Chapter One: The Real World of Spirits

“Xia Yu, I want to battle you!” The young boy, clutching a red and white Poké Ball in his hand, shouted loudly at Xia Yu.

“Are you sure?” Xia Yu looked at the boy with a cold, impassive expression, tilting his chin up at a forty-five degree angle to gaze at the sky. “My dad is the Bug-type Gym Leader of Starlight City. My brother is the Fire-type Gym Leader of Red Lotus City. I started raising Pokémon at the age of three, memorized the Art of Pokémon War at five, defeated all my peers by seven, and at eleven, retired undefeated from the world of Pokémon battles. Are you sure you want to challenge me? If you insist, put up all your pocket money as a wager.”

“Wow... I don’t want to challenge you anymore.” The boy, hearing that he’d have to wager all his allowance, burst into tears and ran off the square, sobbing uncontrollably.

“Xia Yu is at it again, tricking people.”

“He doesn’t even have a single Pokémon, yet he comes here every day to show off.”

“He’s such a disgrace to the Xia family, even conning little kids.”

...

Xia Yu listened to the gossip swirling around him, unfazed and shameless, as if nothing had happened. As a man whose combined mental age was nearly forty, his thick skin had long been tempered to the point of being impervious to ridicule—so long as he could complete the system’s missions, they could say whatever they liked.

“Ding, congratulations to the host for completing the novice mission ‘Victory Without Battle.’”

Victory Without Battle: A powerful trainer wins by presence alone. Achieve ten victories without using a Pokémon. Progress: 10/10. Mission complete. Congratulations, host, you have earned the novice starter pack.

Hearing the long-awaited system notification, Xia Yu was moved to tears. He had spent a month in a few nearby squares, cajoling and deceiving ten children, earning himself a notorious reputation, but at last, he had finished the novice mission.

“Finally, the mission is done. Now, for my reward. I’ll take any Mewtwo or Arceus, I’m not greedy.”

“Open the novice starter pack.”

“Congratulations, host, you have received a one-time-use Pokémon Detector and a one-time-use Rare Treasure Detector.”

“Huh? That’s it?”

Xia Yu was dumbfounded, staring in disbelief at the items in his system space. After all he’d endured—his reputation in shambles, a month spent tricking and scamming around the squares—was this all he got? Couldn’t they at least give him a Tyranitar or Salamence if not a Mewtwo? Or at the very least a shiny Charizard?

And this is all I get?

...

Xia Yu was filled with resentment; he felt utterly betrayed by this so-called Master System. In this life, he’d been reincarnated into a parallel world similar to Earth, and with the system’s help, if not a god-tier starting hand, he should at least have had a solid one.

His father was the Bug-type Gym Leader of Starlight City—the lowest-ranked gym leader in all of Western Shu Province, but still, a gym leader nonetheless. Later, his dad even caught a Volcarona, skyrocketing his strength.

His brother, benefiting from their father’s foundation, had a much better start and, in his twenties, had already become the Fire-type Gym Leader of Red Lotus City, with a Volcarona as his signature Pokémon as well.

Compared to the Bug-type Gym, the Fire-type Gym was far more prestigious—Fire was a popular type, and there were ten times as many Fire-type trainers as Bug-type. His brother’s achievement as Fire Gym Leader was no mean feat.

With such a family background, Xia Yu should have been set to receive a Larvesta as his starter Pokémon, with a bright future ahead.

But... this cursed system just wouldn’t let him have it easy. Upon binding with the system, he was given a passive ability.

Master’s Bearing: A true Pokémon Master must display proper bearing. The lowest qualification of any Pokémon the host captures must be at least Elite Four class.

Qualification rankings: Common, Rare, Elite, Lord, Overlord, Gym Leader, Elite Four, Champion, Master, Legendary—ten levels in total.

Elite Four class.

A Pokémon with Elite Four-level aptitude, if trained properly, would inevitably reach the level of an Elite Four. So far, his father didn’t own a single Pokémon of Elite Four-level aptitude, and his brother only had a quasi-Elite Four Volcarona.

Where could Xia Yu possibly find an Elite Four-class Pokémon? He’d seen a few Gym Leader-level Pokémon at best.

Because of this passive, Master’s Bearing, Xia Yu hadn’t been able to capture even a single Pokémon. At his current age of eighteen, most students aspiring to be pro trainers had two or three Pokémon already, but he had none, falling behind by a wide margin.

With some regret in his heart, Xia Yu pulled his hat low, adjusted his mask, and quietly left the square while examining his two rewards.

“Elite Four-level Pokémon Detector (single-use): Detects the nearest uncaptured Pokémon with Elite Four-level aptitude.”

“Rare Treasure Detector (single-use): Detects the rarest undiscovered treasure within a hundred kilometers.”

Seeing the two items, Xia Yu’s face lit up, sweeping away his earlier gloom. Looks like the system isn’t entirely heartless; the Elite Four-level Pokémon Detector, though single-use, was extremely powerful.

Perfect—my brother’s at home this week. He can come with me to catch it.

Xia Yu realized that, having yet to capture a single Pokémon, he definitely couldn’t venture into the wild alone.

He pressed the signal on the Pokémon Detector, and the system immediately generated a map, searching for the nearest uncaptured Pokémon with Elite Four-level aptitude.

“That far?” Xia Yu looked at the map; it was nearly two hundred li away. “Guess I’ll have to ask my brother to take me on his Charizard.”

...

“Hey, bro, are you free? Come with me for a bit.” Xia Yu called out as he got home, looking at Xia Luo sprawled on the sofa.

Xia Luo was twenty-eight, unmarried, handsome, and very popular with young women, but he already had a childhood sweetheart, and their relationship was so strong they were already talking about marriage.

“Nope,” Xia Luo replied, lying on the sofa, scrolling through Douyin on his burner account, liking videos of pretty girls.

Xia Yu glanced over. That screen’s really... soft. No, I mean, white.

“Bro, I remember your alt account has liked thousands of pretty girls,” Xia Yu muttered to himself. “Whatever, I might as well tell your girlfriend about that account. I never realized you liked blondes with blue eyes. No wonder you always complain her chest is too small.”

“Where are we going?” Xia Luo was already on his feet, jacket on, reaching for his mask. “Didn’t you want me to go with you? Let’s go.”

“Alright, bro,” Xia Yu replied.

“Just now...” Xia Luo hinted.

“Bro, did something happen just now?” Xia Yu asked innocently.

“It’s nothing. Xiao Yu, are you alright for pocket money lately? Here’s ten thousand yuan—take it and spend it. A boy should be generous when he’s out and about.”

...