Starting Out with a Ditto Eevee

A gentle breeze swept through Pallet Town, the place where dreams began.

The lights in Professor Oak's Laboratory were still on at midnight. Young Gary Oak stared at the luggage beside his bed, lost in thought.

Tomorrow would be the day he made his debut as a Pokémon Trainer.

Five years had passed since he came to this world and merged with Gary's soul.

As Professor Oak's grandson, Gary had practically been born with a silver spoon in his mouth.

As the original rival, let's set a modest goal first: never get written out! Gary silently resolved.

There was no way he was going to spend his life doing research. After all, Pokémon had already reached its ninth generation before he transmigrated.

Put it this way: any paper I casually toss out would keep those old geezers in academia busy for years.

So, in this life, Gary decided to take a different path.

He would become the best in the world!

That's right. Only being the world's best could live up to my level of swagger.

And not the kind who barely scrapes his way to the top, either. I have to be an undefeated legend, like Leon!

To achieve that, Gary had made a few preparations.

First, he released a paper on the diversity of Eevee's evolutions.

It detailed the developmental trends of Eevee's inherent instability and the possibility of evolutions spanning every type.

In the academic world of this era, that paper was nothing short of a bombshell.

After verifying it through several channels, Professor Oak personally vouched for the paper and had it placed on the front page of the Pokémon Academic Forum.

Gary shot to fame overnight, becoming an officially verified, League-certified scholar-and the youngest one at that.

According to Professor Oak, if a ten-year-old professor wouldn't have caused such an uproar, the sheer value of Gary's paper would have more than justified giving him the title outright.

But all of that was just a bonus. Gary's real target was the Eevee Research Institute in Viridian City.

At Gary's request, Professor Oak pulled a few strings and finally obtained the Eevee the institute had been using for research.

Test subject No. 003: a Ditto Eevee capable of skillfully wielding energy from multiple types!

Gary suspected this little one's potential might well rival that of Ash's Pikachu.

It had simply been discovered too late to have a chance to shine.

But now... Gary looked at the white Premier Ball in his hand. Let's go see the view from the top together.

"Gary, still awake?" Professor Oak's voice came from outside the door, and Gary got up to open it.

"What's wrong? Too excited to sleep?" Professor Oak looked at him affectionately.

"Yeah, Grandpa. I'm finally going to become a Pokémon Trainer. I'm a little excited," Gary explained sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head.

"Hahaha! You still need to get to bed early. Traveling really puts your strength and stamina to the test," Professor Oak reminded him patiently.

"Don't worry, Grandpa. As long as I have Pokémon by my side, I believe everything will go smoothly. Just wait for me to make the family proud." Gary confidently patted his chest.

"All right, then get some sleep, our shining hope of Pallet Town." Professor Oak shook his head with a smile and switched off Gary's light.

Gary flopped onto his bed, hugged his Premier Ball, and drifted off to sleep.

Beep, beep, beep!

The next morning, the crisp ringing of his alarm woke Gary right on time. Unlike a certain superhuman Pallet Town boy with more muscle than sense, he wasn't such a heavy sleeper...

After washing up, he changed into his traveling outfit: gray jeans, a black short-sleeved shirt, and a purple cape.

It was windy and dusty outside. A cape kept him warm in winter and cool in summer, and, most importantly, it let him show off. He simply had to have one.

After feeding his little Eevee breakfast and telling it he would introduce it to a new friend shortly, Gary leisurely headed downstairs.

"Oh, you're up! Get ready for breakfast." Seeing Professor Oak in a pink apron, with black smoke billowing from the kitchen, Gary couldn't help covering his face.

Looks like finding the old man an assistant is becoming a necessity. Gary shook his head, came downstairs, and took the spatula. "Let me handle it."

"Ahahaha! I wanted to make you a farewell breakfast, but it seems harder than I expected." Professor Oak scratched his head awkwardly. "I'll go prepare the equipment for the new Trainers instead."

Gary fried a few strips of bacon, added bread and soft-cooked eggs, then prepared a bowl of vegetable salad.

With that, a nutritionally balanced breakfast was ready.

"Grandpa, come eat first," Gary called, wiping his hands.

"Oh, all right. Come upstairs first, Gary." Professor Oak poked his head out of the second-floor research room.

"Okay." Gary nodded and went back up the stairs.

The moment he entered, he saw the Poké Ball display stand Professor Oak had prepared.

Beneath its glass cover, three Poké Balls were arranged in a triangle. They held the Grass-type Bulbasaur, the Water-type Squirtle, and the Fire-type Charmander.

"Come on. It's already daylight, so this doesn't count as giving you special treatment. You can be the first to choose your Pokémon." Professor Oak beckoned warmly.

Gary smiled and stepped forward without hesitation. "I've already made up my mind."

Passing over the Squirtle he had once favored, Gary placed his hand directly on the ball marked with a flame. "Charmander, I choose you!"

Professor Oak raised an eyebrow. "Now, that I wasn't expecting."

"Because you chose Charmander back then too, Grandpa," Gary replied with a smile.

Ding! Starter Pokémon detected. Strongest Champion System activated.

Here it comes! Gary raised his eyebrows. I knew I couldn't have transmigrated for nothing.

System, introduce your functions. Keeping his expression unchanged, Gary took Charmander's Poké Ball in his hand and spoke silently in his mind.

Ding! The Strongest Champion System is an intelligent support system designed to help the host become the world's strongest Champion.

Complete objectives at each stage of League tournaments to earn achievement points.

Achievement points can be exchanged for various resources in the system shop. Please explore the functions yourself.

Gary nodded. It sounded pretty convenient.

Ding! Beginner gift pack delivered: Appraisal Eye (scans detailed Pokémon information and assesses potential).

Starter Pokémon Initial Move Upgrade Card ×2

Starter Pokémon Potential Reset Card ×1

Gary couldn't stop himself from grinning. So this is what having a cheat feels like!

He was looking forward to the journey ahead more and more...

Watching Gary stand there grinning blankly, Professor Oak shook his head with concern. Has this boy spent too much time with Ash? Why does he seem to have gone a little daft...?