The dream of becoming a Pokémon master

The Pokémon League has developed a well-established system over the past century, with branches in various regions and a regular tournament held every December. The Kanto region is relatively less developed; some areas reportedly hold not only the League Conference but also events like the Pokémon Contest. However, the League Conference remains the most important, with other tournaments also taking place and concluding before December.

The qualifications for trainers are also stipulated by the league.

Initially, the League required children in a small town to be eligible to travel upon reaching the age of ten, but they had to wait until all three children had registered locally before the League would assign them suitable starter Pokémon. In other words, if a town had one child born in January, but only three children turned ten by December, they could only obtain trainer status in December.

To prevent this from happening, the League has implemented a law allowing players to obtain their starter Pokémon from neighboring towns. Anyone whose local household registration shows they cannot gather three people within three months can submit an application to travel to a neighboring town and obtain their starter Pokémon together with players from other towns.

This also led to the awkward situation where, when there were exactly three people in the town, a child from another town came and caused the locals to lose their eligibility.

Now, many years later, the regulations have been continuously improved, and basically, as long as a child reaches the age of ten and wants to become a trainer, they can embark on a journey within a month.

However, it is rare for four people in a small town to be born on the same day, month, and year, especially on a day like April Fool's Day, which is considered a joke.

The requirement that trainers must be at least ten years old in terms of their status means that even trainers who start in the same year may have an eleven-month difference in their accumulated experience.

So, if Kyosuke, Satoshi, Gary, and Mob want to participate in this year's Quartz Convention, they only have eight months, from April to December, so they have to work as hard as they can.

Now, almost a month has passed, and Kyosuke has only caught (or attracted?) two Pokémon besides Charmander, with 0 badges. Well, he needs to average one Pokémon and one badge per month for the remaining seven months, and he also needs to train them to have good teamwork and reach sufficient levels to achieve good results in the Indigo League.

Of course, for Kyosuke, pressure? It doesn't exist.

So tonight will be another good dream.

……

Day 22 of Viridian Forest Dungeon.

After their usual morning training and meal, Kyosuke recalled Charmander and Caterpie, leaving Nidoran outside. After packing up the tent and cooking utensils, he gestured for Nidoran to lead the way to the "Ruins" of the Totodile's territory.

This time, entering Nidoran's territory was much faster than last time. After only half an hour of leisurely walking, Kyosuke, led by Nidoran, saw the large tree he had previously embedded. Mainly because he couldn't see any difference in the rest of the place; only this tree was noticeable.

Nidoran returned to his homeland, clearly much more excited, walking with a bouncy gait and constantly shouting, but not a single Pokémon appeared.

Ten minutes, twenty minutes… Nidoran's initial excitement slowly cooled. He lost his energy, walking even slower than Caterpie Dance. Even without other Pokémon dreaming of him, he wished he could stay in this land a little longer. He didn't know how long it would be before he could return.

Kyosuke knew that this must have been an order from the overlord Nidoking; otherwise, it wouldn't be possible to not see other Nidorans undergoing training or the various types of Pokémon residing there. But he couldn't say that this approach was wrong. He was just a child himself, with no experience in education or anything like that. All he could do was treat Nidoran better in the future and help him become stronger.

The two of them walked silently through the tranquil forest. Kyosuke then realized that the trees grew taller the further in they went. He had never felt such a sense of oppression in this environment on his previous visit. Light struggled to penetrate the leaves to reach the ground, and for some reason, a feeling of tragic grandeur arose in Kyosuke's heart.

No matter how large the territory, it will eventually be reached.

An hour later, Nidoran finally brought Kyosuke to the scorched earth-like area.

This magical place perfectly embodies Ho-Oh's artist-like talent and mathematician-like precision.

A perfect circle.

It was like a black hole formed from scorched earth in the center of Nido's territory.

Kyosuke and Nidoran stood beside half a large tree. Half of the tree was gone, while the other half was still alive and strong, its cross-section a charred mess.

One step forward, and you'll reach the territory of the Great Toucan.

Kyosuke stood there silently, staring at the scorched earth, for a long time. Nidoran glanced at Kyosuke, not understanding what he was thinking.

This black forbidden zone is mostly flat, with only a raised area in the center. Upon closer inspection, one can see that all the black is actually fine powder, densely layered together, with no visible gaps. Even the air seems to have stopped moving.

All the grass, trees, and Pokémon were reduced to ashes by the sacred fire. Kyosuke did not want to enter this area and disturb their eternal slumber.

Just as he was about to turn and leave, Kyosuke saw two souls drifting towards him from the forbidden zone.

Kyosuke instinctively withdrew Nidoran first, then seriously dealt with the two slowly drifting ghosts.

Since the discovery and recording of numerous Ghost-type Pokémon about a century ago, Ghost has become one of many types, and people's acceptance of ghosts and spirits has increased. However, the reasons for the emergence of Ghost-type Pokémon remain a subject of much debate among experts.

There are three prevailing opinions.

Firstly, every life that dies leaves behind a soul. Some souls fade away over time, while others, especially powerful ones or those that merge with other souls, slowly transform into Ghost-type Pokémon. Therefore, many Ghost-type Pokémon are often found lingering near graveyards. The war a century ago was merely a catalyst that accelerated the entry of Ghost-type Pokémon into the world.

Secondly, some believe that Ghost-type Pokémon originate from the underworld. The souls of the dead must return to the underworld, but if they can pass trials, they can transform into Ghost-type Pokémon and return to the real world from the shadows. This is a popular explanation among young people.

Thirdly, it is believed that the Ghost type is the product of experiments conducted by evil organizations to modify Pokémon, which is why it appeared in modern times and can also lay eggs and hatch.

Each of the three arguments has its supporters, and none of them can convince the others.

Kyosuke's serious expression now isn't because he's afraid of ghosts, but because...

He's just an ordinary person without any superpowers, so he has no way to harm Ghost-type monsters!

Just as Kyosuke was carefully considering a countermeasure, two ghosts floated up in front of him, but they did not leave the dark area.

Seeing this, Kyosuke breathed a sigh of relief. With the earthbound spirit trapped here, he no longer had to fear being cursed or possessed.

Then the ghost spoke: "Awooo! Awooo!"

So ghosts can talk?! And they speak in a language of sparrows!

"Wait! You mean there's your child inside, but it's dying? Then what are we waiting for? Take me there!" By the time he came to his senses and understood what they meant, Kyosuke was no longer able to calm down.

He couldn't accept that a fragile life had vanished so easily before his eyes, and he was powerless to stop it! Especially since it was just a child!