Things didn't really pan out quite the way I had hoped.

Sure, I never had the highest of expectations for my life, but I had always expected it would amount to more than.. this.

Today was my nineteenth birthday, and here I was spending it rotting away in a hospital bed, no family or friends in sight.

I had been sick most of my life, and while I understood that the never-ending cycle of doctors and hospital visits was exhausting, I couldn't help but be bitter that I hadn't even received a call. Once I had turned eighteen, and legally became an adult, I suspected my family just wanted to be done with it all- not that I could blame them. My parents, after all, had given up quite a bit just to keep me alive. It couldn't have been easy.

I sighed. "Things could be worse." I thought to myself. At least my nurse had brought me a cupcake.

I shifted uncomfortably, attempting to readjust myself, which always proved challenging while attached to an IV drip, among other assorted chords. I slumped back with a huff, looking down at the red Nintendo 3DS clutched in my hands. "At least I have you guys." I chuckled quietly, suddenly finding myself choking back bitter tears. I allowed myself to cry for a bit and lament my own loneliness, but I eventually took a deep breath and wiped my tears away.

Once I managed to calm down, I began flipping through my Pokémon team members- all of which had been meticulously bred and trained to have ideal stats and move sets- But battles were far from my favorite part of this particular game.This game had a feature called PokéAmie, which was very reminiscent of Nintendogs. You could feed, pet, and play with your Pokémon-- which I absolutely adored.

Nothing beat feeding the Lord of Darkness Giratina little cupcakes, after all.

"There you go," I hummed, feeding one of my treasured companions a pokepuff. The Pokémon on the screen wiggled and cried happily. I couldn't help but crack a smile. I continued playing for a few hours, before closing my 3DS and placing it back on its charger.

"Goodnight," I sighed to the empty room, which had now grown dim. I lowered myself carefully amidst the chords, and drifted off to sleep.

---------

Upon regaining my awareness, I realized I was no longer in my bed, but standing- floating? in what appeared to be a bright white, featureless space.

"Where.. where am I?" I wondered aloud to myself. I looked down at my hands, but instead found an aura of glowing color in their place. "What the hell is- Okay. Don't panic. This is just a dream." I assured myself.

"I am sorry." A voice boomed, reverberating through my mind. "I am afraid that this is not a dream."

"Then- what- who," I stammered. "Huh?"

"Listen." The voice replied solemnly.

After a few moments of silence, I heard noises off in the distance. The sound of frantic voices, and a shrill mechanical beeeeeeeeeeeeeep.

And then nothing.

"That was.."

"Yes, child. Unfortunately, your life has come to an end." The voice replied solemnly.

"Ah.. haha. I see." I chuckled. "That.. really sucks."

For a while, everything was quiet.

I thought back on my life, recalling good and bad memories alike. Beach trips. My favorite scented candle. My family dog. My childhood bully. Hospital rooms. Ice cream. Pokemon.

Resigning myself, I asked the voice, "Okay. Now what?"

"You seem to have processed this information rather quickly." The voice responded, betraying a hint of surprise.

"Don't get me wrong, I don't want to be dead, but I had known for some time that this day was coming." I shrugged my non-existent shoulders.

"I see. How unfortunate."

"It is what it is."

After a long pause, the voice responded again. "Tell me, child. What is it that you desire most?"

"I.. I'm not sure, really. All I ever really wanted was to live a normal life. To be happy, I guess." I pondered. "If I could have anything, well.. I..," I paused.

"I just don't want to be alone anymore."

Before me, four spindly legs stepped out of what appeared to be a glowing, golden fog. I was sure I recognized this form from somewhere, but I couldn't quite make out any distinguishing features apart from its legs-- and what appeared to be glowing green eyes that stared back at me through the haze.

"If given the opportunity, would you wish to continue living?" The form asked.

"Uh.. Do you mean like, reincarnation?" I responded.

"Precisely."

I pondered the question for a few moments. My life had been short, but not particularly easy. It could have been worse, sure. I had seen plenty of other patients whose conditions were far more painful than my own, which made me hesitant to roll the dice on another life. What if I reincarnated just to suffer all over again?

I swallowed at the thought. If the figure before me was to be believed, this could be my chance to do and experience all of the things I had missed out on in my short existence. Did I really fear pain more than I wanted to live?

"I suppose.. I could try again." I replied.

"I see. A bold decision, young one. Are you certain?" The form asked.

"Yes.. I would like to try again." I finished.

The being before me stretched a spindly legs towards me, touching where my forehead would have been. All at once, I was enveloped by a warm, golden light.

As the being spoke, I felt a wave of calm wash over me. I let my form relax into the fog.

"Very well. Rest now, child. You will awaken very soon." The being's voice echoed in my mind.

Finally giving into fatigue, I allowed my awareness to slip away from me, until there was nothing left but silence.

---------

"Peppa dear, are you awake?" Mother's voice called down the hall.

I rubbed the sleep from my bleary eyes and stifled a yawn, before snuggling back into the soft covers.

"Five more minutes," I grumbled.

"Young lady, you simply cannot be late!" Mother chided. "You wouldn't want to miss your flight, would you?"

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I willed my eyes to remain shut, hoping to steal just a few more seconds of delicious sleep. "I'm just.. so comfy." I muttered.

"Your Grandfather will be here to pick you up soon-- Do I need to get Mawhile?"

My body stiffened, and I immediately darted up.

"That's what I thought." Mother chuckled, now standing in the doorway to my room. Her tiny menace of a pokémon hugged one of her legs, giving me a smug look.

The last thing I wanted was to be dragged my by ankles through the house by Mawhile's teeth again. I shuddered.

For a pokémon so small, her giant maw was extremely strong. Capable of throwing a person, I regrettably had discovered on numerous occasions.

"Yeah, yeah." I huffed, lifting myself out of the bed and onto my feet. I pulled a loose sweater onto my body and shuffled past mother and her Mawhile, giving the pokémon a soft pat on the head.

"Mah-maw," the pokémon purred triumphantly.

Mawhile wasn't a bad pokémon; in fact, I quite liked her. She was just eager to please mother, not unlike the rest of the family. I could understand her enthusiasm, even if it often did result in me being rag dolled out of bed by my ankles.

"You're sure you've packed everything, right? Toothbrush, shampoo, underwear?" Mother asked, following me down the hallway.

"Yes, Mother. I'm sure." I yawned.

-------

As I brushed my teeth, I studied my reflection in the mirror. In this life I had been born quite the physical opposite to my previous one. I was certain that I had once been short and stocky, but in this life, I now possessed a long, gangly body- standing at about five feet and nine inches tall. Very tall for a girl, let alone a seventeen year old.

I couldn't help but smirk. I had always wanted to be tall, so I felt that Arceus really did come through for me there. I stretched my noodly arms into a pose in the mirror.

"Perfection." I muttered, before setting to the task of wrangling my messy red hair into a halfway presentable bun.

"And she's so humble, too." A voice scoffed from behind me, causing me to jerk. Behind me in the mirror stood my younger brother, Florian.

I felt my face flush.

"Admiring yourself again, I see." Florian huffed, rolling his eyes.

Florian was thirteen, turning fourteen this year. He stood at about chest height for me- he hadn't quite hit his growth spurt yet.

I reached down and ruffled his red hair with one hand. "Hey, it's important to love yourself, kiddo." I shrugged.

"Hey- cut it out!" He laughed, trying his best to sound annoyed.

I looked down at him and smiled.

"You're leaving today, right?" He asked, looking a bit forlorn.

"Yeah, sorry Flor. You'll be able to join the academy next year, though." I replied. Florian gave a bit of a half-smile in response, but I could tell that he was just trying to be mature about it.

Though this was definitely the Pokémon world, many things were distinctly different than I had remembered from the anime and games. Instead of setting off at ten years old, children were required to attend a 'regular' school until they were fourteen. After completing primary schooling, they then became eligible to enroll in a Trainer Academy, where they could study to obtain an official trainer license. As such, Florian wouldn't be able to join the Trainer Academy until next year, and by then I would be on my own journey. I couldn't help but feel a bit guilty for having to leave him behind.

"Well, can you hurry up? Some other people would like to use the bathroom." Florian said, crossing his arms.

"Yeah, yeah.. I'm almost done." I responded, returning to the task of making myself presentable.

When I finished, I turned to Florian and lowered myself to give him a big hug. "I'll miss you, Flor." I said, ruffling his curly red hair.

His disgruntled expression softened, betraying a sad smile. "I'll miss you too, sis."

Florian really was a good kid.

--------

I hurried down the stairs, luggage in tow, and made my way into the front parlor. Father sat on the sofa reading the morning paper and sipping his coffee. At his feet, his Ninetales was curled up and sleeping. I said nothing, silently hoping he hadn't noticed me, and took a few steps towards the door.

"Peppa." Father's voice rumbled, causing me to stiffen.

"Yes, Father?" I asked.

"Do not make a fool of yourself, young lady." He growled. "I had better not receive any calls from the Academy this year."

Before I could say anything in response, Mother chimed in.

"Oh, relax dear. It will be fine." Mother smiled, despite giving me a pointed stare. "I'm sure Peppa knows just how important this is."

I grimaced. Being a member of the Carmine family meant that many eyes would be on me during my final year, before I officially made my debut as a trainer. If I looked bad, the whole family would look bad, which was not something my parents would abide.

The Carmine Family was well renowned throughout Hoenn for their expertise in pokémon breeding. They had made their fortune by selectively breeding highly sought-after pokémon, such as Eevee, Gardevoir, Skitty, Vulpix; the list goes on. Pokémon bred by the Carmine family were known to possess a unique and unrivaled beauty- a highly coveted feature among Pokemon Coordinators. Their Pokémon were the very picture of elegance and composure-- Not unlike the family themselves.

"I.. I'll do my best." I responded, giving a fake smile.

"See that you do." Father grumbled, before returning to reading his paper.

Ninetales stretched and sauntered over to me, before pushing her head into my side. I hugged the large fox-dog, giving her a scratch behind the ears. "Niiiine." She whined.

"I'll see you soon girl," I assured her, giving her a final pat on the head.

I finished saying my good-byes and headed for the door, smiling to myself. I wasn't about to let the grumpy old man put a damper on my spirits.

This was the year I finally got my own pokemon, after all.