The four days I spent with Naomi and alakazam were able to be described in a single word… hell.

Though I have no idea what the religion is like in this world other than Arceus being the creator, aided by the mythical and legendary pokemon he’d made. So I don’t know what their version of an afterlife is. Though I kind of tend to think regardless of what they believe, it all ends up with reincarnation eventually, though there might be a furlough in some heaven or hell type realms temporarily.

Enough going on tangents to escape from reality…

Other than eating and a few hours of sleep at night, all of my time was spent mentally connected to alakazam learning. When we were so completely linked we communicated at speeds physical bodies couldn’t match.

Our first session had lasted perhaps seven hours, but it felt like a week. That would have been great… if I didn’t feel like I was dying. My head hurt so much I could barely choke down some food before trying to crawl into bed and get some sleep.

Of course there was no way my temporary guardians would allow that. Even if everything was taking place mentally, that didn’t mean my body didn’t have any reaction. Effort was expended, so sweat followed. Also brushing my teeth. Yeah, if I was thinking straight I wouldn’t have gone to bed like that.

I was tempted to use Purify to take care of things, but that’s technically classified as a poison-type move, even though it is cleansing and healing rather than harming. Also I’d found that even using TK was taxing with my mind so tired.

I could really understand why alakazam had said that mental flexibility was important for this method of learning.

The following days followed the same basic pattern:

Wake up, eat breakfast, spend 4-5 hours learning, eat lunch, get forced outdoors to do something physical for at least a couple hours, spend a few more hours having my head assaulted with the Sledgehammer of Information interrupted only for dinner, then get ready and go to bed.

Each day after the first at least ten hours were spent learning, equaling roughly the same number of days.

It hurt so much I was tempted time and again to beg for it to stop, but I didn’t know if I’d be able to get this kind of help again in the future, and I didn’t relish spending my time on something I could get with a little bit of MAXIMUM EFFORT!

I’d rarely shirked from putting in the hard work to get things done, and it was this habit that kept me going.

Though it was almost stopped because of Naomi. It seemed she didn’t like me to basically torture myself by continuing this method of learning. It was only when I agreed to take this after lunch breaks that she reluctantly allowed it. She’d had to recall alakazam into her pokéball to stop us from going right back to it after lunch.

Though I do have to say I probably did better after the break than I would have just learning constantly.

On the fifth day after I was sprung from the hospital, we parted. The CPS agent had arrived to take charge of me. No clue why it took so long, even if this was a small town. If there was abuse happening and it took that long to respond, I’d feel sorry for the poor abused child.

Though I had been abused the past few days, at least it was something I’d willingly done to myself. I swear I’m not a masochist! I was going to keep just how bad I felt secret since I didn’t want Naomi to get arrested or anything. She might not be the nicest person, but she’d been good to me, acting like a big sister these last days. Including being strict and berating me when I did something wrong.

I have to admit, I may have intentionally misbehaved just to have some fun. After all, I knew nooothing about human society. Hehehe.

We met the social worker for lunch. She’d gotten in that morning, and looked rather harried, like she’d been rushing all over the place and hadn’t slept well in a while. Having bags under your eyes was really telling.

We ate lunch at a fast food place, and I wound up with the local equivalent of a happy meal. I also learned a few new words. Hamburger, soda, and toy.

While I focused on eating, Naomi gave a report on me to the social worker.

At least now I was able to understand things better, so I only had to consult alakazam occasionally to understand the words. With all the learning I’d done, I was probably able to understand Common to roughly the level of a four or five year old. Speaking was harder, since I had the information but not the practice forming the words with my body.

Reading and writing? Nope. Gonna have to learn those the hard way. Alakazam knew a little, but it was more specific words that she came across more frequently. Like Pokecenter, or the names of restaurants she liked.

When I was asked questions I tried to respond, and was able to more often than not, but it came out really poorly. Slow and with occasional stutters. Still, it was progress.

At least I had no problems remembering stuff once I learned it. I’d have had more issues if I had to go back over things repeatedly like students tend to have to. My memory wasn’t perfect, but it was close. It was the only way I’d have been able to recall as much about the Pokemon games as I did.

The report took longer to give than it took me to eat, so I was shooed away to the play pen with other kids. I think this was why we’d met here rather than in the hotel room. So I could be distracted while questions were asked or comments spoken that they might not want me to hear.

Meh, do as you wish. This place is fun! I’m a child. What’s the matter with letting loose sometimes?

It was a little sad that the stuff I’d made back at the valley was better. I mean these slides are only a dozen or so feet up. I made some that went like a hundred feet up, with awesome turns and loops! What I hadn’t made was a ball pit. Cause I couldn’t. No plastics or foam.

However, it’s also because I was only a child that I broke out in tears when it was time to say goodbye to my first friends in this human part of the world. I hugged them tight, trying to keep my crying silent, but there were tear stains left where I’d planted my face against them. Possibly a bit of snot too.

<Don’t worry child, I’m sure we’ll meet again. And who knows, maybe next time, you’ll be teaching me.>

Alakazam patted my head. I’d miss her more than Naomi, though she’d also made an impression on me.

“Goo...d...bye. I wi...will m...miss y...you.”

It took effort to say, especially with the tightness in my throat from the crying, but I needed to say it. To use what she’d helped me with.

It might have been only for a few days, but that was in the physical world.

We’d spent time equal to over a month with our minds connected. It went deeper than just being together and talking. We could feel each other’s feeling when linked. It made this parting so much more difficult than I thought it would be.

As they left, I couldn’t hold myself back and curled in on myself, wailing.

Telerean

We may see them again in the future. Depends on how the story progresses. I might be the writer, but sometimes the story writes itself without listening to me.