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What are Pockets?
A Pocket is a miniature manifestation of somebody's soul created by a strong, positive connection between people. Historians aren't sure when and why Pockets began to appear, but evidence puts them around the globe at different points in time, from ancient Sumatran artifacts to Pocket-sized items solidified in the ruins of Pompeii.
Known most commonly in English as Pockets because of their penchant for riding in pockets, the terms for these soul manifestations vary around the world. (Contrary to popular rumor, “chibi” is not the Japanese word for Pocket. We will leave the matter of translation to those more versed on the subject.)
Pockets range in size from 7.6 to 10.2 centimeters tall, and weigh no more than 450 grams.
When and How Pockets Appear
There is currently no scientific formula to deducing when a Pocket will appear to a person, or who they will appear to. Some people have a Pocket appear as children, though they have been known to appear at all stages of life. The only known things about when and how Pockets appear are :
- Pockets appear when their soulmate is sleeping. While Pockets have appeared for subjects of sleep studies, how they appear has never been observed in person.
- Pockets appear wearing some form of clothing, usually some style of pajamas based on the personality of their person.*
- Pockets usually reveal themselves to their soulmate soon after they appear, but they have been known to hide and observe their soulmate before revealing themselves.
- Pockets usually appear after two people have met and started to form a soulmate bond. There are rare cases of Pockets appearing before soulmates meet, in which the soulmate bond is unusually strong.
*While we are not sure how the clothes appear, or even why -- considering Pockets have no genitals to hide -- it certainly makes it easier on the Pocket's soulmate for them to come with at least one set of clothes.
Naming Your Pocket
The earliest documented Pocket name is from a Pocket that existed before 2280 BC, named Nedjes. An inscribed stone listing the gifts donated by the pharaoh for Nedjes's funeral was discovered in 1935. Believed to be a Pocket of an esteemed royal adviser who lived in the Sixth Dynasty, they both received an elaborate ceremonial burial in the Giza Necropolis at the behest of a pharaoh whose name is unknown.
It is up to a Pocket's soulmate to name them, but a Pocket has to agree to its name. Sometimes, that means a Pocket goes a few days without a name until they agree to one. Sometimes it means a Pocket will decide to go by the first thing it's soulmate says when they are found - often to the temporary chagrin of the Pocket's soulmate.
Pockets and Their Soulmate
Once Pockets appear, they always stay within a certain distance of their soulmate. The usual range has been measured between 25 and 30 meters. If a Pocket's soulmate gets farther away than that, they harmlessly poof to where they are to stay with them. Pockets are only able to be physically touched by their soulmate and their person while the touch of anyone else goes through them.*
While the majority of people choose to have wardrobes and enrichment activities for their Pockets**, no ill effects have been recorded from a Pocket simply staying in the sleep wear they arrived in. They also thrive with only affection from their soulmate, however that may be shown, though physical touch is usually a Pocket's favorite form of affection.
*However, physical objects only seem to affect them if they choose so. They generally respect walls and doors but are perfectly capable of walking through them if they choose to do so. This makes it impossible to contain a Pocket in any way, shape, or form.
**This subject will be covered in a later section titled 'Keeping Your Pocket Happy.'
Pockets and Their Person
With Pockets being a manifestation of someone's soul, it means that they outwardly reflect the person's mental map more than that person's physical self. Major changes, like the actual loss of a limb, is reflected as it would affect the person's mental self map. While some examples of this have been found throughout history, it became widely known knowledge as humans advanced their aptitude for warfare.*
Pockets have also been known to reflect illness or injuries that their person sustains, with the severity of the symptoms depending on the state of their person. Known symptoms range from lethargy and sneezing, to unconsciousness that only subsides once their person receives medical attention. Pockets can also reflect medical treatment and medical devices, such as prosthetics, hearing aids, or scarring, if it is integrated into their person's self map.
*There were a number of papers published after the Civil War talking about the war's effects on Pockets and their people, as well as both World Wars.
Pockets and Other Pockets
While Pockets are happy to stay in the company of their soulmate, there is no denying that Pockets enjoy the company of other Pockets. They will communicate, play, and cuddle with any other Pocket as soon as the opportunity presents itself, though they are most fond of their person's Pocket. It is not unusual to see what is known as a 'Pocket Pile' in friendly outings where two or more people have Pockets.
Pockets are able to universally communicate with a language that has been described as 'babbling', 'squeaky', and 'cheerful', though no great strides have been made at translating it to a known human language. As for human languages, Pockets can understand the native languages of their soulmate and their person, and also learn to say mono-syllabic words in those languages. Pockets have been observed teaching these words to other Pockets.
Keeping Your Pocket Happy
If your Pocket is ever showing signs of unhappiness, it may be a sign that the relationship between their soulmate and their person has started to fade or change. If this continues for too long, the Pocket will start to become insubstantial and fade back into whence they came. Pay attention to how your Pocket is feeling!
As stated in a previous section, Pockets are easily sustained on affection and seem to hold no requirements for clothes or other material goods. Yet, with life growing busier as civilization advances, humans have created products to help keep their Pockets entertained. There are now entire brands and storefronts that focus on clothing and enrichment products for Pockets, though they are not necessarily a new invention. Just as Ancient Rome had its own form of drive-thru restaurants, merchants with specialties in Pocket merchandise have been found throughout the ages.
Pockets have no need to eat or drink like their human counterparts, but that has not stopped miniature functional kitchen sets from being a popular product for Pockets. Other popular items include art room sets, Pocket-sized versions of tablets and mobile electronics, and Pocket-sized print media such as books and comics. While most people are able to locate stores for Pockets with ease nowadays, it does not stop some Pocket owners from handcrafting their Pockets clothes or enrichment items themselves.
Regardless of the proliferation of Pocket products, they don't seem to make a true difference to a Pocket's quality of life. All that does is how they are treated and how their person and soulmate's relationship is doing.
More Information on Pockets
While this guide does its best to cover the basic information on Pockets as it is known today, it is undeniably unable to go into further details about some subjects, or begin to delve into other subjects at all. For further information, the authors of this field guide recommend the following books and article:
- Darwin, Charles. On the Origins of Pockets. John Murray (1859)
- Hobgood-Oster Laurel. A Pocket's History of the World: Pockets and Taming the Human Soul. Baylor University (2017)
- Weitzman, Larry. Complete Guide to Pocket Health, Behavior, and Happiness. Penguin (2019)
- Nietzsche, Friedrich. On the Morals of Pockets. Boni and Liveright (1887)
- Catherine Hobaiter, Timothée Poisot, Klaus Zuberbühler. William Hoppitt, Thibaud Gruber, "Social Network Analysis Shows Direct Evidence for Social Transmission of Word Use in Pockets"; Journal of Linguistics, Vol 50, Issue 3 (2014)