United Alliance, Celestia City. [Brain Storage]
A handsome young man dressed in a white coat and slim jeans was leisurely riding a bicycle along the road.
The boy appeared to be around seventeen or eighteen years old, in the prime of his youth. Despite his simple clothing, he looked exceptionally handsome.
The boy's name was Victor. He had traveled to this parallel world with Pokémon a month ago.
Though it was a time travel experience, his appearance, family, and relationships in this world remained unchanged from before he traveled.
As a result, he quickly adapted to life in this world.
Upon arriving in this world, Victor received the essential "golden finger" for time travelers—a system that appeared in his mind. The system offered four core functions: Tasks, Pokédex, Cultivation, and Backpack. Of these, only Cultivation was locked at the moment.
Victor's current task was simple:
[Obtain Your Starter Pokémon]
[Reward: Beginner Gift Pack]
The Pokédex could scan information about Pokémon Victor had seen and visualize it.
For example, there was Gardevoir, who had just come home from grocery shopping:
Pokémon: Gardevoir
Attributes: [Psychic, Fairy]
Gender: [♀]
Features: [Synchronize]
Level: [30]
Moves: [Thunder Punch, Fire Punch, Ice Punch...]
The Pokédex could display information about any Pokémon Victor viewed, which was very convenient. The backpack, which had a large capacity, could store many items. Over the month since his time travel, Victor had added several items to his backpack.
Originally, this world had no Pokémon.
Thousands of years ago, Pokémon arrived at every corner of the Blue Planet, brought along with various secret realms.
At first, humans were very afraid of these creatures with special abilities—such as flying, hiding in the sky, and changing celestial phenomena.
However, an unknown event occurred, and humans and Pokémon eventually became fully and closely connected.
Over time, various professions related to Pokémon emerged, such as trainers and breeders.
Although no historical records detailed how humans and Pokémon peacefully coexisted, the end result was a harmonious relationship, with Pokémon living alongside humans.
Today, Pokémon could be seen everywhere in the human world.
Victor learned this through the memories of his time travel.
As the system became more advanced, every student about to reach adulthood in the United Alliance was given a starter Pokémon by the Alliance.
Though the types and abilities of the Pokémon were random, many ordinary people rose to prominence due to good luck and strong starting Pokémon.
---
Ten minutes later, Victor arrived at Celestia High School, where he was currently studying.
At the school gate, a crowd of people had gathered, most of whom were parents waiting for their children to receive their starter Pokémon.
Among them were many families, all of whose children were preparing to participate in the event.
After parking his bicycle in the bike shed, Victor walked toward two figures who had been waiting at the school gate for some time. The two figures were a man and a woman.
The boy wore round-frame glasses, a neatly ironed shirt, and jeans, intently reading a book. With slightly long hair, his first impression was that he looked like a diligent student.
In contrast, the girl next to him appeared completely different. She had wheat-colored skin, short hair, and wore a short martial arts uniform despite the winter chill. At first glance, she looked like a martial artist.
The boy's name was Roman, and the girl's name was Tessa.
These two had been Victor's friends since childhood.
As children, the three of them often got into trouble together—such as secretly digging up winter food stored by Pachirisu in the trees of their community or borrowing their parents' Pokémon to scare their peers.
They were mischievous to the point that the neighborhood's Houndoom, owned by Uncle Hame, would chase and bark at them whenever it saw them.
Although they were quite naughty in their younger years, as they grew older and learned to control themselves, they were forgiven by the Pokémon they had pranked.
Now, at seventeen years old, their friendship remained as strong as ever.
Tessa, who was a year older than Victor and Roman, had spent an additional year studying at night to master family martial arts, so the three of them were in the same grade as underfreshman.
Due to her martial arts prowess and generous personality, Victor and Roman both respectfully called Tessa "Boss."
As Victor approached, Tessa, who had been waiting for a long time, swiftly grabbed him in a backhanded throat lock.
"Didn't I tell you to come earlier? When will you change your slow habits and stop rushing at the last minute?!" Tessa scolded, her wrist strength pinning Victor in place.
Tessa was usually a calm and composed girl, but today was an important day, and she was still upset with Victor for nearly being late.
Though being a few minutes late was common for them, if they missed the important event of receiving their starter Pokémon today, it could have a significant impact on Victor's future.
"It's not the first time we've seen him act like this. Forget it," Roman said, hurrying over to calm things down.
"Yeah, yeah, I was wrong. I'll be on time next time. Boss tessa, let it go this time," Victor immediately agreed, seeing Roman's intervention.
Tessa sighed, letting Victor go. "I'll let it slide this time. But if you make us wait again, I'll have to drag you to my dojo for some extra practice."
"By the way, have you decided what type of starter Pokémon you want to choose?" Victor asked, curious after regaining his freedom.
"As expected, I still want to go for a Flying-type Pokémon. After all, I want to be the king of Flying-types!" Roman replied enthusiastically.
Though Roman appeared gentle on the outside, he had a bohemian spirit and a passion for extreme sports. Racing with Flying-type Pokémon in the sky had always been his dream.
"I'm leaning toward a Fighting-type Pokémon. My dojo specializes in Fighting-types," Tessa said, her tone resolute.
Tessa's family ran a martial arts dojo passed down through generations, and most of their Pokémon were Fighting-types or had strong physiques.
"What about you, Victor? Do you still want to pick a Fire-type Pokémon?" Roman asked, curious.
"Not necessarily. I want to see if there are any Pokémon that are compatible with me first," Victor replied calmly.
He hadn't decided yet, but he could use the system's detection ability to select a starter with great potential, so he was content to wait and see.
"Oh, okay then. Since you have the best grades, you'll probably be the first to choose your Pokémon," Roman said with a touch of envy.
Thanks to his father, who owned a Gym, and his mother, a doctor, Victor had received excellent education and resources from a young age.
The three continued chatting as they walked, and before long, they reached the school playground.
At that moment, the playground was no longer the spacious area it used to be. More than half of the space—larger than an average football field—was taken up by a row of temporary wooden houses.
The remaining half was bustling with students preparing to receive their starter Pokémon.
The three of them expected this and calmly walked toward their class's designated area without changing their expressions.
The students of Class 1, Grade 2, had already lined up in the assembly area, and the three of them blended into the line effortlessly.
As soon as the last three students arrived, a woman with gray hair, a kind yet dignified demeanor, addressed the group.
"Now that everyone is here, let me repeat the process for receiving your starter Pokémon!" she announced.