The sky was dim, the wind cold and sharp.
Kaito, wrapped in a ragged gray cloth, lay prone on a small hillside, his eyes locked on a patch of grassy clearing not far away.
There, four pale gray wolves were circling a young deer.
The poor fawn, toyed with by the salivating wolves, quickly exhausted its stamina and finally collapsed to its knees, waiting for death. The wolves, naturally, did not stand on ceremony. Opening their bloody maws, they pounced one after another, leaving only a single wolf behind to stand guard, its eyes scanning the surroundings.
Now's the time. Kaito memorized the location and began to dig frantically at the dirt beneath him.
His hands moved as if powered by an electric shovel, tearing a large hole in the earth. He dove headfirst into the opening, the gray cloth he'd been wearing conveniently falling over the entrance to conceal it.
Once inside the hole, his hands didn't stop. Like a mole, he carved out a tunnel in the blink of an eye, moving swiftly underground.
When he estimated he was in the right position, Kaito changed direction and dug upward, bursting through the surface of the ground.
The wolves were in the middle of tearing at the deer's tender flesh and had no idea someone would erupt from beneath them. One was sent flying as Kaito shot out of the earth.
As it fell, Kaito's left hand shot out, seizing it by the neck and slamming it to the ground. With his right, he pulled a cleaver from his belt and plunged it down in one clean, decisive motion. The tip of the blade pierced straight through the wolf's eye socket.
The wolf's body convulsed a few times, then went still.
Only then did the other three wolves react. With low growls, they closed in. The fate of their fallen companion didn't matter; what mattered was that their hard-won prey not be stolen. They didn't attack immediately, instead circling Kaito, seemingly looking for an opening.
In their gray pupils, the human's reflection was clear: a small, slight figure dressed in an ill-fitting, plain coat. His face was too grimy to make out his features, save for a pair of striking, azure-blue eyes.
Head tilted, eyes darting, Kaito tracked the wolves' slightest movements. He gave the cleaver a slight twist, pulled it free, and held it defensively in front of him. Lifting his feet carefully, he began to slowly back away.
Seeing him seemingly leave his back unguarded, the wolf directly behind Kaito hesitated. But in the end, the temptation of that slender, exposed neck was too much to resist.
It judged the distance, coiled its hind legs, and sprang. Its blood-flecked snout aimed precisely for the human's nape.
Kaito caught the flash of a shadow in the cleaver's smooth blade and a smile touched his lips. Instead of retreating, he surged forward, gathering his strength to meet the wolf head-on.
The wolf whimpered, feeling as if it had been struck by an iron plate. It let out a pained howl and crashed to the ground.
Seeing their chance, the remaining two wolves immediately lunged from the sides.
But Kaito was prepared. He kicked a spray of sand and dirt into their faces, then slid low to the ground, coming up beside the wolf he had knocked down. He swung the cleaver sideways, ending its life without a moment's hesitation.
At that, the last two wolves lost all their fighting spirit. They backed away, though their eyes kept flicking toward the deer still lying on the ground.
Kaito tucked the cleaver back into his belt. He picked up one of the dead wolves in each hand, his gaze meeting the gentle eyes of the small deer for a moment. He sighed, then turned and left.
Survival of the fittest.
He wasn't so self-indulgent as to interfere with the natural order of things. Besides, two wolves were more than enough for him; a third would just be a burden. He was also leaving the other two for the sake of sustainability—though if they were both males, well, that was just their bad luck.
Kaito managed to make it back to the village just before night fell completely.
The village wasn't large. According to the stories, it had been founded over a decade ago by refugees fleeing from the chaos of war. It still had no official name; the villagers simply called it "the Small Village."
Carrying his prize, now wrapped in the gray cloth, he went to the only butcher shop in the village and knocked on the window shutter.
"Who is it!" The wooden shutter slid open with a scrape, and a burly, gruff-faced man poked his head out. When he saw Kaito and the bundle on his back, the anger from being disturbed instantly vanished.
"Oh, it's you, Kaito. Looks like you had a good haul."
"Here, see for yourself," Kaito said, handing the bundle over.
"Two white wolves with their pelts completely intact! Kid, your aim is getting better and better," the man said with genuine admiration, looking at the two carcasses, each killed with a single, clean blow. A month ago, he'd been surprised enough when the scrawny Kaito managed to bring back a single, mangled rabbit. He never expected the boy to be bringing back this kind of prey only a month later.
"Uncle Genji, this should fetch a good price, right?"
"Of course. Those noble lords love flawless white wolf pelts like these." Uncle Genji glanced at Kaito and said with a grin, "Don't you worry, I won't short you."
"I trust you, Uncle," Kaito said, looking at him with wide, expectant eyes.
"Not a truthful bone in your body, kid." Uncle Genji shook his head, disappearing from the window with the goods. He returned a moment later and tossed a small pouch of silver to Kaito.
"Go on, count it."
Without ceremony, Kaito opened the pouch. Under Uncle Genji's exasperated gaze, he carefully counted the coins several times before tucking the pouch securely into an inner pocket, satisfied.
"Thanks! I'll treat you to a meal next time!"
"Hey, wait," Uncle Genji called out as Kaito was about to leave. "The traveling merchants say things are getting tense again. Be careful when you're out hunting. There might be wandering ninja causing trouble. If you run into one, you run. Don't be a fool. Those types are not people we common folk can afford to mess with."
"Wandering ninja?" Kaito took a deep breath and nodded seriously. "Right."
The news dampened his desire to treat himself to a big meal. He headed straight for his house.
The Small Village didn't even have a wall. Villagers could build their homes wherever they pleased, so the houses were scattered about like sesame seeds on a flatbread. Having arrived not long ago, Kaito had found a spot on the outskirts and put up a simple shed. It was crude, but it kept the wind and rain out.
Once the small door was closed, it was his own private sanctuary.
He stepped inside and flopped onto a pile of dry straw, closing his eyes. The hunt had looked easy, but it had been mentally exhausting.
After a while, his stomach began to rumble. He sat up, pulled a large, dry flatbread from his pocket, and began to chew on it with a look of faint disgust.
"Sigh... I miss the food from back home."
That's right. Kaito was not a native of this world.
Two months ago, he had inexplicably transmigrated here, into the body of a twelve or thirteen-year-old boy. To make matters worse, he had none of the body's original memories. He had split the character of his former surname to give himself the new name "Kaito."
Fortunately, the people here were simple and kind. It took Kaito a month to integrate into the village, and a another month of hunting to make a living. He was finally on solid ground.
The reason for his rapid progress was, of course, his transmigrator's bonus.
After finally finishing the flatbread, Kaito sat cross-legged, closed his eyes, and focused his mind.
When he opened them again, he was in a strange, rainbow-hued space. Lying before him was a creature that looked like a cross between a horse and a goat. Its body was pure white, with a golden, cross-like wheel encircling its abdomen. Its eyes were tightly shut, clearly deep in slumber.
Surrounding its body were eighteen stone plates of different colors, which together formed a shimmering, multicolored barrier.
Kaito was no stranger to this creature. Just before he'd been transported here, he had gotten a new game named after it.
This was the Creator God of the Pokémon world, Arceus.