Blue Star, Huaguo, Donghai Province, Binhe City.
The morning sun streamed into Class 3, Grade 2, Bincheng No. 1 High School. Wang Luo looked at the Pidgey chirping on the branches outside the window, and a Caterpie on the tree trunk tilted its head, staring at him, as if saying, “Young man, capture me! I promise to evolve into a Rayquaza.”
Wang Luo let out a long sigh. “It’s really great to have transmigrated. The Pokémon World is truly wonderful, much better than the 996 life of my previous life.”
Yes, Wang Luo was a transmigrator. Two months ago, he arrived in this parallel world where Pokémon and reality merged. As a senior Pokémon enthusiast, Wang Luo was so excited that he couldn't sleep for several days. Fortunately, his parents and classmates hadn't changed; they were still the same people.
The history of this world began to diverge significantly from reality due to the appearance of Pokémon. About a hundred years ago, various spatial rifts appeared around the world. Behind these rifts were mysterious spaces, and soon after, a large number of strange creatures appeared in the human world, causing destruction.
These creatures all possessed various incredible abilities. Initially, people called them 'magic beasts,' and thus, war began.
At first, humanity suffered continuous defeats until they entered a secret realm and discovered the civilization and technology of another world. Only then did they learn that these creatures were called Pokémon.
After humans assimilated this knowledge, they invented the Poké Ball, a tool that could capture Pokémon. From then on, Pokémon Trainers emerged, and under the Trainers' resistance, Pokémon were gradually repelled and captured.
Afterward, various countries formed and joined the World Elf League. Within each country, Trainer Associations and city Gyms were established to prevent invasions by Pokémon from secret realms and to maintain the stability of the human world.
As of today, Pokémon have fully integrated into this world. Not only have Pokémon professions such as Pokémon Trainer, Pokémon Breeder, and Pokémon Researcher emerged, but Pokémon have also entered all walks of society, greatly impacting human life.
“Ding-a-ling~”
Snapping back to reality, the bespectacled homeroom teacher, Liu Hongbin, had already put away his textbook.
“Alright, class, our second-year curriculum ends here. This summer vacation, you can capture your first Pokémon. Don't be complacent during the summer, as the placement test after school starts will determine whether you can enter the Pokémon Department,” the homeroom teacher said, as serious as ever.
“Awesome!”
“What Starter Pokemon are you planning to choose? I'm going for Sandshrew; its evolved form, Sandslash, is really cool.”
“What's so good about Sandshrew? I think Meowth is cuter.”
“Hmph, when I choose a Spearow and it evolves and carries me around, you'll all be trash!”
Watching the students endlessly discussing below, Liu Hongbin seemed to see his younger self, chuckled, and walked out of the classroom.
It's worth mentioning that the military technology of various countries in the world is currently closely related to Pokémon, so cultivating Pokémon Trainers has become a top priority for global development.
China stipulates that every high school student can obtain their first Pokémon at the end of their second year. In the third year, a Pokémon Department is established to teach various Pokémon knowledge and training methods. This is because Pokémon universities require not only cultural subjects for the college entrance examination but also assess students' Pokémon breeding knowledge and battle abilities. As for ordinary universities, only cultural subjects are tested.
“Let’s go, school’s out! Come to my place for some gaming. My Scyther is super good; your Chansey can support me.”
Zhang Yao saw Wang Luo still spacing out and called out.
Wang Luo looked at his best friend’s familiar face and rolled his eyes. “Give it up. Last time, your Scyther made a home in the bushes. Just stick to your destined Aggron as a tank.”
Wang Luo slung his backpack over his shoulder and walked out of the classroom with Zhang Yao, thinking about his first Pokémon as they walked. He definitely had to get into the Pokémon Department. In this world, only by becoming a Trainer could one enter the Superior class, so his initial Pokémon must be one with potential and good at battling.
“Oh, by the way, have you decided what your first Pokémon will be?” Zhang Yao asked excitedly.
Before Wang Luo could answer, Zhang Yao continued to babble, “I’ve decided! I’m choosing Charmander. When I ride my evolved Charizard, it’ll definitely be awesome. Strength is temporary, but being cool is for life.”
Becoming a Trainer is not an easy task; just the initial Pokémon itself is a huge expense. Unlike in the anime where you can receive a Starter Pokemon at ten years old, Starter Pokemon in the real world are absolute luxuries. The cost of just purchasing a Starter Pokemon starts at hundreds of thousands of alliance currency, and those with excellent aptitude are even more expensive, and they aren't something you can buy just with money.
The reason Zhang Yao could choose Charmander as his initial Pokémon was because he was a typical rich second-generation kid. His family owned over a dozen chain supermarkets and had some connections with the Elf Research Institute in Binhe City, which gave him this confidence.
Ordinary people, for example, could only choose Pokémon from breeding houses, which only had common Pokémon like Pidgey, Poliwag, and Geodude, but even those cost tens of thousands.
As for catching one in the wild, not to mention how dangerous the wild is, even if you had the strength, wild Pokémon generally have very poor aptitudes, making later training extremely difficult. Pokémon from breeding houses, at least, have guaranteed aptitudes.
Wang Luo’s family situation was similar to his previous world. His parents contracted an Oran Berry orchard in the suburbs. While his family wasn't poor, they didn't have the financial means to choose a Starter Pokemon. It was a typical commoner's start, so his family only prepared 100,000 alliance currency for him.
This money was enough to buy a common Pokémon and still have some left over for training resources, as the resources consumed by Pokémon later on were the biggest expense.
“It should be Poliwag. The price isn't expensive, and the evolved Poliwrath isn't weak. As for the subsequent ite… I’ll get it eventually.”
In his previous life, he particularly loved rain teams in games, utilizing weather advantage to unleash the immense power of Water-type Pokémon. Therefore, Wang Luo’s first choice was Poliwag. One must have ideals; what if it later evolved into a Politoed with the hidden ability Drizzle? Then he'd have a core weather setter for his rain team.
“Of course, if that doesn't work, a Water- and Fighting-type Poliwrath isn't bad either. In short, losing is impossible; I can never lose.”
“Poliwag is indeed a good choice. Our city is a coastal area, so Water-type Pokémon generally have better aptitudes.”
Zhang Yao knew that Wang Luo's family situation wasn't great. After careful consideration, he realized that this was indeed a very suitable Pokémon for Wang Luo. Moreover, Binhe City had many rivers and lakes, making daily training convenient. As for the ite, if he got into a good university, asking his dad for a reward wouldn't be too much, right?
“Then it’s settled! We’ll both get into the Pokémon Department after school starts. One Water-type and one Fire-type, we’ll show everyone how strong us brothers are, hahaha!” Zhang Yao laughed narcissistically. Feeling the strange looks from his classmates, Wang Luo moved away in disgust.
As they chatted, they arrived at the school gate. A luxury car was parked by the roadside, and judging by the license plate, it was Zhang Yao’s family driver picking him up. After Zhang Yao got in the car, he waved to Wang Luo.
“Hey, buddy, get in, I’ll give you a ride home.”
“Forget it. You should go home early and prepare. Think about your Charmander’s training plan. Once you get Charmander, cultivate it as soon as possible. Your cultural subjects aren’t good to begin with, so if you don’t cultivate your Pokémon well, be careful you won’t get into the Pokémon Department,” Wang Luo refused, shaking his head.
Zhang Yao seemed to have remembered something and shivered. If he couldn't get into the Pokémon Department, his dad’s belt wouldn't be merciful.
Thinking of this, he gave Wang Luo a resentful look. This buddy, who used to be among the last in class with him, how did his grades improve by leaps and bounds in these two months, especially in Pokémon knowledge? This beast even got first in the entire class.
So, Zhang Yao prepared to rush home by car to study hard. As the car started, Zhang Yao suddenly poked his head out the window and excitedly shouted, “Before school starts, let’s have a Pokémon battle! The loser treats the winner to barbecue! Get ready to bleed, wahahaha.”
Wang Luo was speechless and could only give him the middle finger as he left.
“I'll let him know who's the daddy then.”
Because he was going to the breeding house tomorrow, Wang Luo also planned to take the bus home early today. Although his family's orchard was also affiliated with Sunyshore City, it was located in the suburbs, and it took an hour by bus.
Of course, you could also rent Pokémon like Rapidash or Dodrio, which are faster than sports cars, but the cost isn't cheap either.
