"Why won't your parents let you get a Battle Mark?" Kaito asked curiously.
He suspected Rei's conflict with the family stemmed from this, too. Mr. Kuroda couldn't have targeted only Kenji—he must have forbidden Rei as well. But Rei was competing on TV now, clearly defying his parents' wishes.
Kenji said, "Dad always believed martial arts aren't for fighting but for strengthening the soul. Taking shortcuts through Pokémon power, turning martial arts into killing techniques—that's heresy. No matter how strong you become, you've lost the true meaning of the way. So he never let us become Battle Trainers. But Rei didn't listen. They fought, he kicked Dad's leg until it broke, then ran away and never came back."
"I see..." Kaito was surprised. Was Rei that fierce? He knew Mr. Kuroda, the man who used to play catch with him and Kenji, who once pulled a tractor out of a ditch by himself. Could
Reibrokek Mr. Kuroda's leg?
"He was already a Battle Trainer then?"
"No. Mom said he had the best talent in our family for generations. At fifteen, Dad couldn't beat him anymore. Now, watching his performance, he's clearly entered the realm beyond human."
What a shame... Kaito sighed internally. If Rei hadn't fallen out with the family, he might have been able to ride his coattails.
Their families were close. As children, Rei often took him and Kenji running through the mountains. When Kaito couldn't run anymore, Rei carried him, ignoring his own younger brother, who was left panting like a dog.
You could tell from how Kaito's dad gave his Pokémon to Rei.
Pokémon were highly intelligent. Without Poké Balls, very few could be tamed by humans. Most were harmless types like Bounsweet. To become a Battle Trainer, besides inscribing a Battle Mark, buying a Pokémon egg was also extremely expensive.
When Rei ran away, he clearly didn't have the money for an egg. Kaito guessed his dad was afraid Rei would go down the wrong path and rob someone, so he gave him his Rookidee. Maybe even paid for the Battle Mark inscription.
Rei proved himself worthy. He successfully inscribed his Battle Mark and raised the Rookidee into a Corviknight.
"I'm heading back," Kenjisaidp after watching the broadcast. "I only said I could come out to watch the hatching with you. If my parents knew I was here watching live matches, they'd be upset."
"Sure." They were next-door neighbors anyway, so Kaito didn't say much. Only when Kenji reached the door did he remember to ask: "Do you plan to become a Battle Trainer?"
"Obviously, duh," Kenji said. "I'm going to be a world champion. Stronger than Rei with his continental title."
"So you'll also break your dad's leg?"
"Get lost," Kenji cursed, then showed some frustration. "That's what I'm worried about. Where would I get 80,000 yen after breaking his leg? And Pokémon eggs cost money, too. The ones I want start at hundreds of thousands. I couldn't afford one working my whole life."
"So you don't deny you could break Mr. Kuroda's leg?" Kaito suddenly felt sorry for Mr. Kuroda. One son practicedhis legs and broke his leg. The other practiced fists also seemed to consider breaking his leg.
"I'm a genius. If Rei can do it, how could I not?" Kenji was supremely confident about this.
But Kaito knew his confidence was baseless—blind arrogance with no foundation.
After Kenji left, Kaito also began thinking seriously. Kenji worried about money. Wasn't he the same?
After watching Battle Trainer matches, he increasingly wanted to become one.
Catching amazing Pokémon one by one, battling until heaven and earth shattered—that was a man's romance.
I'm a transmigrator. I must have a cheat. How could I fail?
Kaito also had blind confidence now, thinking that with 80,000 yen, he'd become world number one.
Unfortunately, he didn't have it.
He picked up Fragrant sleeping on his lap, rubbing her soft body: "What if I used you as bait to catch some Pokémon and sell them? Could that get money?"
"Sque?" The awakened Bounsweet showed a confused expression, clearly not understanding. But in the next instant, she showed a sweet smile. "Stee~"
She seemed to think Kaito was playing with her.
After petting Bounsweet like a cat for a while, Kaito returned to his room.
His room had a computer for easier research.
He remembered that at fifteen, his parents were running a shop in the city, leaving him alone at home long-term.
When he entered his room and glanced at his bed, he suddenly froze.
"Wh-what..."
He looked at the object on his pillow with an expression of disbelief.
The Switch was released by Nintendo in 2017. That year, Kaito was twenty-five. Now he was fifteen. This thing shouldn't exist in this world, let alone in this Pokémon world where Nintendo might not even exist.
Then who could explain what that thing with orange and blue controllers and a black brick in the middle was doing on his pillow?
When he first transmigrated, he was sitting on the bed with the pillow behind him. He hadn't noticed.
Now seeing it, he belatedly realized—could this have transmigrated with him?
According to novel tropes, anything that follows you through transmigration is probably your golden finger!
With this thought, Kaito immediately dove forward, grabbing the Switch, afraid it would sprout wings and fly away.
"Steee~" Bounsweet was also tossed onto the bed, rolling into the corner.
Fortunately, Kaito's bed had one side against the wall, or she would have fallen.
Kaito quickly turned on the Switch. It booted very rapidly, battery still full.
But since Kaito had just bought it, only two games were on it.
The free crippled version of Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball, and the PokémonSword/Shield version.
He couldn't care less about beach volleyball, directly opening Pokémon Sword/Shield. Sure enough, it entered the game normally.
The game started with character creation. He chose a platinum blonde girl as his protagonist. He always played female characters in third-person games—otherwise, staring at a man all day was disgusting?
After the opening cutscene, the game began with the character at home, sitting on the sofa, playing on her phone.
Then a dark-skinned boy named Hop ran in, talking a bunch, asking the protagonist to go out with him to meet his older brother.
"Hop?" Kaito's mind wandered, inexplicably associating it with a famous Bulgarian singer's song.
So far, he hadn't discovered any connection between this Switch and a cheat system. Kaito continued playing.