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It was still that boring waiting time.
Kael sat upright on the grass, staring blankly at the entrance ahead.
With the most regular routine of a Pokémon, he had perfectly achieved the ancient human ideal from his previous life: working at sunrise and resting at sunset.
When the sky had only just begun to brighten, he had climbed out of his little bed and completed the morning training that would fill him with energy for the entire day.
It was now 9:32 in the morning.
At a time when many people had probably only just crawled out of bed, or were even still sleeping, Kael had already completed two rounds of the special training Evan had designed for him.
The system's support and his body's natural talent were certainly important.
But without the most basic element, diligence, Kael would never have been able to open such a gap between himself and the other Pokémon of this world.
If he wanted to achieve the goal in his heart truly, the sweat of hard work was indispensable.
He knew this very clearly.
Rustle.
On Kael's round head, the bright yellow fan-shaped crest swayed gently like a miniature sail.
The invisible moisture in the surrounding air was slowly gathered toward him under the effect of that crest.
It made him feel as if he were sitting in an air-conditioned room. Waves of coolness wrapped around his body, incredibly comfortable.
"To be fair, this game really does a good job with realism."
It was almost as if…
This was truly another world where Pokémon existed.
As Kael's thoughts drifted, he sighed inwardly.
If not for the appearance of players and the occasional virtual data stream that appeared under certain rare circumstances, he might not even realize that he was living in a game world created by humans.
Suddenly, as if thinking of something, a flash of interest appeared in Kael's clear blue eyes.
He turned his head toward the side of the field. Seeing that the referee had not arrived yet, a thought rose in his heart, and he moved.
His two slender arms, which had been properly touching the ground because of his upright sitting posture, were lifted.
His body leaned backward. His two small legs spread out on the grass, and he supported himself entirely with the broad tail behind him.
His ball-like round head lowered, and his gaze looked toward his lower abdomen.
Where his eyes focused…
Naturally, there was nothing strange.
It was completely smooth, bare skin.
"What exactly was I expecting…"
Kael could not help laughing inwardly.
The specific reproductive method of Pokémon had always been a mystery to him.
He could not figure it out.
Most Pokémon clearly had defined genders, but for most of them, the only way to tell was through tiny differences in appearance or skin.
As for the parts found on traditional creatures, Pokémon simply did not have them at all.
This was the experience he had gained through careful observation over several Pokémon's lives.
In Kael's impression, as long as two adult Pokémon of opposite genders from the same Egg Group were placed together, they did not even need to do anything especially intimate.
As long as their affection was slightly high, after a period of time, the female side would suddenly go pop and produce an egg.
It was very "magical."
Kael was actually quite interested in the exact process involved.
But from his current perspective as a Pokémon, if he wanted to learn the true process of Pokémon reproduction, perhaps the only way would be to participate personally…
Kael suddenly shuddered.
"Absolutely not."
Although his body was that of a small and adorable Sobble, his preferences were still based on human views.
No matter how beautiful or elegant a Pokémon was, he could not possibly feel any interest in that direction.
He thought about many things, but in reality, only an instant had passed.
Forcing down the sudden discomfort in his heart, Kael slowly raised his head from beneath his body.
Then suddenly, Kael stopped moving.
His body stiffened abruptly.
It was not because of overtraining.
It was because, in his line of sight, at the edge of the grass that had originally been empty, a pair of white sneakers had appeared.
With his excellent vision, Kael could even clearly see a bit of mud stuck to the side of one shoe.
Gulp.
He swallowed, carrying a faint trace of self-deception, and slowly moved his gaze upward from the sneakers.
Legs.
Waist.
Chest.
Neck.
Finally, his gaze stopped on a face filled with embarrassment.
"So… he saw it…"
"He definitely saw it…"
"I'll kill you…"
Kael, who had been lost in thought in such a comfortable environment, had failed to notice a human approaching for a moment.
As a result, the other party had seen his embarrassing behavior.
For a moment, Kael's mind was filled with shame and anger, to the point that he even began thinking about how to truly kill a player.
…
Marcus stared awkwardly at the Sobble across from him. His mood at this moment was rather subtle.
Before coming here, he had imagined countless possible scenes for his first encounter with Sobble.
Some were shocking.
Some were ordinary.
But none of them had been like this… awkward.
At that moment, Marcus, who had thought he was fully prepared, was truly caught off guard by Kael in a way Kael himself absolutely did not want.
Of course, awkwardness was one thing.
As a young man born in the information age, when Marcus encountered something unusual, he naturally would not forget the most important thing.
Screenshots.
In the blink of an eye, just as Kael had barely returned to a proper sitting posture, Marcus had already used the system to record everything that had just happened from various angles.
Then, under his control, a series of ultra-clear 4K images was uploaded to the forum.
…
[MarcusHaleOfficial]: Image, image, image…
[Nobody]: Uh, this…
[Strawberry Orange Candy]: Ahhh, this is way too cute!
[Old Dream]: Marshtomp Who Sees Through Everything.JPG
…
The response was extremely intense.
The moment the images were uploaded, they almost detonated the entire player forum.
Almost at the same time, various memes based on Kael's awkward pose appeared across every player forum.
Powerful strength paired with a silly, adorable action.
The intense contrast caused his popularity among the player community to surge.
In the future, it would even reach the point of breaking out beyond the gaming circle.
Of course, that would come later.
After secretly uploading the images, Marcus returned his attention to the battlefield, preparing to face the coming battle.
On the other side, the referee, who had arrived late because of personal matters, was now properly dressed and standing at the side of the field.
Everything was ready.
Except for a certain Sobble, who was still trapped in shame and anger, unable to pull himself free.
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~Support with 200 PowerStones = 1 Bonus Chapter
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For early access to advanced chapters on P-atreon:
P-atreon/iamxeno
(Just remove the - hyphen to access normally)
Thank you so much for your support and for reading!