The sun was shining brightly in a cloudless, clear blue sky.
Golden sunlight streamed down from above, filtering through layers of swaying green leaves before landing gently on the earth below, bringing with it a soft, comforting warmth.
Lu Feng stared blankly at the swallow-like creature perched on the shaded branches of a leafy tree.
As a devoted Pokémon fan, he naturally recognized the bird covered in deep blue feathers, with a white belly and a head and neck tinged with red plumage.
This was none other than the regional bird of the Hoenn region—Taillow!
Lu Feng took a deep breath and couldn't help pinching his arm hard. Only when he felt the sting of pain did he finally snap back to reality.
"Hiss… it's real."
"I did come to the Pokémon world. That voice wasn't lying."
If he hadn't experienced it himself—if his body hadn't arrived in the world of Pokémon—Lu Feng would never have believed something so absurd.
A great upheaval had struck the world. Dimensional fusion had begun.
The Pokémon world was about to merge with Blue Star. Soon, countless Pokémon would descend upon it. Lu Feng and others like him had entered the Pokémon world ahead of time, tasked with aiding the fusion process through their efforts.
Lu Feng understood that a new era was quietly beginning. And if he wanted to survive in this grand and turbulent age, he would need great power.
That power—was Pokémon.
At this thought, Lu Feng felt a mix of apprehension and excitement.
He was anxious because of the many terrifying legends hidden in this world—forces capable of destroying everything—as well as the existence of numerous dark organizations. A single misstep could mean death.
But he was also excited. Blue Star had no real information about Pokémon. And as a transmigrator from Earth, Lu Feng still retained knowledge about them in his mind—knowledge that could very well become his greatest advantage.
Just as Lu Feng was lost in thought, a mechanical voice suddenly echoed in his ears. Cold and emotionless, it snapped him back to full attention.
[Ding! Pokémon World data was successfully collected. Assigning system template...]
This was a special privilege granted to those from Blue Star who entered the Pokémon world—meant to compensate for the vast gap between the two worlds.
After all, compared to the Pokémon world, Blue Star was like a firefly next to the radiant moon.
Without certain advantages, Blue Star wouldn't even stand a chance. The Pokémon world wouldn't need to send out Champions—perhaps just a few Gym Leaders acting together could completely overwhelm the entire planet.
So, this window during the fusion process was Blue Star's only opportunity to grow and catch up. Whether it would succeed was still uncertain.
And once the worlds were fully fused, this special privilege would vanish.
For now, to people like Lu Feng, the Pokémon world was essentially a real-life, ultra-massive online game.
Suddenly, Lu Feng seemed to recall something and asked silently in his mind, "System, how can we help accelerate the world fusion?"
[Ding! You can complete system-assigned missions to raise the prominence of legendary Pokémon, thus speeding up the fusion of the two worlds.]
Lu Feng nodded slowly upon hearing this.
Just as he was beginning to hope the system wouldn't make things too difficult, a mechanical voice exploded in his ears—shattering that fantasy instantly.
[Ding! Congratulations, Host! You have received a Legendary-level mission—Become the Pokémon Master!]
[Mission Duration: Unlimited]
[Mission Objective: Become the strongest trainer in the Pokémon world. Train your Pokémon to Legendary-level strength.]
[Mission Reward: Unknown]
(Mission difficulty ranks: Common, Excellent, Elite, Epic, Legendary)
Lu Feng couldn't help but twitch at the corner of his mouth. Seriously? Wasn't that a bit too much?
Starting with such an impossibly hard mission—he felt like it might be something he could never accomplish.
He froze, stunned, and stood still for a long while.
Eventually, Lu Feng came back to his senses. Looking at the Taillow cheerfully playing in the trees, he couldn't help but shake his head.
No matter how many thoughts were running through his mind, the most important thing right now was to obtain a starter Pokémon—only then could he begin to plan for everything else.
After all, the real Pokémon world wasn't all truth, goodness, and beauty like in the anime. Beneath the surface lay plenty of bloodshed and darkness.
Lu Feng cautiously followed the path that had been cleared, carefully watching his surroundings on both sides of the trail, afraid that a wild Pokémon might suddenly leap out and launch an attack on him.
He wasn't like Ash Ketchum, blessed with the indestructible body of a protagonist. With his fragile frame, even a small Tackle might leave him coughing up blood.
"Where exactly is this place?" he muttered, continuing down the League-made road.
Though he knew he was somewhere in the Hoenn Region, the region itself was vast, and he had no idea which part of it he had landed in.
After walking for more than ten minutes, he finally came across a directional sign.
The sign was weathered and worn, clearly having been exposed to the elements for years. The text on it had faded considerably.
If Lu Feng hadn't squinted and carefully tried to decipher it, he might not have been able to read it at all.
When he saw the number "101" on the sign, he froze.
With a strange expression on his face, he looked around at the surrounding environment, and relevant information surfaced in his memory.
If he remembered correctly, Route 101 was near Littleroot Town.
That was the starting town for the main character in the Pokémon Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald games.
Just as he was immersed in this realization, he suddenly heard cries for help in the distance. Already feeling suspicious, Lu Feng's face immediately shifted into a curious expression.
"No way…" he muttered, his voice low, as he looked in the direction of the sound.
After hesitating for a moment and hearing the calls for help grow more urgent, he quickly made up his mind and ran toward the source of the voice.
As Lu Feng approached the source, he gradually slowed to a stop.
About five meters ahead, three Pokémon that looked like little raccoon dogs were gathered around a tree, barking and growling.
Their alternating fur colors and raccoon-like appearance made it clear—they were Zigzagoon.
Lu Feng looked up into the tree.
There, clinging helplessly to the branches, was a middle-aged man in a white lab coat, with a square face and a scruffy beard.
Just as Lu Feng spotted him, the man also noticed Lu Feng and called out in delight.
"Finally, someone came! I'm Professor Birch. Young man, please help me!"
As Professor Birch's voice fell, a mechanical prompt suddenly echoed in Lu Feng's mind. A new mission appeared before him.