The Spirit Master's World? No, the World of Pokémon

Consciousness loading progress: 99.998%

Consciousness loading progress: 99.999%

Consciousness loading complete

Mark's groggy consciousness awakened as if from a dream. He looked around blankly, but saw nothing.

Where was this?

Auditory module activated

A notification sounded in his mind, followed by a rustling noise.

The sound resembled a breeze passing through. Mark seemed to hear leaves swaying in a forest, along with faint birdsong and Bug Buzz.

Was this a forest in the wilderness?

Why couldn't he see anything?

Gravity perception module activated

Temperature perception module activated

Tactile module activated

Along with the notifications, Mark suddenly sensed direction.

He still couldn't distinguish front from back or left from right, but he could sense up and down.

Then, he felt warmth, as if sunlight were shining on his body. He vaguely sensed the outline of his body.

As the tactile module activated, Mark felt the breeze brush across his skin and felt his feet planted on the ground.

The ground was soft, with the feel of grass beneath his feet. Other than that, something seemed to be rubbing against the leg of his pants...

Taste module activated

Olfactory module activated

Mark found his mouth bitter and salty, with the sensation of dehydration. At the same time, he smelled a fresh blend of soil and plants.

Visual module activated

A streak of blue current suddenly appeared in his dim vision. The blue current split into two, then two into four, four into eight...

The magnificent blue currents twisted and spun before bursting apart like fireworks.

A dazzling, colorful world appeared before Mark's eyes.

The sky was azure and profound, dotted with white clouds. Blue-green grass spread freely across the Earth, while forests and mountains lay at its far end. As the breeze swept in, the dark green forest rose and fell through the mountains like waves...

The fresh, vast sight before him filled Mark with intense shock.

However, that shock did not last long.

Mark discovered that his body could not move at all. Forget moving his limbs—he couldn't even turn his eyeballs.

What had happened to his body?

And what exactly was rubbing against his pant leg beneath him?

Critical information missing. System loading error.

Reloading system...

System loading error.

An error?

What error?

Did that mean he would remain unable to move?

Mark desperately tried to control his body, but no matter how he tried, he could not move it in the slightest.

His mouth and throat grew increasingly dry. Was he going to die of thirst?

Backup plan activated. Simplified compatibility mode enabled. Loading system...

Action module activated

Physical function module activated

Welcome to the world of Spirit Masters. We wish you %￥**#@￥￥%...

Mark finally regained control of his body, only to stagger and fall to the ground.

It seemed his body had been tense for too long while standing. His calves, waist, and arms were all extremely sore.

Yet compared to the soreness in his body, the discomfort in his mouth and throat was far worse.

"I'm so thirsty..."

Mark's voice was hoarse. As his tongue moved around his mouth, he felt his body's lack of water even more acutely.

Fortunately, Mark soon spotted puddles of varying sizes nearby. It seemed to have rained not long ago. Moreover, a small winding stream flowed over ten meters away, looking exceptionally clear. Looking upstream along it, Mark could vaguely see a small spring.

Without another thought, Mark lay beside the stream and gulped down water.

The stream water was sweet and refreshing. After drinking for several minutes, Mark sat up and wiped his mouth.

"I was too focused on drinking to think much just now, but now that I consider it, I should have become a Spirit Master and obtained a class template. Judging from the game's opening animation, it seemed to be a world styled after the Classic of Mountains and Seas..."

The original Mark had been an ordinary student shut away in the city, constantly buried in practice problems.

During a break from studying, he had happened to come across a mobile game called something like Spirit Master.

The promotional animation had looked exquisitely made, and since he liked monster-taming games, he had decided to download it and give it a try.

He remembered lying on his bed at the time.

After downloading, logging in, and registering for the game, he had seen a magnificent world in the style of the Classic of Mountains and Seas, which had greatly shocked him.

The scenes in his memories gradually blurred...

Mark said thoughtfully, "It seemed like after I entered the game and swiped twice, I was wondering whether to choose Azure Dragon or White Tiger among the Four Sacred Beasts at the start. Then I suddenly felt sleepy and fell asleep in bed..."

That was where his memories before transmigration ended. Mark let out a long sigh and lay down on the grass beside the stream.

Perhaps because it had rained within the last couple of days, the grass was somewhat damp. Mark did not care much and simply stared straight up at the sky.

"So I transmigrated..."

In his previous life, he had been all alone, with nothing worth clinging to. If he had to name anything, it would be the few novels and anime series he had been following, which he might never see the endings of.

"Forget it. Since I'm here, I'll make the best of it. A Spirit Master world like the Classic of Mountains and Seas, huh? Here I come..."

Mark stretched an arm toward the sky, then pulled it back and prepared to rise.

But just as he was about to sit up, he froze.

A blue-green caterpillar about half a meter long entered his field of vision. It crawled beside his head, tilted its head, and wore an almost human expression. It looked very close to him.

"His, hiss?"

The green caterpillar continuously waved its four round forelimbs, as if asking what was wrong.

Mark stared blankly. "Is this... Caterpie? This isn't the world of Spirit Masters, but the world of Pokémon? I felt something rubbing against my pant leg earlier—could it have been this little guy?"

As if to confirm his words, a shifty-looking Purple-Skinned Rat darted through the nearby grass as he muttered to himself.

The Purple-Skinned Rat had red eyes, a white belly tinged faintly yellow, and a purple tail with a curled tip. It was Rattata, the common rodent Pokémon of the Pokémon world.

Soon afterward, two little brownish-yellow birds were startled near where Rattata had disappeared. Chirping loudly, they flew out of the grass, flapping their wings to kick up wind and sand as they took off. They were Pidgey, small bird Pokémon of the Pokémon world, and Sand Attack, Pidgey's signature move.

"This really is the world of Pokémon... and I obtained the Spirit Master game system?"

"Using the Spirit Master game system to strengthen Pokémon?"

"That actually sounds... pretty good."

Mark fell into thought.

There was a strange point of light in his mind.

Though he had never had such a thing in his mind before, he knew what it did.

After those system notifications appeared, the point of light had emerged in his mind and fused closely with him. He naturally came to understand its purpose as well.

When he touched it with his thoughts, a panel appeared on his retina.

Mark

Class: Spirit Master

Experience: 1%

Points: 1

Spirit: Caterpie

Mark examined the system panel before him.

The earlier notification in his mind had mentioned a loading failure, then some kind of simplified compatibility mode. The final notification had also ended in garbled static.

"It looks like I transmigrated into the world of Pokémon, causing the Spirit Master game system to mutate."

"But why did this Caterpie become my Spirit?"

Mark lowered his head and gently stroked the Caterpie beside him. It swayed slightly, leaning into his palm as he petted it, looking thoroughly content.

Mark felt a sense of closeness from Caterpie, as if it were his family.

Then, as he carefully experienced that feeling of closeness, he suddenly noticed something.

Mark looked at his palms and arms, then at the clothes on his body, before grabbing his hair.

He had originally had short hair, but now he had messy long hair. His arms and thighs had not been this sturdy before, either.

—This body was not his.

Boom—

It was as if something exploded in his mind. A chain of memory fragments burst forth within Mark's head...

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