Time flew by like flowing water, slipping through the fingers and hurrying past.
Ten years later, Twinleaf Town.
The boy on the grass quietly watched the sky. Against the blue sky and white clouds, the lush green grass looked like a soft carpet.
Breezes swept over the wildflowers on the grass, which were like nature's paintings, adding a splash of brilliant color to this tranquil world.
But the Starly flying across that blue sky and its white clouds, with little spots on their gray bellies, and the occasional Budew passing through the grass, its tiny, delicate body sporting two yellow-green legs and connected to the unopened bud on its head, showed that this world was anything but ordinary.
"Yaaawn~ This feels so nice."
Xiaoyun let out a comfortable yawn and stretched, a few tears glistening at the corners of his eyes. Then... he kept lying there.
It's already been ten years. Chat, does anyone understand?!
Over those ten years, Xiaoyun had tried all kinds of ways to awaken the illustrious system.
For instance, he had reverently offered up the 10,000 League dollars he had spent ages saving in front of his desk.
Or secretly, without Lina knowing, he had tied up a chicken he bought in the kitchen, then sent it off to enjoy paradise with a swipe of a kitchen knife.
He had even plunged into the library and stayed out all night, trying to activate it within a sea of books.
Finally, after repeatedly trying all sorts of methods, Xiaoyun had given up struggling.
Sure enough, I just don't have that kind of luck!
In his previous life, he had been a veteran Pokémon fan-back when it used to be called Pocket Monsters.
He felt that everyone who had watched it had more or less fantasized about entering the Pokémon world, collecting their Starter Pokémon, and conquering the League Conference and so on.
When watching Pokémon in his previous life, his favorites had been the Diamond and Pearl series and XY. He had found the art style of Sun and Moon a little hard to accept, and he had skipped through Pokémon Journeys because of Goh.
As Pokémon Journeys concluded, at the moment Ash finally lifted the championship trophy, he realized that his era of Pokémon had already passed.
Although new series had followed... the people in them were no longer the ones he knew.
"Hey! Xiaoyun! Your dad asked me to call you home."
Not far away, a cute blue-haired girl waved her arms happily.
The girl wore a white sleeveless top and a short blue skirt, her lovely blue hair held behind her ears with yellow hair clips. She was adorable.
"Oh, it's Dawn. All right, all right, I know. I'll head back in a minute."
The boy watched the girl approach and gave a perfunctory-sounding reply, but his body remained motionless on the grass.
"You rotten Ayun, you're brushing me off again, aren't you? I'm serious this time. Your dad said it was urgent and told me to make sure I brought you back."
The girl put both hands on her hips and pouted, a trace of helplessness appearing on her cute little face.
"Relax, Dawny. What urgent business could my dad possibly have? He just wants me to take Luxray along and help him patrol town again."
"Or the guy went to help out at Mom's Pokémon Day Care again and messed things up, and now he wants me to go back and help take some of the pressure off him."
Someone had absolutely no intention of getting up. Then... he kept lying there.
"Oh, come on, take this seriously. You're always so listless." Dawn stamped her foot helplessly. Realizing there was nothing she could do about him, she straightened her skirt and sat beside him, quietly keeping him company.
"Ayun, there's something I want to tell you."
Sitting on the grass, Dawn tucked her stray hair behind her ear. Her tone suddenly became a little serious, and a hint of nervousness showed in her beautiful blue eyes.
"Go ahead. What is it?"
Xiaoyun seemed to hear the seriousness in Dawn's voice too. He sat up from the grass, no longer looking so lazy, and replied as he turned his clear, bright eyes toward her.
"It's... it's about traveling."
Dawn's ears reddened slightly when she noticed Xiaoyun's gaze, and she spoke a little shyly.
"Uh... what traveling?" The boy had not yet understood what Dawn meant and asked her in some confusion.
"Oh, you know how we'll be setting out on our journeys in a few years? I want to travel with you."
After saying that, Dawn turned her head aside with a faint blush. Her shy appearance looked even cuter in the sunlight.
"Oh, I see." Xiaoyun nodded in reply.
Thoughts flashed through his mind.
In the world of Pokémon, everyone was considered an adult once they turned fourteen. By paying the League a certain sum every year, they could collect their own Pokémon and Pokédex from the local Pokémon Professor upon reaching adulthood.
The Pokémon issued by the League were generally Water, Fire, or Grass types with three-stage evolution lines, commonly known as "Starter Pokémon."
Many humans in the Pokémon world traveled with their Pokémon. Those who collected Badges and challenged Pokémon League Gyms were called "Pokémon Trainers."
There were also those who competed in Pokémon Contests to win Ribbons, known as "Pokémon Coordinators," people who specialized in raising Pokémon, known as Breeders, as well as Pokémon explorers, Pokémon sommeliers, and so on.
Those who could not afford the payments could only spend 200 League dollars on a Poké Ball at a Poké Mart, then try their luck in the wild. With luck, they might find a lone Wurmple or Weedle to catch and get their start from there.
According to his memories, Giovanni, the Viridian Gym Leader in the Kanto Region and the boss of Team Rocket, the number one underground organization, had started out with a Beedrill.
Even now, that Beedrill remained the ace among Giovanni's many Pokémon. He had no idea how the guy had raised it. Being able to trade blows with Doduo's Dragonite without even Mega Evolving was just ridiculous.
Back when he played the games, he had always Mega Evolved Beedrill and maxed out its Speed, hoping to rely on its powerful Attack and Speed, boosted by its Ability, Adaptability, to knock the opponent out with a Poison Jab before they could even move.
Otherwise, with Beedrill's measly 40 Defense, he really, truly would not dare let it take a single hit ( ｰ̀εｰ́ ).
"Hey, hey! Are you agreeing to travel with me or not? You just said 'oh' without even giving me an answer. That's really rude, you know."
Dawn's voice pulled Xiaoyun out of his recollections. He looked up at her, and the shyness that had been on her face had already vanished.
Her brows were slightly furrowed, her little hands clenched into fists, and her beautiful eyes glared at Xiaoyun with an expression that seemed to say she would get angry unless he gave her a perfect explanation.
"Uh..."
Xiaoyun broke into a sweat. Only then did he remember the girl beside him waiting for an answer, and his brain began working at top speed.
"Sorry, Dawn. I didn't mean to."
"Actually, when I heard you mention traveling just now, I suddenly started thinking about what we should prepare for our journey, so I got a little distracted..."
Xiaoyun gently placed a hand on Dawn's head and looked at her with those clear, bright eyes, lying without so much as a blush.
"Ah, you... you're agreeing, then?!" Ignoring the paw stroking her hair and hearing only his agreement, Dawn looked at Xiaoyun happily.
"Yeah, that's right. Actually, I was already planning to travel with you even if you didn't ask."
"Mostly because a certain someone can't do anything but still spends all day saying, 'No need to worry, no need to worry.' How could I possibly feel at ease letting you travel alone, Dawn?"
Watching Xiaoyun recount her embarrassing history with a perfectly straight face, her happy little face instantly darkened.
"Like that time when we were little, mmph..."
"Ah!! Don't say it! Don't say it!"
"Forget about it right now, this very instant!" In a panic, Dawn lunged at him and clamped her hand over his endlessly running mouth.
She could put up with the earlier comments, but that last embarrassing incident was the shame of her life.
"Mmph... mmph, lemme go firsht, I won' shay it." With Dawn's hand over his mouth, Xiaoyun was having trouble breathing. Worse still, her fingers had gone up his nostrils.
"Okay, you said it. I'm letting go, then."
Dawn noticed it too at that point. Seeing Xiaoyun's face turn red from lack of air, she hurriedly let go.
"Phew, I'm saved. Honestly, Dawn, you still react so strongly."
Having caught his breath, Xiaoyun immediately felt saved. He had not expected Dawn to be so strong when she looked so delicate. That hand over his mouth had nearly finished him off.
"Oh, come on, you're the one who suddenly brought it up. It happened so long ago..." Dawn said with a pout, her cheeks still a little flushed.
"Come on, it wasn't such a big deal. Everyone was little back then. They've probably pretty much forgotten about it." Xiaoyun waved a hand dismissively.
"Well, that's true."
"But you can't just bring it up next time. Otherwise... hmph, hmph." Dawn waved her arms, warning Xiaoyun again.
"All right, then." Faced with Dawn's "I'm counting to three" tone, Xiaoyun admitted he was a little rattled. He quickly stood up and started changing the subject.
"Um, how about we go? It's about time to head home. Maybe that unreliable dad of mine really does have something going on."
"Okay."