Chapter One: A Complex World

Previous events: The journey through three and a half years, as well as the situation regarding the golden finger, are explained in the "Prologue: Am's Diary," about five thousand words, recommended reading. If you do not read it, at least take a look at the synopsis.

Currently, Am, eighteen years old, has spent more than three years in the Pokémon world since transmigrating. Until now, he had been studying pharmacology with Granny Leixi in Songzao Town. Thanks to the enhancement of Sequence 9 "Pharmacist," his talent in pharmacology is exceptionally high, and he has already obtained Level 1 Pharmacist qualification, completing the role of Sequence 9 "Pharmacist." Now, having chosen Sequence 8 "Beast Tamer," Am has just embarked on his journey as a Trainer, preparing to head to Pallet Town to receive a starter Pokémon from Professor Oak, whom Granny Leixi knows.

At present, his partner Pokémon is "Exeggcute," who assisted him during his pharmacological studies. According to the rules, one must be at least sixteen to activate the Pokédex and officially begin the Trainer's journey, and the latest registration age is eighteen, which grants one year of rookie status.

———

On March 10th, Year 200 of the League, Am boarded a passenger ship from the Yuting Port of Bluepool City, a small city west of Songzao Town.

Two days later, he arrived at Ashwood Town, south of Pallet Town.

Although Bluepool City and Ashwood Town both have coastal ports, neither is a major city or town. The reason is largely due to the hydrological environment—Yuting Port in Bluepool City is shallow, and the sea south of Ashwood Town is riddled with extensive reefs.

Therefore, though these two ports are the southernmost ports of East Kanto and West Kanto respectively, they are far less busy than the deep-water port of Lavender City further inland. Large passenger ships and cargo vessels almost exclusively use Lavender Port.

As for Pallet Town, it is the smallest of small towns.

However, because Professor Oak's research institute is located there, Pallet Town is nonetheless quite famous.

Kanto is divided into East and West, separated roughly by Viridian Forest and Mount Moon.

(This is followed by a map of Kanto.)

It was Am's first time in East Kanto, indeed his first time traveling far from home on his own, so naturally he was curious.

After disembarking, his first act was to send word home assuring his family of his safety.

He wasted no time lingering in Ashwood Town, instead heading toward the station using the map—firstly, because March 1st to 10th is the period for receiving rookie Pokémon this year, and he was already running late; secondly, because he was about to meet Professor Oak for his starter Pokémon, which made him excited and focused.

"Eggs, eggs eggs, egg!"

At this moment, perched on Am's shoulder, backpack, and even atop his head, several "eggs" with eyes, noses, and mouths were quarreling among themselves.

Of course, these weren't ordinary eggs, nor several Pokémon, but Exeggcute, number 103 in Kanto—a Grass/Psychic type!

The six eggs appeared to display distinct expressions, but in truth this was a form of split consciousness. "They" were all facets of the same being. Even if one were broken someday, a new host would gradually emerge.

"Amen, stop quarreling, be quiet for a moment. I'll introduce you to new friends soon." Am prodded one of the eggs on his shoulder.

Because it was a single Pokémon yet needed to be referred to in the plural, Am named them "Amen."

Granny Leixi had told him that in ancient times, since pharmacology relied solely on fire, without other extraction or synthesis techniques, pharmacists' partners were usually Fire-type Pokémon.

But nowadays, with various technologies, what matters most for a pharmacist is mastery of medicinal properties, often moonlighting as cultivators to grow their own materials, so partners are mostly Grass-types.

Amen was small, each egg weighing less than a pound, easy to carry, so Am didn't bother putting them in a Poké Ball.

The distance from Ashwood Town to Pallet Town wasn't far, and there was a dedicated coach service.

Am bought the earliest ticket available, and seeing he had more than two hours till departure, decided to wander around the station area.

Just then, he noticed a minor "conflict" erupting at a nearby roadside tennis court.

Apparently, some tall students had gotten into an argument with a shorter student, which quickly escalated to resolving it with a tennis match!

"You little brat... You want to play tennis with me? Ha ha ha... Let me teach you a lesson!"

The tall student immediately released a Machoke from a Poké Ball, then handed it a tennis racket.

Am found nothing strange—here, tennis is played with both player and Pokémon in singles, or two players each fielding a Pokémon in doubles.

This world isn't composed solely of Trainers, but almost every profession is intimately tied to Pokémon!

All sports follow suit.

Songzao Town was an agricultural settlement, a cluster of farms, where Pokémon battles were rare, and tennis games rarer still.

Ashwood Town, by contrast, was lively...

Am, intrigued, watched from the sidelines.

"Eh? That kid is so short, can he really play?"

"Yuanzi, keep your voice down..."

"What are you afraid of... Actually, the tall one isn't that good either."

Just then, Am glanced at the other spectators—a group of two girls and a boy. One girl had long hair, the other sported a bob and wore a headband. As for their looks...

They were probably attractive? Am had mild facial blindness.

The boy, though...

Am looked at him, then at the short student on the court, then back at him...

Their matching disdainful expressions made Am suspect they might be brothers.

"I'll teach you all how to play tennis." The short student declared, releasing a Lucario.

"Eh? Isn't that... Lucario?" The long-haired girl among the spectators seemed excited.

"Indeed, Lucario is rare even in Sinnoh, let alone Kanto... Maybe he's an exchange student." The cool-looking boy commented.

"Hehe, Lan, isn't your idol, Gym Leader Korni, famous for her Lucario?" The bob-haired girl teased.

The tall tennis player, startled but undeterred, tossed the ball to his opponent: "You serve first."

"Okay." The short boy replied coolly.

He tossed the ball toward his partner Lucario, who leapt and performed an Aura move—the racket glowed with a deep blue energy, and as it struck the ball, the ball was enveloped in Aura, arcing past Machoke and landing hard at the opponent's feet, bouncing so fiercely it nearly smacked him in the face!

"Ah! Was that just... Yuanzi?" Lan, surprised, paused for a moment—what was his name again? She looked at Yuanzi, who was in the school's tennis club.

"Outer Spin Aura Serve! Was that really an Outer Spin Aura Serve?" Yuanzi exclaimed.

Am: ...

"Heh, you're still far behind." The short boy remarked coolly.

"Shinichi, doesn't this guy's cocky attitude remind you of someone?" Yuanzi suddenly asked with a mischievous grin.

The boy beside her curled his lip.

Am: ...

Am was still struggling to accept it—not to mention that Outer Spin Aura Serve, but could it be that these three were...

"Shinichi? Are you the famous detective from the papers?" Am asked directly.

"That's right, unless it's a namesake, I am Shinichi, a detective."

He wasn't boasting, but there was a hint of pride in his tone.

As Yuanzi cheered for "the celebrity," Am decided to take his leave—it was wiser to slip away, for who knew, a criminal case might break out here any moment!

Though murder cases weren't as common as newspapers suggested, the famous high school detective mostly solved assaults and thefts, but... better safe than sorry.

If I lost an egg here, I wouldn't want to trouble the famous detective...