Wang Yu ran down the stairs with a heavy clatter. Having played through the game's storyline dozens of times, he had never encountered a scenario where his dad kicked the bucket right at the start. He blurted out, "What's going on? What's the deal with Dad? Why is he almost gone and yet on TV?"
"Your old man is just talking. Look at my big clumsy mouth, there are only five minutes left, and I got so flustered I misspoke. Hurry over and take a look," the woman said, crossing her legs as she sat on the sofa.
On the screen, a handsome man with long golden hair was speaking. "So, to further the bond between Pokémon and trainers... Lastly, thank you to my wife, Linzi, for her support. My beloved son Little Turtle will also become a trainer this year. Dad supports you! You are the most promising blonde in Pallet Town!"
The screen cut away to a racing game show hosted by a human, with a Mr. Mime standing nearby. Anyone who fell into the water failed the challenge, while Starmie lurked below the surface waiting to rescue them.
"Wipeout from another dimension? Though that Mr. Mime is pretty creepy," Wang Yu muttered to himself. Two-dimensional things lost all their cuteness when brought into the third dimension. That big pink balloon-like face paired with blood-red blush patches on either side looked rather eerie.
"What did you say, Little Turtle?" Linzi asked, tilting her head.
"Nothing, Mom. Why did you name me Little Turtle?" Every time he played the game, he could customize his name, but this 'Turtle' name was awful—he would never have chosen it. And that strange blonde dad on TV had actually just called him Little Turtle son!
Both husband and wife were so eloquent. If they had a spat on any ordinary day, wouldn't they casually summon the other's ancestors to kneel and listen to a lecture? Fortunately, he had a sharp tongue himself; truly, they were cut from the same cloth.
"You liked Squirtle ever since you were little, and you chose the name yourself."
"I could choose my own name?"
"Of course. You just have to change it on your Trainer Card. Yesterday was your tenth birthday, and we applied for your Trainer Card. It's sitting right there in the car's glove compartment. I'll go get it for you."
Wang Yu strode quickly to the door and said, "Mom, give me the keys. I'll get it myself. Is there a boy named Ash in Pallet Town?"
Linzi tossed her hair, her rosy lips parting as she delivered a soul-searching triple question: "Huh? Don't you hang out with Ash and the kids all day long? Did you play house and break up with each other again over the last couple of days? Did you pee on his clothes and use them as laundry detergent again?"
"No, no, I know now, Mom." Wang Yu walked up to the black sedan, opened the door, and glanced at the logo on the steering wheel—it was the Pokémon League emblem. It seemed he was really going to stir things up in the Pokémon world.
The car was an automatic, though it lacked P/D/R/N indicators, using only graphics and directional arrows to explain the gear usage.
When he retrieved the Trainer Card, it felt like a long, hard piece of plastic. It bore his front-facing photo, name, and ID number, along with sixteen empty slots reserved for Gym badges.
The standard requirement to enter any regional tournament was to collect at least eight badges, though the actual number of available badges was far greater than eight.
Noticing a fingerprint icon in the lower right corner of the card, Wang Yu pressed his finger against it, and the Trainer Card shifted into an editable state.
[Change Name] [Equip/Remove Badges]
Wang Yu looked at the soft blonde hair on his head. He might as well be called Yellow; if he ever ran into Red and Leaf later on, they could form a traffic light trio.
[Name change successful: Little Turtle —> Yellow]
Yellow slipped the Trainer Card into his black hoodie pocket and shouted at the top of his lungs, "Ash!"
When they had driven home earlier, Yellow had noticed that Pallet Town actually had hundreds of residences, far more than the measly few shown in the game.
Seeing no response, Yellow decided against running around like a headless fly. Since he still wanted to meet the protagonist ahead of time, he had no choice but to run back inside and ask Linzi, "Ma, I'm a rookie trainer now. Aren't you going to gift me a pair of Running Shoes?"
Looking slightly surprised, Linzi fetched a pair of red-and-blue color-blocked shoes from the cabinet beside the television. The Pokémon League logo was stamped on them.
"How did you know, Little Turtle? I was planning to give them to you when you set out on your journey."
Naturally. Every video game protagonist received a pair from Mom when setting out, though this time he had just taken the initiative.
Yellow flashed his Trainer Card and said, "Ma, my name is Yellow now, and I don't like Squirtle quite as much anymore."
"Oh? Is that so? That's a nice new name. Yellow, here are your Running Shoes."
[Obtained Running Shoes x1]
Yellow was stunned. Was the world this casual about name changes? It accepted the new name the moment he finished changing it.
"Thanks, Mom. If this is Kanto, then is Professor Oak around here?"
"Yes, he's at the Pokémon Laboratory. You just applied for your Trainer Card yesterday, and you came back today planning to go see Professor Oak after dinner to get your very own Pokémon. That way you can get familiar with it before bedtime."
Yellow put on the Running Shoes. The soles were very soft, and with a light hop, the shock absorption and other effects were quite impressive.
"I'm going to find Professor Oak right now and be right back for dinner."
"Tie your shoelaces and take your time on the road! If you come back covered in filth, see if I don't toss you straight into the washing machine!" Linzi admonished.
Yellow darted off straight toward Professor Oak's laboratory. Since his backpack's modifier contained items like Qualification Tickets, it meant progress in the real world was stuck right at the moment he got into his car accident.
Wang Yu was open-minded enough to let it go—no use crying over spilled milk. He might as well properly start his adventure in the Pokémon world! He was going to thoroughly enjoy the joy of growing alongside Pokémon.
Arriving at the Pokémon Laboratory, the moment he stepped inside he saw bookshelves lining both sides, packed with books. Unfamiliar, oversized instruments and glassware were scattered all about, and there were only three researchers inside.
"Isn't that Little Turtle? Are you here to see Professor Oak? He went out," said a bespectacled man.
"Alright, thanks! I changed my name to Yellow! I probably know where he is!"
"You can go check Ash's house. Professor Oak and your Aunt Delia have been getting very close these past couple of days. I heard Delia wants to work full-time as a researcher lately, and Professor Oak is explaining the latest knowledge to her."
Yellow's mind went blank. Aunt Delia? Ash's mom? According to game progression, whenever Professor Oak wasn't in the lab, he was invariably being chased by other Pokémon in some patch of tall grass, waiting for someone to rescue him.
He'd go look there first. If he couldn't find him, he certainly wouldn't go to Ash's house—he'd rather wait another day than make himself unwelcome, as disturbing others at work was terribly impolite.
He reached a wide avenue. Though he didn't see any tall grass, it was presumably because the environment was too vast; judging by the terrain, this was the only Route 1 leading to the outside world.
A short-haired woman wearing a floral-print dress suddenly stepped out and said, "Young man, I am the Route 1 warden. Although the road ahead isn't very dangerous, please don't enter without a Pokémon, lest you be attacked by wild Pokémon."
"Okay, thanks," Yellow brushed her off and kept walking forward.
"Please let me see your Poké Ball, otherwise I'll be held responsible if something happens to you out there. I can't afford to lose this job—I eat a lot and I need money."
That made sense to Yellow; she was afraid of taking the blame. He needed to communicate properly and not play hardball, otherwise he might end up taking 100% of the blame himself.
"Fine, I'll take it out and show you." A trainer's first Poké Ball was typically handed out by the local professor alongside a starter Pokémon, which meant having a Poké Ball was a symbol of having a Pokémon.
Yellow unstrapped his backpack, ducked off to the side, and used the modifier to generate a standard red-and-white Poké Ball.
"Look, Sis, I do have a Pokémon, but it played too hard today and doesn't want to come out."
The short-haired woman nodded, completely brushing him off with bureaucratic perfunctoriness. "Then watch your safety."
"Thanks, Sis!" Yellow bolted two hundred meters away until a patch of verdant, lush, and endless tall grass appeared before his eyes.
Yellow spotted a Spearow flying in the sky. Looking up from the ground, it appeared tiny as it circled in mid-air, seemingly staring at some target.
Spearow: My claws are itching. Where is that Rattata? I need to use its buckteeth to floss my dainty feet...
With no Pokémon in hand, Yellow had to carefully step into the tall grass and wait for an opportunity.
"Who's there?" a voice rasped out, sounding like an elderly person. The breath was somewhat weak, suspected of kidney deficiency. He advised himself to curb his arrogance, impetuosity, and lust—if that last one was too difficult, he should at least exercise moderation: go easy on doing it alone, go easy with another person, and go easy with a group...
This was what Wang Yu's old Chinese medicine practitioner grandfather had taught him. The new ears on this body were even sharper, and he picked up on it immediately.
"I'm Yellow. Are you Professor Oak?" Unfamiliar with his new voice, Yellow failed to control his volume, and the final syllables sounded like a fledgling chick chirping. The Spearow in mid-air pivoted its head and locked onto them.
"Crap, I didn't bring any Poké Balls out with me! Let's run!" Professor Oak stood up from the tall grass. He didn't look all that different from the anime—just like a kindly neighborly grandfather.
"Isn't that Little Turtle? Did you change your name?"
"Yeah, no time to explain, run!"
Yellow started running alongside Professor Oak. A clever thought struck Yellow: although this Spearow didn't look very attractive—its bushy, exploding hair resembled a bird tribe fashion trend—its base stats were actually decent.
The final evolution, Fearow, only lagged slightly behind Pidgeot in speed, but its physical attack was much higher. Though its HP was also low, it would do fine as a fast attacker.
Beggars can't be choosers when starting out.
They're all route-one birds anyway; who's any nobler than the next?
Yellow ducked behind a thick, towering ancient tree and stopped, exposing himself right in Spearow's line of sight.
"Run, Yellow! Spearow have a very strong desire to attack! Get out of here before its companions arrive!" Oak grabbed Yellow's hand, but Yellow kept struggling.
"Get back, Professor Oak, I have a plan."
Clueless, Professor Oak retreated a dozen steps.
Yellow took a deep breath. The Spearow swooped down at blistering speed.
Five meters apart, the Spearow was still charging at full tilt, preparing to flatten Yellow's lungs in one hit.
Wang Yu: How do you think I died in my past life?
Seeing that the Spearow was moving too fast to slow down, Yellow bolted to the right just as a deafening *thud* echoed out.
The Spearow's entire sharp beak and a good chunk of its head embedded themselves straight into the tree trunk.
Spearow: Dental! Neurology! Expert appointment!
Seeing its two legs kicking, it didn't seem dead yet. Professor Oak ran over, his face full of worry. "Why are you so reckless, Yellow? That was terrifying! Take advantage of its weakened state, let's pull it out and get out of here."
Yellow wore an expectant look and asked, "Since its state is greatly reduced, can I catch it now?"
Professor Oak frowned and replied, "Yes, but I didn't bring a Poké Ball."
"I have one." Yellow pulled out a Poké Ball and cracked it against the Spearow's back like an egg.
The Poké Ball popped open, and a red beam sucked the Spearow inside.
"Where did you get that Poké Ball?" Professor Oak asked.
"Dad gave it to me!" It's totally normal for a Gym Leader to hand out a Poké Ball, right?
Of course, that was just Yellow assuming things. Yellow's father wasn't actually a Gym Leader; before heading downstairs, Yellow had missed his father's self-introduction. He was just the honorary coach of the Cerulean Gym, though as for who he was coaching and what they were practicing, that was hard to say.
After all, there were the three sisters—Daisy, Violet, and Lily—making precise target identification rather difficult.
"Professor Oak, this is my Trainer Card. Can you take me to get my starter Pokémon now?"
Professor Oak grabbed Yellow's hand, his expression suddenly turning gloomy. "I'm afraid not!"