I really just wanted to be a nobody

"Lin Hao, is that Pikachu of yours really just an ordinary Pikachu?" Red didn't answer him. His gaze settled on Lin Hao.

"Completely ordinary. Just eats well and gets a little too much calcium." Lin Hao scooped Pikachu back up, afraid of another earth-shattering stunt.

Red studied him and recalled his own Pikachu. "You're hiding your strength."

"What strength? I don't even have a single Badge." Lin Hao pointed at his empty belt. "I'm just a newbie who only just set out. Cut me some slack, boss."

Red didn't press him further and sat back down beside the river. "Next time, we battle again."

"Sure, next time. Definitely next time." Lin Hao brushed him off, grabbed May, and hurried away.

May kept muttering the whole way. "Even Red says you're strong, and you're still pretending."

"Come on, he was just being polite. Couldn't you tell?"

"I don't believe you! I'm sticking with you until I uncover your secret!"

Lin Hao's head throbbed. She wasn't an investigator-she was practically his personal stalker.

The two arrived in Viridian City, where the streets were much livelier. Lin Hao had hoped to scrounge a meal at the Pokémon Center, but the moment he walked in, he saw a news report playing on the big screen. "Breaking news! Abnormal energy fluctuations have been detected at Mt. Moon near Viridian City. Rumors suggest a Legendary Pokémon has appeared."

"Hoenn Champion Steven has already headed out to investigate. All residents are advised to exercise caution."

Lin Hao inwardly groaned. Mt. Moon? He remembered Deoxys mentioning last night that they wanted to watch the stars from a mountaintop. "I'm screwed." Lin Hao rubbed his cheeks.

"What's wrong? Why that face?" May asked with concern.

"Probably just hungry. Low blood sugar."

"Then wait here. I'll go get something to eat."

As soon as May left, Lin Hao slipped into a corner. "Deoxys, get out here!"

A translucent purple figure appeared before Lin Hao. "Master, did you call?"

"Did you go to Mt. Moon last night?"

"Yes. The magnetic field there felt very comfortable, so I stayed a little longer," Deoxys replied.

"A little longer? Now the whole world knows you're there!" Lin Hao lowered his voice. "Even Steven's gone over. Get back here right now."

"But Master, I found a very strange meteorite there. I wanted to bring it to you."

"Forget bringing it! What's more important, your life or some meteorite?"

"My life doesn't matter. What pleases my master matters most."

Lin Hao was speechless. Had these Legendary Pokémon maxed out their loyalty or something? "All right, forget the meteorite. Come back immediately."

"It's too late, Master," Deoxys replied. "The man called Steven has already found me. He and his Metagross have me surrounded."

Lin Hao's vision went dark. Steven, the Hoenn Champion, wasn't easy to deal with. If Deoxys actually fought him, half of Mt. Moon would probably be leveled. "He hasn't attacked, has he?"

"He's trying to catch me. He keeps throwing balls," Deoxys replied. "Ordinary Poké Balls like those can't even get through my defenses."

"Of course. He's a Champion, and he's no fool." Lin Hao steeled himself. "Stay where you are. Don't fight back, either. I'm coming."

"Master, are you going to fight personally?" Deoxys sounded a little more cheerful.

"Fight personally, my ass! I'm coming to get you out of there!" Lin Hao cut off the Telepathy connection just as May approached with two sandwiches.

"Here, what you wanted... Huh? Lin Hao, why are you running?"

"Something urgent came up! Eat without me!" Lin Hao sprinted toward Mt. Moon without looking back, seething with frustration. What happened to my easygoing life? What happened to keeping a low profile and growing stronger? It's only my first day out, and I already have to wrest a Legendary Pokémon away from a Champion?

A cordon had already been set up at the foot of Mt. Moon, and plenty of Trainers had gathered to watch.

"Did you hear? Steven found a Pokémon nobody's ever seen before up on the mountain!"

"They say it came from outer space and looks really fierce!"

"Steven will definitely catch it. He's the strongest Steel-type Champion!"

Listening to the bystanders, Lin Hao's heart beat a little faster. When nobody was looking, he climbed the cliff along the side. For a max-level Trainer like him, Rock Climb at this level was no different from walking on flat ground.

At the summit, Steven was directing his Shiny Metagross, keeping Deoxys surrounded. "Such an intelligent Pokémon. That ability to change forms is truly fascinating." Steven wiped the sweat from his forehead without taking his eyes off Deoxys. "Once more, Metagross! Meteor Mash!"

Metagross roared and charged toward Deoxys in a streak of silver light.

Deoxys stood motionless, remembering the master's order: Don't fight back.

Just as Meteor Mash was about to strike Deoxys, Lin Hao finally arrived. "Stop!" he shouted, barging straight into the battlefield. Metagross's fist stopped just one centimeter from the tip of his nose.

Steven froze. "Who are you? It's dangerous here. Get out!"

Panting heavily, Lin Hao pointed at Deoxys. "Uh, Steven, this Pokémon is mine."

Steven stared at Lin Hao as though he'd said something utterly absurd. "Yours? Do you know what this Pokémon is? It's the legendary..."

"I know. This is Big Red," Lin Hao improvised without missing a beat. "My pet. Wandered off by accident earlier."

Steven's eye twitched. "Big Red?"

"That's right. Big Red, come home for dinner." Lin Hao gave Deoxys a meaningful look. Deoxys obligingly retracted their spikes and nuzzled his palm.

Steven couldn't process it. The mysterious Pokémon he'd spent all that effort trying and failing to approach was now affectionately nuzzling the boy's hand. "That's impossible..."

"Nothing's impossible. It's a big world full of strange things." Lin Hao took Deoxys by the hand and turned to leave.

"Stop!" Steven snapped out of his daze and hurried to block Lin Hao's path. "Who exactly are you?"

Lin Hao stopped and looked back with a wry smile. "Steven, I'm really just an ordinary Trainer passing through."

"An ordinary Trainer can get a Legendary Pokémon to accept him as its master?" Steven clearly didn't believe him.

"Maybe I just have a friendly face." Lin Hao was about to say more when a phoenix's cry rang out from the clouds behind him.

Ho-Oh's multicolored figure flickered in and out of sight among the clouds. "Master, I brought the meteorite back for you!" Ho-Oh opened their beak, and an enormous meteorite fell from the sky, landing right beside Steven's feet.

Steven looked at the meteorite on the ground, then at Ho-Oh in the sky, and finally fixed his gaze on Lin Hao. "This is what you call ordinary?"