My first life was pretty average. I was a normal kid with maybe a faster brain—I could learn things quickly. I wasn't a genius, but I never had a hard time at school or even in any video games. My first video game was Pokémon, not just any Pokémon game, but the one and only Pokémon Platinum. So, I know a bit about Pokémon. I played a little bit of every game and finished most of the leagues, but I was never the type to catch them all. I mostly built cool teams and then steamrolled the league. Like I said, I was never the type to catch them all.
Until I was 17 years old, everything was pretty normal. I was walking back from school (I live close to the school) when suddenly a guy, probably playing on his phone while driving, didn't stop and hit me. Have you ever been hit by a car? Not gonna lie, it's not a fun experience.
Next thing I know, I wake up in a bed, but it's not a hospital bed. It's a bunk bed, and there are more bunk beds around me. My first thought was: What kind of hospital is this? Then I looked at my hands and had a small panic attack when I saw that they were small and responded to my brain's command to move. My heart raced as I tried to understand what was happening. The room was filled with the sounds of children stirring, and the faint smell of breakfast wafted through the air.
I got up and started walking around, trying to find a mirror. I knew that either I had been reincarnated, or my brain was just not working right. When I finally found a mirror, I saw a child, maybe 5 or 6 years old, with gray eyes and blond hair that had a little bit of brown in it.
I decided to explore my surroundings. As I walked around the room, I realized it wasn't just any room—it was a children's dormitory. Either I was in an orphanage or some
weird big family with more than 10 children, but who knows?
At that moment, I felt a deep hunger. I didn't know when this body had last eaten, but it was definitely not today. I decided that I needed to find some food immediately. My stomach growled, reminding me that survival in this strange new situation required a full belly.
I followed the scent of breakfast that wafted through the air. The smell led me to a large dining hall where several children were already seated, eating their meals. I hesitated for a moment, unsure of the rules or if I was allowed to just join in. But hunger outweighed my caution.
I approached the table and found an empty seat. A kind-looking woman, who seemed to be in charge, noticed me. She looked at me with sad eyes and placed a plate of food in front of me. It was simple, but the sight of scrambled eggs, toast, and fruit made my mouth water.
"Did you have a good night of sleep for your first night?" she asked gently.
I nodded quickly and dived straight into the food. The hunger was overwhelming, and I couldn't focus on anything else. As I ate, the kid next to me started asking the matron, "When can we go outside to play? Or are the Pokémon attacks still happening?"
The matron answered, "For today, you still cannot go outside. The police have not yet confirmed that it's fully safe for children. Ground-type Pokémon could still be hidden around. But hopefully, by tomorrow, everything will be back to normal."
My ears perked up at the mention of Pokémon attacks and ground types. This was getting stranger by the minute. I continued eating, trying to piece together the reality of my new situation.
After everyone was done eating, including me as I was the last one to arrive, she clapped her hands and asked everyone to follow her to the small communal area to play or, for the older kids, to study.
When we arrived at the communal area, the first thing I noticed was how clean it was for a place with so many children. On top of a small desk was a radio that was talking about the Pokémon tide: "The death count for this small attack is still around 3,000 people. I know that Ground-type Pokémon are some of the hardest to defend against, but still, we pay taxes so the Pokémon trainers can defend this city," the commentator said.
When the matron heard the commentator talking about the Pokémon tide, the first thing she did was look at how I reacted and then quickly turned off the radio.
With the matron's strange behavior, I could deduce that I was new here and probably placed in this orphanage because either my parents or old caretaker had died in the Ground-type tide.
Most of the older kids started sitting at the three different desks and studying, while the younger kids began getting toys out of a box in the corner of the room. Most of the toys were different types of Pokémon with their names on them, and some were human figures. I even saw a Professor Oak toy among them.
Still trying to figure out my situation, I found myself just gazing into nothing, completely still. The matron came next to me and said, "Everything will be alright. You can go play with the other kids. Everyone is kind here." At the same time, she gave me a little push in the back toward the other kids.
Trying to not look different, I spent the next two hours playing with the other kids. I learned some small things: first of all, I'm not going to be able to pretend to be a normal kid for long before I blow my cover. My mind was racing with questions and confusion, and I knew it would be challenging to keep up this act.
After two hours, I noticed one of the older kids studying a map. This was my chance to see if I was on Earth with Pokémon or some other world. I started walking toward the desk and, hiding behind the 12-year-old kid, when I saw the map, I had a feeling I had seen it before. Then, when I saw the name of the map (Sinnoh), I understood straight away where I was.
I realized that if I was in the Pokémon world, I needed more information. I knew it wasn't the friendly and happy Pokémon world I remembered from the games because I had just heard that a Pokémon tide had killed so many people.
Trying not to blow my cover, I asked the matron if I could read a book. The first thing she said was, "You can read at your age?" Normally, I wouldn't think it was that awesome, but I realized that in this world, it might not be normal to be able to read at 4-5 years old.
When she learned that I could read, she got some documents out of her desk and started asking me to read them and verify if I was reading correctly. The document was a file about Cayde Storm:
Name: Cayde Storm
Age: 4 years and 5 months
Parents: Natalie Storm and Johnny Storm (Both deceased)
Occupation: Researchers into Pokémon fossils
City: Oreburgh City
Description: A brilliant child who was loved by his parents