CHAPTER 1 — PROLOGUE
Five Years Old — The Awakening
The world came back to him in pieces.
First, the soft weight of blankets. Then the sharp brightness of morning. And then the far too loud for someone freshly torn out of nonexistence. the worried voice of a woman he somehow recognized before he even opened his eyes.
"Elias! Sweetie, can you hear me?"
He blinked awake to the sight of pink hair and the softest, most maternal panic he had ever seen. A Nurse Joy. Then a sharp spike pain as if someone decided to shove a needle sh in his eye. Memory flooded his mind
And that's when reality hit him like a runaway Tauros. ..oh, Oh no. This isn't a dream. I am in the Pokémon world. I reincarnated into a Nurse Joy household. I am five. I am five. He thought in shock
Existential dread began to settle over him like a weighted blanket filled with cold marbles.
Joy gently took his small hands in hers. "You fainted. Sweetie, you scared me half to death."
He tried to sit up, immediately regretted the vertigo, and croaked, "I… fainted?"
His mother gave him the kind of look only a mother could give—equal parts love, concern, and a hint of I swear if you do that again…
Before he could scramble for a coherent thought, a familiar rounded shape leaned into view. A Chansey. Her Chansey. She held an egg in her pouch, humming softly.
"Chansey says your vitals are stable," his mother explained. "Nothing abnormal."
"Right… nothing abnormal," Elias muttered under his breath. "You know. Except waking up with an entirely new life and the sudden realization that my existence is now governed by creatures who can bend physics into balloon animals."
"Hmm what was that sweetie?" Question his mother with slightly narrrowed eye.
"Nothing" he replied as clenched his hands in the blanket. slightly nervous that she might have heard him. He couldn't let her know he was from another world with knowledge of Pokémon. That most would consider starting a war over. He would need to be more careful of what he say aloud.
His attention was averted from the conversation with his mother as Chansey kept checking him over making sure nothing was wrong with him
Chansey patted his head with clinical precision before waddling off, mission accomplished.
Joy pressed the back of her hand to his forehead again, still fussing. "Elias Joy, you scared me. You were pale as a Gastly and just dropped."
Okay. Good. Name confirmed. World confirmed. Mother confirmed. Everything's real. Great. Perfect. No pressure.
"Mom?" he said with a groan of pain. "Why does my brain feel like it rebooted?"
"You fainted," . "And probably hit your head. You said something strange before collapsing." She said with a perplexed look on her face.
"Oh?" His heart froze. "What… strange?" While hopping he hadn't said anything that would give away his otherworldly orgins.
"You asked if this was 'the real Pokémon world' with the straightest face I've ever seen a child make." She said with amusement as if her child had asked the silliest question imaginable.
He died inside. Again.
Joy laughed—not mocking, just relieved. "Kids say the funniest things."
He breathed. Crisis… partially averted
She softened, brushing some hair from his forehead as tenderly as possible . "Just… don't scare me like that again. You're my only son."
That one hit him harder than waking up in a new universe. He looked away, swallowed, then nodded. "I'll try not to faint dramatically without warning." He said with all solemnity that his five year old voice could muster.
"
That's all I ask."
For the rest of the day, Elias was handled like a priceless, fragile egg that might spontaneously combust if left unsupervised.
He didn't blame his mother. She had only one child, a Chansey whose healing abilities doubled as anxiety amplification. Every time he shifted on the bed, Chansey materialized like a pink guardian spirit, checking his forehead, his pulse,
Elias sighed internally. So this is my life now. Babysat by a creature who can bench-press a Donphan.
His mother returned with a tray of food—broth, soft veggies, and water. The "post-fainting special." She set it next to him and sat on the edge of the bed, watching him as if a stiff breeze might snap him in half.
He ate obediently. The body he inhabited had never tasted anything like his previous world's food—everything was fresher, richer, almost unnaturally nourishing. Pokémon-world agriculture, he supposed. Or just better chefs.
"Feeling better?" Joy asked gently.
He nodded. "Yeah. No more rebooting."
She gave a little laugh, though it was clear her worry hadn't fully gone. "You really scared me, you know. You just froze… like you were somewhere else entirely."
Yeah, he thought, like a whole different universe entirely. No big deal.
Joy smoothed her apron. "I'll be taking you in for a small checkup tomorrow. Just to be safe."
He opened his mouth to protest—then remembered fainting upon reincarnation wasn't exactly a rock-solid medical record. "Okay."
Chansey clapped her hands happily.
"Chansey!"
"See? Even Chansey is relieved," his mother said.
Great. Now the pink egg-lady approves of my compliance. I'm moving up in the world.
Joy then leaned back slightly, watching him with that soft, maternal intensity he was still not used to. "You were always a bit… different, you know," she murmured.
His stomach dipped. "Different how?"
"Perceptive. Older than your age. You look at things like you're thinking far, far past them."
Oh fantastic. Even pre-reincarnation me was suspiciously introspective. Great continuity.
Joy smiled faintly. "It worried me sometimes. But today…" She shook her head. "Today was the first time I thought I might lose you."
The quiet sincerity in her voice hit him squarely in the chest.
He looked down at his bowl, unable to hold her gaze. "I'm not going anywhere."
Her hand rested on his hair, warm and steady. "Good."
As afternoon softened into evening, Joy finally relaxed enough to step out and handle her duties in the small clinic attached to their home. Chansey stayed behind, stationed at the doorway like a pink bouncer.
Elias lay back in bed and stared at the ceiling.
Okay. Let's think. New world. Pokémon world. Except not the one I knew. Wilder. Older. More dangerous.. My mother is a Nurse Joy sweet, devoted, and apparently convinced I will crumble like a sandcastle if left unattended. A father who alway going on missions for global pokemon league.
He covered his face with both hands.
I'm five. I can't train yet. No Pokémon. No Pokédex. No meta-knowledge shortcuts because half the stuff I know isn't applicable. And I'm supposed to pretend I'm a normal kid.He groaned.This is going to be a long childhood. But even as the frustration settled, something else sparked beneath it—something warm and undeniable.
He had a mother and father who loved him. A safe home.A world he had adored from afar. And maybe just maybe he could carve out a life here.
The soft tap of Chansey's feet approached. She peeked in, checking if he was asleep. He shut his eyes quickly, pretending.
She nodded to herself—mission accomplished—and returned to her post.
He smiled slightly under the blanket.
Alright. I'll play along. For now.
He drifted into a drowsy half-sleep, the muffled sounds of the clinic below blending with the natural hum of a world filled with life, wonder, and danger.The Pokémon world.
His new world.
And whether he was ready or not, it was already beginning.
As she hugged him gentle, warm, grounding. He couldn't help the thought that crept in.
Okay. Fine. I'll live this life. . But Arceus above… please don't throw anything insane at me yet.
Of course, life rarely cooperates with such requests.