Kaito and Kenji left Granny Yuki's house, with Kaito cradling his new Pokémon, Fragrant, like a child with a treasured toy. Kenji watched him with envy.
"I'll have my own Pokémon someday," Kenji declared. "I want Buzzwole more than anything. Muscles are a man's romance!"
Buzz-what? Kaito was confused; his knowledge of Pokémon was painfully limited, but he was determined to learn more.
"What now?" he asked, looking around their changed rural village. "Is there a Pokémon Center nearby?"
"To your place," Kenji replied. "Don't tell me you forgot we planned to watch the livestream? You're my only hope since my parents won't let me watch!"
"Sure, let's go," Kaito agreed, even though he had no memory of the plan. He climbed onto the bicycle, one hand gripping Kenji's shirt and the other holding Fragrant.
"Squeee~" The newborn Pokémon nuzzled against him, bonding with the first person she'd seen. Kaito felt himself growing fonder by the minute. Such a cute little thing. He wondered if she tasted sweet, but quickly shook his head. No—who eats their own Pokémon?
Suddenly, they heard a cry from above.
"Pidgey!"
A dark shape dove toward them.
"Holy crap!" Kenji yelled, pedaling furiously and swerving sharply. Kaito nearly fell off.
"What the hell?!" They turned into an alley, dust flying where they had just been.
"It's a Pidgey!" Kenji said, voice tense. "It spotted your Bounsweet. It wanted to eat her!"
"What?!" Shock and anger rushed through Kaito. Eat his Pokémon? The nerve! He hadn't even had time to bond with her yet!
"Can we fight it?" Kaito asked, itching for action.
A Pidgey—the weakest of Pokémon, evolving into Pidgeotto and Pidgeot. Ash had one. Raising it into a Pidgeot would be amazing. But Kenji shot him down.
"Are you crazy? We can't fight an aggressive Pokémon! We need to run!"
"Don't you have a battle-ready Pokémon? Can Fragrant fight?"
"Where would I get a Pokémon?! Plus, you're not a Battle Trainer—how could you fight?"
"Battle Trainer?" Kaito was confused. Did Kenji mean Pokémon Trainer? This world was different from the anime.
The Pidgey was preparing to chase them, but Kenji's strength kept them ahead. He pedaled desperately through the winding paths until they finally shook it off.
"Phew, finally gone," Kenji said, relaxing. "With Granny Yuki's Arcanine's scent deterring it, we're safe."
Kaito hesitated, realizing Kenji believed they had narrowly escaped real danger. It made sense; in the anime, characters got electrocuted and burned but recovered in the next scene.
But was reality like that? The Pidgey was a gentle bird in the anime, but in real life, it was a dog-sized creature that could do serious damage. One peck could crack a skull. Coexisting with such creatures couldn't be easy for humans.
From Kenji's words, Kaito understood that Granny Yuki's Arcanine was a village guardian, just like the guardian beasts in cultivation novels—the Willow Deity protecting Stone Village.
As Kaito pondered, Kenji brought them home. Kenji made himself comfortable—grabbing plum juice from the fridge, plopping onto the sofa, and turning on the TV.
Years later, Kaito would look back and regret that Kenji wasn't a girl. If he were, Kaito could have had a childhood sweetheart like in the anime. Sadly, he was stuck with this idiot.
Kenji had no idea what Kaito was imagining. He quickly turned to the channel he wanted.
"Whoa! It's started! Kaito, come watch!"
Kaito stood up and approached the screen. Two Pokémon were battling in a livestream.
This world had competitions? Gym challenges and Champion tournaments? His curiosity piqued.
The screen displayed: "Asian Pokémon League Finals." Competing teams: "Above the Azure Clouds" versus "Battle King."
The battlefield was enormous—mountains, forests, rivers, and grassland stretched far and wide. This was god-tier combat!
The Azure Clouds' fighter was a 26-year-old man named Aaron with an Exeggutor. But this was no ordinary Exeggutor; it had an extremely long neck and a tail like a dragon that cracked the earth.
Opposite him was Nina, a tiny, baby-faced girl who looked like a middle schooler, but her age read (27). Absurd! Was she ageless?
Nina's Pokémon was a Pidgeot—the final evolution of the Pidgey they'd just encountered.
The two Pokémon battled fiercely. Exeggutor unleashed dragon flames, while Pidgeot moved like lightning, each wingbeat carving through the ground.
This wasn't just a Pokémon battle—it was like two natural disasters colliding! Most shocking was that neither trainer stood back giving commands; one was riding on Exeggutor, and the other on Pidgeot's back.
Kaito was stunned to see Nina pull out a sniper rifle and fire at Aaron.
This was absolutely ridiculous!
And Aaron blocking the bullet with one hand? Kaito's understanding of the Pokémon world was shattered.
"Is that even human?" he wondered aloud.
The commentary on screen chimed in: "Alright, we see Nina taking her shot! Her sniping ranks in the top 3 in Asia. Let's see how…!" Two trainers stood back, directing their Pokémon. One was perched on top of Exeggutor's head, while the other rode Pidgeot's back.
Trainers were getting involved directly! Kaito watched in disbelief as Nina pulled out a sniper rifle and fired at Aaron. It was absolutely ridiculous—especially when Aaron blocked the bullet with just one hand. Kaito's understanding of the Pokémon world was shattered.
"Is that even human?" he exclaimed.
The commentary continued, "Oh my! He blocked the armor-piercing round with his hand! Does he have Steel or Rock-types?"
Another commentator chimed in, "Likely Psychic-type. Look—the bullet didn't even touch him. That's telekinesis! Exeggutor can manifest Dragon typing as psychic power when it's still developing. Aaron's main Pokémon is Exeggutor, and he's clearly tapped into some deep psychic abilities."
Kaito was impressed but confused. He turned to Kenji and asked, "Why can humans use Pokémon abilities?"
"What kind of question is that?" Kenji replied, eyes glued to the screen. "That's what Battle Trainers do! They form a contract, borrow power, and fight alongside their Pokémon. Unlike us ordinary people, if we got caught in a battle, the shockwaves alone could crush us!"
"Forming a contract?" Kaito was intrigued. It felt like he was asking basic questions, so he pulled out his phone and began to search for answers.
He found plenty of explanations. Battle Trainers were rare and powerful! To become one, you had to inscribe a "Battle Mark" on your body and form a contract with a Pokémon. This would store the Pokémon within the mark, allowing you to carry it with you and release it anytime. Through the mark, you could borrow up to 1/6 of its power.
As Kaito searched for images of Battle Marks, he noticed that their patterns resembled Poké Balls—half red, half white, with a black line and a white button. No wonder he hadn't seen any Poké Balls at Granny Yuki's! In this world, the balls had turned into tattoos that could transfer power.
According to what Kaito found, you could have a maximum of six Battle Marks: one on each limb, the torso, and the head. Each mark hosted one Pokémon. The one on your head was known as the "Main Pokémon" or "Primary Battle Spirit," and it provided the greatest combat influence.