Pokémon: Life Finds a Way

Three years.

Three years in a world that felt simultaneously brand new and hauntingly familiar. It was a strange thing, time. I had adjusted, yes, but sometimes I felt like I was still trying to catch up to myself.

I'd grown in those three years, physically at least, and I'd become more comfortable with my life here. John was more like a grandfather than anything else—steadfast, patient, and strong—but I still didn't quite feel like I belonged in this world. Not entirely.

It wasn't that I didn't love it here. I did. The land was breathtaking, the air had a freshness that could only come from untouched wilderness, and the Pokémon… well, they were more than just creatures; they were part of the ecosystem, a part of the world's very rhythm. But there was a part of me, a quiet voice that whispered in the back of my mind, that kept asking why I didn't feel right. Why did everything feel so… strange?

It wasn't until I started looking deeper into the world's workings that it all began to make sense.

John had this little library—a collection of books that I had come to adore. Most of the books were about the world's history, the Pokémon that roamed it, and even a few about local legends and scientific discoveries. It wasn't much, but it was a start.

I spent a lot of time reading in those three years, poring over everything from natural history to astronomical charts. The more I read, the more I pieced together the puzzle of this world.

One thing I quickly realized: Time here wasn't quite like Earth's.

Now, don't get me wrong, the days weren't necessarily shorter or longer. But everything seemed stretched, slower in a way I couldn't quite explain. Seasons took their time, not rushing by like I remembered from Earth. Winters seemed to drag on forever, and summer was endless. I remembered Earth's quick cycles, the passing of months and years that almost felt like a blur.

But here? The seasons felt longer. Almost as though the world had all the time it needed to change, to shift, and to grow.

I had no idea how I knew this, but I knew it. I couldn't quite remember my life before, not clearly, but I felt that I had once known about planetary orbits and rotation speeds, things I shouldn't have known unless I had learned them long ago. Maybe it was something from Earth—where days and years had their own rhythm, and time was a constant I could track.

Here, though, the planet's orbital period was different. I realized that a single year on this planet was about three times longer than Earth's. I hadn't seen the stars shift much, but I had read enough to know that the rotation speed of the world was slower too. Days stretched out longer than I was used to, which made sense when I thought about it. If a day here was longer, then of course the seasons would last longer.

What really caught my attention, though, was that the planet's size was much larger than Earth's. The diameter was bigger, which meant the surface area for all the ecosystems here was far more expansive. It also explained why the air felt so fresh and untamed in places, while the Pokémon seemed to thrive everywhere—adapted to all corners of this vast land.

I'd come across mentions of ecosystem adaptation in the books too—how certain Pokémon, had evolved over centuries to live in harmony with their environment. And it wasn't just about survival. It was about living in a world that had its own rhythm, its own way of doing things.

This world, I realized, didn't just have longer days. It had extended seasons, and slower yearly cycles. The climate here was shaped by these cycles, with plants, animals, and people all adjusting in their own way. I could see it in the Pokémon—like how some had thicker coats in the colder months or how others migrated to the warmer areas. It wasn't just about instinct. It was about adaptation, over years, centuries even.

The thought of longer lives also started to make sense. I read in a few books that in this world, people and Pokémon had long lifespans - much longer than in my old life. It wasn't just because of the slower yearly cycle, but because of the way the planet had shaped them to endure.

This slow-moving time finally helped me solve a mystery that had always bugged me from my old world.

Why was Ash Ketchum always an eternal ten-year-old?

I couldn't help but chuckle to myself as the pieces clicked into place. The truth was simple. He was aging. Just according to the Pokémon world's time, which made him gain 3-4 years compared to his 10 years on Earth. Add to that the youthful appearance of people here, a result of the world's slower passage of time and its longer seasons, and it made perfect sense. Ash might've been ten years old for what felt like decades on Earth, but in this world, he was just growing at a different pace, one dictated by the world around him.

I couldn't help but smirk at the thought. It was strange, but I guess it made sense. This world's effects weren't just on the environment and the Pokémon. It affected people too—how they aged, how they looked, how they lived.

As I stood there, gazing out over the vast, wild landscape that stretched far beyond the horizon, I whispered a name to myself.

"Owen!" A voice called out from behind me, snapping me from my thoughts. It was John, his voice carrying a warmth that had become so familiar in these three years.

I turned to see him walking toward me, a tired but knowing smile on his face. "Come on, dinner's ready. You'll freeze out here if you stand around much longer."

I nodded, taking one last look at the expansive land before heading back to the warmth of the house. Despite all that I had learned in these years, there was still much more to understand. But for now, it was enough to know my name.

Owen Grady.

It felt right. Like it had always been my name.