"Master, you're finally awake! Shall I go catch Rayquaza now and have him guard your door?"
Lin Hao had barely opened his eyes before he nearly sprang out of bed.
A giant bird stood beside his bed, its feathers a riot of colors and auspicious clouds swirling around its body, its head bowed to its chest. Lin Hao rubbed his temples and stared at it for three seconds. "What did you just call me?"
"Master," Ho-Oh replied, cautiously fluttering his wings. "You are the ruler of the entire Pokédex, the one and only leader of all Legendary Pokémon."
Lin Hao said nothing. A second ago, he had still been working overtime at the office, revising a presentation. Now Ho-Oh was calling him master and offering to catch Rayquaza to guard his door. Who could possibly handle that?
A panel popped up in his mind:
[Full Pokédex unlock: complete] [Legendary Pokémon bound: Ho-Oh, Arceus, Mewtwo, Groudon... All 898 Pokémon in position] [Current level: max] [Current identity: ordinary boy from Pallet Town (false)]
Lin Hao's face tightened. An ordinary boy? You call a max-level guy with the entire Pokédex ordinary? "System?" he called tentatively. No one answered.
The good news was that he didn't have to do any quests. The bad news was that this cheat was absurdly powerful.
"Master, Arceus has been waiting at the door for a long time." Ho-Oh leaned closer and rubbed his head against Lin Hao's arm. "He wants to know where you'd like to ride him today."
"Stop!" Lin Hao shoved that precious head away. "Are you saying there's a whole bunch of Legendary Pokémon outside?"
Ho-Oh leaned in and whispered, "Not that many. Just a few dozen. Everyone wants to meet you."
Lin Hao lifted a corner of the curtain. In the backyard, Groudon and Kyogre were glaring at each other over a sunny spot. Mewtwo sat cross-legged on a branch, resting with his eyes closed, while Dialga and Palkia were playing with a ball nearby.
His head throbbed. "You call that not many?" If the Pokémon Trainers' Association saw this, he'd be on a lab table tomorrow!
"Who would dare touch you?" Ho-Oh snorted. "I'll burn their headquarters down with one blast of Sacred Fire!"
"Shut up." Lin Hao pointed at him, keeping his voice low. "From now on, don't call me master. Call me Wang Haoran."
Ho-Oh nodded repeatedly. "Yes, Master."
"Call me Lin Hao!"
"Understood, Master."
Lin Hao collected himself. This bird was hopeless. He looked down at himself: an ordinary sweatshirt, an ordinary room, and the same handsome face in the mirror. Good. In the Pokémon world, keeping a low profile was the way to go.
He'd had enough of being a corporate drone in his previous life. This time, all he wanted was to take it easy. Lin Hao pushed open the window and shouted into the backyard, "Everyone, listen up!"
The yard fell silent. Groudon stopped moving his claws, Kyogre shut his mouth, and Mewtwo opened his eyes and floated over to the window.
Lin Hao put on a stern face. "All of you, disappear. Right now. Immediately! None of you are allowed to show yourselves without my permission."
Mewtwo remained expressionless. "Master, we want to protect you."
"I'm an ordinary guy. What do I need protection for?" Lin Hao shot him an irritated look. "With the way you look, you'd be walking headlines out on the street!"
Groudon tentatively raised a claw. "Then what if we made ourselves smaller?"
"You'd still be Legendary Pokémon!" Wang Haoran pointed toward the corner. "All of you, go back into system space and stay there."
The Legendary Pokémon exchanged looks. They didn't understand, but they obeyed! In the blink of an eye, streaks of light rose into the air and shot into Wang Haoran's mind.
The room was finally quiet. Lin Hao was just about to collapse back onto his bed for more sleep when the doorbell rang.
"Wang Haoran, are you home?" A girl's clear voice came from outside. "Professor Oak wants you to come to the laboratory and get your starter Pokémon!"
Lin Hao opened the door. It was May, wearing a red top and a bandanna.
"Can I skip it?" Lin Hao yawned.
"No!" May grabbed his arm. "Today's the big day when we get our starter Pokémon, and you're seriously trying to ditch it?"
"What's so great about getting a starter Pokémon..." Lin Hao muttered. He had the entire Pokédex tucked inside his head. Any one of them could wreck the map so badly it would need patching. Going to pick up a Charmander or Squirtle now felt like a billionaire lining up to collect welfare.
May glared at him. "What did you say?"
Lin Hao quickly waved his hand. "Nothing. Let's go." He closed the door and followed May toward the laboratory.
In a flower bed beside the road, a Pikachu was clutching a Berry and munching on it.
Lin Hao glanced at him and casually scooped him up. "You can be my starter partner. Help me keep up appearances."
Pikachu froze. "Pika?"
"Settled, then." Lin Hao patted his head, leaving Pikachu even more bewildered.
The two arrived at Professor Oak's Laboratory, where quite a few rookie Trainers had already gathered around the entrance.
Professor Oak was holding three Poké Balls and speaking to the crowd. His gaze lingered when he spotted Lin Hao. "Lin Hao, you're finally here." Professor Oak looked him up and down. "I've noticed something different about your presence today."
Lin Hao's brow twitched, and he played dumb. "Really? Maybe it's because I didn't sleep well last night."
Professor Oak didn't press him. He picked up a Poké Ball. "Gary has already taken Squirtle. That leaves Charmander and Bulbasaur. Pick one."
Without even looking, Lin Hao pointed to the left. "Charmander, then."
Professor Oak looked a little surprised. "Are you sure? Don't you want to think it over?"
"No need." Lin Hao put on a serious expression. "I'm just an ordinary Trainer, after all. It makes no difference which one I choose."
The moment he finished speaking, a shrill alarm blared through the laboratory! "Warning! Extremely high energy signature detected!"
"Warning! A Legendary Pokémon has appeared nearby!"
The entire room descended into chaos. Professor Oak abruptly rose and rushed toward the monitor. "How is that possible?" He stared at the screen, his voice rising out of pitch. "These energy fluctuations... Ho-Oh?"
Lin Hao inwardly groaned. Oh no. That oversized rooster is acting up again! He looked down and saw a multicolored feather poking out from behind his shadow. Ho-Oh was huddled there. Through gritted teeth, he said, "Ho-Oh."
"Tuck those rainbow-colored wings away."
"Go sweep the floor, now!"
Before you continue