Hey! Kai the Raichu here! I wanted to do two chapters because I already have the outline for the story planned and the first chapter was relatively uneventful, compared to this. Hopefully you enjoy the proper start to Otto's new life! Happy reading!

Otto slowly came to with the beeping of a hospital monitor. He could feel his body, but moving anything seemed like a gargantuan task that he didn't even want to attempt at the risk of hurting himself further. He still remembered everything. Being hit by the car and the pain.. the entire room reeked of sanitizer, and just thinking and trying to make sense of his environment was making him feel like garbage. Maybe going back to sleep wasn't such a bad idea.. letting his eyes close, he didn't even bother to get comfortable, just wanting to escape into the recesses of his mind to push away from the overwhelming santizer smell and the pain he was feeling.

When he woke up, he felt better.. at least slightly. He could at least stay awake without feeling like he was going to pass out, but it wasn't like the pain was going away. The sanitized smell hadn't gotten any weaker, which disappointed him a bit- but when he tried to move his body, a massive amount of pain shot through him and he yelped out of instinct. That seemed to get the attention of a group of people standing outside of the hallway, and what looked like a nurse entered the room.

"..Oshawott! You're awake!" The nurse said enthusiastically, confusing Otto. What was she talking about? Who was she even talking to? That was when he realized that things weren't adding up. When he had moved his arm, he hadn't felt any fingers, and the nurse seemed like an absolute giant when from the angle he was sitting at on the bed, he should be about the same height as her.

"Huh..?" He let out, his voice sounding significantly different than what he remembered.

"Don't strain yourself. I'll get you plenty of water for you to drink, Oshawott. You've been out cold for a while, y'know. Your trainer was worried sick!"

"..What? What are you talking about!?" Otto yelled out, hurting his throat, but desperately trying to understand what was going on.

"You must really want your water.. okay, i'll be back," the nurse said, before exiting the room entirely, leaving Otto to try and not be consumed by his overwhelming anxiety.

"Wait.. wait.." He whispered, desperately trying to understand what had happened. Very gently pulling the covers up to try and look at his shirt, he saw a yellow shell placed on a blue, furry chest. Just like an Oshawott's.

He quickly flinched and began to panic, the heart monitor beeping faster and faster as he gasped for air to try and calm down. The intense sanitized smell of the room, the loud beeping of the heart monitor, and the fact that he wasn't even human anymore ate away at any sort of composure he had.

"NO, NO, NO! THIS ISN'T ME! I'M DREAMING, I'M DREAMING, I'M DREAMING!" He desperately cried out, before the nurse entered the room to see him violently thrashing around and panicking, spilling the glass of water she was holding.

"..Oh my! Are you okay, Oshawott!?" The nurse asked, quickly very concerned when the Oshawott refused to calm down even with her in the room. Otto wasn't responding back to her, just unable to comprehend what had happened to him. Before long, he felt something sharp poke his shoulder and he quickly calmed down, mostly not by choice as he had been sedated, dropping back onto the bed, unconscious.

8 Hours Later

Otto slowly regained consciousness, the drug finally wearing off as being asleep for even longer had made his injuries slightly more tolerable. Everything in his body was still aching, but it was a dull pain rather than a sharp one. The type of pain you felt when you were sick. He could hear the nurse and some sort of family talking outside of the hospital room, deciding to try and listen in since he didn't want to focus on the depressing reality that he was a foot-tall otter.

Before long, he eventually managed to pick up a few things.

"..I think his outburst might be a result of the trauma he experienced from the wild attack that caused his injuries," a recognizable voice said. Probably the nurse.

"What should we do to help him then?" An unfamiliar voice said. It sounded like an older man. Maybe his.. trainer? He felt sick thinking of it like that, the idea of being owned by somebody.. but there really was no other way to describe it.

"I can supply you with some calming medicine once he's checked out, just to help him sleep. Try to make sure he gets consistent water and food every day, otherwise his condition might deteriorate. You can give him the medicine with the dinner you give to him every night."

"..Understood. Thank you, Nurse."

"No problem. It's my job, after all."

The conversation ended and all of them walked away, just leaving Otto alone with his thoughts. Being on the same level as most common pets made him lose pretty much any confidence he had. The Oshawott would've cried if he didn't feel horribly thristy. Looking around for something to drink, he noticed the half full glass of water haphazardly put onto the counter next to his hospital bed. Desperate to have a drink, he reached out for it, straining his arms' muscles, before he managed to get a grip on it. It felt slippery in his new paws, and he nearly spilled it all over himself, but he managed to drink all of the water in one gulp. Sighing with relief, he put the glass on the counter again and just tried to relax in the bed and think about how this possibly could've happened to him.

Was his entire life just a fabrication of his mind while he was out? Was he always an Oshawott? He thought about the possibility, but he knew it wasn't true. There was no way his entire life was a lie. The only thing that came to mind was..

"Not yet."

What did that even mean? Who would even say that? He'd expect something like "He was too young!" or "Save him, please!", but.. 'Not yet'?

Something about that made him think. And when he thought hard, he eventually found a solution. He'd heard about reincarnation, but nothing like.. this! He still had all of his memories, and it wasn't like he had switched dimensions or something. This was still the same world he recognized- a world where humans ordered around Pokémon. And unfortunately, it seemed like it was his turn to get ordered around.

But was the Oshawott's brain in his body? That could potentially make sense, but it seemed a bit too impractical. Considering how he literally lost consciousness and felt his entire body basically fall apart, he figured that he was probably.. dead. Was that why he was in an Oshawott's body? Was this.. a second chance?

Those words held a ton of impact in his mind. He never really imagined he'd die so soon, and maybe he wasn't supposed to. His death was a complete accident, after all. So maybe this was an act by the gods.. by Arceus.. of having mercy on him. Giving him that second chance.

He wasn't sure if he exactly deserved such a thing, but he'd take whatever he could get. Better than just letting it end now. Deciding to take a small nap, he drifted off into sleep to let his wounds heal a bit more.

6 Hours Later

The door opening quickly woke Otto up. Seeing the nurse walk in alongside a teenager and two parents, he heard the nurse speak again.

"..I took a look at him and bandaged him up while he was sleeping, He should be healthy enough to return home with you, Jay."

"Uhh.. thanks, nurse." The teenager said, who was presumably Jay. Maybe.. maybe this kid was his trainer instead. Something felt right about that.

"..Well, let's get back home."

And here we are- Otto meeting his trainer for the first time! Hopefully you enjoyed this chapter, because I put a lot of work into it. Writing this story has been really fun so far, so I hope you're having fun reading it too! Please review and follow the story!