Being a Pokémon is something Rea considers as a great character trait. It comes with incredible powers (at least in her case) and an even stronger mind, without needing to rest or waste oxygen for breathing.
Pretending to be a human required the opposite of all those attitudes.
Breathing was something that came naturally and Rea could do this without pondering about it too much.
Resting? Well, it was acceptable. A strange state when an individual closes its mind to all stimuli from both inside and outside. Impossible when there's danger around, yet when there's safety around, this state of mind could feel refreshing.
Powers could be hidden, as well as thoughts.
Yet there was something Rea didn't predict.
Chansey put a plate on Rea's bed and it let the girl notice what's there. Food. Human food. Multiple slices of bread with butter and folded in twos. Between them there also were some other things. Cheese, ham, tomatoes.
Are those… sandwiches?
"Chansey, chan!" The pink Pokémon made an enthusiastic gesture showing that Rea could eat those.
However the two women seemed to pay attention to Rea's hesitation.
"Are you afraid those are poisoned…?" Officer Jenny asked.
Rea shook her head. Well, it's not like she didn't know that. After all, her existence for many years was limited only to mental sensations. Even without thinking about it, Rea just… caught it. Heared. And knew that those sandwiches weren't poisoned.
Truly she had read that police and special agents managed to develop a substance that forced the one affected by it to tell only the truth. However, Rea hasn't thought of herself as important enough that humans would waste such things on her. At least not now.
"I'll come back later." Officer Jenny said. "There are more questions that need to be answered."
At first the pink woman wanted to oppose but seeing the police's gaze, she just sighed.
"Rest well." The woman added and both of them as well as the Pokémon left the room.
As the door closes behind them, Rea is left alone. With a plate full of sandwiches.
'Am I suppose to… eat those?' Her head tilted.
But the sandwiches didn't answer. Not like they could. Actually the ham was some time ago a living Pokémon, but right now it was… dead. Without the ability to speak.
Unsurely, Rea took one of the sandwiches. One of the tomato slices fell down with a splash. She looked at that unsurely. Seriously, do humans eat that? For real? But right now she's human. Rea lifted the sandwich to her mouth. She has seen it many times. Just have to bite it, then munch.
As she did, her eyes widened in surprise. This was… amazing! Holy Mew, humans could feel so many things just like that. So many flavours, tastes…
It was hard to say how much time had passed. Yet there were still some sandwiches on the plate when Officer Jenny returned. The woman carefully held two steaming cups. She put one of them at the bedside table and took a seat.
"I don't know what you like, so I made some tea." She said.
Rea's head titled. That's… new.
"Tea...?" Rea mumbled the question, feeling that her voice still tremble a bit.
She inhaled. It could be due to the fact that she went through a lot. Or damaged her vocal chords, which would be bad news. But Officer Jenny didn't seem to pay attention to Rea's voice. Her mouth opened as if the woman wasn't sure what she had heard just now.
"Y-yeah tea. Poured leaves." The woman declared, still surprised. "Leaf broth."
Poured leaves..? Hesitantly Rea took the cup and tasted it. The drink was definitely a bitter one. Yet it also had some additional aroma. The warmth filled her entrails and seemed to proceed further.
"How is it possible you don't know what 'tea' is?" Officer Jenny asked.
At this time Rea understood this was a stupid question to ask aloud. Surely, every human knows what this drink is.
"Have you never drunk tea before?" The woman asked another question.
Rea nodded vigorously. She opened her mouth preparing to say the next words.
"Cofee only…" This made Rea cough.
"Oh, yeah. The drink of gods." Officer Jenny raised her cup. "Tasty, flavoured and it provides a lot of energy."
Energy...? Well, Rea recalled some scientist that after drinking it, energetically rushed towards the toilet. Surely it was some kind of energy but she wasn't sure if that's something expected. Yet Rea only nodded to that answer, swearing on that poured ash.
"You wrote an 'R' on the map…" The woman started. "...What does it mean? Did Team Rocket imprison you?"
Good question. Kind of like they did. Yet the cage Rea was in wasn't physical. Rather a mental one. Taught how to think in a certain way. Without understanding that's something wrong.
Eventually she shook her head. Which made Officer Jenny's eyes widen even more. Perhaps telling the truth wasn't a good idea, but in Rea's current state it'd be difficult to come up with some logical and well-sounded story.
"Do you belong to them?"
With a hesitation, Rea finally nods. As a great liar and manipulator she knows well that most of the time it's better to stick to the truth. Because one lie requires more lies. And those others. And she already lied about being a human.
"That makes sense." Officer Jenny taps at her cup. "You escaped from there."
Rea blinked a few times. There? Did they already investigate Celadon City? Seeing her reaction the woman continued.
"There was an explosion in Celadon City not so long ago." She takes a sip from her cup. "Of course, fires happen from time to time. Yet the fire brigade assumes that there must have been something more unusual. Perhaps…"
She suddenly stops. She stares at Rea and finally sighs.
"There's no sense in hiding it. Perhaps you know better what's happened there." Officer Jenny put her cup at the bedside table and continued. "...I'm not a fire fighter. Perhaps the number of victims seems suspicious to them. Or something entirely else is off which as a police officer I couldn't understand"
Quite a mild way to talk about countless corpses. Lifeless. Killed by her. But maybe that's the point. After all, they aren't people any longer. They're just... statistics.
"Of course they informed the police." Officer Jenny continued, not paying much attention to Rea. "Yet they were a bit too late. The reporters took interest in that immediately as well as some Pokémon Trainers."
Rea's expression turned pale. Reporters. Trainers. Police.
While Officer Jenny mumbled something about 'unruly brats' Rea quickly made an examination of conscience. Of course not every single trace could be consumed by fire.
The question is, which were? Most likely all the camera records, as well as every appliance. Metal constructions? Surely they'll stay as a proof that the place wasn't just a normal building. But that's only evidence against Team Rocket. Nothing that could harm her personally.
Trying to cover her own nervousness, Rea took one of the last sandwiches on the plate. Her teeth quickly bit into the slice of bread, and the flavours filling her mouth.
"You're… hungry." Officer Jenny notices. "Aren't you?"
Need to know more. Experience more. Get out of Team Rocket. Survive everything only in order to get what she wants.
Coming to a conclusion, it could be called hunger.