c1: Shocked!
"Breaking news! In a shocking turn of events, a first-grade student at an elementary school in Shencheng used a Ditto to transform into herself to skip class!"
"Update! Just last night, the popular community platform 'TrainerHub' launched a poll titled: 'What's the most ingenious way to skip class in a Pokémon world?' Out of 108 options, the strategy 'Let Ditto impersonate you in class' dominated with a staggering 95% of votes!"
"Alert! This morning, the Ministry of Education issued an official notice on their verified Weibo account, instructing all teachers to deepen their understanding of Pokémon, particularly highlighting the morphological inconsistencies post-Transform, a known limitation of Ditto's mimicry first detailed in Professor Oak's research logs!"
Shencheng – First Grade Classroom, Shencheng Elementary School
Inside a vibrant first-grade classroom, six-year-old Stephanie sat near the window. She had golden hair like sunlight, eyes like dew-touched sapphires, and skin as soft and pale as Moomoo Milk. She resembled a living doll, straight out of a Lumiose City boutique display.
In her small hands was a standard-issue Trainer Grade I multi-tool the latest model of the National Pokédex, a sleek device combining life records, education modules, games, telecommunication, internet access, Trainer ID, and even payment functions.
Developed over several years by Silph Co. and Devon Corp under the authority of the Global Pokémon Alliance, it was declared unhackable, foolproof, and biolocked to a registered citizen's Aura Signature ensuring it could only be used by the one bound to it.
Stephanie stared listlessly at the screen, scrolling through trending headlines on the built-in NetNav. Around her, murmurs rippled through the room, curious gazes flickering her way. Unfazed, she leaned further back only half of her bottom actually on the chair in a pose both sulky and comedic.
"Stupid clickbait news outlets," she grumbled internally, "UC Shock Bureau, you pests show up in every universe!"
The class bell chimed crisply. Stephanie shut the Pokédex and slid it into her satchel. A hush fell over the room. The teacher, in a crisp formal uniform adorned with the official insignia of the Kanto-Hoenn Education Alliance, entered precisely on time.
"Good morning, teacher!" the class chorused.
"Good morning, everyone!"
Following the typical greetings, the teacher swept his gaze across the class before locking eyes with the golden-haired girl. "Chen Xiaoxiao!"
Stephanie, now called by her current identity, winced as the entire class braced like they'd just been hit by an Icy Wind. Her already-wilting mood plunged further as she stood up stiffly. "Present."
"Alright. Just making sure you're not a Ditto this time," the teacher replied, trying and failing to keep a straight face as the corner of his mouth twitched upward.
The class couldn't hold back anymore. Laughter erupted like a Loudred concert.
"Ditto your face! Ditto your whole family!" Chen Xiaoxiao screamed internally as she slumped back into her chair, mortified.
---
Yes, Chen Xiaoxiao is our story's protagonist. She's six years old this year or rather, her body is. Because no one knows that the original soul of this girl is long gone. It's now occupied by someone else.
That "someone" came from a different world a planet called Earth.
Originally named Chen Xiao, a 22-year-old orphan and textbook example of a "four-nothing" young man (no car, no home, no savings, no girlfriend), he'd only survived college through scholarships and odd jobs.
The night he received his graduation certificate, he binge-played Pokémon FireRed: Eternal Edition on an old handheld console in his crumbling 12-square-meter rental. Just as he defeated the Elite Four, he closed his eyes... and woke up as a six-year-old girl in another world.
After absorbing the body's memories, he realized he had transmigrated just like the protagonists of those web novels he'd secretly read between shifts.
Needing confirmation, he turned to the only thing that could help: the world's Pokédex.
With a quick check of the house, he found a small bag shaped like a stylized Eevee and inside, a Pokédex that resembled a flattened Rotom Phone. Following the mental blueprints retained from his host's memories, he booted up the device and opened the integrated Qiandu search engine.
Search by search, click by click, truth emerged. This was a world uncannily similar to Earth in geography and language, still called Huaxia but one where Pokémon were deeply integrated into daily life.
Here, the most admired idols weren't actors or singers but Pokémon Trainers. The biggest events weren't the Olympics or World Cup but the National Pokémon Championships and the Global League Conference, watched by over 80% of the population.
The civilian world still resembled his own, but the elite strata operated like the world of Pokémon manga. Each nation was designated a Region, managed by a Champion and four Elite Four members appointments decided through brutal Elite Challenges.
Cities were dotted with official Pokémon Gyms run by certified Leaders responsible for public safety, a concept borrowed from the original Indigo League structure. Pokémon Centers, recognizable by their red roofs and friendly Chanseys, provided free medical services to all Trainers.
Governance-wise, the Pokémon Alliance operated transparently, with well-defined power divisions and democratic appointments. Even the private sector mirrored his old world with a twist.
For instance, real estate tycoon Mr. Xu from Earth now ran the Daheng Machamp Group, boasting literal Machamp-powered construction crews. Another empire, once known for its penguin mascot, was now fronted by Piplup, said to be the cherished starter of the enigmatic tech CEO Ma.
This society's digital ecosystem had evolved around the multifunctional Pokédex. As a result, Earth's smartphone and PC giants had either pivoted or perished.
As for the host body's past, Chen Xiao (now Chen Xiaoxiao) learned that her mother had passed away shortly after childbirth. Her father was a high-ranking Trainer, specializing in Psychic-type Pokémon and frequently absent on assignments with the League's Psi Division.
Thus begins the strange new life of a transmigrated adult man trapped in the body of a six-year-old girl, in a world where Pikachu might be a class pet and Mewtwo might be part of the military-industrial complex.
And yet, all Chen Xiao could think was:
"At least it's not Digimon. I can work with this."
Since her father left a year ago to explore an Ultra Wormhole anomaly linked to the Ultra Beasts, he had never returned. Only his main Pokémon, an aged Alakazam, managed to crawl back through the rift, its Teleport failing mid-jump due to critical injuries. In its trembling arms were two things: his final belongings, and a mysterious Pokémon Egg with faint glowing patterns clearly of non-native origin. Alakazam collapsed upon arrival, and despite intensive care at the nearest Pokémon Center, it succumbed to its wounds.
Following this tragedy, little Stephanie now Chen Xiaoxiao was raised by her maternal grandmother, a renowned member of an Apex-class Pokémon Breeder lineage. Residing in Shencheng, she ran a small but elite Breeder's ranch, where quality always triumphed over quantity.
The Pokémon Eggs produced on the ranch came from Pokémon with optimal IVs and confirmed Egg Moves, often born from cross-regional pairs bred under the strict protocols outlined by the Pokémon Breeder's Manual published by Professor Elm's institute. These eggs were never publicly listed for sale, available only to veteran Trainers or Gym Leaders through informal networks and even then, demand outstripped supply.
Yes, by all rights under Feilu Orphanage Story Tropes, the protagonist should have been an orphan scraping by.
Yet, for reasons unknown perhaps influenced by transmigrating into Stephanie's life this story deviated slightly from the "lone and tragic male protagonist" formula. According to the principle of "raise boys poor, raise girls rich," it appears fortune has tilted slightly in her favor this time.
Unlike the classic tale of a soul burdened with hardship, Chen Xiaoxiao didn't wake up in the gutter or a burned-out town. Instead, she was in a comfortable home with a seasoned caregiver and inherited access to a respected breeder's Pokémon stock and her late father's League-recognized achievements offering her a solid head start.
---
After the initial panic, confusion, and existential dread, she slowly grew accustomed to her new life. Once the shock wore off, and after verifying the presence of Aura signatures, Poké Balls, and even the canonical Legendary Pokémon in research archives, she embraced her situation.
Chen Xiaoxiao had now lived in this world for just over two months.
But with the mind of a 22-year-old man inside a six-year-old's body, one issue loomed large:
School.
Mandatory, standardized, government-regulated, first-grade school!
Sure, Pokémon were a part of society. But what exactly was she expected to learn in first grade? Pokémon battling tactics? Tactical synergy with status moves?
Of course not!
She was still stuck learning how to count in base-10 and writing her name in simplified characters!
After enduring two months of brain-melting basic education, inspiration finally struck. One day, while helping her grandmother reorganize the stock of training aids, she caught sight of an especially lazy Ditto loafing around in the shade. An idea took shape.
Using her adult-level reasoning and negotiation tactics and a full case of premium-grade Apex Psychic-Type PokéBlocks as bribes Chen Xiaoxiao convinced Ditto to Transform into her and attend class on her behalf.
For a full week, they rehearsed her mannerisms, vocabulary, habitual sighs, eye rolls, and pencil grips. She even choreographed subtle fidgeting patterns and built contingency scripts for responding to common questions.
By the end of the training period, they'd developed a multi-phase backup plan, including a mental recall signal via weak Psychic transmission courtesy of her latent powers and the faint imprint from her father's bloodline.
At last, the grand plan began.
Chen Xiaoxiao perched atop the school's rooftop garden out of sight from CCTV and Pidgeot patrols using Psychic to subtly probe Ditto's behavior and watch for mistakes.
Everything worked perfectly for an entire day.
The next morning, emboldened by success, she let Ditto go to class alone and snuck off to a nearby greenbelt park. There, she amused herself terrorizing low-level Pokémon Caterpie, Rattata, and the occasional Zigzagoon while feeling thoroughly pleased with her ingenuity.
But that was when disaster struck.
Back at school, the math teacher renowned for her iron teaching discipline and formerly a Johto Gym Challenger posed a logic question. No one volunteered. Suspicious, she called on Chen Xiaoxiao, her top-performing student known for acing every written test.
Ditto froze like a Deerling under headlights.
It had no idea what the question even meant.
It couldn't answer.
It couldn't even speak.
It only ever learned one word: "Here!"
Panic bloomed across Ditto's fake face as the room tittered with suppressed laughter. Its Transform was already strained from holding the form for over four hours. Embarrassed and overwhelmed, Ditto's structure destabilized slightly, its gelatinous body rippling as it slumped onto the desk.
Still maintaining the human shape but barely.
The teacher, thinking her brightest student was having a serious medical issue, rushed to check her pulse and called the school nurse. She was quickly sent to a Pokémon-affiliated emergency clinic, where standard Aura-based ID verification would inevitably expose the deception.
Once they scanned the Aura trace and found no match for a registered human?
The farce would collapse instantly.
Parents were called.
At 11:00 a.m., humming happily, Chen Xiaoxiao made her way to the usual meetup point near the west school wall, expecting a successful hand-off.
But Ditto never arrived.
Feeling a gnawing dread, she rushed home only to find the living room shrouded in silence.
On the center table sat a beautiful feathered Swanna-brand duster. Her grandmother sat beside it, face as dark as the soot-covered face of a Charcoal worker.
Chen Xiaoxiao stopped in her tracks.
She stared.
She knew.
This…
was not going to end well.
---