed since I woke up in the hospital after my journey through the 'Liminal Space'. At least that's my current estimate, it's somewhat difficult to track the shift of day and night through the rather erratic sleep desires of a newborn infant's body.
Having observed the space and people around me, as well as having experienced complete sleep several times and finding myself in the same place each time, I've derived a set of rough conclusions about my situation.
First, I've decided this is not a simple dream, and also definitely not a trip. I find it difficult to completely abandon the possibility of it being some experience I'm having in a completely comatose state but despite that, I've decided to operate on the assumption that this is a new life. My only guess is that 'The Voice' dragged me out of Earth's Karmic Cycle and into this one or some sort of other metaphysical nonsense I don't really understand or want to spend more time thinking about. Whatever the case may be, I'm going to operate off the assumption this is real.
Not that I could get into too much trouble in my current state anyway…
Second, I presume that I'm in the ward for premature births based on the various other children in the room within similar transparent tubes - incubators, with similar monitors and IV drips. I've seen six new infants be moved into the rooms since I arrived, while three seemed to be taken out to their families.
One I watched as the monitors started rapidly alerting the nurses, before flatlining and being taken away. Seeing the hospital workers in such a similar frenzy to how they had been when I was first waking up, I can't help but ponder if I had been nearly dying earlier as well, or perhaps this infant did pass away for a moment and my soul was slipped into it in a brief period between life in death.
I'll send a prayer to the endless void for the 'child who may have been' to find a good next life. I never was one for religion and considered myself fluctuating between atheism and agnosticism, but after all I've seen, I feel I should at least offer this.
Third, no one speaks English here, and I'm not getting an autotranslation feature packaged in with my reincarnation deal. A pity since I always hated trying to learn more languages, but I'm not gonna complain.
Fourth, branching off my third point, after a full two days of shouting 'System, Status, Inspect' and every other variation of those ideas under the sun at the top of my little baby lungs, I've come to the conclusion I don't have any other sort of nonsense system gifts either.
Unless it's just because I can't say the words right, but frankly I'll be perfectly content without it.
Pokemon being real is more than enough
The Chansey line had never really been among my favorites, yet every time I notice it enter the room I can't help but fixate on it and absorb its every movement. As she steps into the room my eyes do their best to take in everything about her once again. She appears to be covered in soft pink fur with some amount of down-like feathers mixed in. The odd feather-like protrusions that particularly resemble axolotl gills are especially covered with what appears to be the downlike feathers and interestingly they seem to twitch and move a bit on their own. Thankfully they don't individually move or undulate like some sort of creepy tendrils but rather rise and fall softly matching Chansey's general breathing pace, with an occasional twitch for all of them on one side of the head or another like mammal ears perking up in response to noise. I also find myself greatly appreciating that this Chansey does not at all feature the creepy rubbery face and empty stare some of the art of it seems to have and is actually both surprisingly expressive and quite cute.
As she makes her rounds her short legs and wide body leave her with an odd, almost waddle-like gait, yet despite this there's a surety in her movements that belies a clear confidence and comfort in her situation. She's evidently in her element and I can only imagine she's served this hospital for many years.
A real-life Pokemon is just walking around, and it never stops feeling incredible every time I see it.
The one oddity that strikes me though is in watching her interact with the infants… Or rather specifically me. She seems to love the babies quite a lot and tries to keep them happy even in their rather unfortunate states whenever they are awake, yet whenever she interacts with me I can't help but feel as if she's…
Just the slightest bit confused? She looks at me as if there's some oddity about me she can't quite make out, and every so often I've noticed her have the slightest shiver when interacting with me that only seems to leave her more confused.
'I mean, she isn't wrong, but what could I be doing that appears so uncanny? I've done nothing these past few days besides think to myself, speak gibberish, and move my body from time to time to start adjusting to it. I suppose I do stare at her whenever she comes in, but it's not like there aren't other babies doing that too...'
Whatever it might be, I guess I'll just hope it's more specific to her as a trained nurse Pokemon and not to everyone who spends time with me. Granted I don't think the nurses or doctors who seem to frequent this room have acted odd but frankly my sense of understanding people's reactions has always been awful. Generally, I could never distinguish people whether someone was happy, sad, angry, or annoyed until long after what people would normally describe as "apparent" had leapt over to "unmissably obvious" or I was just directly told how they felt. I'm quite glad that despite Pokemon seeming quite "people-like" from my current sample size of one, I feel much better able to tell their moods as I had generally always been with animals.
I don't think it is worth trying to worry about the oddity for now though. As far as I recall I barely even behaved like a "normal" child when I was one, and I have no thoughts about being able to pull off pretending to be one long term now. If Pokemon universe psychology resembles Earth's at all, I imagine I'll just end up slapped with an Asperger's diagnosis again and they'll call it a day on trying to further solve the riddle of what's going on in my head when I'm nonresponsive.
"Chansey, Chan Chanse Chaaaan."
Suddenly Chansey is gingerly removing the various wires and tubes connected to me. She swaddles me in a small blanket and gently lifts me in her arms to take me out of the room.
'She's just as soft and warm as I thought she would be.'
"~Chansey Chaan, Chansey Chaan~" she begins to sing and coo quietly to me. Despite it being so simple, I can't help but feel it's one of the most lovely melodies I've ever heard. There's a surreal etherealness to it as if a whisper by something from beyond this world, yet also a gentle warm comfort like a mother's lullaby filled to the brim with love. I struggle to keep my eyes open for a bit just to listen for a little longer, but end up falling into a deep slumber.
The steady rumble and vibrations of a vehicle in motion awakens me from my peaceful repose. Slightly disoriented, I slowly take stock of myself and find myself strapped into a baby seat in the back of a van, facing the rear as we travel to somewhere unknown to me.
I take the opportunity to attempt to discern where I might have ended up in the Pokemon world. There are certainly places I would rather be if I could pick, but frankly, anywhere that isn't Orre should hopefully be relatively fine. From what I recall Orre had basically always been a mess until after the events of XD Gale of Darkness, with barely any wild Pokemon to be seen, and I'd really rather not find out if that proves true firsthand.
That said, this is assuming that the games, manga, or anime events are of some value or relative truth. Hopefully, I can find some more information that might lead to solving that mystery sooner rather than later.
Outside the car, a cityscape of not extremely high skyscrapers but still respectably sized buildings greets my eyes as we travel along a highway that seems to be on the outskirts of the city center Out past the larger buildings, what looks to be a port sits atop a fairly clean azure waterbody that stretches out to the horizon. What appear to be wild Wingull fly out above the beach and water. Smaller land masses sit out in the distance, boats traveling in concert between them. I note the Lighthouse sitting currently Idle in the far distance out beyond the cityscape as well.
'That's likely a sea or ocean based on the port, which certainly lowers the number of places I recall that it could be. Olivine, Vermillion, Sunnyshore, and Gateon from Orre are the only cities I remember explicitly having lighthouses. Despite that, realistically I don't see why a port city wouldn't have a lighthouse so Lilycove, Slateport, Mossdeep, and probably a few other places from Gen 5 and later that I can't recall are possibilities. Seeing Wingull makes me lean towards Hoenn, but frankly, I imagine the Pokemon equivalent of sea rats are far more widespread than their game distribution would suggest.'
I begin searching for more niche details I can find that might allow me to narrow this down further. When nothing landmark-based seems to offer clues, I begin combing over the signs and iconography laid out before me instead.
'How frustrating being illiterate is… Perhaps some of the symbols have more meaning than they appear to at a glance? The sun over the beach motif seems to be quite popular, Could it be Sunyshore perhaps? Sunyshore shouldn't look like this though, should it? Where are the bridges? The solar panels? Beyond that though it's not like a sun over an ocean and a beach isn't a symbol that could be used for any sort of port town frankly.
As we pull further toward the city center I start to focus on taking stock of people and their Pokemon to try to get a better feel for what exact region we might be present in.
'Marill, Buizel, Vulpix, Shinx, … is that a Prinplup? I'm tentatively confirming Sinnoh region for now, coinflip on whether it's Canalave or Sunyshore. Leaning towards Canalave, but come to think of it Sunyshore didn't get all those tech and infrastructure improvements until Volkner took over the Gym. Even if the events of any of the Pokemon media franchises are real, I still am clueless about my spot in the timeline.
Still, Sinnoh though huh? Bit of a shame, I was hoping for Hoenn since it's what I'm by far the most nostalgic for and I'd really love a Torchic, but Sinnoh will do just fine. Honestly, the weather here will probably agree with me better anyway, and unlike anything Gen 5 or later, I actually have a pretty decent memory of the place and not just the Pokemon themselves. Who knows, maybe it's not too hard to go to different regions anyw-'
"ISAIAH, ISAIAAAAHAHAH." shouts the young girl of maybe 4 or 5 years who seems to have made it her mission to get me to finally pay attention to her by any means necessary. Her face has thoroughly invaded my personal space and I find myself with a clear view of her features. Her skin is a decently tanned shade, and a pair of green upturned eyes stare at me, sitting above a button nose and a somewhat foolish-looking grin showing two little snaggle teeth. The overall result is that I can't help but think she looks like a somewhat silly cat or fox.
She seems to become far more animated when I focus on her, perhaps realizing she got what she wanted. Her frizzy reddish hair bounces up and down as she bobs back and forth from what I assume is excitement while she begins to babble at me incoherently. Her face contorts and frowns once I hear grumbling from behind me I can't make out. One thing I do find myself noticing is that "Isaiah" continues to be repeated, and considering it was even being shouted directly at me I wonder if it might be my new name. Honestly, it's a fairly decent one as far as I'm concerned. I had always kept my old one in memory of my father despite my mixed feelings on the religious context of it, but I suppose this is a good time to let it go. Also, this name is at least similar enough that I could still use the nickname Izzy to lower the difficulty of adjustment.
I let myself tune out of whatever the other passengers of this vehicle are doing, and do my best to see as many Pokemon as I can in the city for the remainder of the car ride to what I imagine will be my new home.
Once the car stops, having pulled into the driveway, the girl next to me bolts out of the car quick as a rabbit, happily babbling along all the while.
A rather small woman with a rosy pale complexion dotted with freckles opens my door and begins to unstrap me while soothingly saying something. She seems to be a bit up in her years, but there remains a strong sense of vitality in her movements. Curly hip-length white hair spills out from behind her as she moves, some falling onto me and tickling my face before I brush it aside.
Now outside, I take the opportunity of my new vantage point to look around the place I imagine will be my new home.
Down the street a child is playing fetch with a pair of Growlithe, and looking at our neighbor's yard, I feel like some plants look suspiciously how I'd expect a buried Oddish to.
I turn, and at first glance, I'm rather stunned by the relative size of the house we're heading towards. Two stories tall and quite a respectable amount of square footage, along with a large yard.
But looking closer I realize things are slightly off.
'There are at least 10 children peeking out the various windows I can see, and at least a few extra boys playing in the yard. The building is large, but not the best maintained. Come to think of it, the woman holding me is likely past the age of having a newborn'
'Either I have been born into one of the most excessively large families imaginable, or more likely, this is an orphanage and its matron.'
A single finger begins brushing against my stomach and a laugh begins to bubble out of me unbidden before I grab hold of the offending digit. I stare at the hand for a moment and then back up at her straight-faced.
'Oi, I know you can't hear me but could you keep your dang hands to yourself?'
She begins cackling, laughter rumbling through her chest as I find myself wondering what's so amusing. Thankfully she at least has the decency to leave her bothersome finger within my grip rather than struggling.
I'm not quite sure how to feel about all this honestly. Being in the hospital had allowed me to put certain thoughts aside as I was just being handled by nurses and doctors but…
My family is gone. Father had long since passed but my Mum had always tried her best for me, misguided as she may have been at times. Even larger complaints I may have had are hard to hold resentment over when they were mostly due to her just trying to deal with my general apathy towards almost everything around me. Hard to make the right choice for someone who can't even figure out what they want themself.
On one hand, being born an orphan will almost certainly be troublesome. Hopefully, the children here will generally be amiable but it's impossible to know in advance how things will go. The matron at the very least seems cheerful in a way that implies she enjoys her role. I'll essentially be living off the government's support, so unless I distinguish myself in some way, resources I might have had being born into a family will be much more difficult to come by.
On the other, any anomalies with me are far less likely to be scrutinized when I'm just one of many other children stuck in the system.
And beyond that, it's difficult to truly imagine anyone replacing the role of my parents in my heart. While I've always held the perspective that true family is simply people who care about each other, regardless of blood, the idea of someone trying to be my mother or father specifically is different. Perhaps it's for the best this way.
'I hope you and your husband live well Mum, I'll try to do my best from here on.'
Entering the orphanage, I see it decorated in a pleasant comfortable style featuring soft muted pastels. Baby blue is especially common along with soft yellows and pinks mixed in with more earthy tones. I notice a few beanbag chairs, as well as a medium-sized bulky antenna television with several children congregated around it.
The woman carrying me calls out and an old blue grey and yellow canine with fur that sharply sticks out in various directions comes bounding in from the other room. As he nears the threshold of the door however, he quickly stops and lowers his forebody to the ground. His hackles raise and a growl begins to emanate through his throat. His posture and energy ooze 'threat response', all while staring directly at me. When I look at him I sense fear and confusion, warring with loyalty towards his trainer's desires that seem to include keeping the problem around.
'This is definitely an issue, Why is his response even more severe than Chansey's? Can Pokemon just tell that I'm an anomaly somehow? It's not as if I have any malice or bad intentions for this place.'
The woman sits down on the floor with me in her lap and begins talking to the Manectric and coaxing him towards her. Ever so slowly, the old canine begins to calm down and approach us. He leans over me and sniffs me curiously, confusion still evident in his eyes.
'Please do not bite me Granpa Manectric I'm a totally normal very cute baby.'
I resist the urge to reach out and touch him, not wanting to further agitate him, and settle myself for just taking a closer look.
His coat shows clear signs of decoloration from what I guess to be age, in spots a brilliant azure appears, but most of him has just faded to a steel blue. His striking vermillion color eyes show clear intelligence and interestingly, appear far more like a cat's eyes than a dog's or wolf's.
Eventually, he seems to be, if not content with the situation, at least willing to defer the issue to later. He walks off with a huff and then lies in the corner of the room, his eyes fixed on me.
Well, the house Manectric might not like me, but I'm sure I'll be able to find a good potential partner soon enough.
Now the first order of business, learning to read and speak all over again. Hurray…
[Author's Note]
If you're here, thanks for sticking with me past chapter one -w-
I feel a bit more mixed about this chapter, I like most of it pretty well, but I'm not quite happy with the opening. Its kinda a bit too info-dumpy for my tastes frankly, but I also really felt that delivering the information found in the rundown recap as acted-out scenes really wasn't adding much and just felt like boring bloat, so this is where I ended up.
And I figure I'll just go ahead and say we are taking a small time skip and leaving baby times behind with this chapter. I will be happy to have an MC with the ability to act and speak again lol.
As before thank you for any feedback, and I will return in 4 days with another chapter.