Huaxia, Jinling.
"What a trash company. I can't do this job at all." A young man cursed as he walked out of a company building, having just finished an interview.
Skyler was a fresh university graduate this year. His height and looks could only be described as aggressively average. In a crowd, he wouldn't even cause a ripple... maybe just a tiny splash? (Or so he thought.)
What kind of ridiculous nonsense is this? They're recruiting fresh graduates but require five years of work experience. My entire university degree is four years! Where am I supposed to steal that extra year from?!
"Forget it. I'll just take the subway home."
Lamenting the ruthlessness of capitalists, Skyler felt a bit defeated. He was crossing a zebra crossing, planning to buy some dinner at a nearby snack street.
SCREECH—!
BANG!!!
Accompanied by the ear-splitting sound of brakes, Skyler felt himself... fly.
Yeah, literally fly.
He performed a half-body spin followed by a two-and-a-half rotation in the air, tumbled several times on the ground, and finally lay half-dead on the concrete.
Fighting through the intense pain, he forced his eyes open a crack. He looked at the helmeted motorcyclist in front of him and moved his lips to mouth a few words.
"Damn it... are you... in a rush to reincarnate or something?"
"I can't... I'm going to pass out..."
His consciousness began to blur. The memories of his first life flashed by like a movie in fast-forward.
......
Sinnoh Region, Twinleaf Town.
With the sound of a baby's cry, a woman in a hospital room fell into a deep sleep on her bed. Her face was incredibly pale, evoking a sense of fragility that made one want to protect her.
"Nurse Joy, how are my wife and child?!"
Outside the ward, a man in his twenties asked the nurse anxiously.
"Mr. Hale, I know you're worried, but please calm down."
The man: "....."
"Mother and son are both healthy. The mother is just exhausted and has fallen asleep."
Sensing the man's face darkening with anxiety, Nurse Joy spoke quickly before he could start spewing flowery language.
"Lucky, Lucky~"
Next to Nurse Joy stood a pink, egg-shaped Pokémon. It had hair-like curls, short arms, a short tail, and a pouch on its belly containing an egg.
It was Nurse Joy's signature partner, Chansey. The Chansey waved its small hands, as if saying: Don't worry, stay calm. Here, have a smoke... I mean, drink some water and relax.
"Phew... That's great. Thank you so much, Nurse Joy."
Hearing this, Aidan Hale finally let out a sigh of relief. To be honest, the little one didn't matter as much; as long as the big one was okay, that was all that mattered.
But since both were fine, it was a happy ending for everyone. His heart, which had been in his throat, finally settled back into his chest.
Inside the room, moonlight streamed through the window, illuminating Lina's pale cheeks.
Aidan walked silently to his wife's side. He gently stroked her hair, wiped the fine sweat from her forehead, tucked a stray lock behind her ear, and held her hand, quietly keeping her company.
......
Morning.
"Star... Starly."
Outside the window, a small gray bird with a light gray belly and a white spot on its forehead chirped. It was the "regional bird" of Sinnoh, Starly. Its cry woke Lina from her sleep.
"Where... where am I?"
"I can't... my body is so tired. I have no strength."
"Wait, where is my baby? I remember giving birth!"
Lina slowly opened her eyes, staring at the white ceiling. She tried to sit up but lacked the strength. She could only look around, searching for the crying, four-legged treasure.
"Honey, you're awake! Here, here, lie back down."
At that moment, Aidan pushed the door open, carrying a thermos. Seeing Lina trying to get up, he rushed over to support her, propping up the pillows so she could lean back comfortably.
"Aidan, where's our baby? I remember he was right next to me."
Lina looked up, her face still pale, and asked Aidan quietly.
As expected of a new mother, her first concern was her child. Perhaps worrying about their children is something every mother does instinctively.
"The baby isn't lost. Nurse Joy took him for the routine newborn checkup."
Aidan explained with a smile. He opened the thermos, blew on a spoonful of soup to cool it, and fed it to Lina.
"That's good. As long as he's okay."
Lina finally relaxed and sipped the soup. Her memory ended when Nurse Joy placed the baby beside her pillow; after that, she had lost consciousness.
For a second, she thought she might have kicked the baby into the trash can while sleeping. If her husband hadn't walked in, she might have actually checked the bin.
Aidan chatted with her as she finished the soup spoon by spoon. having just given birth, Lina was extremely weak, and even her voice was faint.
Moreover, new mothers who have exhausted their energy tend to get sleepy easily.
Watching Lina fall asleep again, Aidan packed up the lunch box, quietly closed the door, and prepared to go see if his son was still alive at Nurse Joy's station.
---
Meanwhile...
Inside the incubator, Skyler looked utterly confused.
Damn, what's going on? Wasn't I dead?
And why are my hands so small? He looked down.
Phew, it's still there.
Just... a mini version.
Did I... reincarnate??
Wait, hold on. Even if I died, shouldn't there be a process? I've lived this long and never seen what the Grim Reaper looks like. How did I get dragged here without even meeting him?!
And... where is this place?!
He looked around at his surroundings, then at the woman with pink hair outside. He tried to slap the glass door with his hand, hoping to get Nurse Joy's attention so she would take him out.
However, in the eyes of the people outside, the situation looked like this:
"Goo goo ga ga!!"
"This child is so energetic! Blinking his little eyes, pursing his little mouth, and patting the glass door... he's so cute! I just want to hug him!"
Nurse Joy looked at the baby inside. Her eyes seemed to sparkle, as if she were looking at an adorable toy.
What is wrong with this woman? Why do I feel like she has weird thoughts about me? No way... I'm just a baby right now!
Skyler suddenly felt a bit guilty. He stopped slapping the glass and tried to look as harmless as possible, hoping to get by on cuteness.
"Nurse Joy, how is my child doing? Is he healthy? It took so long for him to be born yesterday; there won't be any complications, right?"
Aidan pushed the door open and fired off a machine-gun round of questions. It was his own flesh and blood, after all; he was at least a little concerned.
"Oh, Mr. Hale. Your child is in excellent condition. You can see for yourself; he's very healthy."
Nurse Joy said with a smile.
"Lucky, Lucky~"
At this moment, Chansey pushed a cart through the door and waved at Nurse Joy. The cart was filled with baby supplies: towels, diapers, small blankets, and so on.
"Excuse us, Mr. Hale. We need to change the baby's diaper now. We'll bring him to you and your wife shortly."
Nurse Joy maintained her professional smile and spoke gently.
"Okay, okay. Thank you for your trouble, Nurse Joy."
Professional matters should be left to professionals. Hearing that his son was fine, Aidan decided not to be in the way and left first.
However, inside the incubator, Skyler was dumbfounded.
His current mood was... well, it was a feeling that words simply couldn't describe...
...
T/N: Guys, I have localized all the Original characters and all Canon characters keep their own name. Cries of Pokemon are left unchanged.