"Where am I? Ah! My head hurts so much." It was nighttime. In a lavishly decorated room within a private luxury estate on the outskirts of Goldenrod City in the Kanto Region, a boy lay on an expensive bed carved from red sandalwood.
The boy had short blond hair, and the skin exposed above his covers had the pallor of someone who had not seen sunlight in years. Numerous machines were connected to his body, making it clear that he had been bedridden for quite some time. His eyelids stirred after an unknown stretch of sleep, and he murmured those words before falling still again. Beside him, however, the machines began beeping briskly. A servant attending to her duties some distance away froze, then grew visibly excited and ran outside.
"Doctor, has my son's condition improved?" a man in his thirties asked after the family doctors carefully examined the child in bed. He carried the unmistakable air of someone accustomed to authority. Beside him, a dignified, elegant woman looked just as anxious.
"Sir, madam, the eldest young master is indeed showing signs of regaining consciousness, but..." One of the doctors stepped forward, hesitating.
“Please speak plainly, Doctor Sagara,” the woman said, looking at him with anxiety, worry, and apprehension.
"Sir, madam, the eldest young master originally suffered an injury to his head, and he has now been bedridden for six years. It is remarkable that he is showing any signs of waking at all. But we cannot say with much confidence whether his memories remain intact."
“Well...” The man and woman stiffened at those words. Then the man took a breath and said, “It doesn't matter whether he still has his memories. As long as Liu Qing wakes up, we can work everything else out.”
"Dad, Mom." Just then, the boy on the bed opened his eyes slightly and turned toward the two people standing beside him. A sense of familiarity welled up in his heart, and the words slipped out before he could stop them.
Though his voice was faint, it struck like a thunderbolt out of a clear sky, silencing the entire room. A slight smile appeared at the corners of the man's mouth. Overcome with emotion, the woman immediately sat beside the bed, gently gathered the boy into her arms, and wept with joy.
Liu Qing—the boy lying in bed—had a soul that did not belong to this world. He had been an orphan on Earth who had just started high school and loved watching Pokémon. After dying in a car accident, he had crossed over into this world. When he first woke, the original Liu Qing's memories had also surfaced, promptly knocking him unconscious again. By the time the doctors arrived, he had slowly regained consciousness and recognized the couple as his body's parents. The man was Bofeng Yu, chairman of Huayu Company and patriarch of the Uzumaki clan, also known as Golden Feather. The woman was Mili, a top-class Pokémon breeder and the younger paternal aunt of Lorelei, Kanto's Ice-type Elite Four member.
Having completely merged with Bofeng Liu Qing's memories—or perhaps his soul—Liu Qing and the original owner of his body had now become one person. As he listened to the woman crying, all the emotions of someone who had never experienced a mother's love burst forth at once...
A month had passed since Liu Qing woke up. The people of this world had physical constitutions so strong that it was enough to make anyone jealous. Combined with the clan's specialized physical training methods, it took him only a month to recover from the stiffness caused by his prolonged confinement to bed. Still, reaching the fitness level of an ordinary boy would require a long period of recuperation.
The reason Liu Qing had been bedridden went back six years. He had accompanied his father, Bofeng Yu, to Hoenn for a meeting at the company's branch office there. After arriving, he slipped away onto the streets alone while his bodyguards were distracted, only to accidentally overhear a Poaching Squad's conversation. Whatever had possessed him at the time, Liu Qing secretly followed them, climbed onto their vehicle, and rescued a Bagon captured by the Poaching Gang. But he was discovered while trying to slip away. Although Liu Qing had some skills, they were only enough to handle children his own age. Against adults and Pokémon, he was utterly helpless. An enemy Crobat bit him on the head with Poison Fang. Fortunately, his bodyguards realized he was missing and arrived in time to prevent the Poaching Squad from attacking him further. By then, however, the poison had already reached his brain. Although prompt emergency treatment removed the toxin, his brain tissue had been damaged, leaving him bedridden in a vegetative state.
“Big brother, there you are! Cousin Lorelei is here. Mom told me to come get you and bring you to the breeding room.” A handsome boy of eight or nine ran over. He had dazzling, tousled blond hair, dark blue eyes, and bore a strong resemblance to Liu Qing.
The Uzumaki clan was one of this world's foremost noble families. The awakening of the patriarch's eldest son was a major event for the entire clan. Apart from a few elders living in seclusion, the other clan members had hurried back from all over the world to visit Liu Qing. Their sheer numbers left him thoroughly overwhelmed.
The clan's standing among the world's foremost noble families rested not only on its vast wealth, but also on its formidable fighting strength and expertise in training Flying-type Pokémon. This was also why it was known as the Golden Feather family. As far as Liu Qing knew, his father, Bofeng Yu, was a Pokémon Trainer whose combat strength was at least at the peak of the Elite Four level.
To maintain that foundation, clan rules allowed every member to choose a Pokémon Egg from the clan's breeding center upon turning eight. The egg had to contain either a Flying-type Pokémon or one capable of flight, but which Pokémon hatched was entirely a matter of luck. They would raise it as their first Pokémon until they set out on a journey at ten. Ten years later, the clan elders would assign them duties according to their individual strength. The stronger they were, the greater their authority within the clan; the weaker they were, the less they had. They could also choose to continue traveling, but from that point onward, they had to cover all their own expenses, with no funding from the clan. Although Liu Qing had spent six years asleep, as the patriarch's eldest son, he had to lead by example, so the same rules still applied to him.
Liu Qing's mother, Sato Milly, belonged to Ice Sato, another of this world's powerful noble families. Though she was a top-class breeder, her combat strength was not to be underestimated either, placing her at least at the level just below the Elite Four. The breeding room stood in front of the mountain behind their home, where the Pokémon roamed freely, and Mili oversaw it herself as a breeder. In addition to feeding and raising Pokémon, it was one of the main places that supplied starter Pokémon Eggs each year to children who had reached the required age.
“Mom, Cousin Lorelei.” Entering the breeding room in the breeding grounds, Liu Qing saw Mili sitting on a sofa, talking to a woman of about twenty. She had long reddish-purple hair, wore glasses, and was dressed in a tight black dress. A blue Pokémon lay beside the sofa—the very Bagon Liu Qing had rescued all those years ago. Upon seeing him, Bagon immediately cried out happily and leaped into his arms.
“Liu Qing, you've only just recovered. Come sit down and rest.” After Liu Qing's six years in a vegetative state, Mili's affection for him had reached the point of outright spoiling him. “Honestly, your father... No matter what I say, he insists on letting you go off on a journey...”
“Mom, I really have recovered. You don't need to worry so much. Besides, I really want to become a Pokémon Trainer!” Although Liu Qing loved being doted on by his mother, he could not help speaking up. Then he turned to Lorelei and asked rather anxiously, “Cousin, how did it go?”
"Cousin, everything is more or less settled. Tomorrow, we just need to go to Professor Oak's place in Pallet Town and register your information." Lorelei paused before continuing, "But this year's new Pokémon Trainers only set out about two months ago, so the next batch of starter Pokémon isn't ready yet. If you want a Charmander, I'm afraid that won't be possible."
Liu Qing knew that, as a member of the Uzumaki clan, his starter had to be a Pokémon that could fly or would eventually gain the ability to do so. The clan followed the same rule, but its current batch of Pokémon Eggs had already been claimed by the younger members, and the next batch was not ready yet. That was why Lorelei had assumed Liu Qing would choose Charmander. “But I already have Bagon, don't I? Salamence is part Flying-type too!” As he spoke, Liu Qing patted the Bagon in his arms.
"Hehe, that's true." Lorelei smiled. "But you really are an impatient little fellow, wanting to leave on a journey as soon as you've recovered. I actually agree with my aunt's suggestion. Why not wait until next year and set off with the new Pokémon Trainers? You could use the time to recover further and learn more."
“Lorelei is right. Liu Qing, why don't you reconsider?” Mili clearly agreed wholeheartedly with Lorelei. “Don't worry about your father. I'll make sure to persuade him.”
Before you continue