Chapter Two: The Ultimate Glutton

A golden legend! As expected, after a few more minutes, some peculiar voices began to echo in Zhuyuehan’s mind.

Come on, my cheat! Let’s start with fifty and see your power!

If the game inventory could come along too, that would be an instant win. In the works of the previous era, if you didn’t plan on using unconventional tactics, the in-game resources were actually quite limited. This was mainly due to technical constraints—the algorithms couldn’t support such massive capacities.

As for the idea of a “golden finger,” Zhuyuehan only learned about it when he saw someone with x99 Master Balls in their bag. That was an eye-opener.

Still, up until the moment he crossed over, there didn’t seem to be any particularly striking improvement in any aspect. Back then, he made a bet with an online friend, challenging them to shiny hunt non-stop at Big Pot Lake for three hours. The friend eventually earned Thursday’s lucky fifty bucks, but also added Zhuyuehan as a friend, hoping for an offline meetup—a winner-takes-all kind of deal.

Big Pot Lake—those who know, know. If a ton of large Pokémon showed up, it would definitely be a crash-fest. Give him a next-gen inventory, and he might not be able to command a level 100 dream team on the spot, but just sorting out the junk picked up from the bag would take a long time.

Raid dens today, Tera dens tomorrow—even lazy farming would eventually accumulate a trove of items. Shiny dens? He’d been lucky enough to see one once, but heard that most online shiny dens were “internet friends only.” From then on, Zhuyuehan became an unfeeling candy-grinding machine, treating it as a kind of relaxation in his spare time. After all, smashing team bosses and the trivialities of life to pieces had its own charm.

Competitive battling... Back then, he’d saved up to buy a Pokémon guidebook, revered it like a Bible, and pored over it endlessly. When it came to the Ruby & Sapphire era, a friend was preparing to challenge the Elite Four, and Zhuyuehan saw a Hariyama in his box.

Those were the days of “pocket guidebooks” with just a few pictures and two or three moves listed.

Zhuyuehan: “Pick this one, it’s awesome—the guide says it can flip a truck with one slap.”

And that was that.

In those days, in Zhuyuehan’s small hometown, it was hard to find fellow fans. Move sets stopped at four offensive moves, and teams were picked by whoever looked the coolest.

For instance...

Blaziken used [Cut]!

That says it all.

After wrestling with real life, anything remotely related to ranked battles was kept far away from Zhuyuehan, lest he invite unnecessary frustration. Battles? Not his forte—he only knew how to overpower NPCs with sheer level advantage.

The golden light in Zhuyuehan’s expectant gaze gradually faded, and then something resembling a censer or a tripod appeared.

[Dear customer, due to the special nature of your previous world, the Law of Blessings has been altered. At present, your settlement can only be processed in another manner.]

[Congratulations! You have obtained one Blueprint Synthesizer of Heaven’s Reward for Diligence. You may freely choose its appearance. We hope you can make up for your past regrets in this new life.]

[Best wishes for a happy life from the Samsara Group.]

Zhuyuehan absentmindedly finished off a platter of Berries to calm himself.

That first sentence sounded rather ominous.

As for how to use this cheat, he’d have to figure it out. Although the well-wishes were a bit unexpected, overall, things looked promising.

Good news: He’d arrived in the Pokémon world.
Even better news: He had a cheat, and one earned through effort, with no need to worry about side effects.

A double dose of good fortune!

“Wooo, wooo.”

Lapras approached, nudging a container full of Pokémon food toward him with its head.

Zhuyuehan: ?

Was his eating that voracious, even Lapras thought he was some kind of starving ghost reborn?

Given the abundance of resources in the modern Pokémon world, surely no one would starve and turn into a Ghost-type Pokémon, right?

He still remembered the description of the Oran Berry from the old days—a berry that could grow in just half a day. The Razz Berry, which matured in only four hours, was even more impressive—though he wasn’t sure if that was true.

After all, berry growth in the games...

Never mind, a pointless question.

Zhuyuehan grabbed a handful of Pokémon food, and under the shocked gaze of the two elders, tossed it into his mouth and chewed.

Though the two elders had tasted Pokémon food before when checking quality, that had been a single piece, not a handful.

“The flavor’s rather sweet, and it’s very filling. Wow, the nutrition is incredible.”

Zhuyuehan was surprised—the Pokémon food gave him a small scientific shock. Compared to the human food he’d just devoured, this was on a whole other level of energy and nutrition.

Like the difference between a bottle of water and a whole bucket.

Zhuyuehan hesitated.

With my appetite, am I supposed to live off Pokémon food from now on?

This must just be startup consumption.

Probably.

Under the elders’ peculiar stares, Zhuyuehan calmly finished Lapras’s share, then earnestly thanked Lapras.

Lapras happily nudged his head, then trotted over with another portion, pushing it in front of Zhuyuehan.

Professor Oak couldn’t help but look at Elder Liu. “Is your Pokémon food homemade?”

Elder Liu’s expression was a little odd. “Of course it’s homemade. How else could we meet both the daily training needs and ensure growth?”

In other words, the Pokémon food Lapras ate was high quality—not your average supermarket variety, but something with unbeatable nutrition.

So, the question was, why could this young man eat several standard servings without batting an eye?

“The taste is good, and the nutrition’s excellent,” Zhuyuehan said, patting Lapras’s head and smiling in thanks to the two elders. “Thank you, I’m full now.”

Full...

Elder Liu glanced at the assistant, who had shifted to a sitting posture—simply because his legs had gone numb.

“Could you call Xianmo City and order a bulk supply of food? For now, we’ll make do with what the town has.”

If they depended entirely on the town’s supplies, the supermarket owner would be delighted, but Kaji Town’s reserves might just run dry.

Professor Oak subconsciously wiped sweat from his forehead. That appetite was genuinely alarming—he was tempted to call in a Snorlax for a contest.

One meal to clear out a gym’s stores, plus several shares of Pokémon food.

A human versus Snorlax eating contest—it really might be quite the spectacle.

Maybe next time he was invited to a TV show, he could suggest it.

Elder Liu gently stroked his cane. To be honest, he was a little taken aback. Kaji Gym wasn’t exactly bustling, but food—being essential—was never in short supply.

He was starting to suspect this kid had been sealed away simply for eating too much—enough to bankrupt the entire human population of that era.

“All right, now that we’re done eating, it’s time to get down to business,” Elder Liu said, tapping the table to signal his old friend. Professor Oak belatedly pulled out a file—a photocopy of the ancient seal inscription.

“Yuehan, can you understand the writing here?”

Zhuyuehan glanced at it, and Lapras curiously leaned over, too, but after seeing it couldn’t make sense of it, switched to nuzzling Zhuyuehan’s cheek.

“Uh, isn’t this just saying why I was sealed up?”

He was a bit puzzled. “I don’t know about the rest.”

Able to read ancient script—so the identity checked out. Was the permanent amnesia from being sealed in ice?

Professor Oak stroked his chin, recalling some historical records he’d seen.

Elder Liu, however, had other thoughts. Having once teetered on the edge of darkness, his mind was a little darker than his old friend’s.

Maybe, he thought, the people of that era had wiped his memory.

“But it doesn’t really matter to me,” Zhuyuehan said, scratching Lapras’s chin with his left hand and laughing carefreely. “What does any era have to do with me? At worst, it’s just a harmonious little village festival. What, are you going to crawl out of the ground and bite me?”

Not everyone’s like the King of Pokélantis, who could be stuffed into a Poké Ball. And then, when he got out, only to be trounced by the Chosen One, feel the power of Pikachu, and be sent back into the ball by Brandon for another indefinite stay.

At least from that perspective, clinging to life didn’t seem like such a brilliant choice.

He was ready to start his new life!

“Well said!” Professor Oak slapped the table, almost knocking the teacup to the floor.

“A brand new life, brand new bonds—that’s what gives life its meaning!”

Transitioning from champion to researcher, even having a falling out with Kikuko, and making the Pokédex his new dream—it was a whole new career for him.

But so what?

Pursuing your dreams is never too late!

Professor Oak laughed heartily. “Yuehan, how about it? Interested in becoming a Pokémon Trainer?”

Although his old friend was reclusive, dour, and not much for words...

Never mind, better list the good points.

Elder Liu’s strength was undeniable. To teach an absolute newcomer was pure overkill.

Zhuyuehan stiffened. “A Pokémon Trainer?”

Professor Oak sobered instantly, nearly lapsing into silence under Elder Liu’s “are you an idiot?” look.

Right, this kid probably didn’t even know what a Pokémon Trainer was.

But that wasn’t what Zhuyuehan was thinking. He was considering something else entirely.

Traveling the world? He’d love that. But taking Trainer as a career? No thanks.

He wasn’t about to say “being a Trainer isn’t for me,” but he simply wasn’t interested in that profession.

“That’s enough, Xuecheng,” Elder Liu said, standing up. “Don’t forget where we are. Whether or not you want to be a Pokémon Trainer, you’ll know in a few days.”

He approached Zhuyuehan, his gaze calm.

“Thank you, though you might not understand what I’m saying.”

“For the time being, stay here at Kaji Gym. In a few days, some of the Trainers Xuecheng mentioned will come to challenge the Gym.”

“By then, you’ll see what kind of people Pokémon Trainers are.”

Zhuyuehan nodded quietly, deciding to go with the flow.

Although it felt like they were all having different conversations, things were progressing as expected, and he was happy to stay at Kaji Gym.

At the very least, this version of Elder Liu could be relied upon in battle.

Zhuyuehan was also eager to see how Trainers—other than the main characters—would perform when challenging the Gym.

Gym battles, winning enough badges to enter the regional championship—it was like a series of qualifiers.

He was just curious if anyone would break down on the spot.

As for Gym Leaders who argued with challengers... that sort of thing probably wouldn’t happen.