In a small town on a planet much like Earth, Brian sat in a daze—because he wasn't from this world.
Is this… crossing over? Like in those novels?
The thought made him excited. In his previous life, he was an orphan with no family at all. Now, this was a fresh start.
Full of enthusiasm, Brian began searching for anything related to this world's entertainment and culture. In his mind, it was the perfect way to get rich—just copy the famous works from his own world.
But that fantasy shattered the moment he looked at the computer in his room. Every piece of news was about Pokémon. His mind went blank.
"Where's my wealth?"
"Where are my beautiful women?!" Brian shouted.
After yelling, he calmed himself down. Well, if this was the Pokémon world, that wasn't a problem—he could still become strong. His dreams shifted from being rich and surrounded by beautiful women to collecting his favorite Pokémon.
A knock on the door pulled him from his thoughts.
"Brian, are you okay?"
"Brian?"
"Why were you shouting just now?"
"…Brother?"
The voices—two adults and a boy—snapped him back to reality. Memories surfaced, and he realized that in this life, unlike the last, Brian had a family.
He got up, opened the door, and found a man and a woman standing there, with a boy of about sixteen—two years younger than him—peeking from behind. The man was his father, Leon; the woman, his mother, Fiona; and the boy, his younger brother, Alan.
Seeing their worried faces, Brian felt warmth in his chest. In his past life, he had grown up in an orphanage without friends or family.
"I'm fine. Just a bad dream," he said.
"Oh? But it sounded like you were… missing something," Fiona said, her face still worried.
Brian's cheeks warmed. Yeah… money and beautiful women. Of course, he couldn't say that. "No, it's just that… in my dream, I lost a really cute Pokémon."
"You had us worried, you know. The school will be distributing them tomorrow," Fiona sighed.
"Hehe… I guess I was just too excited."
"Alright then. Since you're fine, let's all go back to sleep—it's only three o'clock," Leon said.
"Sorry about that. Sweet dreams."
"That's what we should be saying to you."
They all went back to their rooms. Brian, still unable to sleep, sat down at his desk and began searching for everything he could about Pokémon.
He learned that Pokémon had appeared only thirty years ago, when Arceus descended to this planet. At the same time, all modern weapons—guns, rockets, and the like—had ceased to function. Wars broke out soon after, with humans using Pokémon as weapons.
The battles disturbed the red and blue Pokémon, awakening them and igniting a fierce clash. But it didn't end there—dragon-like Pokémon descended from the skies. The chaos devastated the world: in a planet once home to over 120 countries, only 50 remained after massive earthquakes, tornadoes, and tsunamis.
The surviving nations formed an alliance, dividing the world into ten regions. Brian's home was in the Orange Region. It became clear that Pokémon, while often friendly, could also be incredibly dangerous.
Twenty years after the great battle between the three Pokémon, humans uncovered historical fragments from the Kanto region—knowledge on crafting Poké Balls, energy cubes, and more. New professions emerged: Trainers, Breeders, and others.
The red and blue Pokémon must be Groudon and Kyogre… and the green one, Rayquaza.
He read further. The war had broken out in twenty different places before Rayquaza intervened.
That makes sense. If just one fight between legendaries caused all that destruction, the whole world could've been wiped out.
He continued browsing. Twenty years after that, aided by Kanto's fragments, humanity created the Pokédex—developed by Professor Sakamoto and Professor Chen of the Breno Region. So far, only 500 Pokémon had been recorded.
By the time Brian finished reading, it was already four o'clock. Sleep finally caught up to him, and he decided to rest before school at eight.
When he woke at seven, he joined his family for breakfast. It felt strange—back on Earth, he had always eaten alone.
"Brian, have you decided which Pokémon you'll choose?" Leon asked.
"I'm not sure yet. I'm only ranked fifteenth in the school," Brian replied between bites.
"Why not pick Eevee? They're cute and strong—like Mr. Edward's Flareon at the Light City Gym. That thing is powerful," Alan suggested.
"Yeah, Eevee is adorable and versatile," Fiona added.
"Eevee, huh? That's a good choice too."
Besides, Brian noticed that no one seemed to have evolved an Eevee into Sylveon, Glaceon, or Leafeon. The Pokédex listed Umbreon and Espeon, but not Sylveon. He suspected Glaceon and Leafeon weren't evolved with ice or leaf stones, but rather by finding special mossy and icy rocks. And Sylveon? Probably by learning Disarming Voice, not high friendship.
After breakfast, Brian headed to school. On the way, he saw people walking with Pokémon like Pikachu, Jigglypuff, Pidgey—some even had Vulpix. This world really was fascinating.
He boarded the bus and spotted a familiar face from his new memories—his good friend, Brook.
"Morning, Brian."
"Morning."
"Have you picked your Pokémon yet?"
"Yeah, I'm going with Eevee. What about you?"
"Me? Vulpix," Brook said with a smile. He was ranked between fourth and twentieth, same as Brian.
"Yeah, Vulpix is a great choice too."