Unlocking the Panel

Yan Yang had a dream.

He dreamed that he was in an unknown realm, surrounded by darkness and chaos. He was all alone, and Entei was nowhere to be found.

Though he felt somewhat afraid, he walked on alone and soon discovered a sleeping Pokémon.

"Th-this is..." Yan Yang was stunned, because the Pokémon before him was the famed Creator God of the Pokémon world—Arceus.

Yan Yang was at a loss. Facing the creator of this world, he was still afraid as an outsider. He wouldn't be treated as some kind of heretic and eliminated, would he?

Even while asleep, Arceus's presence was terrifying. Even without the Pressure Ability, it could make one feel overwhelming pressure. As expected of the god who had created the world—its powerful aura and majesty filled him with awe.

However, he did not see the plates floating behind it. Perhaps they had been put away.

Yan Yang quietly backed away. He had no idea why he had encountered it, but for his own sake, he had better leave this place quickly.

He couldn't possibly go up and greet it, could he?

But just as he was about to leave, Arceus opened its eyes and rose to its feet. Its majestic gaze made Yan Yang shudder, and when he tried to slip away, he found that his legs would not move. Left with no choice, he could only stand there and meet its gaze.

However, Arceus did not seem to intend to eliminate him. It simply stared at him, eye to eye.

Just as Yan Yang thought he was finally safe, Arceus suddenly fired a dazzling beam of light straight at him without warning. The beam was incredibly fast, reaching him in the blink of an eye and catching Yan Yang completely off guard.

Yan Yang was instantly overcome with despair. Was he really going back after only a few years here? He had not even said goodbye to Entei. What a pity.

No, he couldn't give up. Yan Yang darted to the side. He did not want to die just like that.

But it was useless. He was still hit.

Huh? Why didn't it hurt?

Yan Yang realized that he seemed to be perfectly fine, while Arceus had vanished at some point.

More new information flooded into his mind, making his head start to hurt again...

"Wake up, Little Sun." A familiar voice sounded beside his ear, tinged with urgency. Yan Yang opened his eyes.

Before him was still the reassuring sight of Entei. Without realizing it, Yan Yang hugged one of his forelegs and buried his head in his fur.

"Are you all right?" Entei asked worriedly.

"I'm fine, Dad. I just had a nightmare. I got a little scared."

"Don't be afraid. I'm here, so you don't need to be afraid."

"Mm." Yan Yang slowly calmed down.

It seemed that he had received some new information about himself, which suddenly appeared before his eyes:

Name: Yan Yang

Special Abilities: God's Eye (obtains information on most Pokémon and items)

Language Mastery (can understand Pokémon and human languages and writing)

Gift of the Gods (gifts given or received may produce miraculous effects)

Note: Some abilities have not yet been unlocked.

Negative Effect: Sensitivity to Cold

Note: Other negative effects will arise as abilities are unlocked.

Had he unlocked a status panel?

After processing this information, Yan Yang understood many things that had puzzled him. Like the countless others who had transmigrated, he possessed miraculous powers.

But why hadn't he been assigned a system?

Forget it. He always felt that systems in the Pokémon world would be a little strange. This was fine as it was.

Looking at the scarf around his neck, Yan Yang finally understood why it had such a special effect.

It had even helped him resolve his negative effect.

As for the negative effects that might be added at any time, Yan Yang could accept them. After all, since he had gained miraculous powers, it was only natural that there would be some negative effects as well. As long as they were not too outrageous, it would be fine. Besides, those negative effects might even be resolved by his abilities, so there was no need to worry too much.

Yan Yang roughly guessed that Arceus had granted him these abilities. After all, he had dreamed of it. As the creator of the world, giving humans special powers was not particularly strange.

But did Arceus have some special purpose in doing this?

Perhaps it did not reject transmigrators. Perhaps it even thought highly of them.

Yan Yang could not figure it out, so he simply stopped thinking about it. All he had to do now was live his life well. As for Arceus's intentions, Yan Yang had a feeling that he would meet it again someday. He would probably understand then.

Transmigrators were usually the protagonists of novels. He should probably have protagonist luck too, though he could not rule out the possibility that he was overthinking it.

After confirming that Yan Yang was fine, Entei gave him a few instructions and prepared to leave the cave to help Pokémon in need.

In this frigid winter, there were surely even more Pokémon who needed help.

Yan Yang stopped Entei and said that he wanted to go out with him too.

Naturally, Entei refused. Yan Yang was so sensitive to the cold, yet he wanted to run out into the snowy wilderness in winter. What if his scarf suddenly fell off? What if Entei got distracted and forgot where he had left him?

However, Entei could not withstand the child's persistent pleading. Yan Yang truly wanted to go out and take a look this time. There had not been such heavy snow in the past few years, and now that there had finally been a major snowfall and he had something to keep out the cold, he naturally could not stay home.

Entei also felt that it was not good to always keep Yan Yang in the cave. He could occasionally bring him outside to help other Pokémon, but the necessary rules still had to be explained to him.

Entei rattled off a whole list of instructions: Yan Yang was not to leave his sight, he had to keep his scarf on, and when helping Pokémon, he had to follow Entei's commands. If he failed to obey, he would not be allowed to go out with him anymore. Yan Yang naturally agreed without hesitation.

This kind of care was something Yan Yang had never experienced before.

Some people found their parents' nagging annoying, while others had never even heard their parents nag at them.

Yan Yang quickly climbed onto Entei's back, imagining himself as a warrior commanding a giant beast as he pointed ahead. "Dad, over there."

Entei sighed helplessly and cooperatively headed in the direction Yan Yang indicated.

Since he had brought Yan Yang along this time, he could not go too far. He could rest anywhere out in the wilderness, but Yan Yang could not; he had to be taken home by nightfall.

Fortunately, this forest was large enough, and beyond it lay several more forests, equally untraveled by humans. There was no need to worry about running into other people.

The bitter wind howled, and every tree around them was draped in a thick coat of silver. The world seemed to be buried beneath white.

Nearly all Flying-type Pokémon that feared the cold had vanished without a trace. Other Pokémon were rarely seen along the way either. The water had frozen over as well, and it was impossible to know whether any Pokémon were waiting beneath the ice.

Winter was an exceptionally silent season. Only the howling wind and the sound of falling snow played through the forest, keeping it from becoming completely lifeless.

Perched on Entei's back, Yan Yang watched their surroundings. He did not spot many traces of Pokémon; only a few had come out to forage. It seemed everyone was afraid of the cold.

Luckily, he had the scarf Entei had given him. Otherwise, he would never have had the chance to see such beautiful snowy scenery.

Entei walked steadily onward. It was his first time bringing Yan Yang along while he worked, so it was only natural for him to worry. Still, this was indeed a good opportunity for training. Yan Yang would be traveling around with him in the future anyway, so it was better to let him get a feel for it now rather than have him adapt all over again later.

Perhaps Yan Yang would even come up with all sorts of strange ideas to help him in the future. The child had been clever since he was little, and even Entei had never heard of many of his wild ideas. Maybe humans and Pokémon simply thought differently. Humans were intelligent creatures; even after living with Yan Yang for so long, Entei still could not completely understand the way he thought.

Having ideas of his own was a good thing. As an adult, Entei just should not restrain him too much, lest the child feel miserable—and he himself feel miserable too.

Even now, he could not understand who would abandon such an adorable child. Still, it was fortunate that they had not wanted him. Otherwise, Entei would never have had the chance to meet him. Meeting Yan Yang had been the happiest thing to happen to him in nearly a hundred years.

Yan Yang often thought to himself as well: Meeting Entei had truly been wonderful.

Fate was truly a mysterious thing. It always appeared when one least expected it, bringing surprise and wonder.

He hoped everyone would cherish the hard-won bonds of fate in their lives.