Darkness.
Cold.
Weightless.
Something pressed in from all sides—thick… heavy… suffocating.
Orin couldn't breathe.
No—
He didn't need to.
That realization came and went without meaning.
Where… am I?
The thought felt strange.
Slow.
As though it didn't truly belong to him.
There was no ground. No sky.
Only a dim, bluish haze surrounding him—
liquid.
He was floating.
Suspended inside something.
What… is this…?
A faint humming echoed around him.
Distant. Mechanical.
Unfamiliar.
His body felt… wrong.
Heavy, yet weightless.
Present, yet not entirely his.
Slowly—
he tried to move.
Something lifted.
A limb.
It moved through the liquid with unnatural resistance…
until it pressed against a cold, smooth surface.
Glass.
Ripples spread outward from the contact.
And then—
he saw it.
His hand.
Or—
what should have been his hand.
Smooth. Grey.
Too thin.
Too… different.
Three long fingers pressed against the glass.
For a brief instant—
his thoughts shattered.
…That's not my—
A sharp, unfamiliar unease surged through him.
The liquid around him trembled faintly.
His warped reflection stretched across the glass—
something tall…
something not human…
Cold purple eyes stared back at him.
No…
This isn't right…
This isn't me…!
The thoughts crashed together all at once.
Confusion.
Fear.
And awareness.
—-
"—HAAH!"
Orin jerked upright in bed, breathing hard.
His chest rose and fell rapidly as he stared ahead, disoriented.
"…What the hell was that…?"
His voice came out low and uneasy.
He ran a hand over his face, grounding himself.
Warm. Normal.
Human.
Beside him—
"Riolu…"
Riolu was curled up peacefully beneath the blanket, sleeping without a care in the world.
On the other side of the bed—
Elgyem sat perfectly upright and motionless, asleep in her own quiet, eerie way.
The room was silent.
Familiar.
Safe.
Orin let out a slow breath and leaned back slightly.
"…Just a weird dream…"
But even as he said it, his fingers flexed unconsciously.
For the briefest moment—
the sensation of something wrong still lingered beneath his skin.
Then it faded.
And the room returned to normal.
After checking the time on the Holo-Wall in front of him, Orin lay back down and closed his eyes, trying his best to push the unsettling nightmare out of his mind and fall asleep again.
…Wait.
Where is Brina?
He sat upright once more and looked around the room, but she wasn't anywhere on the bed.
His hand immediately rose to the Psychic Gem hanging from his neck.
A subtle warmth radiated against his fingertips.
Closing his eyes briefly, Orin could faintly sense Brina's familiar presence coming from within the gem itself.
"…Why did you go back inside?" he muttered in confusion.
Maybe she just couldn't sleep properly in an unfamiliar bed.
"Yawn… I'll figure it out in the morning," he mumbled tiredly.
"Good night."
With Brina's location confirmed, Orin finally relaxed and drifted back to sleep.
💤 💤 💤
"…olu…"
"…Olu!"
"RIOLU!"
"GAH—!"
Orin's eyes snapped open as all the air was forced out of his mouth.
Pain shot through his stomach.
Looking down, he found Riolu standing triumphantly on top of him.
…Did she just jump on me?!
"Olu! Olu!"
Riolu bent down and grabbed at his arms with both paws, trying to physically pull him upward.
"What are you doing, Riolu…?" Orin muttered groggily.
"Riolu! Riolu!"
She immediately pointed toward the left side of the room.
"Huh?"
Orin turned his head and only saw the floor-to-ceiling glass windows, which were slowly shifting from black to soft golden hues as dawn approached.
"What is it?" he asked, looking back at her.
"Riolu!"
She jumped off his stomach, dashed toward the balcony door, and pointed at it enthusiastically.
"…Ugh. You want to go outside?" Orin asked in confusion.
"Riolu! Riolu!"
She bounced in place while nodding rapidly.
"Yawn… what time is it even?" he muttered, grabbing his phone.
5:05 AM.
Orin couldn't help but sigh.
Between Brina's surprise appearance, the late-night call, and receiving Elgyem, it had been nearly one in the morning before he finally went to sleep.
Which meant…
he had slept for less than four hours.
And judging from how energetic Riolu looked right now, there was absolutely no chance she was going back to sleep.
More importantly—
she clearly wasn't going to let him sleep either.
"Riolu!"
She hurried over again and started tugging insistently at his arm.
"Alright, alright…" Orin yawned as he climbed out of bed.
"Just give me a few minutes to freshen up first."
After making Riolu promise—somewhat unsuccessfully—to stay still for a bit, he headed into the washroom.
When he came back out a few minutes later, he found Riolu with her face practically pressed against the balcony glass, staring outside at the slowly brightening dawn.
Orin couldn't help smiling at the sight.
"Okay, come on. Let's go for a morning jog," he said, clapping his hands lightly.
"Riolu!"
As if she understood every word perfectly, Riolu immediately rushed toward him, practically vibrating with excitement.
She grabbed onto his pants impatiently.
"Wait, wait," Orin laughed.
"Let me put my shoes on first… and I still have to wake up Elgyem."
He glanced toward the bed.
Elgyem was still sitting exactly where she had been earlier, her head resting lightly against the headboard. Her button-like pinkish-purple eyes remained open—yet unfocused, staring blankly downward.
Honestly, Orin wasn't even sure if Elgyem had actually been sleeping.
After "scanning" every object in the room last night, she had simply gone still on the bed. Since he had let Riolu stay outside her Poké Ball, he didn't want to force Elgyem back into hers without understanding what she preferred either, so he let her be.
Looking at her sleeping like this…
she looked more like an oversized doll.
Or maybe a robot that had quietly powered down.
"Elgyem," Orin called gently as he walked over and lightly nudged her rocky shoulder.
"Wake up. Let's go for a morning jog."
"ELGYEM!"
Her pink-purple eyes instantly snapped upward toward him.
At the same time, the glowing gems on her fingers began blinking rapidly.
The sudden reaction startled him badly enough that he almost stepped back.
But Elgyem simply stared at him blankly.
"…If you are awake, let's go for a morning jog," Orin repeated awkwardly.
"Olu! Olu!"
Riolu continued tugging impatiently at his pants from behind.
"Elgye."
Elgyem slowly rose onto her stubby legs before lifting herself off the bed entirely with psychic power.
Then she gave a small nod.
"Great. Let's get going then," Orin said with a smile—
only to suddenly freeze mid-step, gazing at the empty bed.
Right.
His hand immediately rose to the Psychic Gem around his neck.
"Hey, Brina… you awake?"
"Ugh… Nii-chan, let me sleep…"
Brina's groggy voice echoed directly inside his mind.
"You're still sleepy?" Orin asked in surprise.
Normally, Brina barely slept back home.
"Anyways, I'm heading out," he continued.
"Do you want me to leave the gem here in the room?"
"Nooo… I wanna stay with Nii-chan~~"
Her words sounded slurred, like she was only half-conscious.
Orin sighed.
"Alright. But don't just suddenly pop out whenever you feel like it," he warned while glancing down at the gem.
"At least give me some kind of warning first."
No reply came afterward.
He could only assume she had already fallen back asleep.
Orin let out another deep sigh.
Honestly, he had no idea what he was supposed to do about Brina.
Would secretly keeping a family member inside the dorms violate academy rules somehow?
Not having any immediate solution, he pushed the problem to the back of his mind for now and headed out of the room with Riolu and Elgyem following behind him.
The hallway outside was softly illuminated by the dorm's ambient lighting, though at this hour it remained completely empty.
"Alright… according to the Pokédex map, there's a fitness gym inside Lumina Dorms near the cafeteria," Orin said while scrolling through the holographic map.
"But…"
He zoomed out toward the center of campus.
"There's also the main Nexus Fitness Center beside Nexus Spire. Apparently, just like the Nexus Library, it stays open twenty-four seven."
His eyes lit up slightly.
"And if it's shared by all the Houses, then it must be huge."
By now, the three of them had already stepped out through the main entrance of Lumina Dorms.
"It's a little far," Orin admitted, looking toward the distant pathways winding deeper into campus,
"but honestly that makes it perfect for a morning jog."
A wide smile crossed his face.
"Back in Saffron City, jogging across parts of the city early in the morning was one of my favourite ways to stay in shape. I don't want to lose that habit just because I moved here."
He looked down at the two Pokémon beside him.
"So? Want to jog to the fitness center and check it out?"
"Riolu! Riolu!"
Riolu nodded enthusiastically while bouncing in place with endless energy.
Meanwhile, Elgyem simply hovered nearby, slowly turning her oversized head as she quietly observed the surroundings with curiosity.
Well… Elgyem technically didn't really walk at all.
But hovering all that distance probably counted as exercise too.
Before starting, Orin led both of them toward a side garden beneath a large tree where a curious Hoothoot sat perched on one of the branches, watching them silently.
"Alright, listen up," Orin said in a more serious, instructive tone.
"Before jogging or doing any kind of exercise, it's important to stretch your muscles first."
He rolled his shoulders lightly.
"It's basically a way of waking your body up properly so you don't strain anything unnecessarily."
Then he smiled and gestured toward himself.
"Now try copying what I do."
He began stretching his arms, shoulders, waist, and legs one by one while demonstrating each movement slowly.
Riolu copied him surprisingly well, following along with energetic determination.
Elgyem, however… struggled a little.
When Orin bent down to touch his toes, Elgyem attempted the same thing—only for her oversized head to tilt her entire body forward midair, nearly causing her to tumble face-first onto the grass.
"Elgyem!"
She quickly steadied herself with psychic power, her button like eyes staring blankly at him in confusion.
Orin couldn't help but laugh softly at the sight.
The whole stretching session was honestly pretty adorable.
Riolu looked completely fired up already, while Elgyem still seemed deeply confused about why any of this was necessary in the first place.
"Alright, that's enough stretching," Orin said after a few more minutes.
"Now we start jogging."
He looked at both of them seriously.
"And if either of you gets tired or can't keep up, let me know. We can take breaks in between."
"Riolu!"
Riolu nodded immediately, her red eyes practically burning with enthusiasm.
Meanwhile, Elgyem had already turned toward the nearby Hoothoot and was once again doing her strange "scanning" behavior, the glowing gems on her fingers blinking rhythmically.
After waiting for her to finish, Orin decided it was probably best to leave before she started trying to examine every single object in sight.
"Alright then…"
He pointed dramatically ahead.
"To the Nexus Fitness Center!"
Orin broke into a light jog.
"Riolu!"
Riolu immediately dashed ahead of him with a cheerful burst of energy.
"Elgyem."
Elgyem floated smoothly alongside him with almost no effort at all.
Seeing both of them keeping pace so easily, Orin gradually increased his speed slightly and pulled out his phone, playing some upbeat workout music through the speaker as they jogged through the waking campus.
The academy pathways were neatly divided into separate lanes—a main road for vehicles, a cycling path beside it, and another broader lane meant for walking and jogging.
The three of them ran along the walking path.
Even this early in the morning, Orin could already spot a few students in the distance, though there were far more Pokémon than people awake right now.
Gardens seemed to stretch across nearly every part of the campus.
Because of that, the air was filled with constant chirping and birdsong from the many Flying-type Pokémon perched among the trees and flowerbeds.
Orin took a deep breath of the cool morning air and felt the last traces of sleepiness slowly leave his body.
Back in Saffron City, morning jogs had always been his personal time.
A quiet escape from his house.
A chance to think without interruptions.
Right now, the only things he really needed to keep an eye on were Riolu—who kept sprinting slightly ahead before circling back playfully—and Elgyem, who floated calmly beside him while silently observing everything around her with endless curiosity.
With his body moving automatically, Orin's thoughts gradually drifted toward his plans for the day.
According to the emailed schedule, he only had one mandatory seminar today, focused on Pokémon care.
And just like yesterday's Pokédex seminar, the timings were flexible.
Normally, he would've preferred finishing it early in the morning so he could keep the rest of the day free…
but today he also had an appointment with his assigned mentor.
Which meant he would probably attend the seminar later instead.
Other than that, he still needed to finish calibrating Elgyem's weight and height properly.
Hopefully Lumina Dorm had equipment for that somewhere nearby.
Otherwise, he would need to make a trip all the way to the NAC building again.
And if he still had free time after everything…
maybe he could properly explore more of the academy.
Maybe hang out with some of the new friends he had made already.
Maybe even celebrate his birthday a little.
After all…
he had just turned fifteen today.
In this world, turning fifteen basically meant becoming an adult.
It was somewhat similar to turning eighteen back in his previous life.
After fifteen, most people were expected to start contributing financially to their household somehow—or at least begin working toward independence with a part-time job or side income.
You could vote in elections and even own your own Pokémon.
You could drink alcohol legally too.
Well… at least that was the case for the Kanto region.
That was also why Kyle was already able to run his own shop and live independently.
Though honestly, Orin still considered it a huge improvement over the Pokémon anime logic where ten-year-olds apparently wandered off alone to save the world.
"Riolu!!"
Riolu was having the time of her life.
She sprinted ahead along the jogging lane before suddenly veering into the cycling path and darting back again like an overexcited child.
Orin should have told her to stop running so recklessly…
but seeing how genuinely happy she looked, he found himself letting it slide for now.
"Don't go too far ahead!" he called out anyway.
"Riolu!"
Riolu glanced back at him with a grin-like smile before immediately speeding up even more.
Orin sighed.
Then Riolu suddenly rounded a corner ahead—
"AHH—!"
SCREEECH!
The sharp sound of bicycle brakes echoed through the pathway.
"Riolu!"
Orin's heart nearly jumped into his throat as he instantly broke into a sprint toward the corner.
As soon as he turned—
he froze slightly.
A girl sat on a bicycle near the edge of the cycling lane, having barely managed to stop in time before crashing into Riolu.
And Orin recognized her immediately.
…So she really was here.