Chapter 1: Starting from a Pokémon Egg
In the shimmering tunnel of time.
A verdant green figure seemed to be protecting an oval object enveloped in light, shuttling through rapidly.
Suddenly, countless strange black mists chased from behind, the surging black smoke seeming to want to devour everything ahead.
Forced, the verdant green figure increased its speed. Countless fragments of time flashed by its side, then were swallowed by the black smoke and disappeared completely.
But gradually, the black smoke billowed faster and faster. Just as the extending smoke was about to touch the verdant green figure—
Countless white lights bloomed.
Blocked by the white light, the black smoke temporarily slowed its advance. The verdant green figure seized the opportunity, aimed for a slightly open crack in time, and dived in with the oval object.
…
This world is filled with all sorts of magical creatures.
Besides humans, there is another kind of creature, numerous in quantity, distributed in every corner of the world.
They soar freely in the sky, galloping across the plains, drift up and down in the vast oceans. From the grandeur of outer space to the subtlety of grassy patches and rivers, they are omnipresent. Their figures can be seen beside streets, in forests, and on cliffs. Humans, coexisting with them, call these magical creatures:
"Pokémon."
At this moment, in the Newmoon Forest of the Eastern Ist Region, various Pokémon were living their lives as peacefully as usual.
Not far from the center of the forest, under a giant tree.
The gentle breeze rustled the grass at the base of the tree, making "swish swish" sounds. As the leaves swayed, an oval egg with blue spots could be vaguely seen among them.
This was a Pokémon egg.
As if blown by the wind, the Pokémon egg swayed restlessly.
A few Metapod hanging on the tree seemed to be attracted by the Pokémon egg's movement. They glanced at the egg, found nothing special, and then paid it no more mind.
Suddenly, "kacha kacha" sounds were heard.
Several cracks appeared on the top of the Pokémon egg, and it began to shake. As the cracking sound grew louder and the cracks widened, the egg's shaking became more intense.
"Kacha kacha."
A struggling figure could faintly be seen through the opening in the cracked Pokémon egg.
"Bang!"
The cracks spread to their limit and could no longer withstand the internal pressure. The entire top of the Pokémon egg shattered directly.
Along with the shattering of the Pokémon egg, a soft howl was heard.
"Awooo—"
A bipedal Pokémon, with slender limbs, predominantly blue and black fur, resembling a small dog, stood up from the remaining half of the Pokémon egg. There were black markings on its face similar to a mask, and its red eyes currently held a trace of confusion.
"What's going on?"
Kevin's mind was in chaos. He looked around at his surroundings in a daze:
In front and to his right was a patch of grass about half a meter high. Looking further, there were intertwined trees, their lush branches and leaves blocking most of the sky, leaving only strands of sunlight to fall through the gaps, creating golden traces on the ground. To his left was a quiet, deep green pool, with several large rocks scattered by its edge.
It was a tranquil scene of nature.
"Grass and trees? But wasn't I just crossing the road?"
Kevin stared blankly for a long while before his chaotic thoughts gradually calmed down.
He began to recall his situation:
Having loved freestyle combat since he was young, he chose to become a professional fighter after adulthood. With his outstanding fighting talent, he had won many victories and honors in his professional career over several years. Just as his life was about to reach a high point, a piece of bad news dragged him from the peak to the lowest valley: he was diagnosed with congenital heart disease. For a professional athlete, this was undoubtedly a heavy blow, and he fell into depression for a long time. By the time he finally emerged from the shadows, accepted reality, and planned to accept an offer to become a fighting coach to start the second spring of his career, his heart disease suddenly struck while he was on his way to sign the contract. In the blink of an eye, he had arrived in this strange place.
In his leisure time, Kevin had naturally read many popular online novels of the era.
"Have I transmigrated?"
Kevin thought uncertainly. Considering all aspects, this development, which seemed to exist only in novels, unexpectedly matched his current situation.
*Yes, you have transmigrated.*
As if hearing a mysterious voice, Kevin confirmed the fact that he had transmigrated.
He felt his heart beating strongly with his hand, and a smile appeared on Kevin's face.
"This isn't too bad, at least I have a chance to have a healthy body again. Hey, wait, wait, wait…"
Kevin's eyes widened as he looked at his "hand."
His hands were no longer the familiar five-fingered shape but a claw structure. His palms and arms were covered in blue fur, and on the back of his hands was a white circular patch.
Looking down, Kevin realized he was standing in a half-broken eggshell.
He suddenly had a guess, and at the same time, he stepped out and ran towards the nearby pool of water.
"Huff, huff."
Kevin, who had sprinted to the edge of the pool, looked at the reflection in the water:
Reflected on the water's surface was a familiar figure. There were two horn-like pointed protrusions on its head, two ribbon-like objects hanging down from the sides of its eyes, and a yellow collar around its neck.
"This is, Riolu??"
Kevin touched his face in disbelief.
The super IP Pokémon was well-known in Kevin's previous world. Moreover, Kevin was also a super game fan, so he was naturally familiar with the popular fighting Pokémon, Riolu.
He just never thought that one day he would be reborn into this world as a Riolu.
Kevin carefully examined his Riolu appearance. He pawed at his neck with his right claw, and saw a thin necklace, one end of which had fallen out from under the collar, hanging on his neck.
The suspended end of the necklace was inlaid with an azure crystal, refracting a faint blue light under the natural light.
Although Kevin felt the presence of the necklace was a bit strange, faced with the shocking reality of having become a Riolu, he had no mind to think about other problems. He stood up, his eyes instantly drawn to the few green, crescent-moon-shaped pupae hanging on the tree.
"Those are Metapod! So, does this mean I've come to the Pokémon world?"
Those Metapod were about 0.6 to 0.7 meters long, much larger than any pupae he had seen in his previous life. Coupled with their two lazy, dead-fish-like eyes, they merely twitched their bodies upon hearing Kevin's surprised exclamations, then continued to hang on the tree in a daze.
Kevin sat down cross-legged, racking his brains to recall any relevant information he had come across.
In his previous life, his knowledge of Pokémon came mostly from games and manga. He had played the games up to the eighth generation, Sword and Shield. As for the manga, he had only read the first few arcs of the Special series. He had even less contact with the anime. Looking at the surrounding forest scenery, there were no special landmarks, so Kevin couldn't determine which world – game, manga, or anime – he was currently in.