Chapter 3

Standing next to a small twin-sized bed with his Riolu egg in his arms, Spike observed his new bedroom with concern. There was basically only a bed, a closet filled with clothes, a dresser similarly filled with clothes, and a desk covered with what looked like unfinished school work. Inside a small toy chest at the end of the bed, he found a handful of Pokémon toys, most of which were heavily damaged. To make matters worse, his parents weren't home despite the fact that the sun had already set, and, if his new memories were anything to go by, that was a normal occurrence.

Shaking away his concerns, he opted to focus on the most important thing for now, his Pokémon egg. In order to keep the egg safe, he set it on the bed and carefully wrapped it in a blanket. He then looked at it and fell into thought for a moment. Although the Riolu line was never his favorite while playing Pokémon games or watching the show, he knew that if he was going to become a problem solver in this world, there were few Pokémon who could outdo a Lucario.

Gently caressing the warm surface of the egg, Spike smiled and said, "Alright buddy, let's do our best in this world, yeah?"

The egg shook briefly under his hand, which made Spike's smile widen. Then, he chuckled and sat down on the floor with his back to the bed. He closed his eyes and thought about the last few hours of craziness. Everything that had happened was hard to believe, but it felt completely real, and he was fully lucid. For a while, he remained in silent contemplation while processing the situation. He didn't know how long he stayed like that, but he eventually stirred upon hearing the front door open downstairs.

Out of curiosity, he stepped out into the hallway and walked downstairs. Halfway down, he saw a woman with long purple hair tied in a ponytail. She was wearing a white polo, navy blue skirt, and a blue apron that covered her front area and tightly hugged her generously endowed breasts. Poke-mart was sprawled in stylized lettering on the chest area of the apron. After removing her shoes, the woman walked into the hallway and noticed Spike standing on the stairs. Immediately after noticing him, her brows wrinkled, and her black eyes narrowed while staring at him with laser focus.

"What's with your clothes, Dilon? Did something happen again?"

Spike's brows furrowed. Taken off guard by the vaguely familiar name, it took him a moment that Dilon was the name of the kid he stole a body from. Then, he looked down and realized what the woman was talking about. There were numerous frays, tears, and holes in his shirt and shorts that he had totally forgotten about because of everything that had happened. With a sigh, he shook his head and avoided the question by saying, "I got lost in the woods for a bit, but I'm fine."

The woman rushed up the stairs in record time, knelt in front of him, and checked him over multiple times. Noticing the distinct lack of even a scratch on Spike's skin, the woman frowned, looked directly into his eyes, and said, "Tell mom what happened."

'Wow. She'd be a total bombshell if not for her dry skin and the bags under her eyes.'

Setting aside his ill-timed observation, Spike answered, "...I fell in the woods, and an Alakazam helped me. He healed my scratches, too."

'Thanks for the excuse, buddy. I'll repay the favor someday.'

The woman's eyes widened, but then she quickly calmed down. A breath of relief escaped her lips. Then, her eyes narrowed again in a way that likely would have terrified the previous owner of Spike's body, but he could only think of the woman's stern expression as cute since she looked a few years younger than his past self.

"You didn't hit or throw rocks at any Pokémon out there, did you?"

Briefly looking away while recalling the Alakazam's reason for chasing the previous owner of his body, Spike scratched his head and decided to answer, "I only played with an Abra. I think it was the kid of the Alakazam or something."

Frowning, the woman questioned, "You played with it? How many times have we told you not to go near wild Pokémon until you get older."

Spike frowned. He then mulled over some of the kid's memories and sighed. After thinking for a moment, he replied, "I won't be mean to them again, so it's okay to play with them, right?"

"No. Do your school work for a few years first so you can learn how to treat Pokémon well. Then, someday, you might be able to become a trainer like your dad. Understand?"

Unlike the kid he had replaced, Spike didn't want to become a league trainer, but telling his new mother his thoughts probably wouldn't change anything. Because of that, he simply said, "...Fine."

The woman stared at him for a few moments, but then sighed tiredly and stood. She continued up the stairs and said, "As long as you understand. Now, it's time to get ready for bed. Go change into your pajamas and brush your teeth."

"Okay, mom," Spike replied half-heartedly while mentally noting that he might need to hide his Riolu egg from his parents for now. However, he quickly set aside the thought since there was a plump rear end swaying right in front of his eyes. It mesmerized him like some sort of supernatural pendulum. He observed it with a serious expression like the most dedicated of researchers until it disappeared beyond the door of the master bedroom at the end of the upstairs hallway.

Finally free from spectacle, Spike nodded to himself and mumbled, "Indeed, 'tis the greatest duty of man to research the wonders of the world."

Then, he shook away the thought and walked to the bathroom across the hall from his bedroom in order to get ready for bed. Before anything else, he stared at his unfamiliar reflection in the mirror. Likely because he lived on Earth before, his new green hair that faded into a purple tint on the ends threw him for a loop. His dark green eyes seemed more normal in comparison. Other than that, he looked like a normal kid with slightly tanned skin. After adjusting to his new appearance for a bit, he washed his face and brushed his teeth with the toothbrush he vaguely recalled using in the kid's old memories.

Later, while finishing up in the bathroom, he heard the front door open again and walked out so that he could get a good look at the poor bast-, man, who had sired his new body.

Once again, Spike walked halfway down the stairs. He met eyes with a relatively tall man in his late twenties who had green shoulder-length hair and similarly green eyes. Much like his wife, the man had dark circles under his eyes. While walking up the stairs, the man ruffled his hair and grumbled, "It's getting late Dilon. You should go to bed."

"Hey, dad?"

"What?"

"Can you call me Spike from now on?"

Brows furrowed as though he had been hit by a strong Confusion move, the man stared blankly at Spike for a few moments before asking, "Why in the world do you want to be called Spike?"

"Uh… Because I'm going to have a bunch of Pokémon with spikes one day?"

Groaning, the man face-palmed and tiredly answered, "Just use the name we gave you."

"My name is boring. I want to be called Spike."

"Ugh. Fine. I'll ask your mom and let her decide."

"Cool. Thanks," Spike replied while his dad ambled the rest of the way up the stairs. Then, thinking it might be fun to mess with the guy, a sly grin appeared on his face, and he asked, "Hey, dad?"

"What?" The man groaned barely stopping to look at him.

"Why is mom's butt so big?"

"What the fu-"