The Witch of Saffron

by Shurie

This is the story of a Reincarnated person, who has been Isekai'd into the world of Pokemon. The character is reincarnated into the gym leader "Sabrina" and explores her as a character growing, developing her psychic powers, and becoming the very best that she wants to be. This story includes a "System" and uses Gamer aspects. Im a new writer, thus feedback is welcome.

2. Destiny's Game

Chapter 2: Destiny's Game

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Sabrina had spent months adjusting to her infantile body and the world around her. She had come to accept her new life, but the memories of her past still haunted her. As her vision gradually improved and her motor skills developed, she began to explore the world beyond the confines of her crib. Raising her head and looking around to see the outside world, looking about frantically when out on strolls, it was all very exciting for her, seeing the bustling world of pokemon in real life, it was so much more than anything she could ever imagine on earth, beyond the wildest of imaginations even whilst she was only an infant.

One day, as Sabrina gazed at a flock of Pidgey soaring through the sky, a thought crossed her mind. She had been given a second chance at life, in a world filled with magic and extraordinary creatures. While she missed her past life, she was determined to make the most of this new beginning. It was a tantalizing thought being in the world of Pokemon. Whilst she would have preferred to have stayed alive, with her family and friends, she was given a new opportunity and a world to explore, it would be stupid not to enjoy it at the very least.

Whilst she was unsure of which world she was in, or what time period for that matter considering the Hisui Games, she had advanced amounts of knowledge from her past life regarding the world of Pokemon. Secret evolutions, the locations of some of the most powerful of Pokemon, hidden lore and secrets unknown to the general public would be at her fingertips if this world matched even 10% of what she knew. The thought alone made her salivate.

Heck, even if she couldn't make use of any of her knowledge and she ended up as a simple office lady, she once again had a loving family who at least from what she had seen weren't on any hard times. She didn't know what her father did, but her mother seemed to be a stay-at-home mum, meaning they couldn't be too bad off. It felt rather selfish really to want more beyond that, despite all those who she missed.

Over time, she'd gotten used to the language of this world. It was rather quick at that, her infant brain multiplying her learning ability using her already mostly matured mind to draw connections that normal babies wouldn't. It was a slow process overall, but it payed off, allowing her to understand parts of conversation despite some of it's more advanced words still alluding her. It felt unnatural really, almost like she was pulling this knowledge from the people around her, uncanny.

The biggest help in this aspect though was definitely her parents and caretaker. The human and pokemon nurtured her with love and care to the point it was almost suffocating. Her father when he was around often spoke to her of seemingly vast stories that were about the world around her. Her Mother would often chime in the midst of these stories, adding facts and information that Sabrina didn't know, and often couldn't understand yet, either through lack of context or the language barrier she was working to overcome. Together, they introduced her to the rich tapestry of the Pokémon world. They shared stories of legendary Pokémon and the extraordinary powers that some individuals possessed. Gardevoir on the other hand would play with her, taking her to see other pokemon such as a Jynx and a hypno. It was fascinating meeting all these new creatures, shaped so variously yet living together. It was like nothing she had ever seen.

Her cot was stockpiled with toy after toy of various pokedolls and poke plushies courtesy of her mother and of Gardevoir. They were all of various psychic types, clearly a preference of her family, or at least her mother and caretaker at least. It was oddly a comforting action for Sabrina, it was touching in how they showed how much they cared. The unconditional love to an infant was endearing when you were on the receiving side. It was a constant show of warmth and comfort to have someone love you so much when you were helpless and as useless as one could possibly be. Whilst she understood that this was 'normal' enough, when you felt like it was undeserving it was as touching as can be.

Although in contrast to that, Sabrina didn't feel like a usurper in another body. She grew in this body and was quite literally birthed by her mother. Though she wouldn't dare tell anyone about her reincarnation, it wouldn't weigh on her in the sense of feeling like some demonic parasite. The pokemon world was full of Gods that could smite her in an instant. If what she was doing was truly evil surely someone would've passed judgement on her by now. Regardless it wasn't like she had much a choice in the circumstances in which she was reborn, you don't kill someone for freak accidents after all. Or at least she hopes no one would do such a thing, dying once was enough for her lifetime so far in her opinion.

Regardless, one of the stories that was told intrigued Sabrina far more than any other, a story that spoke of destiny and the mysterious forces that bound her to this world. It was the legend of the Eon Flute.
It had been a long while since she'd played the Hoenn games, but the name "Eon Flute" was her favourite aspects of the remakes. Flying around on Latios and Latias was the coolest thing she'd ever done in a video game, or at least in a pokemon game before and she held a fond memory of the event in her heart.

Her mother had begun the tale with a soft, soothing voice that felt transcendent and sorrowful, with parts of longing hidden underneath it. "Long ago, in a time when the world was filled with secrets and magic, a brave Pokémon trainer discovered an ancient artifact known as the Eon Flute. With this flute, the trainer could summon the Legendary Pokémon, Latias and Latios, and soar through the skies." Images of a mystical flute were transmitted by gardevoir who was cradling her in her arms whilst sitting on a sofa. This was how the pair often told fables and other stories, gardevoir transmitting the image psychically to (at least she thinks) help her develop the vocabulary and understanding of the world around her nessasary to function, whilst her mother got to enjoy telling tales of heroes and villains. It was an odd feeling, having images sprung into your head. It was the same as if she had been the original person to think about the flute, as if she had the knowledge to understand and imagine all its aspects, its mythical feeling enveloping your whole being.

The stories told were often magnificent to a point of disbelief, with champions battling and reasoning with legendaries or stories of Articunos freezing entire regions in their wrath. As she heard the story unfold, she began to imagine being one of the characters spoken of. She imagined herself riding on the back of one of these majestic creatures, Latias and Latios, feeling the wind rush through her hair as they glided through the clouds. Watching entire cities go by in a blink of the eye as she travelled throughout the region within mere minutes on the back of this worlds equivalent to a fighter jett given flesh and blood.

"The Eon Flute was said to be a gift from Arceus, the creator of all Pokémon," her mother continued. "It was believed to choose its bearer, someone with a special connection to the Legendary Pokémon. The trainer who found it destined to travel the world on the backs of the Legends."
The thought was enchanting. Everyone wants to feel special, and considering she was a reincarnate from another world it felt like a nice idea. Being destined for something, wanted for something, for someone.

However, her mother continued, smiling softer at her as she finished the story
"Latios and Latias, The Eon pokemon. Arceus' travelling Angels destined to see all of the world. A pair united in soul yet separate in mind. It is said an Eon dies when its partner shortly perishes, for life without their other is eternal misery, separate from family and friends." Her voice trailed off, and her cheerful nature grew more reminiscent.

It was touching to hear about the legends. Literal angels in this world who couldn't, or atleast wouldn't live without someone else. It was similar to her story in a bitter sad kind of way. Wanting nothing more than to return to the past for her family and friends she dearly misses. It was also kind of selfish she thought. For them to leave all their friends behind when they didn't have to. It wasn't like their partner would be going anywhere anyways, why not stick around for a bit? Have something to catch them up on when you go to join them rather than just dying.
It was in a way a nice story. But in another she couldn't help but dislike it for what it stood for.
Was she betraying her friends and family by living on once more? Separated by all but her heart?

The story filled Sabrina with a sense of longing contradicted with her wonderment. Could she be the one destined to find the Eon Flute? It was a tantalizing thought, one that ignited a spark of determination within her. To live on, to do something so great that everyone would remember her, so that when she joined her friends and family once more, when she saw them again, she could speak of great adventures in another world. To have done something great.

Time passed, she was likely just over half a year old and she had begun to babble more frequently. It was difficult to retrain your tongue, especially without the natural inclination to do so as a babe. Eventually, she spoke her first words "Mama" (in her new native language) shortly followed by a "Papa" to keep everything balanced in the household. Gardevoir would let her crawl on the floor now, or at least on the carpet, and she'd place toys around whilst frantically hovering over her.
She'd been gradually going off breast milk for the past few weeks now, she was finally getting some actual food in the form of rice and other small grains, and they were more panicked about her collapsing from lack of nutrition or something. Whilst the breast milk and other formula foods didn't taste bad per say, they weren't eating. It was a little humiliating each time, though overall it didn't affect her much anymore.

One sunny afternoon, as Sabrina lay in her crib, she stared at a small toy abra placed on the table nearby. She wanted her toys, sue her. Yeah, she was 17 when she died, and had been alive for another 6 months or so past that, but with nothing to do but exist and watch the birds fly outside playing with a toy soothed her. So, with great willpower, and mild embarrassment, her infant hands reached out, fingers wiggling with desire. With a furrowed brow, she focused all her attention on the toy. Willing it to move to her, to come over to her, to be hers and hers only. She hoped that by focusing all her energy on it Gardevoir might feel her intent and bring the toy to her, she could feel her emotional bond after all. Gardevoir was constantly around her, and whilst she wasn't currently present to witness her reaching out for the doll, she did, at least in Sabrinas experience, maintain some sort of watch over her. Whenever she felt hunger the caretaker was sure to arrive with a bottle of baby formula, so it followed that she might assist Sabrina in getting something to comfort her in a regular fashion as well.

To her amazement, instead of Gardevoir appearing, the abra doll begun to wobble and shine a light magenta, and then gently levitated into the air, hovering before her. It was remarkable, her eyes widened in wonder as she thought of how that had happened. She knew that the world of Pokemon had Psychic humans, however she never thought that she'd possess a unique gift herself.

This realisation was a huge shock to her system.
Sure, she'd felt herself get smarter as time passed, it was uncanny the feeling of her brain unclouding herself more than she thought possible.
But a PSYCHIC? No way.
Further, she was named Sabrina. In the pokemon world. As a psychic.
She's almost certainly in the body of the future Gym leader of Saffron city, Sabrina. The Psychic Mistress, the witch of Saffron etc.

[Activation Conditions met. Psychic System Unlocked]

Fucking what?

Floating Infront of her was a purple Gui panel from a video game. The text was in fluorescent pink and was organised from top to bottom. She was rather hesitant about touching it. Like sure, she had read about this kind of stuff happening, but to actually have it happen to her 6 months into her reincarnation was uncanny at best and really awkward at the very least. In a confusing, confuddling kind of way Sabrina thought it made some sense for her to need to use some Psychic power in order to activate the Psychic system, sure, but was she being watched eerily before this? Was there a reason that she had this 'system' or was it a basic gift from being a reincarnate. Did the original Sabrina have this? Or was this something unique to her?
She decided to read the panel first before doing anything.

Name: Sabrina Natsume
Level: 1 (0/100)
Type: [Psychic] Tier 5
Titles: [Reincarnate][Novice Psychic]
[Perks]
[Skills]
[Status]
[Inventory]

Okayyyy then. First of all, she now knew her last name. Natsume. That was the Japanese version of Sabrinas name from pokemon so it was basically confirmed that she was indeed the future Gym leader of Saffron city. Further down, she was a "Tier 5" Psychic, hopefully she'd find out what that meant later on.
On a scarier note, seeing the title "Reincarnate" On the screen made her jump a little. This was clearly not something the original Sabrina had, unless the game developers just never told anyone, but that was very unlikely.
After a moment of contemplation, she decided to see at the very least what this "Psychic System" could do. It might be more of a deterrent than a help after all, though there's not much she seemed to be able to do if it was out to harm her. Further, as far as she could tell this might just be something normal in the pokemon world, though her mother had never spoken of any "Levels" it wasn't as if her vocabulary was perfect at this point, and she might have just avoided speaking of the details. Pokemon WAS a video game after all, perhaps she was overreacting? Sabrina unfortunately doubted that this was the case.
Starting off with the Basics, she mentally selected [Status] and another panel popped up.

Name: Sabrina Natsume
Level: 1 (0/100)
Type: [Psychic] Tier 5
[Strength]: 5 (.05)(-99% from body age)
[Dexterity]: 5 (.05) (-99% from body age)
[Vitality]: 5 (.05)(-99% from body age)
[Charisma]: 15 (Doubles in all cute interactions, -100% in all beauty and seduction, From body age)
[Intelligence]: 30
[Wisdom]: 10
[Energy]: 5
[Attribute points]: 0
*Note: Average Humans Base stats are 10 in all stats besides [Energy] which is base 1.

It was odd, seeing yourself written out as a bunch of numbers. It made Sabrina think of her past, before she was Sabrina. She was never that pretty in her past life, so would her Charisma be lower than 10? Was personality included in this as 'Charisma' or was it just aesthetics on a surface level? There weren't any explanations on how this whole thing affected her. Was her strength going to grow as she developed, or would the detriment simply decrease? So many questions yet no answers given. There wasn't any 'help' section so far as she could see, only mild notes which didn't explain much for her. She wanted more information yet all she could do was wait until she grew. When she wanted to exit the tab, it did it automatically, going back to the main screen. It seemed the system could read her thoughts. Useful, but she was concerned in how her mind was getting constantly read, or at least it looked like that.

Moving on, [Inventory] Yielding nothing when selected, likely meaning that nothing was in it.

[Skills]

[Telekinesis] Level: 1 || 0% to next level
+1% To telekinesis ability. Represents skill at telekinesis.
*Can lift approximately 5.05 kilogram of weight

[Crawling] Level: 28 ||20% to next level
+28% to crawling efficiency. Represents skill at crawling
*You crawl pretty well, for a baby.

*Note: Skills from previous lives will be added at appropriate levels when appropriate action is done.

There wasn't much to say here. Sabrina wondered what constituted a 'Skill' and how the 'crawling efficiency'' would influence her. Would she simply get faster as she crawled or was there something more to this?

[Perks]

[Extreme Psychic Affinity]
Raises Psychic Affinity by 4 tiers

[Heir of Saffron City Gym]
Raises Psychic Affinity by 1 tier

*Note: Psychic Affinity represents ones potential as a psychic user. Each level of psychic ability doubles the learning speed of psychic related skills (Tier 5 being 32x speed) and amplifies their power by the corresponding affinity level (Meaning a tier 5 psychic being 5x more powerful than an equally skilled opponent). Further, an affinity (in general) Also boosts the learning rate of pokemon captured by the user in equivalent amounts to the boost itself (5x in exp to Psychic pokemon and 32x rate on learning psychic type moves).

[Otherworlder]
Doubles the gain of Attribute points when levelling up from 1 to 2.
Obtains Perk points once every 10 levels to purchase new Perks. User can purchase new perks.

The perks were interesting. It made sense in an odd way to see how Sabrina was extremely Psychically talented, growing 5x faster in terms of pure psychic power, and was ridiculously fast in learning psychic moves, but it was also odd in a way. Did everyone have these perks? Was being the Heir to Saffron City Gym something that most people got benefits from? Was Talent truly so important in the world of Pokemon?
Not to mention being labelled an "Otherworlder" was mildly disconcerting. The benefits of it seemed immeasurable from what she had seen of the perks so far and gaining them every 10 levels was interesting. Was leveling like she had seen in the games? Gained by defeating ones enemies? Or was it more quest based like most video games, or both?
Sabrina was curious to see how this would play out. Should she 'grind' in a traditional 'game' sense, or simply act normal for a baby? She didn't want to lose what she had, she loved her new family and would hate to be separated for being different. She knew that the original sabrina was estranged by her family for her psychic ability, but could she really pass up the chance to have such a powerful strength just because they didn't want her to grow stronger? She definitely wanted to explore these abilities, with or without the 'system' being a psychic was something that would set her apart for good or for bad.

With a minor flash that Sabrina had gotten used to, and a sound reminiscent of a star wars blasted going off, her caretaker, Gardevoir appeared likely sensing her minor duress over this new information. Gardevoirs eyes locked onto the back of her head, boring holes through her and her breath began to hasten. Did she know she was different? Was she going to be locked up and sent off to team rocket before she even got her foot out the door as a pokemon trainer? Was she already doomed to a life of dismay?

Instead of any of that, the Pokémon tentatively raised her hand, and, with a gentle but invisible psychic prod, Sabrina felt a strange sensation, as if something was touching her mind or consciousness. It was a sensation she couldn't quite comprehend, and it left her feeling even more bewildered before Gardevoir abruptly teleported away.
Sabrina was scared and confused. She didn't want her childhood to end. Sure, it wasn't really *hers* to begin with, but it was something she had grown accustomed to. The loving caress of her mother's pale face, with her auburn hair cooing her to sleep. Her father's dark hair and stern ice cold features softening when looking at her. Gardevoir holding her in her arms. It was so nice, and she didn't want that gone. Yet now she was left alone due to being special. Was it the system? Was it just having psychic abilities in general? Did they finally catch onto her being different than a normal child? She didn't know and that frightened her.

She waited, tense, before falling to sleep from being too tired. Infant bodies aren't the best at staying awake despite Sabrina's best efforts after all.