A small, blue turtle with a round head appeared on screen.
It had a smooth brown shell, a curled little tail, and big eyes that should've looked bright and lively.
Instead, they were filled with… fear.
Squirtle.
One of the three starter Pokemon. A Water-type known for being gentle and cute.
But this Squirtle looked wrong.
It was pressed into the corner of the wall, neck stretched out as far as it could go, like it was desperately trying to avoid something.
Its large eyes were filled with unease and anxiety—no, more than that.
Fear.
"This is my Pokemon. Squirtle."
The mascot man let out a cold laugh. "You're the so-called master, right? Go on, take a look. Tell me what's wrong with my Squirtle. If you can actually explain something real, I'll drop a Master Ball right now. No backing out."
"But if you start spouting nonsense about 'personality mismatch' or whatever, don't blame me for tearing you apart in chat."
Logan Moore frowned slightly as he studied the Squirtle.
A starter?
Anyone who could get their hands on one was either rich or well-connected.
So this troll probably had some real-world backing.
But this Squirtle's condition…
Something was seriously off.
A normal Squirtle should be lively, simple-minded, maybe even a little mischievous.
This one…
It was huddled in the corner, neck craned out stiffly, like a goose being strangled.
Its big watery eyes were bloodshot. Its gaze wandered, unfocused and panicked, with a faint hint of blankness creeping in.
It seemed on edge about everything. The slightest movement made its whole body tremble. It would desperately try to retreat into its shell—but halfway through, it would jerk its head back out again and open its mouth wide, gasping for air.
It looked like…
It was suffocating.
[RandomUser123: What's wrong with that Squirtle? Looks like it hasn't slept in days.]
[SpringIsWarm: Poor thing… it looks so scared.]
Logan didn't respond.
He activated [Pokemon Appraiser System].
Buzz—
A stream of data only he could see refreshed across his vision.
[Target: Squirtle][Attribute: Water][Gender: Male][Level: LV.7 (Beginner Stage)][Individual Values (IVs): B (75, considered high quality)][Ability: Torrent (Powers up Water-type moves when HP is low)][Nature: Timid (Speed↑ Attack↓, easily startled, prefers to flee)]
So far, everything looked normal.
"Timid" wasn't ideal, but it wasn't fatal either. Plenty of Squirtle were naturally skittish. With proper training, they could still grow into excellent Blastoise.
But—
When Logan's gaze shifted further down, to the section hidden beneath the base stats—
[God-tier Pokemon Appraising · Deep Analysis]
His pupils contracted sharply.
He froze.
Lines of dazzling system text filled his vision:
[God-tier Insight · Deep Analysis]
Current Status: [Suffocation Shadow](It is under extreme psychological stress. Its lungs are healthy. Its gill structures are fully developed. However, its brain is sending the wrong signal to its body—"I am suffocating." Every second, it feels as though it is drowning in invisible "water." Even on land, it desperately searches for oxygen.)
[Fate Strand (Gray): Drowning Omen](This is a Water-type Pokemon, yet it bears the sign of "death by drowning." It has developed an instinctive physiological rejection of water. If raised under current conditions, it will die within one month—heart failure caused by prolonged stress—while submerged in water.)
[Fate Strand (Black): Cognitive Distortion](It suspects it is not a turtle, but a Fire-type creature trapped inside a shell. Or perhaps a land-bound animal that cannot swim. It refuses to acknowledge its own typing and has subconsciously sealed its Water-type talent. It will not use any Water-type moves. In its cognition—water equals death.)
Special Condition (Red): [Severe Hydrophobia]
Logan fell into a long silence.
He rubbed his eyes.
Was the system bugging out?
A Squirtle.
A Water-type Pokemon.
A turtle that should be surfing the ocean and spraying water in rivers.
Afraid of water?
And not just that—suffering from something as insane as [Suffocation Shadow] and [Cognitive Distortion]?
That was like a bird being afraid of heights. A fish being afraid of water. A person being afraid of air.
It completely defied biological common sense.
"…."
Logan stared at the Squirtle on screen, still stretching its neck and gasping desperately.
Something felt deeply wrong.
Not just wrong—
120% wrong.
"Hey! Streamer! Say something!"
When Logan stayed quiet too long, the mascot man—ID: TrollKing99—assumed he was stumped. His tone grew smug and aggressive.
"What, speechless? Weren't you talking a big game earlier? Didn't you say you could figure it out at a glance?"
"Go on, tell me what's wrong with my Squirtle. If you can't, just end the stream now and stop embarrassing yourself."
Logan came back to his senses and looked at the Pikachu mask wobbling in front of the camera.
He sneered inwardly.
Laugh while you can.
The harder you laugh now, the worse it'll be later.
He didn't know the exact cause yet—but the system's Fate Strands didn't lie.
For this Squirtle to end up like this, it absolutely had something to do with its owner's way of raising it.
"Relax."
Logan's voice was calm. No anger. No joy. Just an unreadable stillness.
"I'm just wondering how something this ridiculous can even exist in this world."
"Ridiculous?" the mascot man blinked. "What do you mean?"
"I mean…"
Logan leaned forward slightly. Through the screen, he looked at the mascot man the way a doctor might look at a particularly difficult patient.
"On the surface, your Squirtle's stats are decent. It's actually pretty solid."
"But."
His tone shifted.
"If I'm not mistaken, your Squirtle has a very serious issue."
"In fact… you could say it's unheard of in the Pokemon world."