"Luciana..."

Go away, mom... I'm so tired.

"Mija, wake up... The... will be here... Luciana ...?"

My body is sore... Like I got hit by a truck-

I shot up from my bed. My bed? I looked all around, but didn't recognize my surroundings… at all.

“Where the fu-” but before I could finish my shouting, a stranger threw the door open.

A tall woman holding a laundry basket stepped through the threshold, gawking at me as if I committed some terrible sin.

“Luciana! We do not speak like that in this household!” Her tone, despite it's harshness, was motherly.

I blinked.

“You just turned eighteen, you can't just start spouting swears."

“Wait, wait… eighteen?” I interrupted her, flinging myself off the bed and rushing over to a mirror I spotted on a vanity.

“Mija… are you okay?” This woman, clearly the mother of this body, asked me as I stared into the mirror. “I know you are an adult, but you'll always be my baby.”

Starring back at me… was my own face. Light brown skin, freckles for days… Just boring old me.

But younger.

I glanced back to my mother, who was drop dead gorgeous. Her beautiful face bore a most confused expression.

"My name is Luciana...?" Again?

Isn't this an otome isekai story? Why am I still in the same body and going by the same name? I've read a few in my day, and I thought in practically all of them the protagonist was suddenly, like, super hot. I hoped for my hair to be purple, but clearly that wasn't going to happen.

Maybe Arceus, the one true god, somehow messed this up. But on the other hand, this means I'm not so ridiculously good-looking that every rando I meet will fall head over heels in love with me. And I wouldn't have to learn to answer to a new name or anything. That part of this whole gig had actually made me feel a bit nervous, because I was pretty sure I'd be incapable of answering to a new name.

You see, I'm a bit of a freaking idiot.

"Are you... on drugs?" My 'mother' questioned as she stepped up towards me, eyebrow raised.

I sighed. My mother in this life would be just like my last one. Great.

"No, I... just had a vivid... dream."

My mother started talking again, but I couldn't hear or understand a word she said. Something else walked into the room and captured my complete attention.

Skwovet.

"IS THAT A SKWOVET???"

I rushed over to the little guy who looked majorly alarmed to see acting like a nut job. I dropped to my hands and knees and really examined the poor critter.

It had chubby cheeks, a bushy tail—everything!

"You are on drugs, dios mio, if your father saw how you're behaving—"

"This is real!" I ignored my mother and picked up the skwovet.

It felt so soft and fluffy. Despite the fact that I felt more neutral about skwovet in my previous life, seeing one in real life for the very first time made it all sink in.

The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

"This is really happening..." My voice cracked as I spoke.

My mother sighed as I heard her leave the room. She said, "Stop squeezing him so much, you know I didn't train him. And stop messing around, that guy from the school will be coming soon."

"School?" I questioned as I stopped rubbing my face against the poor skwovet. Despite how annoying I was being, the little guy still smiled at me as he chirped. "What school?"

"The Pokemon academy. Get dressed!"

⊹˚₊‧───────────────‧₊˚⊹

It took me an embarrassingly long time to separate from skwovet, but I managed. Skwovet might end up being one of my favorite Pokemon after this. Maybe even in the top 20!

Checking myself out in the mirror, I couldn't help but feel like a dork. Why did I have to wear a school uniform? It consisted of a white button-up, a green plaid tie, and a matching set of shorts. Plus a big, red hat.

I looked like a walking Christmas advertisement.

Downstairs, my mother stood in the kitchen cooking breakfast and a savory aroma wafted through the air, stimulating my tastebuds. I flew over and graciously took the plate she handed me.

Chorizos, fried eggs, tortillas, and cheese...

I wiped the drool from my mouth after I sat down and started to dig in. My heart and stomach expanded with delight with each joyful bite. I clasped my hand onto my cheek, chewing.

Did eating ever taste so good in my last life? Is this a perk of having been reincarnated into a fictional reality?

DING!

★ Exp. Point Power: Fire Lv. 1

★ Encounter Power: Normal Lv. 1

★ Item Drop Power: Grass Lv. 1

From the corner of my eye, I saw words popping up and turned my head.

Exp. Point Power...? Wha?

It sounded familiar...

Oh, that's right!

Back in Pokemon X & Y, you could use a random mechanic they called O-Powers that basically increased the amount of points you got from battle or decreased the number of steps needed to hatch eggs.

So the new game had this feature too, and it took the form of eating food.

What did Arceus say the name of this game was...? Violet and Scarlet? Hmm, you'd think my uniform would be, well, violet or scarlet. How silly...

I finished up the dishes for my mom while she relaxed on the sofa, petting skwovet absentmindedly. I recognized her expression as one my previous mother wore twice in her life.

The smile she wore when I went off to college, and the one she wore when she kicked me out.

Pure bliss.

Before the sinking feeling in my gut could change the genre of the story, we heard a voice calling from the door accompanied by a light knock.

"Hello?" A man's voice called out, soft, but like the voice you'd expect from a distinguished professor. A voice rich with knowledge with a tinge of authority.

The front door opened as I approached it, and an older man wearing a green suit, not unsimilar to the green of my shorts and tie, stepped through excusing himself. He had chin length white hair, and was on the thin side. Despite being like a kid again, I was pretty sure I could snap him like a twig, if I wanted.

"Pardon the intrusion, I'm running late."

"No te preocupa! Director Clavell, right?" My mother smiled politely as she sat up and waved this Director Clavell into the living room. "Wow, the director himself came to pick you up, mija. Isn't that cool?"

The old man adjusted his glasses, shoving them up from the bridge of his nose as he said, "Well, I don't know about cool..."

"Could I offer you some tea?" She moved to stand up, but Clavell shook his head.

"No, we truly need to get going. I have an appointment back at Manzana University, so..."

"Manzana University?" I blinked.

Apple University? Was the new Pokemon game sponsored by that big tech company?

"Yes, one of the greatest Pokemon academies in the world in fact. I find no reason to be humble about it." Clavell grinned sheepishly. "Now, let's head on outside, Miss Luciana."

He walked outside before me. I turned to face my mother of this world. It was odd, because, even though I would probably never see her again given how Pokemon games go, I didn't enjoy that idea either. I was inhabiting her child's body. A child who looked very eerily similar to me when I was 18.

I opened my mouth to say something, but she threw her arms around me. "Sweet girl, make sure you visit mama often! I know you are grown up, but... you will always be my baby."

Haah...

"Thanks, mama," I hugged her back, playing my role. For her sake, I should stop by again. "I will do that."

"Now go," she pulled away from me with a wink as she handed me a phone. "And try not to fend off all the boys, I'd like to be a grandmother some day!"

Never mind. I'm never coming back here.