Due to his research background, he always wore a white lab coat—which had caused the others to mistake him for someone else at first glance. Danmachi Su Mo chuckled. "You seem to be doing quite well for yourself. I mean, you even own a Ralts."
Pokémon Su Mo scratched his head. "Being a Pokémon Professor pays decently. Plus, with Professor Oak backing me, nobody dares to mess with my bonuses."
Despite the harsh barriers to becoming a Trainer, the rest of society in the Pokémon world was relatively innocent. No scheming professors. No backstabbing colleagues. After spending years in the lab, Su Mo felt like even his soul had become purer. People respected him in Pallet Town. And in his spare time, he had even asked Professor Oak to help him purchase a Ralts egg, which he raised from birth.
Under his care, Ralts had become a competent assistant, helping with experiments and ensuring his safety. After all, humans were no match for Pokémon in terms of raw power. That's why, when he thought he was being pranked by a Ghost-type Pokémon earlier, he had instinctively called for Ralts's help. Who would've thought that, this time, it wasn't a prank—it was his long-overdue cheat finally arriving.
"I envy your peaceful life," said Su Mo from Index world. "Unlike my place—constant chaos, danger around every corner, always feeling like a bomb is hanging over my head."
Just thinking about the chain reaction caused by his interference in Index's storylines made his head hurt.
Pokémon Su Mo laughed. "Even if you envy me, you wouldn't really want to switch places, would you?"
Everyone here was him. No one knew himself better.
"True," Magic World Su Mo smiled bitterly. "There are people in my world I just can't ignore."
Though he constantly complained about magic gods being unreasonable, if given the chance to leave his world behind, he wouldn't do it. After all these years, he had too many connections—some shallow, some deep—that he couldn't abandon.
"By the way, the newcomer is just an ordinary person, right?" Danmachi Su Mo suddenly realized. Then he thought out loud, "Wouldn't it be great if the new arrival had transmigrated into a Pokémon instead of a human?"
"Imagine if we could gain the ability to transform into a legendary Pokémon. I call dibs on Mewtwo or Ho-Oh. I'd even settle for Articuno!"
That got Su Mo from the Campione world excited. "I want Rayquaza! Or Kyogre! Lugia's fine too!"
"But definitely not Groudon."
No one asked why. It was understood.
Groudon was the only legendary that couldn't fly—an embarrassment among legendaries.
"..." Pokémon Su Mo was speechless. "Do you even hear yourselves?"
"If I transmigrated as a Pokémon, how the hell would I find a girlfriend? You'd trade me in just to get some cool legendary form?"
"Are you guys even human?"
Sure, turning into a legendary Pokémon sounded cool... but seriously impractical. For Su Mo, staying human was way more convenient.
"If giving up being human means I get a legendary form, then maybe... just maybe, it's worth it," Danmachi Su Mo mused seriously.
The Su Mo from the Campione world thought for a moment before replying, "Get lost!"
The Su Mo from the Pokémon world gave them a disgusted look. But at that moment, the Su Mo from the Fairy Tail world lifted his head and glanced at them.
"Don't dismiss the idea so quickly," he said thoughtfully. "Given the newbie's ability, it might actually be possible for him to transform into a Pokémon."
Hearing that, all the Su Mos gathered around immediately.
The Pokémon World's Su Mo was stunned for a second—Wait, I have that ability? Why didn't I know? But then he realized what the Fairy Tail Su Mo meant.
"Take Over Magic?" he guessed.
As soon as he said it, he focused on the power they were sharing, and quickly understood.
But then, a frown crept across his face, and he shook his head. "I'm sorry, but I can't accept that. No matter how you look at it, Pokémon are sentient, kind-hearted creatures with personalities of their own. I can't just absorb them like that just to gain their form. Even if they're wild Pokémon, that's still a no-go."
Su Mo wasn't trying to be a saint. He didn't necessarily feel deep compassion for every random wild creature—after all, the Su Mo from the Genshin Impact world had no problem slicing up Hilichurls or beating squirrels. But the Pokémon world was different.
People here loved Pokémon. Even the bad guys only used them for crime—they rarely ever hurt them outright. Except, of course, for a few Pokémon considered food ingredients… but that was another issue.
And as someone who had spent years studying Pokémon, Su Mo couldn't bring himself to gain power by essentially ending a Pokémon's life. Because that's what the first form of Take Over magic required—defeating and absorbing the target, permanently.
The others looked a little disappointed at his firm refusal, but no one pushed it. After all, they were all Su Mo. There was no point in forcing yourself.
Just then, the Su Mo from the Fairy Tailr world stepped forward and shook his head.
"Wait. Don't be so quick to dismiss the idea!" he said. "When I brought up Take Over magic, I wasn't referring to the first method."
"I meant the third one."
The first type of Take Over magic, as they all knew, involved directly defeating and absorbing a living being. But the third method was completely different. It required an in-depth understanding of the creature's structure, behavior, and essence—not its death.
For most mages, that level of scientific knowledge was out of reach. Just getting the muscle-to-bone ratio right could take months of study. Not to mention the massive amount of time and computational effort required to simulate the transformation.
But for the newbie—someone who had been a Pokémon researcher for years—this path was ideal.
"As a Pokémon Professor under Professor Oak, you've got deep familiarity with all his Pokémon," the Fairy Tail Su Mo said with a smirk. "With the knowledge in your head right now, I bet you could directly transform just from theory. No need to harm a single Pokémon."
His explanation seemed to snap the rest of them out of their confusion.
"Right, there was a third method!" one of the others exclaimed.
None of them were as well-versed in Take Over magic as the Fairy Tail Su Mo, and even though the knowledge was floating in their minds, they hadn't fully grasped how to use it yet.
The Pokémon Su Mo's eyes lit up with realization and excitement.
"There's actually such a method?"
He thought back to his studies and experiments, then nodded quickly. "Yes! It really does work that way. The transformation model can be entirely constructed from biological knowledge and theories."
"Give me a moment. Let me try it out!"
With excitement bubbling inside him, the Pokémon Su Mo began constructing a biological model inside his mind. He started from skeletal structure and how it facilitated movement. Then moved on to musculature, elemental interactions, natural energy flow, and finally the texture and density of fur.
All the knowledge he had accumulated over the years came pouring into focus. He broke everything down to its finest details and built a full model from the ground up.
Normally, this process would've required a powerful computer and 3D modeling software, at least a week of effort to render even the simplest Pokémon.
But now—thanks to the computational enhancements gained from sharing Index Su Mo's powers—his brain was operating faster than any machine he'd ever used. In Academy City, Level 5 abilities required absurd levels of mental calculation. And he now had that same power.
In just under a minute, he had completed a full biological and magical simulation of a Pokémon transformation. Anatomy, biology, energy flow, elemental balance—everything was ready.
Then he raised his hand.
"Take Over Magic: Pikachu Form!"
A magic circle glowed beneath his feet, and the energy from his knowledge flowed through the matrix.
In a flash of light, the white lab coat vanished.
And in its place stood a small, fluffy, yellow creature with pointed ears and brown stripes across its back.
"Pika pi?!" it blinked.
"Pika!"
The freshly transformed Pikachu leapt up in excitement, its ears twitching with delight—it had worked!
Just as he turned to proudly show off to the others, he realized something ominous.
Several large hands were already reaching toward him with dangerous speed.
"A living Pikachu! Hell yeah!" one of them shouted.
"Don't hog it! Let me tug the ears too!"
"Damn it, it's just a rat, why does it feel this soft?!"
"This fur's amazing! No wonder Pikachu's the mascot!"
Four Su Mos descended upon the poor transformed Pikachu like overexcited cat lovers. They patted, rubbed, and squished him like they were petting the fluffiest plushie in existence.
It was the first time they'd seen an actual Pikachu in real life, after all. Of course they couldn't help themselves.
However…
The Pikachu under siege?
Let's just say, his joy was very short-lived.
"Pika! Pika pi!" he squeaked furiously, swatting his tiny paws at the hands violating his fur.
But it was too late.
The fluff raid had begun.
Hey! You lot better behave yourselves and stop touching me, got it?!"
"Pika pika! Pi!"
— If you don't stop, I'm going to shock someone!
— Damn it! Don't pull my tail!
Unable to communicate effectively, the transformed Pikachu finally snapped.
"Pika—CHUUUU!!!"
A thunderous Thunderbolt exploded out like a bolt of lightning, slamming into the other Su Mos with a crackling roar.
Golden electricity lit up the entire space, zapping all four of them squarely.
And yet—nothing happened.
The four Su Mos stood unfazed, not even twitching a finger, and continued to pet and stroke Pikachu's fur without the slightest care.
—Damn this god-slayer-level magic resistance! This is just ridiculous!
"Pika!!"
Pikachu, thoroughly pissed off now, began to channel power into its tail, which started glinting with a steely sheen.
SMACK!SMACK!SMACK!SMACK!
One well-placed Iron Tail each sent the Su Mos tumbling back.
Then, with a flash of the magic circle, Pikachu's form shimmered and faded, reverting back to the lab-coat-clad Su Mo of the Pokémon World.
Seeing this, the other Su Mos couldn't help but look a little disappointed.