"So heavy…"
Nozomi stirred from his drowsiness, feeling as if a massive stone were pressing down on him, suffocating him.
When he finally opened his eyes, he saw a bright green Bulbasaur with large, red eyes sitting squarely on his stomach.
It looked adorably clumsy.
"Bulbasaur? What's going on?"
Nozomi rubbed his eyes, suspecting he was still dreaming, and instinctively pinched his own thigh.
Ouch!
He had pinched hard, thinking it was a dream, but the pain made him gasp sharply.
Then he reached out and touched the Bulbasaur lying on his stomach.
Soft and real—definitely not some plastic toy. The Bulbasaur nudged his hand with its head as he touched it.
This Bulbasaur was alive!
"Did I… transmigrate?"
Nozomi's face was full of shock. He had never imagined that such a thing would happen to him!
Before he could fully process it, a voice suddenly echoed in his mind.
[Ding, system loading.][System activated. Welcome to the Strongest Lottery System!]
"System…"
Ah, so the "golden finger" had arrived—this really was a transmigration.
[Detected host memory in confusion. Activating memory sorting function.]
The system seemed aware that Nozomi had no idea about this world and immediately started organizing his memories.
A flood of memories surged through his mind, with flashes of words and images: "League Trainee Inspector," "Team Rocket," "mistake," "probationary review"—all spinning rapidly in his head.
After a while…
"Ah, so that's what happened."
It took Nozomi over ten minutes to fully sort out his memories.
The person he had transmigrated into was also named Nozomi—a Trainee Inspector in the Kanto Pokémon League.
On his first day on the job, his predecessor had accompanied a senior inspector to apprehend a Team Rocket member. But the Bulbasaur had frozen in fear at the sight of an Arbok, leaving a gap in their defenses and allowing a Rocket lieutenant to escape.
Because of this failure, his predecessor was held accountable. What should have been a routine probation review ended in the permanent derailment of his inspector career.
Frustrated, anxious, and enraged, the predecessor had died, paving the way for Nozomi's transmigration.
Absorbing all the memories, Nozomi raised an eyebrow.
Something didn't feel right.
Regarding the predecessor's suspension, the mistake was understandable in a battle context. Arbok naturally had the Intimidate ability—any Bulbasaur that didn't flinch would be abnormal.
Besides, a failed mission shouldn't have fallen entirely on a trainee inspector; the supervising officers were responsible.
Nozomi realized he had been made the scapegoat.
"Poor guy… that's really rough."
Still, since he had transmigrated and inherited this body, Nozomi resolved that he would set things right when the opportunity came.
With that thought, he turned his attention to the system.
The Strongest Lottery System.
Judging by the name, it was clearly a lottery system.
Scanning its data in his mind, Nozomi discovered the system was surprisingly straightforward.
He could earn lottery chances by completing daily tasks randomly generated by the system.
The lottery had four tiers: Normal, Silver, Gold, and Platinum.
The higher the tier, the rarer the prize. The items could include, but were not limited to, Pokémon items, Pokémon moves, and even Pokémon themselves—including legendary Pokémon!
And Nozomi was thrilled to discover that he had one chance immediately.
[Congratulations, host! System activated. You have earned one Golden Lottery draw.]
Just as he prepared to test his luck, something licked his face.
Looking down, he saw Bulbasaur's pitiful expression.
Apparently, it knew that its earlier fright had caused its trainer to fail as an inspector. Seeing Nozomi awake but ignoring it, the Bulbasaur assumed its trainer was angry.
"All right, I'm not mad."
Nozomi chuckled and patted Bulbasaur's head. Having inherited the memories, he bore no grudge against it.
"Saur!"
Seeing that Nozomi truly wasn't angry, Bulbasaur relaxed and closed its eyes.
Nozomi lifted Bulbasaur onto his lap and silently instructed:"System, lottery!"
He felt a twinge of nervous excitement—it was time to see whether he would feast on meat or grass first.
[Ding, lottery in progress… Congratulations, host! You have obtained a pseudo-legendary Pokémon: Metagross.][The Pokémon Ball has been delivered to the system inventory. Metagross' friendship is at maximum. Host may retrieve it at any time.]
"Metagross!"
Nozomi was stunned.
He knew the Golden Lottery could yield great prizes, but his luck seemed a little too good!
He retrieved the Poké Ball containing Metagross from the system inventory.
A single Ultra Ball materialized in his hand.
Unable to contain his excitement, Nozomi pressed the button:"Come out, Metagross!"
A flash of white light filled the room. A Metagross appeared, its body disc-shaped with four iron claws, its face forming a metallic "X," and red eyes giving it a fierce look.
It radiated strength at first glance.
Bulbasaur bristled at the sudden newcomer, immediately positioning itself in front of Nozomi and adopting a battle stance.
"Relax, Bulbasaur. This is a teammate. There's nothing to worry about—you need to get along from now on."
Nozomi patted the still-trembling Bulbasaur on the shoulder.
"Saur?"
Bulbasaur looked puzzled. It didn't recall its trainer ever having another Pokémon.
Nozomi smiled, lifted Bulbasaur, and approached Metagross, stroking its head.
Metagross squinted and obediently lowered its head.
Perhaps due to the maxed-out friendship, Nozomi didn't sense any hostility—only closeness.
Seeing Nozomi's actions, Bulbasaur gained courage and gingerly prodded Metagross with its vine.
Stare!
Metagross suddenly opened its eyes.
Yikes!
Bulbasaur shrank behind Nozomi, startled.
Ignoring their playful tussle, Nozomi pondered,"Wait… did I forget something?"
He had a nagging feeling he had overlooked something important.
Buzz…
Metagross, seemingly uncomfortable with the cramped space, floated up into the air, its weight crushing the furniture beneath.
"…."
Surveying the wreckage and ruined furniture, Nozomi buried his face in his hands in despair.
Damn it… now I finally know what I forgot.