"Come on out~" Xiu spoke softly to the Poké Ball containing Abra.
A beam of red light coalesced into the small psychic Pokémon beside him on the floor. Abra blinked open its large eyes, looked blearily at Xiu, and then promptly closed them again, seemingly drifting back to sleep.
Xiu sighed, a faint smile touching his lips. "Hey! Wake up. Time to eat."
He retrieved Abra's newly purchased food pellets, pouring a generous amount into a clean bowl he'd also acquired. Alongside it, he placed a piece of fruit he'd managed to snag from the staff canteen that morning – a small perk of his extra work at the Rescue Station.
'New bowls, new beginnings.'
"Eat up." He pushed the bowl gently towards Abra, his smile widening slightly. "Sorry it's just the basic stuff for now. Things are a little tight. Once I get paid properly in a few days, I promise I'll get you something better."
Abra didn't respond verbally, of course, but it silently levitated the bowl towards itself and began eating the pellets slowly and methodically.
Xiu watched for a moment before turning away. He'd already eaten back at the Rescue Station cafeteria. Tonight, like most nights recently, was for study. He couldn't afford to waste time.
He retrieved his worn copy of "Basic Knowledge for Primary Breeders" and settled at the table under the weak glow of the solar lamp. He forced himself to focus, pushing aside the lingering fatigue from the long day.
His original plan, formed in the initial shock of transmigration, had been simple: maximize his limited free time, absorb as much knowledge about this world as possible, understand its structures, its rules. He knew, with grim certainty, that he couldn't remain a garbage collector forever. That was a dead end. If he wanted to escape this bottom rung of society, he had to leverage the path he understood best, the one intertwined with the very reason he'd wished himself here: Pokémon.
Becoming a qualified Breeder seemed like a viable route. His past life's encyclopedic (if purely theoretical) knowledge of Pokémon provided a foundation. Combine that with the systematic learning skills drilled into him by years of compulsory education back on Earth, and self-studying for the Breeder certification seemed achievable. Difficult, yes, but possible. A tangible goal. A path up.
So, he read, poring over the dense text under the flickering lamplight, while Abra ate its dinner silently nearby. The quiet rhythm of study and companionship filled the small cabin.
— — —
Days bled into a routine: wake before dawn, clean his designated park sector (now significantly faster with Abra's discreet psychic assistance), walk back, grab food, head to the Rescue Station for hours of demanding physical labor, return exhausted, study until his eyes burned, sleep. Repeat.
Through it all, Abra's burns healed remarkably well under his diligent, if amateur, care. Its quiet presence became a constant, a silent partner in his solitary existence.
One evening, after returning from the Station, Xiu found himself staring at the Pokémon egg still nestled carefully among blankets on his bedside shelf. "It's been days now," he murmured, leaning closer. "Still no movement?" He gently touched the smooth, cool shell. "Could the river water have damaged it after all? Or maybe those Magikarp..."
He shook his head. Despite the lack of obvious signs, some intuition told him the egg was fine. 'Just... taking its time. Hatching requires patience, I guess.'
He carefully re-wrapped it in the softest rags he owned, ensuring it was insulated, then placed it back in its spot. He turned off the solar lamp, plunging the cabin into darkness, and crawled into bed. Tomorrow, he thought, the familiar, hollow mantra echoing in his mind, will also be a day full of hope.
Night descended, thick and silent. The moon, shy tonight, hid behind heavy cloud cover, leaving only a scattering of dim stars to prick the oppressive darkness. Peace settled over the forest, deep and undisturbed. Mostly.
Unseen within the cabin, as the hours passed and the moon finally drifted free of the clouds, a single beam of pale moonlight pierced the small window, falling directly onto the resting Pokémon egg.
And as if answering a silent summon, the egg began to emit a soft, internal glow, a faint luminescence that pulsed gently in rhythm with the moonlight.
Slowly, subtly, the light intensified. The pulsing quickened, the dark intervals between glows shrinking. It felt like the breath of life, quickening, building towards something. Finally, the gentle pulsing ceased, replaced by a sudden, fierce eruption of white light that banished every shadow, flooding the tiny cabin with blinding intensity.
The abrupt change ripped Xiu from his deep, exhausted sleep. He gasped, opening his eyes to an overwhelming whiteness that felt like staring directly into the sun. Pain lanced through his vision, forcing his eyelids shut again instinctively.
But even through the glare, he heard it. A faint, distinct sound.
Tick... crack... Slow, steady, rhythmic. The sound of something breaking from within.
His sleep-fogged mind, jolted by the light and the sound, snapped into sharp focus.
'The egg!'
He forced his eyes open again, enduring the lingering spots dancing in his vision. He squinted towards the source of the light, towards his bedside shelf. And froze, utterly stunned.
Σ( ° △ °|||)
The blinding light was coalescing, shrinking, taking shape. Emerging from the cracked remnants of the eggshell was a small, pink, vaguely egg-shaped Pokémon.
"Oh no... it's you?" Xiu breathed, recognition dawning through his shock. "A Happiny?"
The newly hatched Pokémon wobbled on short, stubby limbs. Its skin was a smooth, healthy pink. It had rosy cheeks, several small bumps adorning its forehead like a crown, and a single, curly tuft of "hair" on top. Its lower body seemed encased in a pouch-like structure, completing the iconic, somewhat comical, image.
Stunned disbelief washed over Xiu. He mentally cycled through the Pokédex entries stored in his memory, converting the 2D game sprites into this tangible, 3D reality. Happiny. Hatched from a random egg found in a river. The sheer improbability of it...
Am I... the chosen one or something? The absurd thought flashed through his mind, immediately followed by a wave of giddy excitement. He'd found an egg for Happiny!
It took him a moment to wrestle his racing thoughts back under control, to focus on the tiny, newly hatched creature blinking in the sudden quiet.
"Hey there," he whispered, his voice thick with residual sleep and awe. "Come here, let me hold you."
He reached out gently towards the Happiny.
"WAAAAAAAHHHHH!"
The sudden, ear-splitting wail startled Xiu, making him snatch his hand back. The Happiny, perfectly calm a second ago, was now crying its tiny lungs out, tears streaming down its pink face.
What? Why? What did I do? Xiu felt completely lost.
Fortunately, basic parenting instincts (just memories of dealing with crying babies in his past life) kicked in. 'Crying usually means hungry, right?'
He scrambled out of bed and rushed to the cabinet, retrieving the carton of Moomoo Milk he'd bought primarily for Abra. Twelve small bottles, 200ml each. It had cost him a small fortune – two hundred Poké Dollars – a stark reminder of how expensive specialized Pokémon products were. He'd intended it as a nutritional supplement for Abra, wanting to give the recovering Pokémon the best foundation possible, even if it meant working more hours at the Rescue Station to afford it.
Now, it seemed, it had a different purpose. He quickly poured one bottle into Abra's clean bowl and offered it cautiously to the wailing Happiny.
The crying stopped instantly. The little Pokémon eagerly tipped the bowl, gulping down the milk in seconds. Appeased, it settled back down, letting out a soft, contented sigh.
Xiu watched, relieved. 'Good thing we're isolated out here.' Crying that loud in a shared apartment building would probably get him evicted, or worse.
"Okay, okay," he soothed, patting its head gently. "Just don't cry, alright? Just don't cry."
— — —
Shocking! Man wakes seven times in one night to feed crying baby! The facetious headline wrote itself in Xiu's sleep-deprived brain.
He dragged himself out of bed as the first hint of dawn touched the sky. Dark circles shadowed his eyes. On the bed, the little Happiny was already awake, bouncing energetically, its earlier hunger clearly forgotten. It had woken him repeatedly throughout the night.
Seven times. Seven bottles of expensive Moomoo Milk poured into the seemingly bottomless pink pit. Each time, just as Xiu drifted back to sleep, the wailing would start again, demanding more.
"No more," he groaned, burying his face in his hands. "Please, little one, there's not a drop left. You're going to kill me. Let me sleep."
'Twelve bottles. Gone. In a single night. Abra hadn't even gotten a single sip.'
His savings... at this rate, they wouldn't last a week. 'Maybe not even a few days.'
'Can't afford this. I really can't afford this!'
Abra's arrival had complicated his budget but had been manageable, especially with the extra work. But now, with two mouths to feed? One with an apparently insatiable appetite for premium milk? This felt like a death sentence to his finances.
When the Happiny inevitably started fussing again, Xiu, out of milk and desperation, offered it some diluted fruit juice he had leftover. Surprisingly, perhaps exhausted from its nighttime demands, the little Pokémon drank it down and quickly fell back asleep, curled into a small pink ball.
"Okay, be good now," Xiu whispered, gently stroking its smooth head. A faint, tired smile touched his lips despite the exhaustion. "I have to go to work."
He carefully placed the sleeping Happiny into one of the empty Poké Balls – safer there while he was gone. He shared a quick, meager breakfast of dry biscuits with Abra, then set off for his morning rounds.
'Need to work harder.' The thought was grimly determined. 'Need to find another way to make money. This salary... it's not enough. Not for three of us.'
Walking the familiar path through the forest, Abra floating silently beside him, they completed the cleaning task with their now-practiced efficiency.
'No time to wait for the tour bus today.' Every minute counted. He broke into a jog, heading towards the main gate.
Just as he emerged from the treeline onto the edge of the plains, the sound of an enraged Pokémon roar echoed from not far away. It wasn't a natural sound; it was filled with pain and fury.
His steps faltered. Attention instantly diverted. He changed direction without hesitation, running towards the sound of trouble.