Viridian City Police Station
"Spending the very first day of my journey in a police station… not exactly a good omen."
Nozomi muttered to himself as he sat in the chair.
Earlier, after teaching that gang of delinquents a lesson on the street, Officer Jenny had just arrived.
Upon learning the cause of the incident, she immediately arrested the group of delinquents.
But as the person involved, Nozomi was inevitably pulled in to give his statement.
As he was lost in thought, Jenny walked over with a cup of coffee and set it on the table.
"Thank you for your cooperation. That will be all," she said to Nozomi. "However, next time, please make sure not to use Pokémon moves on humans. It's very easy to cause unintended injuries."
Jenny still remembered the scene when she first arrived: the gang's expressions were utterly defeated. Whatever Nozomi had done to them had left them almost hoping to be arrested.
It was the first time she had ever seen criminals who were happy, rather than scared, to see the police.
Even just now, when she mentioned Nozomi's name in front of the delinquents, fear flashed across their faces—a clear sign of the shadow he had cast over them.
"Don't worry. I know my limits. I was just giving them a little lesson," Nozomi replied. "Besides, isn't this considered self-defense?"
Jenny nodded. Indeed, as Nozomi said, the gang had publicly threatened a former Pokémon Prosecutor. Nozomi's actions clearly fell under self-defense.
As a former Pokémon Prosecutor who understood the law, Nozomi knew exactly how far to push.
"These delinquents will be prosecuted for threatening public officials and allowing Pokémon to disrupt public order. At the very least, they'll be locked up for three months."
Jenny felt no sympathy for them. Strictly speaking, it was Nozomi—a former Pokémon Prosecutor—who was on her side, not the gang.
These delinquents were threatening not just Nozomi, but the entire justice system of the League. Three months was a light sentence.
Nozomi was satisfied with the outcome.
Three months behind bars was a fitting punishment—long enough for them to regret their actions, but not so long that they would lose touch with society.
At that moment, Nozomi felt a sense of greatness. Surely, some of these delinquents would turn over a new leaf because of him.
Before leaving, he even went to the interrogation room to talk to the "Airplane Hair" delinquent personally.
The kid was no longer arrogant. After taking a psychic-powered knock to the head from Nozomi, he seemed much more aware, at least understanding that Nozomi was not someone to provoke.
And with that, Nozomi had taken care of everything.
…
By the time he left the police station, it was already evening.
It had taken far longer than he expected; he probably wouldn't get to Professor Oak's lab until tomorrow.
He stayed the night at the Viridian City Pokémon Center. Lying on a bed there, he communicated with the system in his mind.
"System, what about the reward from earlier?"
After all, it was the result of a whole day's hard work.
[Remaining Lottery Draws: Ordinary Lottery ×1. Draw now?]
"Draw!"
Having learned his lesson from the Metagross incident, Nozomi was curious to see what an ordinary lottery would give him.
[Drawing… Congratulations! You have obtained Pokémon Breeding Knowledge (Beginner). The prize has been stored in your backpack.]
"Breeding Knowledge… what's that?"
From the name alone, Nozomi couldn't tell. He asked the system.
[Pokémon Breeding Knowledge (Beginner): Includes methods for raising and caring for various Pokémon.]
[System Evaluation: Don't expect to become a Pokémon Breeding Master with this. It will only help you become a competent Pokémon caretaker.]
"This system… is cheeky."
Nozomi twitched at the system's comment, but he would still use it.
After all, whether in his previous life or now, he only knew Pokémon battle-related knowledge. His understanding of Pokémon care was minimal.
With this, at least he wouldn't accidentally harm his Pokémon in the future.
"Study!"
He whispered to himself. Suddenly, a flood of information poured into his mind.
Favorite food combinations for Bulbasaur, precautions when massaging a Charmander, how to help Squirtle clean itself…
And more.
So much information rushed in that Nozomi spent a full ten minutes in stunned silence before regaining his composure.
"Pokémon care has so many techniques?"
Before his journey, he had thought all it took was feeding Pokémon on time.
To test the information, he took out Pokémon food and vegetables from his backpack and prepared Bulbasaur's meal according to the instructions.
"Saur!"
Seeing his usually picky Bulbasaur devour in one sitting what used to take two meals to finish, Nozomi realized how useful this information was.
After organizing it further, he discovered a complete set of Pokémon care methods—far more effective than the system had suggested.
Nozomi felt confident enough that he could even take the Pokémon Breeder certification exam right now.
"Looks like the system underestimates what 'Beginner' actually is," he muttered.
Even many breeders in the League didn't even know what their Pokémon preferred to eat.
He looked down at the now-full Bulbasaur, patted its head, and returned it to its Poké Ball.
"Sleep early. Tomorrow, I'll head to Professor Oak's lab to get the Pokédex!"
With the moon high in the sky, Nozomi drifted into dreams.