"Ash, good morning, happy birthday, honey," says Delia as she enters my room, giving me a hug.
"Thank you, Mom," I reply. Now that Delia is here, I decide to close the system. Not that she can see it anyway, but still—no point in keeping it open after I've done everything I needed to do.
"Ash, your dad will also be returning home for your birthday."
"Really, Mom? I can't wait," I say with fake enthusiasm.
Inside, though, I'm like, 'Woman, I don't fucking care. Sure, that dude is reliable, but he's too young for me to call Dad.'
It's not like the language I use here is the same anyway.
The language used in this world is strange—or should I say, completely different from human world languages. In my last life, I knew five languages, could understand ten more, and even knew bits of others. None of them match anything spoken in this world.
So when I say "Mom" here, while it might translate as "Mom" in English, in this world it's pronounced as something strange—like "Jamata." Because of that, I don't feel any hesitation calling her Mom.
I mean, sure, I had my mom in my last life too, but that doesn't mean Delia is any less to me. She gave birth to me, fed me her milk for years, and cared for me as her own child.
So while that mom was left behind in another world, I have another here. The love of both is the same, and if I can't respect Delia for that—if I can't call her Mom—then I'd be a failure as a human being.
Sure, it feels strange as fuck calling her Mom since she's only twenty-six years old, but come on—that's the least I can do after all she's done for me.
And even though I don't really care about Alex and can't see him as a father figure because of his absence, I still respect him for who he is. Even though he's never home, he always sends more than enough money and every resource we could need. He even calls Delia every day to ask about both of us.
So, even if it feels strange, I respect Delia and Alex as much as I respected my parents from my last life.
Anyway, after getting ready, I sit down for breakfast with Delia. The birthday party will be in the evening, once Alex gets home.
At the party, our closest friends and neighbors will come—Professor Oak, Gary Oak and his older sister, Daisy Oak.
Now, make no mistake—I don't like cutting cakes or doing any of that birthday crap. But I have to act like a kid and do everything a kid does. Sometimes it feels fucking embarrassing and childish, but… I can't break the character.
Honestly, I think it's a good thing I was reborn as a baby rather than being thrown into Ash's body when he was ten. Our temperaments are worlds apart—if I had suddenly replaced him, everyone would've noticed right away.
But now, I am Ash—from the start till now. No sudden change, no suspicion. I'll just act like a kid and, over time, slowly revert to my natural self. Everyone will think it's just maturity, not a personality swap.
By afternoon, Alex arrives, and by evening, the party starts. The people I expect show up, we do the cake-cutting thing, and after everyone leaves, we finally rest.
.
~Time Skip~
.
Today is the day.
Finally—today, my Noibat will hatch from its egg.
It's been forty days since I first got the egg, and I've been preparing for this moment.
Since then, I've been going on morning jogs regularly, so no one suspects anything. I can't have people finding out I'm hatching a powerful Pokémon and will soon hatch a pseudo-legendary one as well. If the egg hatched at home or somewhere public, it would draw unwanted attention.
That's why I use the forest near Pallet Town. Today, I even stored some berries there for Noibat in case it's hungry right after hatching—because, from what I remember in the anime, its Supersonic is no joke.
Once I reach my usual spot, I pull out the egg from my system inventory.
The Noibat egg is dark purple with pale purple rings resembling sound waves, a pale shell, and a deep purple center.
I place it on the ground, and soon enough, the egg starts glowing with a bright light—just like when a Pokemon evolves.
When the light fades, a small Noibat emerges, looking up at me with big, innocent eyes.
Noibat's body is a light purple shade with dark purple patches and black accents. Its large yellow eyes have black pupils, and its black lower jaw carries two dark purple teardrop-shaped spots forming a nose-leaf.
But its most striking feature is its large, teardrop-shaped ears—dark purple on the outside with alternating pale and dark purple rings on the inside.
Its body has fluffy black fur covering its chest and hips. Its wings are huge compared to its small one-foot-tall body, and its little black hands have two clawed fingers on the middle joint of each wing. Its feet have two long toes each.
In conclusion, only one word fits Noibat—cute.
This little guy is hella cute.
"Noi??" chirps Noibat softly for the first time.
"Hello, Noibat! I'm Ash. Let's be friends," I say.
Noibat's eyes sparkle. I think it's about to nod—but instead, it starts crying, the kind of cry that makes you instantly cover your ears.
So, I quickly pick it up, holding it gently and bouncing it up and down like a baby.
"Shh~ It's okay, Noibat," I say softly.
And it worked. Noibat stoped crying.
With a sigh, I carry it to the berries I collected earlier and set it down in front of them. Noibat lets out a small Supersonic to check the berries and starts eating happily.
After a while, I ask, "Noibat, do you want to become my first Pokémon?" taking out one of my Luxury Pokeballs.
At that, Noibat tilts its head to the side in pure confusion.