June 9, 2016. Summer.
The weather was sunny, the sky cloudless.
Yet Kai, asleep in his bed, suddenly felt a chill.
"I feel like I forgot something…."
He opened his eyes, looked at the ceiling, and rubbed his head.
That's right!
Today was the college entrance examination—the final day.
He reached for his phone to check the time and was startled. Noon?
"The alarm didn't go off…?"
His heart sank as he put the phone down. Darn it! Just yesterday, he'd promised his senior sister, who was taking the exams, that he would cheer her on today… and he'd overslept?
He'd gone to bed early. Even without the alarm, he shouldn't have slept until noon.
And yet….
Ding….
A message notification popped up.
Senior Sister: The morning battle exam went very smoothly. The opponent's Pikachu was too weak.
"Hah, seems like she did well," Kai muttered.
He was about to reply with congratulations and an apology when he froze.
Battle exam?
Pikachu?
She wasn't taking the college entrance exam? She was battling Pokémon!
"I must still be dreaming."
Just then, a stream of news alerts flashed on his screen—from Penguin News.
The headline of the first article was so outrageous it deepened his unease.
"Four Professional Trainers Explore the Secret Realms of the Great Valley in Western Liaoning Region, Encounter Fierce Ancient Pokémon Aerodactyl—Only One Survivor!"
Kai frowned and opened the comments.
TalkToYouLater: An Aerodactyl? A Dragon-type? Did they discover another new dragon species?
BigChrysanthemumFan: Looks like Western Liaoning is about to get lively. Whoever captures that Aerodactyl will be famous. But if four Pros couldn't handle it, that Aerodactyl must be incredibly strong.
MountainPearBig: What? Another new species? I strongly protest! We must resist adding more Pokémon to the textbooks!
A headache pulsed behind Kai's eyes. When a Psyduck gets a headache, it awakens psychic powers. When Kai got one, a flood of memories awakened instead.
Several minutes later, the agonized Kai wore a complex expression.
He finally understood.
"No wonder… I'm still Kai…"
"But the history of this world…"
Whether it was the Pikachu his senior sister mentioned or the Aerodactyl in the news, they were real.
One hundred years ago, countless special spaces called "Secret Realms" appeared worldwide. National expedition teams discovered that each realm was a new world, home to 'Magical Creatures' with abilities surpassing cold weapons and firearms.
Years later, the Secret Realm "Viridian Forest" first merged with Earth, bringing these creatures to our world. Some were aggressive, while others were friendly.
As more Secret Realms merged with Earth, the first war between humans and Magical Creatures erupted—the War of Magical Creatures. This conflict spurred rapid technological advancement and greater understanding of these beings.
After the war, the Pokémon Alliance was formed, comprising all nations. It assumed global leadership, and that year, Magical Creatures were officially renamed 'Pokémon.'
Soon after, Dr. Ron of Celadon University invented the modern Pokéball. To manage the dangers and benefits of the Secret Realms, countries established Trainer Associations, and the Trainer profession was born.
In the 21st century, nations sought to cultivate more Trainers for reasons considered a top state secret. To ensure educational quality and Trainer development, China reformed its universities, redefined key institutions, implemented the 16-Year-Old Trainer Law, increased Pokémon-related coursework, and integrated Pokémon battles into the college entrance examination system.
"It really is a Pokémon world…"
Kai slapped his cheek.
He'd woken up to a drastically changed world. The creatures from the 'Pokémon' series had merged with reality. Could anything be more absurd?
Kai hurried to the bathroom and splashed cold water on his face. He re-assessed his situation, but his heart kept racing.
Fortunately, he was still a student at Viridian No. 1 High School. His parents, home, and relationships were unchanged. The difference was that in this world, Viridian No. 1 High was a key academy focused on cultivating Trainers. Unlike ordinary high schools, it taught Pokémon knowledge for all three years. Every student received their own Pokémon in the summer of their second year and registered as a Trainer.
The gap between ordinary and key high schools wasn't just academic—it was financial.
Key high schools invested heavily in their students. Third-year tuition alone was 200,000 yuan, not including Trainer registration fees. Economics had become a major barrier to becoming a Trainer.
Kai was slated to register as a Trainer this summer to prepare for next year's college entrance exams.
Thunder, fire, water, wind… Humans once called them 'Magical Creatures.' These Pokémon wielded immense power. As Trainers, humans captured, trained, battled, and raised Pokémon. An excellent Trainer could maximize a Pokémon's latent potential.
This extraordinary power allowed Trainers to accomplish feats beyond human capability.
The profession had become a global mainstream, integral to all walks of life.
In this world, because of the Secret Realms' emergence, the Pokémon series never existed as fiction. Humans had only cataloged 702 species—far fewer than the 800-plus he remembered.
Characteristics, moves, tactics, attributes, and held items were all still under exploration. Clearly, in less than a century, humanity hadn't fully understood Pokémon. No systematic work comprehensively documented them.
With a wry smile, Kai picked up his phone, sent a "Congratulations" to his senior sister, and apologized for oversleeping.
She deserved the congratulations. If students from key high schools entered university and worked hard for four more years, they stood an excellent chance of becoming Professional Trainers. Unlike ordinary Trainers, who could register with money, a Professional Trainer was both a career and a social class. With a Professional license, one could access 95% of public facilities worldwide for free and enjoy first-class treatment. This was also the dream of 'Kai.'