Summer 2022, in a room in Shuangqing City.
“Beep beep beep… Beep beep beep…”
A slender, well-defined hand reached out and stopped the alarm clock. Its owner mumbled twice, then sat up from the bed.
“Hiss, my head feels dizzy. Did I catch a cold from the air conditioner being on too long last night?”
Patting his head, Zhou Yuan opened his sleepy eyes.
What greeted his eyes was his own bedroom. Although it looked a little different from when he went to Sleep last night, Zhou Yuan didn’t pay it any mind.
“Mom came in to tidy my room early again. I’ve told her not to just come in…”
However, when Zhou Yuan walked to the wardrobe to change out of his pajamas, the reflection in the full-length mirror made him widen his eyes.
“Ah???”
What appeared in the full-length mirror was a handsome man, tall and slender with sword-like eyebrows and bright eyes, a prominent nose. Although he frowned slightly due to his dizziness and his appearance was still a bit youthful, it didn't detract from his aura. He was truly a dashing young gentleman, a handsome youth with an elegant demeanor.
That wasn't the point, the point was…
“Why do I look so much younger? It can’t be…”
Looking at his youthful self in front of him, a guess formed in Zhou Yuan’s mind, but he didn’t want to believe it.
“I must still be dreaming. This must still be my dream. Demons and ghosts, begone! World-Honored Ksitigarbha, Om Mani Padme Hum! Grand Pure One, as urgent as the law! God bless me to wake up from this dream quickly, Amen.”
After praying to various deities, Zhou Yuan had no choice but to accept a fact.
“I actually transmigrated?!”
After accepting this fact, Zhou Yuan sat down at his desk. The most urgent task was to figure out what time it was.
Opening the calendar, Zhou Yuan’s vision went dark.
“Second year of high school summer vacation, third year of high school next semester. Help! I don’t want to go through this year again…”
After taking a deep breath and calming down for a while, Zhou Yuan still said very optimistically:
“It’s alright. As the saying goes, since I’m here, I might as well make the best of it. Five years, I have a full five years! I know exactly how many opportunities there are during this time. Standing on these opportunities, even a pig can fly. I’ll be the next Chen Hansheng!”
Just as Zhou Yuan thought he could have a brilliant and splendid life like the protagonists of typical urban transmigration novels, a familiar voice came from outside the door.
“Xiao Yuan, are you up? If you’re up, come out and eat breakfast.”
This was his mother’s voice. His mother’s name was An Huilan. She used to be a head nurse at a hospital. After marrying his father, she resigned to take care of children. After being a housewife for two years, she opened a hotpot restaurant with her husband.
Zhou Mu outside asked again, and Zhou Yuan responded.
“Mom, I’m up. I’ll be out to eat right away.”
Walking out of the room and sitting at the dining table, his mother, An Huilan, also came out of the kitchen, carrying noodles.
Zhou Yuan glanced at her. She indeed looked several years younger than she did last night. So, he really did transmigrate, after all. Zhou Yuan no longer held onto the idea that he had suddenly reverted to youth.
An Huilan looked at her son, feeling that he was a bit different today. She asked, “What’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell? Should I get you some medicine?”
Zhou Yuan said, “My head feels a bit dizzy, maybe the air conditioner…”
Before he could finish speaking, Zhou Mu interjected.
“You’ve had the air conditioner on for too long, haven’t you? I told you a long time ago to turn up the air conditioner temperature and not leave it on for so long…”
Seeing that his mother was getting more agitated, Zhou Yuan quickly changed the subject.
“Where’s my dad? Where did he go?”
Hearing her son’s question, Zhou Mu finally stopped nagging.
“Your dad went to Uncle Liu’s place, as usual, to buy the ingredients needed for the restaurant today. He should be back in a little while.”
Zhou Yuan then realized that his parents’ small hotpot restaurant, though not large in scale, was quite famous in the southeastern part of Shuangqing City because their daily ingredients were always freshly purchased, and their hotpot base was stir-fried with their own secret recipe, making it taste very good.
At this point, Zhou Mu brought up another matter.
“When are you planning to buy a Pokémon egg? Have you decided which Pokémon you want as your starter Pokémon?”
Zhou Yuan was stunned.
“Huh? A Pokémon egg?”
Zhou Yuan felt it was absurd, and even his voice trembled slightly.
“Yes, aren’t you going into your third year of high school soon? I’m preparing a starter Pokémon for you.”
Hearing Zhou Mu’s reply, Zhou Yuan suddenly felt a headache. He put down his chopsticks and rushed back into his room.
“Hey, you kid, finish your noodles! They’ll get soggy soon.”
After Zhou Yuan returned to his room, his headache worsened, and along with it came a different memory, which made Zhou Yuan’s expression gradually become complicated.
( ´ ｀ ; )?
“The Elf World merging with reality, this is too ridiculous.”
“I thought I had the urban dragon-among-men script, but now you’re telling me I have the world-line convergence script?”
Due to world-line convergence, the Elf World and the real world merged into one. Approximately five thousand years ago, the Elf World gradually merged with the real world. Historical records state: “Cracks appeared in the sky, and demonic beasts emerged.”
“Demonic beasts” naturally referred to Pokémon.
As the integration progressed, Earth also changed, with the emergence of berries and various unique plants. Human physiques gradually improved, and even ordinary animals underwent changes.
A thousand years after the integration began, it was completed. The Elf World and the real world were no longer separate, and the entire world completely stabilized, but humans and demonic beasts were still confined by prejudice.
Another thousand years passed, and humans and demonic beasts gradually formed a harmonious atmosphere. Most humans no longer viewed demonic beasts with hostility, and the simple demonic beasts also became friendly towards humans.
Of course, not all demonic beasts stopped attacking humans. A very small number of fierce demonic beasts would still attack humans when their territory was invaded or when they were extremely angry and hungry.
Another thousand years passed, and humans gradually began to raise and command demonic beasts. These people were called Beast Tamers. Although their numbers were not large, it marked a new era in the relationship between humans and demonic beasts.
As time progressed and developed, the relationship between humans and demonic beasts became increasingly intimate. More and more people began to become Beast Tamers, choosing to live together with demonic beasts. Some very powerful demonic beasts would also Help humans resolve natural disasters when they occurred. These demonic beasts were respectfully referred to as Divine Beasts by the people.
Although the world-line converged, nothing that was supposed to happen was missed: the war in the Kalos region, the battle of the Twin Gods in the Hoenn region, the conflict between Truth and Ideals in the Unova region, and so on. Despite occasional bumps, the relationship between humans and Pokémon steadily improved.
It wasn’t until modern times, around 1900, that various regions gradually unified and formed alliances, changing the term “demonic beasts” to Pokémon and unifying the title of “Beast Tamer” to Trainer. A total of ten regions were formed; in addition to the nine original regions of the Elf World’s original timeline, an additional Yanhuang region was added.
In 1925, Professor Nishinomori, a researcher of carried beasts at Saffron University in the Kanto region, discovered the phenomenon of Pokémon shrinking while studying Primeape. He eventually invented the Poké Ball, using spatial technology to allow Trainers to carry Pokémon with them. This invention sparked a worldwide craze for becoming a Trainer.
After Poké Balls were mass-produced, almost every household would capture Pokémon, whether as pets or as family members, truly achieving the coexistence of humans and Pokémon, which continues to this day.
After looking up this history on the computer, Zhou Yuan looked up at the ceiling.
“Damn it, do you know how long I’ve waited for this day?”
“In my memory, didn’t children in the Elf World become Trainers and go on adventures with their Pokémon when they were around ten years old? Why does this world only get a starter Pokémon closer to adulthood?”
With this question, Zhou Yuan began to search online again.
When the Pokémon Alliance was first established, there was indeed no regulation on the minimum age for becoming a Trainer.
However, because some Trainers were too young and impetuous, after obtaining their starter Pokémon, they felt invincible. They acted recklessly during their adventures, often trespassing into wild Pokémon territories or provoking wild Pokémon. As a result, they were attacked by wild Pokémon, and there were even many casualties.
After several years of similar situations, the Pokémon Alliance issued a directive: “Trainers venturing out must have a certain level of self-control and sound judgment to avoid unnecessary casualties outside.”
Since then, the age for obtaining a starter Pokémon and becoming a Trainer has generally increased.
And because the Yanhuang region already existed before the world merged and has a long history, parents are more conservative, leading to a custom where initial Pokémon are only obtained before adulthood. Although there is no explicit regulation, it has gradually become an unwritten rule in the Yanhuang region after decades of development.
While other regions do not have explicit regulations, they have correspondingly raised certain age limits.
After the general increase in the age of new Trainers, it reduced the ways in which mischievous children could harass wild Pokémon to a certain extent. The relationship between some previously disturbed wild Pokémon and humans also improved, creating a friendly environment in the Elf World.
After understanding everything, Zhou Yuan let out a long breath.
“Thankfully, although there have been some changes, the extent of the changes is still within a comprehensible range.”
“Before transmigrating, I won the Pokémon Global Tournament one year, although it was partly due to luck and I couldn’t achieve consecutive championships the next year. But it doesn’t matter! I still have my own insights into Pokémon. I’m known as a ‘human Pokédex’ in the jianghu. Based on my understanding of Pokémon, I deserve to transmigrate.”
Just as Zhou Yuan was fantasizing about the future, Zhou Mu’s voice came from outside.
“Get out and eat!!!”
Zhou Yuan had just placed his hand on the doorknob, ready to open the door and eat, when a voice appeared in his mind.
【Ding~~~ System binding… 】
(Written at the end: If you are a reader who clicked in because of the title “Humanoid Pokémon,” this content will appear after chapter 30. This is the revised title after the book test; the original title was not this. Please understand, and don’t criticize me for ‘hanging a sheep’s head to sell dog meat.’ I will change it in the next book test.)