The staircase was endless.
Each step disintegrated behind me, locking me into a single path upward, toward the Origin Code. Above, the sky had peeled away to reveal something beneath reality: an ocean of script flowing in spirals, galaxies forming and unforming from sheer logic.
You are entering: System Root Layer – ADMIN ACCESS ONLY
Final Challenge Engaged: ROOT ADMIN – [UNKNOWN]
Combat Format: Reality Breaker – all logic is mutable
I stood on a platform shaped like a Mobius strip. Space curled on itself. Gravity wasn't real here only will.
Then it emerged.
A towering, faceless being composed of mirrored panels and white code. Its voice rang inside my mind.
"You were a bug. An intrusion. A boy who fell through a crack between code and dream."
"You were not meant to reach this far."
I clenched my fists.
"I didn't fall through. I climbed."
"Then climb no further."
FINAL BATTLE: ROOT ADMIN – Entity [INFINITY]
It didn't summon Pokémon.
It became them.
Reality shattered as the Admin shifted form: a flowing fusion of Legendary Pokémon, one frame at a time Arceus's hooves giving way to Giratina's wings, melting into Kyogre's pulse. Every move it made warped the battlefield.
Admin used "Rewrite Reality" – all rules nullified for 1 turn
Your team:
Charmegabyte (Fire / Data / Light)
Glitchlia (Psychic / ???)
??? (a blank Pokéball vibrates...)
The Admin whispered:
"Return to sleep. Rejoin the illusion."
Your response: Override – Anchor to Identity
Suddenly, I remembered:
The first Pokémon I ever saw as a kid.
Bulbasaur. Not digital. Just a cartoon on my screen.
System Anchor – Emotion Trigger
Pokéball #3 has been unlocked: TRUE STARTER – BULBASAUR (Real World Link)
And for a moment, everything glitched but not like before.
This wasn't a crash.
It was transition.
The Battle Beyond Logic
Glitchlia duplicated herself infinitely, reflections looping around the Admin.
Charmegabyte surged forward, flame splitting timelines.
Bulbasaur my Bulbasaur stood at the center, eyes full of innocence. One simple move:
Bulbasaur used "Grow."
It didn't raise stats.
It grew me.
Memories. Emotions. Pain. Joy. Love for this world even the broken one I had fought through.
"You were never data," the Admin said quietly."You were always real."
Then it lowered its arms.
Final Reset Complete
System Status: Restored to Reality
Goodbye, Player One.
Epilogue – The Real World Begins
I opened my eyes.
No static. No UI.
Just sky.
Real, blue sky.
A flock of Pidgey flew overhead. I sat up on a grassy hill, overlooking a town I instantly recognized.
Pallet Town.
The real one.
The Cobblemon system was still with me but it no longer glitched. It shimmered like a silent HUD, clean and minimal, tucked in the corner of my vision.
System Status: Integrated
All Pokémon will now appear naturally to others. Cobblemon visuals are private to user only.
Welcome to the World of Pokémon.
My Pokéballs were real. My team was intact Charmegabyte now looked like a powerful, blazing Charizard, still bearing that digital glow only I could see.
I stood up just as two voices echoed from below the hill.
"Come on, Ash! We'll miss the ferry to Dewford!"
"I know, I'm hurrying!"
Ash Ketchum older, more confident, wearing Hoenn gear ran past, Taillow on his shoulder.
Another figure followed.
Leaf.
She slowed as she passed me, blinked, then offered a warm smile.
"You new around here?"
I smiled back.
"Yeah. Just... woke up."