June 9th, 2016 – Summer
The weather was calm and sunny, with not a cloud in sight.
Yet lying fast asleep in bed, Yun suddenly felt a chill run down his spine.
"I feel like… I forgot something..."
Opening his eyes, Yun stared at the ceiling and rubbed his head.
Oh, right!
Today was the College Entrance Exam (Gaokao)—the final day, no less.
He reached for his phone and glanced at the time. His heart immediately skipped a beat—it was noon already?!
"Did the alarm not go off…?"
Panicking, he put the phone down. His heart sank.
Oh no. Just yesterday, he'd promised his upperclassman who was taking the exam that he'd cheer her on today…
And now? He'd overslept?
Logically, he had gone to bed early last night. Even if the alarm didn't ring, how could he have slept in till noon?
Picking up the phone again, Yun was in a terrible mood, already thinking of how to apologize to his senpai.
But then…
Ding!
Suddenly, a system notification popped up.
Senpai: "The battle portion of the exam went smoothly this morning. My opponent's Pikachu was too weak."
"Haha, looks like things went well," Yun smiled.
He was about to reply with a "congrats" and apologize at the same time, but then—something felt off.
Battle portion of the exam?
Pikachu?
Aren't you taking the college entrance exam? What do you think this is, Pokémon?
"I must still be dreaming."
Just then… yet another batch of pop-ups appeared—this time from Penguin News.
The title of the first headline made Yun freeze.
"Four Professional Trainers Explore the Liaoxi Grand Canyon Secret Realm; Encounter a Ferocious Ancient Pokémon – Aerodactyl. Only One Survived!"
Yun frowned and opened the comments.
User: "Aerodactyl? A dragon? Did we just discover a new Dragon-type Pokémon?"
User: "Liaoxi is about to blow up. Whoever catches that Aerodactyl is bound to be famous. But if even four pro trainers couldn't handle it, that thing must be on another level."
User: "What?! Another new Pokémon species?! I object! I strongly protest against adding more Pokémon info to the textbooks!"
At that moment, Yun's head ached. Unlike Psyduck, who awakened psychic powers from headaches, all he got was a flood of unfamiliar memories.
A few minutes later, reeling from the pain, he slowly showed a complicated expression.
He'd finally figured it out.
"No wonder… I am still Yun..."
"But this world's history…"
The Pikachu that senpai mentioned… the Aerodactyl in the news… were all real.
A century ago, "Mystic Realms" suddenly began appearing all over the world. According to research teams, each realm was an independent world separate from Earth. Within them lived countless monstrous creatures, each possessing powers that surpassed both cold weapons and firearms.
Years later, when the first Mystic Realm—Viridian Forest—merged with Earth, these monsters descended for the first time. Some were extremely hostile, but others could coexist with humans.
As more Mystic Realms merged with Earth, a war broke out between humans and monsters—The Beast War. This war spurred rapid technological advancement and helped humanity better understand these creatures.
After the war ended, a global organization called the Pokémon Alliance was formed. Comprising member nations from around the world, it quickly took leadership. That same year, the term "Pokémon" replaced "monsters."
Not long after, Dr. Ron of Yuhong University invented the modern Poké Ball. To prevent individuals from monopolizing the untold riches of the Mystic Realms, nations worldwide established Trainer Associations. The Trainer profession was born.
By the 21st century, every nation wanted to cultivate more Trainers. The true reason was classified at the highest level. To ensure quality and the sound development of aspiring Trainers, the government reformed schools—redefining "elite high schools" and launching the Trainer at 16 Act, which increased the weight of Pokémon-related subjects and added Pokémon battles to the Gaokao.
"It really is Pokémon…"
Yun slapped his cheeks.
He'd woken up to find the world had completely changed. Creatures from Pokémon had merged with reality.
Could anything be more absurd?
He ran to the bathroom, splashed cold water on his face, and tried to process everything. His heart was still racing.
Thankfully, some things remained unchanged.
He was still a rising senior at Pingcheng No.1 High School. His parents were the same, his home was the same, and his relationships were all intact. What was different, though, was that this world's Pingcheng No.1 was an elite high school focused on training Pokémon Trainers.
Unlike regular schools, elite schools taught Pokémon knowledge in senior year. And during the summer before senior year, every elite high school student would receive their own Pokémon and register as a Trainer.
The difference between regular and elite schools wasn't just curriculum—it was cost.
Elite schools poured resources into students. Just the tuition for senior year was 200,000 yuan, not counting Trainer registration costs. For many families, the economic barrier was the biggest obstacle to becoming a Trainer.
Yun would be registering as a Trainer this summer in preparation for the high school entrance exam.
Lightning, fire, water, hurricanes—the creatures once called "monsters" by humans wielded tremendous power. As Trainers, humans would capture, train, and battle with Pokémon, as well as cultivate them. A top-tier Trainer could fully unleash a Pokémon's potential.
The extraordinary powers of Pokémon could act as a Trainer's arms and legs, helping them do things impossible by human strength alone.
This rising profession had become the world's mainstream. Every industry was now connected to it.
However, Yun noticed something odd.
Due to the Mystic Realm phenomenon, the Pokémon franchise never came into existence in this world. Human understanding of Pokémon species had stalled at 702 species.
That was far less than the 800+ he remembered.
Abilities, moves, tactics, types, rare items—all of it was still in early exploration stages. After all, less than a century had passed—humanity had not yet built a comprehensive system for understanding Pokémon.
Yun gave a wry smile, picked up his phone again, replied "Congrats" to senpai, and apologized for waking up late.
Congratulations were truly in order. If a top student from an elite high school successfully got into university and worked hard over the next four years, they had a solid shot at becoming a Professional Trainer.
Unlike regular Trainers (who could register as long as they had money), Professional Trainers were both a career and a social class.
With a Pro Trainer license, you could use 95% of public facilities worldwide for free, and enjoy top-tier welfare benefits.
That, too, was Yun's dream.
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