…An unfamiliar ceiling.
When Luke opened his eyes again, he found himself lying on an incredibly soft bed. For someone who had grown used to the rock-hard mattress in his rented apartment, the moment his eyes opened, drowsiness crept right back in.
"Hmm? You're awake?"
Unfortunately, before Luke could drift off again, a pair of sharp, piercing eyes appeared right in front of his face. They were attached to the end of an enormous spiral shell.
"Wah?!"
Startled out of his skin, Luke tilted sideways and rolled straight off the bed. The cold, hard tiles and the warm embrace of Mother Earth brought him fully back to consciousness.
"Oh dear, did I scare you? Sorry about that. My head is actually over here."
Sensing the commotion behind it, the Pokémon with the long spiral shell turned its head and gave Luke a smile that was somehow both kindly and foolish. Only then did Luke recognize who had frightened him.
Slowking.
A Pokémon whose intellect and psychic power had been awakened after a Shellder bit its head instead of a Slowpoke's tail. The terrifying eyes that had nearly given Luke a heart attack belonged to the mutated Shellder perched atop its head.
Seeing Luke fall silent, the Slowking, speaking in a voice like a gentle elderly grandmother, bent down slightly and waved a claw in front of his face.
"Little one? Are you feeling alright?"
"…I think so."
Staring at the Pokémon speaking flawless human language with genuine concern, memories from before he lost consciousness came flooding back. Luke hesitated for a few seconds before finally squeezing out those two words.
That answer was a mistake.
The moment Luke spoke, the concern on Slowking's face vanished, replaced by eyes that lit up with frightening intensity. Even more unsettling, despite the distance of over a meter between them, Luke could clearly hear the Pokémon's heavy breathing.
"Incredible. Absolutely incredible! You truly possess intelligence, and you can understand our language?!"
Slowking took a step forward, its earlier calm wisdom nowhere to be found.
"What else can you say? What do you know? How do you perceive this world? Do you consider other humans to be the same as you? What do you think Pokémon are?"
The questions came like a machine gun barrage. Slowking did not even pause for answers, continuing to advance as it spoke.
"Wait, you…"
Luke tried to stop it, but just like the Sneasel that had toyed with him earlier, this Pokémon completely ignored his attempt at communication.
Unable to stand in time, Luke rolled backward several times in panic. Facing what looked like a Slowking that had lost all rationality, he instinctively raised his right hand.
Bang!!
Just as his index finger was about to press down on the now pure-white wristband, a loud crash from behind Slowking drew both their attention.
"Professor Slowking! What are you doing?!"
The tightly shut door bent inward and went flying, accompanied by a flash of light. A girl's voice rushed in from afar, and in the gaping hole where the door used to be, only a Primarina remained. It was reaching out as if to grab something, but the space beside it was already empty.
"We agreed on this! Professor Slowking is only supposed to help humans recover!"
Luke had to admit, the moment he saw the green figure step in front of him, his racing heart finally eased a little.
Ahem. It was not that Luke was shameless, but if he absolutely had to be hugged by a Pokémon, most people would choose Gardevoir over Jynx, right?
Of course, exceptions exist.
Also, hopefully Gardevoir's chest spike was not too hard. Softer would be better…
While Luke's thoughts started drifting into dangerous territory, the standoff between Slowking and Kirlia continued. Or rather, it was less a standoff and more Kirlia applying pressure unilaterally.
Kirlia simply stared at Slowking, using what was clearly Leer. Somehow, Slowking's Defense did not drop. Instead, the Primarina standing at the doorway grew more and more anxious, as if it were the one whose defenses had been lowered six stages.
Time passed.
Finally, after more than ten seconds of eye contact, the confrontation ended with Slowking letting out a sigh.
"…Hah. My apologies. I got a little carried away."
Like a switch being flipped, the mad scientist vanished, and Slowking returned to its earlier kindly demeanor. It turned around, picked up the papers Luke had noticed on the desk earlier, and smiled warmly once more.
"Then I will take my leave. Little Kirlia, I'll leave the rest to you."
Just before leaving, Slowking seemed to wink at Kirlia.
…Was that just his imagination?
Watching Slowking exit the room, along with the completely flustered Primarina, Luke was left alone with Kirlia in the spacious room.
Silence descended.
Luke sat against the wall, idly swiping at the white wristband on his arm. His gaze occasionally drifted toward the Kirlia in front of him.
Kirlia stood there with her head lowered, small white hands hanging in front of her. Her fingers fidgeted against each other like sworn enemies.
Perhaps from shyness, the Pokémon did not dare look at Luke. Naturally, she did not notice his repeated glances.
Time passed quietly.
Seeing that Kirlia still had not spoken, Luke, having fully admired what was technically beauty but practically pure cuteness, finally calmed down and began seriously examining the wristband on his arm.
When he pressed his finger against the screen, the display he expected did not light up. Instead, a translucent, futuristic ring appeared around it. The ring was almost empty, except for a single red flame icon. No matter how Luke swiped, the ring always snapped back to that flame.
Even without testing it, Luke could guess what the icon represented. Still, staring at the wristband, a strange sense of déjà vu surfaced.
So the real question was this.
Was this thing a knockoff Omnitrix, or some kind of henshin device?
"Um!"
Just as Luke was pondering that very important issue, a voice far louder than expected rang out beside him. Turning his head, he saw that Kirlia had somehow shuffled right up next to him.
Noticing that Luke was now looking at her, Kirlia's previously brave posture faltered. The small hand she had raised to psych herself up began trembling uncontrollably. She opened her mouth, but no sound came out.
Luke met her dark red eyes for several seconds. Just as he was about to speak, the floodgates finally opened.
"I learned healing moves specifically for this! No matter what injuries you have, I can heal them!"
"I can cook too! Any flavor you like! I can definitely make something you'll enjoy!"
"I'll protect you! And I'll keep getting stronger!"
Without daring to look at Luke's expression, Kirlia bent forward deeply, speaking entirely on momentum as she delivered the most important line.
"So please! Become my human!!"
"..."
Staring blankly at the Kirlia bowing before him, unless Luke's comprehension had completely failed him, this Pokémon seemed to, maybe, possibly, quite likely…
Just want his body.