The next day, Spike woke at sunrise. For the first time in years, he actually felt fully awake in the morning without downing a gallons’ worth of caffeinated beverages. Stomach growling, he left his room and went downstairs to look for food in the kitchen. Within the surprisingly large kitchen that could probably fit ten people with space to spare, he found some fruits and berries in a large bowl sitting on the counter. Some of the fruits looked similar to apples, but most of the others he easily recognized as oran and pecha berries.

Out of curiosity, he tasted one of each. First, the oran berry melted in his mouth like a large blueberry. It had a mild sweetness but otherwise lacked flavor. In terms of taste, it wasn’t much different from eating unflavored nuts, but he found it passable as a snack. On the other hand, the pecha berry exploded in his mouth with a sweetness reminiscent of a sugar-coated strawberry. Perhaps because of his youthful taste buds, his eyes lit up with excitement. He quickly devoured five more before feeling full. Yellowish juices coated his lips as a satisfied smile appeared on his face.

Although the berries quenched his thirst to an extent, he also grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge before returning to his room.

With his bodily needs taken care of, he focused on his Riolu egg that was resting on the floor in a pile of pillows and blankets at the end of his bed. He gently caressed the surface of the egg while pondering the best path to complete Arceus’ request while also living a fulfilling life. Aside from the typical Pokémon trainer, there were plenty of options for him to pursue.

“Well, I’ve got plenty of time to think about it,” Spike mumbled to himself.

Looking down at the egg, he suddenly thought about the Aura abilities mentioned in Pokémon lore. The only human characters he vaguely recalled using Aura were Ash and Riley, but it proved that humans could overcome their limits in this world. There were also a notable number of human psychics like Sabrina, too. Although the anime version of Pokémon seemed childish at a glance, he thought there might be more to it. There were plenty of hints that humans and Pokémon were similar in the past. If so, then humans being durable enough to eat a Thunderbolt wasn’t too farfetched.

“You think I can use those powers too, buddy?” Spike asked his Riolu egg even though it couldn’t answer him yet. “I guess I’ll wait for you to hatch before training such things. Might be dangerous. Some light physical training shouldn’t hurt, though.”

* * *

Later in the morning, Spike’s new mother dragged him to a small school a few blocks away from their house. Thanks to the memories he gradually integrated from the Dilon kid he possessed, he found a classroom labeled Classroom 1B. Unfortunately, the previous Dilon was too stupid to understand the reason for such things and opted to bully his classmates for fun instead.

Shaking his head, Spike entered the classroom. The happy conversations or games of other five and six year old children stopped. Two girls standing by the door flinched at his appearance and immediately fled to their desks. In the corner of the room were two small Zigzagoons sitting in a pen. The moment they saw Spike, they skittered to the furthest corner of their pen from him and trembled as though afraid. Feeling his heart sink at the sight of the scared raccoon-like Pokémon, Spike frowned.

‘Wonderful. Thanks for being a dick, Dilon, Spike thought. Hopefully I can remedy my reputation. This atmosphere is too stifling.’

To the other kids’ surprise, Spike didn’t say anything to any of them and simply sat at his desk with a chin resting on his palm while looking out the window. Over the next few minutes, a few more kids trickled in, adding up to a total of twenty aside from Spike. None of them spoke a word to him. Eventually, a woman in her late twenties entered the room with a large binder in hand. Her brown hair was tied up in a neat bun, and her deep brown eyes glanced over the children with blatant tenderness. Compared to most women, she seemed a little on the short side, and her skinniness made her look younger than her face implied. For clothing, she simply wore a modest white blouse and brown skirt that reached below her knees. According to the vague memories about the woman Spike saw from Dilon’s memories, the woman’s name was Miss Johanna, which he immediately memorized. All the other kids halted their conversations and ran to their desks upon seeing her, most with smiles on their faces.

After the woman called roll for each student, she briefly glanced at Spike who was sitting in the second seat from the front on her right. Aside from responding that he was present, he simply stared out the window toward the playground outside where two Taillows that were playfully squawking back and forth with two Pidgeys. The teacher then glanced at the trembling Zigzagoons and frowned.

For now, the teacher said nothing to him and moved on with her lesson that involved teaching the alphabet to the kids. Spike quickly recognized the letters as similar to Unown without eyes. Within minutes, he adjusted to the change in written language since it was already familiar. Afterward, he focused outside again, barely listening to the lesson in case there was something else useful to learn. Unfortunately, it was all information he already knew such as simple math or Pokémon names and types. Around an hour or so later, a Chimecho chimed while floating through the hallway outside the classroom, signaling the end of the lesson. The teacher warned the kids to never walk around in tall grass without a Pokémon partner which she apparently mentioned once every few days before telling them they could go play on the playground.

Before Spike could leave, the teacher called out, “Dilon, please stay for a moment.”

Raising a brow, Spike glanced at the woman and nodded. Once all the other kids left the room, the teacher pulled two chairs out. She sat down on one even though it was a bit too small for her and gestured for him to sit in the one across from her.

The moment Spike sat down, the teacher asked, “Did something happen to you, Dilon? You seemed a lot quieter than normal today.”

Since the question caught him off guard, Spike tilted his head and instinctively answered, “No.”

The teacher frowned and subconsciously twiddled her thumbs, unsure how to continue the conversation with this problem child.

Noticing the woman’s reserved nature, and also the fact that she displayed some concern for his well-being, Spike scratched his head for a moment and then said, “I got lost in the woods yesterday, and I’ve been thinking a lot since then.”

“Eh? You went in the woods? Did you have a Pokémon with you?” The teacher asked while leaning forward with her eyes sternly narrowed.

Spike shook his head and said, “No. I’m fine, though.”

Placing her hands on Spike’s shoulders, the teacher reprimanded him by saying, “In the future, you shouldn’t go out without a Pokémon to protect you. Most wild Pokémon are docile, but some may hurt you by accident. Please remember that.”

“I know. Anyway, since we’re alone, can I ask you something, Miss Johanna?”

“What?”

“...Nevermind,” Spike said, changing his mind. He considered asking if he could bring his egg with him to school, but then considered that the woman might inform his parents about it.

“What is it? You can tell me.”

“Hmm. It’s nothing. I just wanted to ask if I could go outside now?” Spike lied without a change in his expression.

The teacher sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose before saying, “Yes, you can. Please be nice to the others, though.”

“I will.”

With that, he followed the teacher into the hallway, but then mentioned he was going to go to the bathroom first, which she agreed to. Once the woman was far enough away, he walked back into the classroom and looked at the two Zigzagoons. In response, they lifted their heads from their food bowls and immediately stopped chewing their food pellets before skittering to the corner of the pen again.

Sighing, Spike walked to the edge of the pen and kneeled in front of it. He then smiled at them, which only caused them to tremble more noticeably. Their reaction saddened him. Briefly, he thought he noticed a grayish fog around the two Pokémon, but then blinked and saw nothing special. Wondering if it was his imagination, he shook his head and focused on the task at hand.

Hoping to start fixing their fear of him, he spoke to them in a gentle tone and said, “I’m not going to hurt you guys, alright? I don’t know if you can tell, but I’m a different person than the one who bullied you.”

The two Pokémon stared back at him with hints of understanding, but they remained sitting in the corner of the pen. With a sigh, Spike mumbled to himself, “I guess that’s to be expected. Rome wasn’t built in a day, after all.”

With that, he waved goodbye to the Zigzagoons and left while saying, “Sorry for what the previous me did to you guys. I hope you two can be happier in the future and know that not all humans are bullies.”

With that, he left and quickly found the exit to the playground situated in the middle of the three school halls that formed a ‘U’ shape around it. He saw other kids playing on the swings, slides, and monkey bars. Some played alongside some smaller Pokémon.

Rather than bother the kids or waste his time playing with them, he instead sat down under a small group of pine trees by the West Wing and observed everyone on the playground. Some of them glanced his way occasionally but quickly looked away after noticing his gaze.

Meanwhile, he suddenly noticed a Wurmple crawling on one of the branches above him, and he smiled at it when he noticed it observing him. It proceeded to ignore him and minded its own business. Just when he was about to look away, he noticed some movement near the base of the tallest tree in the center of the small grove . He saw a flash of green, red, and white hiding behind the tree when he focused his gaze there.

Surprised, Spike stood, shoved his hands in his pockets, and casually ambled deeper into the small grove of trees. When he reached the tree, he placed one hand on the rough bark and peeked around to the other side of the trunk. There, he saw a small green head with two red protrusions on it looking up at him while trembling with its small white hands pressed up against the tree trunk.

“Hello there,” Spike said, smiling at the Ralts that stood no higher than his knee. Kneeling down, he said, “I’m surprised you haven’t fled yet.”

“R- Ralts…” The Pokémon quietly replied while inching away and observing him with noticeable curiosity.

Still smiling, Spike sat down on the pine needles and leaves below him, held out a hand, and said, “I’m Spike. Nice to meet you.”

The Ralts looked down at Spike’s hand for a few seconds and then shuffled closer and reached out its own nub-like hand as though understanding his intentions. Spike’s smile widened, and he gently shook the Ralts’ small hand with two fingers. The Ralts tilted its head and then looked up at his face with curiosity.

“Do you want to hang out with me for a bit?”

“...Ralts,” The Pokémon quietly replied.

Feeling like the Ralts had given him a positive answer for some reason, Spike adjusted himself to sit with his back against the tree trunk. The Ralts also sat there without saying anything and simply looked at him with a hand in its mouth.

Within the presence of the surprisingly friendly Ralts and the distant chirps of some Taillows and normal birds fluttering among the branches that were creaking slightly in the breeze, Spike closed his eyes and thought, ‘How peaceful.’