Right now, unlike the nervous little loli tugging at his sleeve, Hakuya understood exactly what was happening the moment he heard those screams from the wild.
—Professor Birch, who loves field research, was being chased as usual and desperately needed a rookie trainer to save his sorry ass.
Accompanied by a surge of high-energy background music, a heated pursuit soon came into Hakuya's view.
The wind howled, and the dirt path of Route 101 was covered in a mess of frantic footprints.
However, it was a bit surprising to see that the thing hot on Professor Birch's heels wasn't a cute Zigzagoon or a snarling Poochyena, but a creature flapping its massive pectoral fins... Kyogre?
"Help... Save me!"
It was as if Professor Birch had eyes in the back of his head; hearing footsteps nearby, he sprinted even faster, shouting toward Hakuya without even turning around:
"Hey! You over there! Please, save me! There are Poké Balls in that bag!"
"Man, this randomized Emerald world is way too much fun."
Compared to the panicked Professor Birch, Hakuya couldn't help but marvel at the absurd scene before him.
After the previous two experiences, he had fully adapted to this game world.
Legendary Pokémon were as common as roadside Pikachu here; there was absolutely no reason to be shocked.
Eternatus in the intro, Groudon for the moving service, and now the first wild Pokémon encounter was Kyogre—he might as well rename this journey "I Transmigrated into a World Overrun by Gods and I'm Barely Surviving."
But then, a much more critical realization hit Hakuya.
Wait—crap, I'm a rookie trainer and I have to fight a Kyogre right now?!
Swallowing hard, Hakuya shifted his gaze to the briefcase Professor Birch had dropped on the grass.
He had no other choice now but to pray that whatever starter Pokémon he pulled out would be enough to keep Lord Kyogre entertained while he tried not to die.
With that thought, Hakuya ignored the Professor and the "fat-headed fish" playing tag and hurriedly unzipped the briefcase.
—Unown, Sprigatito, Ledian.
Unown.
Sprigatito.
Ledian.
As expected in a randomized setting, the original Torchic, Mudkip, and Treecko were nowhere to be seen, replaced by three different starters at Level 5 with various forms and types.
After a quick glance, Hakuya didn't hesitate for a second and grabbed the Poké Ball to the right of Unown—Sprigatito.
There was no need to think; as a competent trainer facing a Water-type Kyogre, you obviously pull out the Grass-type that resists it, not to mention this was a Starter with much higher potential.
I mean, look at Unown and Ledian—what a pair of losers.
The former's move pool consists only of Hidden Power with a pathetic base stat total of 336, and while the latter could be a support with Tailwind and dual screens, its stats aren't much better, capping at 390 even after evolving—it might as well go sit at the loser's table with Kricketune.
And... besides that, the most important part was that a cat Pokémon whose eyes are full of its trainer is just too damn cute.
At that moment, seeing that Hakuya had chosen his starter, the Kyogre—who had failed to catch Professor Birch after all that effort—rolled its eyes and lunged directly in front of Hakuya.
[Due to your interference, a Lv. 5 Kyogre challenges you to a battle!]
Feeling the powerful pressure surging toward him, Hakuya's expression turned serious.
Even though he was in a game world, the aura coming off this "fat-headed fish" felt entirely real, as if it could flood Littleroot Town and Route 101 with a single roar.
If this Sea God had its normal power, even with Sprigatito's Grass-type resistance, it would eventually be sent packing by two hits of a rain-boosted [Origin Pulse].
Fortunately, as the battle began, a notification box popped up.
[Kyogre's Drought! The sunlight turned harsh!]
"A Kyogre wearing a Groudon's skin, huh..."
Hakuya was surprised for a split second, but then he almost burst out laughing at the sheer absurdity.
After all, the effect of harsh sunlight is to reduce the power of Water-type moves by 50%, which is a catastrophically bad match for Kyogre; this randomized Ability was almost as tragic as the original Regigigas with Slow Start.
"ROAR—!!!"
Leading with its superior base Speed, Kyogre made the first move with Origin Pulse.
It tilted its head back slightly, its fins snapping open as a low rumble erupted from its throat like waves crashing against rocks, making the surrounding grass shiver. A massive, swirling orb of cyan-white water, wrapped in a localized storm, blasted forward under the blazing sun.
However, due to its low level and the weather, this supposedly world-ending attack was all bark and no bite.
"Nya~"
Taking Kyogre's full-force attack head-on, Sprigatito shook the droplets of water off her fur, tilted her tiny head, and let out a provocative cry that suggested even the legendary God of the Sea was "mid" at best.
Standing to the side, Hakuya checked Sprigatito's HP—it was still in the safe zone—and let out a sigh of relief before shouting his command.
"Sprigatito, use Petal Blizzard!"
"Nya~!"
Even facing a Legendary Pokémon, this tiny kitten showed no fear.
Springing forward on her paw pads right into Kyogre's face, she lifted a front paw. The pink and white petals blooming in the nearby grass seemed to be pulled by invisible hands, swirling into a blade of flowers for a moment before exploding into a sky full of flying cherry-blossom meteors.
It's super effective!
With the help of the Drought weather, the battle shifted from a 0-10 disadvantage to a 10-0 victory, only this time the winner wasn't the Sea God Kyogre, but the God-slaying Sprigatito.
After just two rounds of trading blows, the fat-headed fish that usually terrorized the Hoenn region was completely knocked out of commission.
"Too bad I don't have Poké Balls during the tutorial, otherwise I could've just started catching it."
Watching the Kyogre quickly recover its energy and tuck tail to flee, Hakuya couldn't help but feel a pang of regret.
Even if a Drought Kyogre was cursed, it was still a Legendary Pokémon with a base stat total of 670—enough to look down on almost everything else. If he could have caught it at the start, the game's difficulty would have plummeted, but he really didn't have any balls right now.
While Hakuya was still mourning his lost opportunity, Professor Birch walked over, huffing and puffing.
"Whew... I was attacked by a wild Pokémon while doing research in the tall grass. You saved me, thank you so much!" After a series of grateful bows, the Pokémon Professor looked up, realized who it was, and suddenly clapped his hands in surprise.
"Oh? You're Hakuya! This isn't the place to chat, come to my Pokémon Lab."
One has to admit, the programming of the game world was as rigid as ever.
No matter how much Hakuya tried to refuse or walk away, his vision would eventually go black, and he'd find himself back in the Lab, forced to accept Professor Birch's suggestion to go find Sapphire on Route 103 to learn what it means to be a trainer.
"Nya~"
As Birch waved Hakuya off with a smile, the Sprigatito—who had been behaving inside her Poké Ball—suddenly popped out. With a light kick of her soft paws, she pounced directly onto Hakuya's face.
"Ah... that really tickles..."
Feeling the warm, wet sensation of his cheek being licked, Hakuya couldn't help but smile.
Unlike his mother, Professor Birch, or Sapphire, this Sprigatito he had captured didn't seem like a pre-set data entity of the game world; she felt like a living creature in every sense of the word.
"Nya~"
Gently rubbing the kitten's head, Hakuya pulled up the built-in bag system to check Sprigatito's detailed information.
The battle with Kyogre had been too rushed; he hadn't had a chance to see her full stat panel yet.
[Sprigatito]
[Type: Grass]
[Gender: Female]
[Level: Lv. 7]
[Ability: Zero to Hero (When it returns to its party, it transforms into its Hero Form.)]
[Moves: Scratch, Tail Whip, Leafage, Bite]
[Egg Moves: Sucker Punch, Petal Blizzard]
She reached Level 7 and learned [Bite] because she had just thrashed a Kyogre, and having two Egg Moves meant this Sprigatito had incredible potential. As for the randomized Ability...
"Zero to Hero...?"
Hakuya's expression froze in shock.