After sleeping soundly through the night—without so much as a stir—I was finally, violently, awakened by Oddy launching himself onto my stomach. A moment later, Aria joined him, their weight knocking the last remnants of sleep and every trace of air right out of my lungs.
A sharp grunt escaped me as a tear welled up in one eye from the impact. Oddy and Aria stared down at me with matching wide grins on their faces.
"I-I missed you guys too," I managed, still catching my breath as I reached out to pat their heads. My voice was hoarse, rough from sleep.
With a groan, I pushed myself up into a sitting position, brushing back the mess of jet-black hair that had fallen across my face. My scarlet eyes adjusted slowly to the soft amber light filtering through the curtains. Khan was gone—his bed empty and his jacket no longer tossed across the floor. I didn't think much of it. He was probably already out getting food or talking with others.
Dragging my half-asleep body to its feet, I made my way toward the bathroom at the far side of the room. Aria and Oddy trailed closely behind me like curious little shadows. I shut the door behind me without looking, and heard the soft thunk of Oddy walking face-first into the oak door. A muffled giggle followed by Aria before she helped him get up again.
Inside, I peeled off my dirty, travel-worn clothes and tossed them into the laundry basket. The sound of rushing water filled the room as I turned the faucet and let the hot bath begin to fill. Steam slowly curled around the edges of the mirror and coiled along the dark tile walls.
Sinking into the rising water, I stretched my arms over the sides of the tub, letting out a sigh as the heat settled into my sore muscles. It felt like my body had been carrying the road for days. For a moment, I just listened to the water lap around me, feeling my heartbeat ease.
Eventually, I blinked the red screen open in front of me and tapped over to Inventory. The familiar list of items appeared: a few spare outfits, a Big Root, Expert Belt, Leftovers, a Dragon Scale, a TM for Water Pulse, and a small stash of berries some for Oddy and some for Aria.
I leaned back deeper into the tub, letting the water rise to my shoulders as I considered my options.
"Should Oddy get the Lefties?" I muttered aloud. "Or should Aria?" My fingers tapped absently against the side of the tub. "Expert Belt's useless right now... no super-effective moves for Electric-types yet…"
After a minute of thinking and theory-crafting, I decided. Oddy would get the Leftovers—to stall with his Leech Seed and Giga Drain combo. Aria, on the other hand, would benefit more from the Big Root. Her Draining Kiss would take just enough health back to keep her going.
"I hope Dash turns into something with Ground typing…" I murmured under my breath, half-wishing the answer would appear in the steam.
With a reluctant groan, I pulled myself out of the tub and reopened the red screen, scrolling to the clothing section. I materialized a clean set: a long white shirt, a fitted black jacket, and black pants to match. The towel came out with a swipe, and I dried off slowly, the warm bath still lingering in my bones.
After getting dressed, I stretched my arms behind my back with a satisfying pop and rolled my shoulders loose. I opened the door and stepped out of the room, only to pause at the sight in front of me.
Aria and Oddy were sparring in the hallway, locked in a lighthearted training match. Aria teleported behind Oddy with a smooth teleport, her hands glowing faintly pink with Draining Kiss as she moved in from behind. But Oddy was quicker than he looked—one of the strange little mouths atop his head twisted around and shoved Aria back just in time, knocking her out of range.
Aria stumbled midair but caught herself with a smile. Without a order she used Double Team, creating two perfect clones that flanked her like dancers in a practiced routine. The clones leapt behind her and launched her forward with a synchronized push, sending Aria flying like a missile straight toward Oddy.
Aria collided with Oddy, landing her attack and pinning him against the red carpet with the glow of Draining Kiss still flickering between them.
I couldn't help but smile. It reminded me of the second day I'd woken up in this world—Aria throwing herself into training, sparring with Rotom in order to get stronger. That same passion for strenght still burned in her eyes.
I clapped my hands together, drawing their attention. "Alright, you two. Save the performance for later—we've got a Gym to beat."
They both turned toward me, catching their breath, but still full of energy. I crouched down to meet their eyes, gave them a small pat, then stood up and reached for my belt. Two of the Pokéballs were empty. The third housed the Egg.
"Good work," I said, pressing the recall buttons. In twin flashes of light, Aria and Oddy vanished into their Pokéballs. I clipped them to my belt and stepped into the common room.
Amaris, Khan, and the red-haired girl from the front desk were seated around a table, already halfway through breakfast. The smell of eggs, toast, and something sweet—maybe berry jam—hung in the air.
"Morning," I greeted, walking over and sliding into an open seat.
"Morning, Alex," Khan said with a mouthful of bread. "You slept like a baby, you know that?"
I raised a brow and gave him a mock-serious look. "Isn't that normal? We shouted our lungs out yesterday, ran through corridors like lunatics, and didn't take a single proper break." I pointed a finger at him. "And you don't get to talk—you didn't even take off your shoes before passing out. Just dove into bed like a dead fish."
Khan paused mid-bite, then shrugged and went back to chewing. "So we both sleept like babies huh. Then that's fair."
I turned my attention to the red-haired girl, who'd been quietly watching our exchange with an amused smile.
"By the way," I said, "I'm sorry if we were rude last night. We were basically running on fumes and just... went with the flow."
She waved it off without hesitation. "No need to apologize. No one was rude, and it's always nice to have new money bag–Customers!" She extended a hand toward me ignoring what she juat said. "I'm Rhea. Nice to meet you."
I reached out and shook it. Her grip was warm and firm.
"Nice to meet you too. I'm Alex Carter."
After greeting each other, we returned to breakfast. The scent of fried eggs and something sweet still hung in the air, but my eyes wandered the room, searching for Rotom. It wasn't floating around like usual, and I realized I hadn't seen it since yesterday.
"Have you guys seen Rotom? Its looks like it's not here," I asked, frowning slightly, half-confused and half-worried.
"Oh! It's in the storage room," Rhea answered, cleaning her mouth with a napkin. "It asked if it could try out some of the machines, so I told it to go wild."
"Is that so?" I said, instantly reminded of the day Rotom possessed half the appliances in the kitchen and nearly destroyed the place. "I'm not paying if something gets brok—"
*CRASH*
We all flinched as the loud crash echoed from somewhere deep inside the building.
"...Like that," I muttered, rubbing my forehead as I tried to act like it didn't just happen.
Rotom floated out of one of the side rooms a moment later, its screen wearing the most innocent expression I'd ever seen on it. Without saying a word, it zipped across the room and possessed the Pokédex sitting on the receptionist's table.
"What did you do—?"
[Alex Carter, you need to be ready for the GYM Challenge!! Mr. Khan, you understand me, right?! Let's go, we have a Gym to defeat!!] Rotom yelled, its voice bursting with excitement as it buzzed straight out the front door.
I let out a long, suffering sigh and buried my face in my arms, letting my forehead thud softly against the table. "Once again… I'm really sorry."
Amaris chuckled under her breath, and Khan followed, but both tried and failed to hide their giggles when Rhea gave them a quick glance. Eventually, she just gave up and patted my back.
"No problem, Alex. Honestly, those machines were all rusty and broken already, so don't even worry about it, okay?"
I looked up at her, still a little embarrassed. "Thanks for being a good person," I said, then glanced toward the window—Rotom was peeking through it like a curious kid before hiding itself after seeing ı noticed it.
"ROTOM! I'M NOT MAD! YOU CAN COME HERE!"
The second I said it, the door swung open and Rotom zipped back inside with a mischievous grin plastered across its screen.
"Can you pay her, please?" I asked, a bit more gently this time.
Rhea stood up, walked over to the desk, and grabbed a POS scanner. She held it out, and Rotom scanned it with a faint beep and a flash of light.
While they handled the transaction, I turned back to Amaris and Khan.
"So, what's the plan? Do we just head to the Gym, or did you guys have something else in mind?"
Khan took a swig from a water bottle before Amaris leaned forward on her elbows.
"The Gym doesn't open until 6 p.m.," she said.
"Then what do we do till then?" Khan asked. "Isn't there anything fun in the city? Maybe we can go surfing?"
Rhea returned to the table with Rotom trailing behind her. "Why don't you guys check out the Pokémon Fan Club? The folks there always manage to make me laugh."
"I'm down if you guys are," Khan said, glancing between us after hearing her.
I turned to Amaris, who gave a small nod as she smiled.
"Well then," I said, clapping my hands together with a smile. "Looks like our destination's decided!" I said it with a kind grin, feeling the weight of the morning ease just a little. I stood up, brushing off my pants, but suddenly froze as a memory hit me like a splash of water.
The taxi of the Cerulean City.
"Wait… do we have a ride?" I asked, wariness creeping into my voice. I had no desire to meet with a annoying driver once again.
"I mean, we could take a taxi?" Amaris offered casually.
"No!" I said a little too fast.
She blinked. "Why not?"
"Just… no," I muttered, shaking my head.
Rhea raised a brow, amused. "If one of you has a license, you can borrow my car. But... do any of you actually have one?"
I hesitated. A part of me wanted to raise my hand, to say I could handle it—but in this new body, I was technically underage. Even if I knew how to drive, I couldn't legally prove it.
"Does... just knowing how counts?" I asked, half-joking, half-hopeful.
She let out a sigh so deep it practically shook the floor. "Anyone else?" she asked again, scanning the table with tired eyes.
Silence.
"Thought so," she said, rubbing her temples. Then, with a resigned groan, she turned on her heel. "Alright, everyone in the car. Looks like I'm the one going to drive you kids around."
After hearing this we started gathering our things, but just before Rhea reached for her keys, her green eyes flicked to the wall clock.
1:00 p.m.