On the screen—
A tiny figure in a straw hat stood amidst tall grass, glancing around.
[You were born in Viridian City. Your family background is average.]
Suddenly, a Caterpie popped out of the grass. The straw-hatted boy threw a red Poké Ball, and the Caterpie was sucked inside.
[At the age of ten, you encountered your first partner, Caterpie, in Viridian Forest. Together, you set out on your journey.]
After that line appeared, a pixelated animation of Caterpie appeared in the bottom corner of the screen.
Lying on his back, Ayato shifted positions and thought to himself: So my first simulation starts with the Bug Catcher route, huh.
The screen changed.
The Bug Catcher stood before a large building. Upon entering, he was greeted by a man with slicked-back hair.
An "intense" battle commenced.
The process? Pretty much Caterpie was sent out, only to be instantly launched across the room by the opposing Rhyhorn.
There wasn't any background music, but just seeing the explosion-like bubbles as Caterpie hit the wall made it obvious how brutal that collision was.
[You lost to the Viridian Gym Leader and failed to obtain your first Badge.]
Ayato: "?"
Wait a minute!
Challenging a Gym without leveling up? With a Caterpie?
The screen blacked out, then lit up again. The Bug Catcher stepped into the Viridian Gym once more under Ayato's baffled gaze.
The events replayed exactly the same. Even the text was identical.
A third time, a fourth time, a fifth time…
Hold on—wait, wait, wait—!!
Going to a Gym without leveling up, using a Caterpie, and never learning a damn thing?
This wasn't some novice hot-blooded youth—this was a thick-skulled fool who never learned his lesson!
Ayato silently watched the repetitive screen unfold.
After the tenth failed challenge—
The story finally changed.
[You lost to the Viridian Gym Leader, but your tenacity and perseverance earned his recognition. You received the Green Badge.]
A green badge shaped like a sprig of wheat appeared beneath Caterpie's icon.
Ayato was speechless. That badge was clearly given just because Giovanni got tired of dealing with him.
And at the exact moment the Bug Catcher received the badge, Caterpie evolved.
[Your Caterpie evolved into Metapod.]
Finally, some progress…
It was barely the beginning, yet Ayato already felt exhausted.
On screen, the Bug Catcher left Viridian City and arrived in a dense forest. When a golden Weedle crawled out of the grass, he sent out Metapod.
Just as Ayato was wondering how he'd catch it, the Weedle charged and knocked itself unconscious.
[You caught your second Pokémon, Weedle, in Viridian Forest. Your party grows.]
…A dumb Trainer with dumb Pokémon. A match made in heaven. Perfect.
Ayato suddenly really wanted a fast-forward button.
The screen shifted again.
The Bug Catcher arrived at a stone city at the base of a towering rocky mountain.
[You've arrived in Pewter City. The towering stone cliffs ignite your fighting spirit, and you decide to challenge the Gym.]
As expected.
Leveling up?
What the hell is that?
Ayato had never once seen this guy train his Pokémon against wild ones. He was basically a Gym-fighting robot, completely ignoring the fact that losing battles could lead to training and growth.
Say what you will about Ash and his badge handouts, at least the guy knew to catch more Pokémon!
Metapod and Weedle? You think they can win? Of course they can't. Get a grip.
Just like at the Viridian Gym, the Bug Catcher failed ten times but finally earned the Gym Leader's respect through sheer perseverance.
[You received the Gray Badge.]
A gray octagonal gem appeared beneath Weedle, and at that moment, both Metapod and Weedle were enveloped in white light.
A butterfly and a golden cocoon took shape.
[Your Metapod evolved into Butterfree. Your Weedle evolved into Kakuna. Overjoyed, you decided to depart immediately for the next city.]
At last, a final evolution.
Ayato sighed in relief—and was even happier to see that the Bug Catcher seemed to be showing signs of growth.
[You caught your third Pokémon, Venonat, at the foot of Mt. Moon. Your party grows.]
[You caught your fourth Pokémon, Paras, inside Mt. Moon. Your party grows.]
[You lost to a stranger.]
[You defeated a stranger.]
[Your Kakuna evolved into Beedrill.]
Scene after uplifting scene unfolded as soon as the Bug Catcher entered the Mt. Moon area. The once-hot-blooded fool was slowly becoming a proper Trainer.
Until—
[You arrived in Cerulean City, surrounded by waterways and rich in aquatic resources.]
Just like before, the Bug Catcher headed to the Cerulean Gym, only to be told the Gym Leader was out performing as a mermaid.
A performance?
This was from the anime?
Ayato was shocked. He'd assumed the simulation was game-based, since only game cities had appeared so far. The anime had tons of original locations.
A sense of foreboding crept over him—and it didn't take long to come true.
When the Bug Catcher reached the place where the Gym Leaders were performing, a "fated encounter" happened.
[You accidentally bumped into a girl. After apologizing to each other, the mood lifted. You exchanged contact info.]
[You kept in touch and had great conversations. You decided to travel together.]
[You challenged the Cerulean Gym. Though you lost, her presence gave you courage to try again.]
[You started dating.]
Hold on. No way. NO WAY.
What was this rom-com flooding the screen?! When did the Trainer Simulator become a Dating Simulator?!
Wasn't it supposed to be "may engage in relationships"? Since when did that become guaranteed?!
Ayato shot up in bed.
The Bug Catcher, already a reckless fool, hadn't changed in spirit—but now there were way more scenes of the two being alone together.
The battle footage itself started feeling off.
Before, by the seventh or eighth try, the kid would at least figure out some basic patterns and manage a few exchanges.
But at the Cerulean Gym? He'd do okay for a round or two, then get swept instantly.
By the time he earned praise on the tenth loss, he was a full-on weakling.
His Pokémon didn't even evolve anymore.
On screen, the couple held hands as they skipped wild battles entirely and arrived in Saffron City, catching no fifth Pokémon along the way—and still challenged the Gym like before.
Ayato's heart sank.
Sabrina—the Saffron Gym Leader—was a strict psychic-type Trainer. Unlike the previous three, she refused to award a badge even after ten losses.
Just as Ayato was wondering how the Bug Catcher would break the deadlock, the ending came out of nowhere.
The screen faded to gray.
[The Indigo Plateau Conference is now being held. With only three badges, you missed the qualification deadline.]
[Simulation Ended]
The screen froze on the fifteenth defeat.
"…So this was the story of one Indigo Conference attempt."
Ayato looked like he'd just watched a horrible movie. Who would've guessed that a fiery Bug Catcher would suddenly devolve into a love-struck fool?
It was already bad enough wasting time on so many Gym battles. Then he got a girlfriend—wasted even more time—and didn't even get stronger.
Shouldn't love give people strength? What kind of simulator was this?
As he grumbled, a few lines popped up before him.
[Reward Option 1: Increase the level of any Pokémon below level 30 by one]
[Reward Option 2: Clue to obtain a Pokémon]
[Reward Option 3: Move — String Shot (Can be assigned to any Pokémon)]
[Reward Option 4: Retain the [Endless Romance] Trait for the next simulation]
So there were rewards after all.
Ayato tested it and found he could choose two.
Four options, pick two—not bad at all.
The only issue was, without choosing any, he couldn't start the next simulation. And he wasn't sure whether rewards like Option 1 and 3 could be saved for later.
Let's try.
He had to experiment at some point.
Ayato selected Options 2 and 3, not even bothering to look at the fourth one.
Thankfully, the move reward could be stored for future use.
The number of simulator attempts could also stack. The countdown continued ticking even though he had one simulation left—there was no pause in the timer.
Ayato figured that the level-up reward might also be something he could accumulate later.
But for now, his attention was locked on the clue—
[Please carry an iron ingot weighing no less than 1kg at all times.]
That's not really a clue, is it? More like a hint.
Ayato glanced at the time and looked outside. Pyrite Town was already shrouded in darkness, but the rumble of the mines and smelting plants continued unabated.
Still early.
He rinsed his face, stepped out, and went looking for a way to get himself an iron ingot.
Once that was done, he'd start the second simulation.