Over the next week, as time passed, Hanako began noticing more and more unusual changes.
She felt increasingly tired and often found herself falling asleep earlier than usual.
Her appetite also increased considerably, and a strange warmth remained in her lower abdomen.
At first, Hanako was frightened by the changes.
She wondered whether she should go to the hospital for a thorough examination.
She had no idea what was happening to her, and the thought of carrying a child whose origin she couldn’t explain left her deeply unsettled.
Yet whenever she closed her eyes, the same dream returned.
The little boy.
He would always smile at her, reaching out his tiny hands as though asking her not to leave him.
Whenever Hanako thought about him, the fear in her heart gradually faded.
One evening, she gently placed a hand over her abdomen.
“Are you an orphan too…?”
Her voice was soft.
“Then let’s become a family.”
She smiled faintly.
“Just the two of us.”
It was a decision she had reached after considerable thought.
Perhaps it was because she had grown attached to the child appearing in her dreams.
Perhaps her lonely life had simply made her long for someone she could call family.
Whatever the reason, once she made her decision, Hanako felt strangely at peace.
The mysterious Pokémon Egg seemed to respond to her emotions.
A faint golden light appeared across its surface, carrying a feeling of warmth and happiness.
Over the following weeks, Hanako rarely left home.
She spent most of her time resting, researching the strange phenomenon, and trying to understand what was happening.
She also searched for information about pregnancy and prenatal care.
But the more she learned, the more she realized that her situation didn’t resemble an ordinary pregnancy at all.
There was no ordinary explanation for the phenomenon.
The life growing within her was connected to the Pokémon Egg.
And whatever it was, it clearly wasn’t a normal human child.
One month later.
Hanako sat quietly on the sofa, one hand resting over her abdomen.
She suddenly blinked.
“What did you say?”
A faint thought had reached her mind.
It was the same presence she had felt during her dreams.
The child was worried about her.
He didn’t want her to suffer.
Hanako smiled.
“I’m fine. Don’t worry about me.”
As soon as she finished speaking, a gentle warmth spread through her body.
“Buzz…”
A soft white light appeared around her.
Hanako’s eyes widened.
The strange sensation in her abdomen gradually disappeared.
The light gathered together in front of her.
Within moments, the Pokémon Egg appeared again.
Hanako stared at it in astonishment.
“Is this… what I’ve been carrying all this time?”
The egg was now much larger than when she had first discovered it.
Its surface shimmered with a faint crystalline glow.
Hanako carefully held it in her arms.
Her expression became complicated.
For the past month, she had dreamed of a little boy every night.
She had grown attached to him.
Now that the strange sensation was gone, she couldn’t help wondering if those dreams had been connected to the egg all along.
“Crack…”
A tiny crack appeared near the top of the egg.
Hanako froze.
The crack rapidly spread across the shell.
“Snap!”
A small section of the shell broke away.
Under Hanako’s astonished gaze, a healthy baby boy emerged from within.
He had fair skin, dark eyes, and an unusually lively expression for a newborn.
Hanako immediately recognized him.
It was the same child she had seen in her dreams for the past month.
Her eyes widened.
“It’s you…”
She carefully gathered the baby into her arms.
Although she couldn’t explain how he had emerged from the Pokémon Egg, the moment she held him, an overwhelming sense of familiarity filled her heart.
It was as though she had known him for far longer than a single month.
The baby looked up at her.
“Mama…”
The tiny voice made Hanako’s expression soften instantly.
“Good boy.”
She held him close and gently rocked him in her arms.
Jay, meanwhile, finally recognized the woman holding him.
As the mother of Ash, the protagonist from the original story, Hanako was someone he immediately recognized.
Only now did he realize that his journey in this world had truly begun.
Before he could think any further, however, exhaustion overwhelmed him.
His tiny hands instinctively reached toward Hanako.
She smiled and held him securely.
“Rest now.”
Jay soon fell asleep peacefully in her arms.
Looking at the sleeping child, Hanako smiled.
“Such a clever little fellow…”
She thought for a moment.
“I’ll call you Ash.”
After a peaceful night’s sleep, Jay finally had enough awareness to organize his thoughts.
First, his soul had fused with the Thousand Universe Bracelet.
Second, he had awakened the Dream Fulfillment Peak System.
Third, the system had used the remaining power of Arceus to repair his damaged soul.
And finally, he had been reborn in this world as Hanako’s child.
“Ash, huh…”
The tiny baby looked toward the moonlight.
“That’s fine.”
“Then I’ll fulfill those unfinished dreams for you.”
Just as Ash was preparing to think about his future—
“Ding…”
“Rebirth complete.”
“The system will now enter dormant mode for ten years.”
“Host, please enjoy your new life.”
“???!”
Ash was stunned.
What did that mean?
The system had gone dormant immediately after his rebirth?
A helpless expression appeared on his tiny face.
He turned his head toward the sleeping Hanako.
Thankfully, he wasn’t alone anymore.
Ash quietly snuggled into her arms.
For the first time since his previous life, he felt a strange sense of peace.
He closed his eyes.
Soon, he fell into a deep sleep.
Hanako instinctively pulled the child closer, protecting him in her sleep.
Although the mysterious Pokémon Egg had brought them together in a way neither of them could understand, one thing was certain.
They were no longer alone.
And in that quiet room, a new destiny had begun.