“Professor, Gary, dinner’s ready!” A youthful yet lively voice rang out.
Nearby, Professor Oak—who had been conducting Pokémon research—and Gary—who was watching a Pokémon battle on TV—both replied in unison, “Coming!”
“That battle just now was incredible.
The previous Indigo League champion’s Pidgeot had amazing speed and power, and it even countered Elite Four member Bruno’s Fighting-type Pokémon.
But Bruno quickly found an opening—Hitmonchan’s Thunder Punch landed, and it went down in one hit.
The Elite Four really live up to their reputation,” Gary analyzed while eating.
“Of course.
The Elite Four are essentially the face of a region.
Aside from the Champion, very few Trainers can rival them,” Professor Oak added.
“By the way, Tianlin, in a few days we’ll finally be able to receive our Pokémon and set out on our journey.
Are you ready?
In Pallet Town, I’ve always considered you my only rival,” Gary said to the handsome boy sitting across from him.
“Of course.
I’ve been waiting for this day for a long time,” Tianlin replied with a smile, though inwardly he thought, A very, very long time… I never imagined my dream from my previous life would finally come true.
Yes—Tianlin wasn’t originally from this world.
He came from Earth and was a die-hard Pokémon fan.
Just as he had saved up enough money to buy the newest console and play the latest Pokémon game, he transmigrated—arriving in Pallet Town as an eight-year-old child.
Alone and without family in this new world, he was fortunately discovered by Officer Jenny of Pallet Town.
With her strong sense of justice, she couldn’t leave such a helpless child wandering alone.
Besides, Tianlin was incredibly adorable, which stirred her maternal instincts.
She decided on the spot to take him in and even recognized him as her younger brother.
Naturally optimistic, Tianlin had arrived in the Pokémon world he had always dreamed of.
There was no way he would waste such an opportunity.
Using his admiration for Professor Oak as an excuse, he quickly joined the Oak Research Lab as a junior research intern.
In truth, as a seasoned Pokémon fan, Tianlin’s knowledge rivaled Professor Oak’s in many areas.
But at only eight years old, he had to be careful—being too extraordinary would draw unwanted attention.
So over the years, he maintained the image of a diligent, studious young researcher.
More than five years had passed.
In this world, the official age to receive a Pokémon was 14—not 10 like in the anime.
After all, this was reality; children couldn’t realistically travel alone at such a young age.
About a year ago, Tianlin used both his past-life knowledge and his identity as Professor Oak’s student to publish a book titled “On Certain Pokémon That Require Special Methods to Evolve.” It detailed the evolution methods for Eevee’s eight evolutions, as well as Pokémon like Electivire, Rhyperior, Slowking, and Kingdra that require special items.
The book caused a sensation in the Pokémon research community.
Many Trainers successfully evolved their Pokémon using its methods, and Tianlin quickly rose to fame.
Half a year later, he published another book, “A Hypothesis on Hidden Abilities in Pokémon,” which firmly established him as a respected Pokémon scholar.
He earned titles like “Young Professor” and “Rising Research Star.”
Thanks to these works, Tianlin also received a reward from the Pokémon League—a substantial sum of money.
He gave part of it to his sister, Officer Jenny, and used the rest to pay the League fees required to obtain a starter Pokémon.
In this world, starter Pokémon weren’t free.
Trainers had to pay annual League fees.
Tianlin used his prize money to pay all 14 years’ worth at once, finally qualifying to receive his starter.
“Your only rival?
Don’t forget Ash,” Tianlin said with a grin, snapping out of his thoughts.
Over the years, Tianlin, Ash, and Gary had become close friends.
“Hah!
Ash?
No way he’s my rival.
At this rate, he won’t even earn a single Badge—he’ll probably come crying back to Pallet Town,” Gary scoffed.
Classic tsundere, Tianlin thought.
Anyone could see how much Gary valued Ash as a rival—and Ash felt the same.
They just refused to admit it.
“Uh… about the starter Pokémon…” Professor Oak suddenly interjected with a troubled expression.
“Originally, there were four new Trainers this year who paid the fees, so besides the Pallet Town starters, I prepared one extra.
But Tianlin only paid last month, making it five people.
I don’t have another suitable starter ready on such short notice.
I can’t just catch a random wild Pokémon for him—that wouldn’t be fair.”
“Seriously?
My luck can’t be that bad…” Tianlin was stunned.
Starter Pokémon were specially bred—not only talented but also obedient, perfect for beginners.
It really wasn’t something that could be arranged overnight.
“Forget it.
A wild Pokémon is fine,” Tianlin said confidently.
“I joined late, after all.
Taking someone else’s starter would be even more unfair.
And with my ability, even an average Pokémon can rise to the top.”
“No.
You’ve paid all the proper fees, and you’re my most prized student.
You can’t start behind others,” Professor Oak said firmly.
“Leave it to me.
There are still a few days—I’ll contact other regional Professors and see if they have any extra starters this year.”
“Leave it to Grandpa,” Gary added.
“Besides, if you didn’t start on equal footing with me, even beating you later wouldn’t feel satisfying.” Though his tone remained prideful, his concern was clear, and Tianlin felt touched.
Ding.
Suddenly, a voice echoed in Tianlin’s mind.
“Detected that the host is about to become a rookie Trainer.
System update complete.
Loading data…”
“Oh?
So you finally didn’t crash,” Tianlin muttered.
Yes—he had a system that came with his transmigration, but it had been “updating” for over five years, like downloading a 100GB movie at 1KB per second.
“System, what can you do?” Tianlin asked.
“Host, please note: This is the Master Trainer Assistance System.
Current access is below 10%.
Available features: a beginner gift package and Pokémon aptitude detection.
The gift will be issued once the host officially becomes a Trainer.
Additional features will unlock as the host challenges regions and achieves victories.”
So that’s how it works—victories unlock more functions.
That suited Tianlin perfectly.
Even without the system, becoming the strongest was already his goal.
Pokémon world… just wait.
I will rise to the very top.