Dong Huang Alliance.
Jiangcheng Spirit University.
The scorching sun poured mercilessly onto the massive outdoor battle arena of Jiangcheng First Spirit Academy, heating the metal railings until they were slightly warm.
The air was mixed with the faint, raw smell of sun-baked grass and the various high-pitched or low-pitched cries of Pokémon.
Chen Luo stood at the center of this bustling scene, yet felt like an outsider forcibly crammed into a painting.
"Pidgeotto, use Quick Attack!"
"I've been waiting for you, Mankey, Thunder Punch!"
"Boom!"
A dazzling flight trajectory and a burst of lightning collided violently, and then, Pidgeotto cried out in pain as it fell to the ground.
"Pidgeotto is unable to battle, Mankey wins!"
The clear battle commands, the realistic light and shadow of the moves, and the dust kicked up when the Pokémon fell, hit Chen Luo's muddled head like a heavy hammer.
He squeezed his eyes shut tightly, then fiercely pinched his arm.
A clear sensation of pain came, but everything in front of him became even more real.
The luster of Pidgeotto's feathers, the arcs of electricity jumping on Mankey's fists, the excited blush on the faces of the spectating students... This wasn't a dream!
"Holy crap..." Chen Luo uttered two words hoarsely, his throat tight.
"Where did I end up? Is this still China?"
His last memory was of staying up late, grinding a Pokémon game in front of his computer screen.
The next second, he was roughly thrown into this living, breathing parallel world where Pokémon and humans coexisted.
Conflicting fragments of information crashed in his mind.
The arrival of Pokémon, the merging of worlds, trainers becoming the mainstream... and his current identity—a freshman at Jiangcheng Spirit University, Chen Luo.
"Next up, Class Three's Chen Luo against Class Five's Liu Kai!"
The referee's calm announcement came from the loudspeaker.
"Chen Luo! What are you spacing out for! It's almost your turn!"
Someone shoved his shoulder hard.
Chen Luo turned his head; it was his roommate, Wang Peng.
"Battle? Me!?"
Chen Luo pointed at his nose, the sense of absurdity in his voice almost overflowing.
He didn't even know who was in his Poké Ball!
The memories of this body's original owner were as blurry as if seen through frosted glass.
"Nonsense! If not you, then who? Hurry up." Wang Peng pushed him forward.
Chen Luo subconsciously looked down, his palm pressed against a cold, familiar curved sphere.
"A Poké Ball!"
He really transmigrated?
Not a game, not an anime, but a real Pokémon world!
As a veteran Pokémon fan in his previous life, this was a scene he had fantasized about countless times... and it had just landed in front of him without any warning.
"Damn it, I don't care!" Chen Luo gritted his teeth, and a corner of the hot blood belonging to a hardcore Pokémon fan seemed to ignite within him.
He took a deep breath, suppressing his wildly beating heart.
Clutching the Poké Ball representing the unknown, the solid ground beneath his feet helped him steady himself slightly.
"Tsk, I've been waiting for you forever, you're so slow!" Liu Kai, his opponent, stood with his arms crossed, chin held high, a look of undisguised arrogance and impatience on his face.
The referee was a serious-looking middle-aged man.
He merely glanced at Chen Luo to confirm his presence, then cleanly waved the flag in his hand: "Begin!"
"Go, my darling! Cacnea!" Liu Kai dramatically threw out his Poké Ball, and red light burst forth.
"Cacnea!" A slightly sharp cry rang out.
In the center of the arena, a round, entirely emerald green cactus Pokémon, covered in sharp thorns, shook its body.
Its small eyes locked onto Chen Luo, carrying the vigilance and ferocity unique to desert creatures.
Here it comes!
He almost instinctively mimicked the most classic pose of the red-capped boy from his memories.
He swung his arm, throwing the Poké Ball in his hand with force: "I choose you!"
"Sandile! Sandile!"
Accompanied by short, powerful cries, a nimble, earthy-yellow figure landed steadily on the field.
It was a small Pokémon resembling a short-snouted crocodile, with strong limbs covered in rough scales.
Most striking were the large black "goggles" on its face, almost covering half of it.
It's Sandile!
Chen Luo instantly recognized his partner, and a sense of familiarity welled up within him.
It let out a low growl of intimidation, quickly turned its head, its limbs slightly bent, and its center of gravity lowered.
Its scaled tail lightly tapped the ground.
Its entire body was tense like a drawn bowstring, its eyes fixed on the Cacnea opposite.
Battle stance, flawless.
"Cacnea, don't give him a chance! Pin Missile!"
Liu Kai eagerly launched a preemptive attack.
"Cacnea!"
Cacnea's entire body of thorns suddenly trembled, and dozens of energy needles, flashing with white light, shot towards Sandile with a sharp whooshing sound, covering the sky!
"Damn it!" Chen Luo cursed inwardly, the little bit of excitement he had just felt instantly doused by half a basin of cold water.
He was so caught up in his excitement that he didn't even know what moves his Sandile knew.
He was completely clueless!
The memory fragments of the original owner of the body regarding this Sandile were as blurry as if seen through frosted glass.
Seeing the dense Pin Missile about to engulf Sandile.
Chen Luo almost reflexively roared out the most classic and versatile command in battle: "Sandile, dodge quickly!"
The moment the command left his mouth, Chen Luo felt as if his eyes were flashed by a bright light.
A subtle, almost imperceptible soreness appeared at the edge of his vision.
Then, in less than a second, lines of incredibly clear, unannounced text projected directly into the center of his vision.
They firmly overlaid the agilely dodging Sandile:
Pokémon: Sandile
Level: Lv.15
Gender: Male
Type: Dark / Ground
Ability: Moxie (Attack is boosted after knocking out a Pokémon)
Aptitude Assessment: Elite Four-Level
Known Moves: Sand Attack, Hone Claws, Glare, Sand Tomb, Scary Face, Bite
Egg Moves: Fire Fang, Thunder Fang, Crunch, Swagger
Learned Additional Moves: Dig, Rock Slide
Held Item: Black Glasses (Dark-type moves' power is boosted)
Description: The Desert Croc Pokémon. It lives in the sand of the desert. The sand, warmed by the sun, prevents its body temperature from dropping.
Data Eye!
The cheat code of a transmigrator!
This ability... it's practically a cheat device tailor-made for a trainer!
"Holy crap! My Sandile... what a godly start!"
Chen Luo's mind was instantly filled with a massive amount of information.
Extremely high aptitude!
Terrifying coverage!
Ability is the snowballing godly skill, Moxie!
Black Glasses, an item that boosts Dark-type moves!
And practical moves like Dig... With this setup, as long as he doesn't make a stupid mistake, it's practically a beginner's village crushing artifact!
He forcibly suppressed the corners of his mouth, which were almost reaching his ears.
His gaze, like lightning, instantly swept towards the Cacnea opposite.
The same data stream instantly refreshed in his vision:
Pokémon: Cacnea
Level: Lv.15
Gender: Male
Type: Grass
Ability: Sand Veil (Evasion is boosted in a sandstorm)
Aptitude Assessment: Elite-level
Known Moves: Poison Sting, Glare, Absorb, Growth, Leech Seed, Pin Missile, Sand Attack
Held Item: None
Description: It lives in dry places like deserts. It lures prey with its rich floral scent, then shoots out the thorns on its body to finish them off.
"Sandile."
Chen Luo's voice suddenly rose, carrying a decisive tone after seeing through everything, "Sand Tomb!"
"Sandile!"
Sandile, which had just deftly avoided all the Pin Missiles, moved at his command.
Its thick right foreclaw slammed onto the ground, and a surge of powerful Ground-type energy surged in!
Centered on Cacnea, the hard ground within a radius of several meters seemed to come alive, instantly transforming into a rapidly spinning quicksand vortex!
The fine sand, with its powerful tearing force, firmly trapped the caught-off-guard Cacnea in the center!
"Cacnea—!" Cacnea let out a pained shriek, its small feet struggling in vain in the quicksand.
"Cacnea! Quick, break free!"
Liu Kai's arrogance was instantly replaced by panic, his voice changing pitch.
Chen Luo's commands followed like a barrage: "Don't give it a breather! Sandile, Scary Face!"
"Roar—!"
Sandile suddenly raised its head, its face, covered by the black "goggles," instantly twisted.
"Ma... Cacnea..." Cacnea's struggling movements stiffened abruptly, its small eyes filled with uncontrollable fear, its body instinctively shrinking backward.
"Cacnea! Don't be afraid! Use Absorb! Drain its HP!"
Liu Kai was sweating profusely, trying to stabilize the situation with a recovery move.
Absorb?
"Take it! Let it absorb!"
Chen Luo's voice was firm and resolute.
He pointed forward fiercely, directly at the trembling green figure in the center of the quicksand.
He roared out the decisive command: "Charge! Use Fire Fang, finish it!"
"Sandile!!!"
Sandile's powerful limbs erupted with astonishing strength.
Blazing fire energy furiously gathered in Sandile's open maw.
Instantly igniting its already intimidating sharp teeth!
Flames surged and danced, and the fire-covered maw bit down fiercely!
"Crunch!"
Flames burst, accompanied by the crisp sound of something hard shattering.
"Cacnea—!!!"
Cacnea's scream was so shrill it was distorted, its entire body lifted from the quicksand by the immense biting force, then slammed hard onto the ground.
It twitched twice, stars in its eyes, and completely lost consciousness.
"Cacnea!" Liu Kai shrieked, his face pale.
The referee's voice broke the silence, clear and impartial: "Cacnea is unable to battle, Sandile wins. The victor, Class Three's Chen Luo!"
"We won!" Wang Peng was the first to jump up from the sidelines, excitedly waving his fists, "Chen Luo! Awesome!"
"Wow! That Sandile is so strong! Fire Fang's power is too fierce!"
"Sand Tomb into Scary Face into Fire Fang... The timing of that combo was perfect!"
"This Chen Luo... I haven't heard of him before? Is he secretly powerful?"
"Look at his command, so confident, as if he completely saw through his opponent!"
Chen Luo stood rooted to the spot, an indescribable sense of excitement and satisfaction welling up within him.
"Is this Pokémon battling?"
He won!
Commanding this exceptionally potential-filled Sandile, he won his first battle in this other world!
Looking at his Sandile, who was slightly panting in the arena, its eyes remarkably bright, turning to look at him.
He quickly walked towards his partner, knelt down, and extended his hand.
Sandile looked at the outstretched hand, then looked up at Chen Luo's eyes.
It extended its rough tongue and gently licked Chen Luo's palm.
"You did great, Sandile!" Chen Luo said with a sincere smile, rubbing Sandile's head.