Nothing.
"...Don't do that," I muttered to my own heart as it continued trying to break free from my chest. "I have already exceeded today's quota of panic attacks."
Just as I let out a relieved sigh, something bright flashed directly in front of my face.
"WAAAH!"
yelped so loudly that several birds exploded out of the nearby trees. Startled beyond reason, I instinctively threw myself backward, only to slam the back of my head against the giant tree root hiding behind me.
Thud!
"...Ow..."
I sat there clutching the back of my head, tears welling up once again—this time because I'd apparently been assaulted by a tree. The new world has really assaulted my nervous system so badly that I am getting scared by even small changes around.
But now I could see the thing that startled me. Hovering calmly in front of my face was a translucent blue screen.
"..."
I stared at it. I leaned to the left. The screen floated left. I leaned to the right. The screen politely followed.
"...Great."
I sighed so deeply I was convinced a part of my soul escaped with it.
"I've finally lost it." The screen showed nothing and was just there.
"You are not real."
The blue screen remained completely unmoved.
"I refuse to acknowledge your existence."
Still nothing.
"...You're going to stay there, aren't you?"
The screen flickered as elegant letters slowly appeared across its surface.
"Welcome to the Pokémon Card System!"
A second line materialized beneath it.
"Welcome to your new world!"
My eyes went wide when I read the letters, which was thankfully in English otherwise reading Japanese letters would throw me off. But the words on the blue screen made me realize that maybe, just maybe, I have some chance.
In my life, I have done extensive research on Pokémon and played a lot of their games, so even though I won't proclaim myself as the most knowledgeable about Pokémon, my brother and I would surely go beyond the mid table when it came to Pokémon.
But how would knowledge help me here?
Besides, I need an apology message for kidnapping me from my bed.
"The Pokémon card system would allow you to get cards daily and equip them in your body"
"A what now?" I was taken aback by what I was reading. "At first a weird blue screen showed up and now it spurting nonsense? And why the fuck am I talking to myself?" I murmured by the end.
The blue screen, displaying all the professionalism of a customer support representative trying to end their shift, completely ignored my complaints and also didn't seem to notice my embarrassment just now.
Instead, the words faded away before a brand-new message appeared.
"Initiating Beginner Card Lottery..."
"...Beginner what?"
Before I could question it any further, the entire screen transformed into a spinning carousel of glowing cards. Hundreds of them at least, no it was at least thousands, because the scroll was too much.
They flashed past at such ridiculous speeds that I could barely make out the artwork. A fiery orange dragon roared for a split second before disappearing. A massive blue whale replaced it. Then a ghost hiding in shadows, a metallic bird, a turtle carrying cannons on its shell, a psychic feline, a tiny green dinosaur, an elegant fox, and countless others spun by in an endless blur of colors.
"H-Hey!"
I pointed accusingly at the roulette.
"I haven't even agreed to any terms and conditions yet!"
The system remained as responsive as a brick wall.
"I would at least like to read the privacy policy."
Who am I kidding? Have I ever read those policies? Nope.
The cards continued spinning at breakneck speed, occasionally slowing just enough for me to recognize a Pokémon before accelerating again.
"Come on... at least let me cheat a little. Give me a legendary."
The roulette ignored my heartfelt request with the same enthusiasm it had ignored everything else I had said.
Eventually, the spinning began to slow.
The cards became visible one after another. I could recognize many of those. A Machop, followed by Growlithe....
And at the end if finally landed on Pikachu.
"Of course it's Pikachu, after all both are anime. One Piece and Pokémon. One should follow anime standards, isn't it?" I said, my words laden with thick sarcasm. "Yeah! Fuck you."
"Pokémon Card"
Name: Pikachu
Level: 15
"Fine, I'll take it."
Without any warning whatsoever, the blue screen suddenly spat the card directly at my face.
Paf!
"...Ow."
The card slid off my nose before landing neatly in my lap. I picked it up and examined it from every angle. It looked exactly like a genuine Pokémon card, except the artwork seemed strangely alive. Tiny arcs of electricity danced around the cheerful yellow mouse, and I could swear its ears twitched for the briefest moment.
"...Now what?"
Silence. I looked at the screen and there was nothing, it was full blank.
"Instructions?"
Nothing.
"Tutorial?"
Nothing.
"Helpful beginner guide?"
Still nothing. I waited for a full thirty seconds, yes I counted in my fingers.
"...You're kidding me."
A vein twitched on my forehead.
"You throw a magical card at me, refuse to elaborate, and expect me to figure it out myself?"
The screen remained gloriously useless.
"Fantastic."
With absolutely no better ideas left, I shrugged.
"Well... if electronics stop working, people smack them. I am grown up after all." I said. "I really should stop saying stupid things to myself to overshadow the fear in my heart."
I slapped the card against my bare forearm.
The reaction was instantaneous. The card dissolved into countless golden particles before sinking straight into my skin as though my body had become liquid. My eyes widened just as a strange warmth spread from my arm to every corner of my body.
Then came the electricity.
It surged through my veins with incredible vitality, every nerve awakening as if they had been asleep until now. Tiny sparks crackled around my fingertips while the hairs on my arms stood upright. My muscles felt lighter, my senses sharper, and an indescribable energy settled comfortably within my chest, as though it had always belonged there.
At the same time, knowledge poured into my mind.
It came as an instinct laden with knowledge that he never had before. Moves like Growl, Thunder Shock, Quick Attack, Double Team, Tail Whip, Electro Ball and some others were also in my mind.
But how come some many weird combinations of moves, it was if all the generations of games came together and gave a broth of moves to me, not that I am complaining since it means more moves for me.
But God damn, I feel like a Pikachu in the body of a human. I watched my fingers discharge a bit of electricity and even my cheeks could call upon it when needed. And the most amazing part was he could even transform into Pikachu.
But that wasn't the only part that had surprised me. I could gain experience points by defeating/killing creatures. No matter how small or insignificant the creature was, it was still a huge boost to my survival, because leveling up means I would be getting stronger, thus letting me have a chance to live, no if I can get stronger, I will be really powerful even if it's only Pikachu.
I swallowed hard as that final realization settled into my mind. I could... actually do it. There were no complicated hand signs, no chants, and no lengthy activation sequence. It felt as natural as moving an arm or blinking an eye. All I had to do was will it.
"...Well," I muttered while looking around to make sure nobody was watching. "If this blows up in my face, at least there won't be any witnesses to laugh at me."
Taking a deep breath, I focused on the strange instinct buried within me.
The world suddenly shrank.
A warm golden light erupted around my body, swallowing my vision completely. My bones didn't painfully snap or twist like in horror movies. Instead, everything simply... flowed. My center of gravity shifted downward while my arms and legs became shorter. A tingling sensation spread across my face before two fuzzy ears sprang into existence on top of my head. Something heavy swayed behind me, and I instinctively knew it was a tail. By the time the light faded, I found myself standing on four tiny paws covered in bright yellow fur.
"...Pika?"
I instantly froze. That... was not what I had intended to say. Trying again, I cleared my throat with all the dignity I could muster.
"...Pika."
"Oh, come on!"
Only another adorable little cry escaped my mouth.
I stared at my tiny paws in disbelief before my gaze drifted toward the lightning bolt-shaped tail behind me. Giving it an experimental wag, I watched it obediently swing from side to side. My ears twitched automatically, catching sounds I hadn't even noticed before.
When I had the power of Pikachu I could feel the power but once I transformed now, it was different ball game. The things around became more clearer than ever before.