Pokémon: Trainers Start as Bounty Hunters.

That evening, in the contestants' dormitory at Indigo Plateau, Tetsuya heard a familiar voice on his communication screen; it was Dr. Yamanashi, who happened to have some free time.

He was in his lab, brewing tea and eating snacks and desserts.

"Mainly, I also want to see more scenery."

Tetsuya's face was full of joy.

"It seems the loss in the competition didn't affect you much?" Dr. Yamanashi asked with a smile, looking at Tetsuya.

"Hmm..." Tetsuya pondered for a moment, "I can't say there's no impact."

As one of the many time travelers, to be honest, traveling to the world of Pokémon is probably one of the few good options.

First and foremost is safety.

Although there are dangers, they are not too great. At least you don't have to worry about being inexplicably killed by rebels or powerful enemies in a bad mood while walking on the street. Most people in the Pokémon world are at least not bad-hearted.

This may also be related to the theory that humans "evolved" from Pokémon. In the Pokémon community, 99% of Pokémon are pure and kind-hearted, and even if they have a bad side, they are not completely "evil".

Of course, some elves are not included in this category—similarly, some humans are not included either, such as poachers and a large part of the dark organizations.

It's just that because the human population is relatively large and communication between different species is somewhat difficult, humans feel that there is more darkness inside them, which is probably the concept of "survivorship bias".

Compared to the peaceful and prosperous life that has always existed, only occasional riots by dark organizations attract great attention. If the people are constantly in dire straits, then riots by dark organizations will not attract any opinions or discussions at all. After all, these riots happen every day, every hour, so one more won't make a difference.

As for the dangers caused by exploring the wilderness, it's your own fault for courting death. Even in your past life, it would have been normal for you to lose your life if you went to the wilderness unprepared, let alone in the wilderness where elves live.

From the perspective of someone who has lived here for so long, Tetsuya felt that compared to his previous life, the dangers here were only slightly greater.

Secondly, there are the joys of life.

The existence of elves is the greatest joy.

Although it's not as idyllic as depicted in the animation, it's still quite easy to live a leisurely and joyful life with elves under the League's rule.

Besides, Pokémon was part of Tetsuya's childhood in his previous life, and he was full of interest and a desire to explore these magical creatures.

Most importantly, in the Pokémon world, strength largely depends on the strength of your Pokémon. Situations like those in fantasy worlds, where you personally engage in battle, are extremely rare among the people of this world.

Wild fighting, this ancient and cruel form of combat, has long been categorized as scum, at least in places where the light shines.

Coupled with the strange development of the technology tree and the elves' production capabilities, life in the entire elf world couldn't be more comfortable.

If Tetsuya hadn't chosen to be a trainer, a profession that requires the most investment but also yields the greatest rewards in this world, becoming the richest person in the region wouldn't have been a problem for him.

Piles of gold and a harem of wives and concubines are simply not dreams.

Finally, there is the goal.

To be honest, Zhe couldn't accept his happy, harmonious, peaceful, and wonderful life in his previous life when he first transmigrated.

He wasn't an orphan in his previous life, so why did he have to transmigrate and suffer like this? He wasn't a masochist or someone who was unhappy with his life. In his previous life, he was a second-generation rich kid who never had to worry about food or drink.

However, as time went on, Tetsuya had to face reality, especially after discovering that he had a "cheat code".

What to do? That was his first thought.

He then realized that something was off about him.

Now that we've arrived in the Pokémon world, is there any need to think about this question? Without a doubt, it's about becoming a trainer.

If you don't become a trainer, it's like you've never been born.

And so, Zhe began his life as a trainer.

From the little Rattata at the beginning, to the later Popo, and now to the six partners;

From a clueless novice bounty hunter to a well-known veteran, and now a mercenary with an extremely high and exaggerated completion rate;

From being an isolated individual at the beginning, to having Nibi, Professor Yamanashi, Professor Oak, and Senior Brother Shiro as support, and now having made many friends of all kinds.

After living in the Pokémon world for more than seventeen years, Tetsuya felt that he had done a good enough job.

The same is true.

The league's strong support speaks volumes.

His being born an orphan actually speaks volumes about his excellence.

But what's next?

Before the conference began, Zhe was somewhat confused.

Is he not strong? Absolutely strong. Even disregarding his age, his current strength is enough to rank him among the top in the world. The top 16 in the regional tournament may seem like a lot, but in reality, it's quite a lot.

He now absolutely deserves the title of "Trainer".

Moreover, even if he doesn't work as hard as before from now on, with his current six partners, it's only a matter of time before Tetsuya finds a weak region to become one of the Four Heavenly Kings, and he'll definitely be among the top 100 in the world.

Such strength is enough for him to enjoy the fun of Pokémon battles, not to mention that he can train new partners at any time.

So what's the point of running around? Why not just mindlessly grind tasks every day to earn money, train your Pokémon, and then become stronger to become one of the Elite Four? Wouldn't it be better to just enjoy an immersive game?

He doesn't care about the scenery or anything like that.

This was the question in Tetsuya's mind.

But for some reason, he just felt very awkward.

The past twenty-odd years in his previous life plus the seventeen-odd years in this life have not changed Tetsuya's personality as a young man at all.

Tetsuya has never been one to torment himself. Objectively speaking, the status of the Four Heavenly Kings is comparable to that of rare high-ranking officials or successful individuals in his previous life, which could certainly be his goal.

Achieving this ending is undoubtedly a highlight in the game.

However, the two-month conference gave him a different perspective.

"In short, my next goal is to become a Pokémon Master!"

The firm words came from Tetsuya's mouth.

Dr. Yamanashi, who had no idea what Tetsuya had been thinking, was stunned by this sudden statement.

Professor Yamanashi then smiled with considerable satisfaction: "Really? You'll have to keep it up. You still have a long way to go before you become a Pokémon Master."

Although we don't know what the young people are thinking, having a clear goal is definitely a good thing.

Dr. Yamanashi was pleased that Tetsuya spoke so firmly about his dream.

"Pokémon Master, that sounds so cool!"

Outside Dr. Yamanashi's lab, two children who were eavesdropping secretly had their eyes light up at the same time. One of them, a black-haired boy, started shouting loudly.

"Keep your voice down!"

The brown-haired child glared at him fiercely. "And you, a loser like you? Don't even think about it. I'm the one who's going to become a Pokémon Master!"

The latter's words were full of contempt and displeasure.

"You brat, what are you saying?" The little boy who was being rebuked was of course Ash. His face turned red, but he couldn't refute Ash's words for a moment.

Compared to Shigeru, who is always ranked first in school, Satoshi, who is also always number one, is not so good.

After all, the order is different.

Amidst their playful bickering, the two quickly moved away from Dr. Yamanashi's research institute.

Children's interests come and go quickly, that's probably true.

But sometimes, a child can remember a single sentence for a long time.

Hearing the commotion outside the door, Dr. Yamanashi and Tetsuya both smiled helplessly.

"These two kids are so lively every day, but I'm different~ I'm getting old~" Dr. Yamanashi sighed with a sense of history.

"Of course not, you're the one who will reveal the secrets of Pokémon evolution," Tetsuya replied with a smile.

Dr. Yamanashi's age is indeed not that old. At least in this world, Dr. Yamanashi, who is only a little over fifty years old, is in his prime.

However, probably because the research is too mentally taxing, most of the older PhDs have gray hair and look rather old.

The same goes for Professor Oak.

"Hahahaha, I think so too. The evolution of Pokémon is so wonderful, it's worth exploring."

Dr. Yamanashi burst into a hearty laugh, full of energy.

The old man and the young man started chatting casually.

"Okay, then you should get some rest."

After an unknown amount of time, the two finally ended their conversation.

After hanging up the video call, Tetsuya lay on his back on the bed, looking at the ceiling and raising his right hand, opening his palm and then clenching it into a fist.

"I don't have to strive for my own goals because I don't care, because I don't have any big ambitions, I just want to live a good life."

But at the very least, I cannot let my partners down, nor can I let those who trust me down.

Tetsuya thought to himself silently.

He's a bit immature and lacks ambition, but that's just who he is.

He closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.

........

"What a misfortune!"

A scream echoed through the empty woods.

The fog was thick, making it difficult to see the person screaming in pain.

"Down"

A much taller elf standing next to the figure sighed helplessly and patted his boss on the shoulder.

Of course, it's Tetsuya embarking on his journey once again, along with his ace partner, Blaziken.

"What do you mean?" Tetsuya looked at Blaziken with a slightly fierce gaze.

"So, don't you have any sense of your own luck? Why do you have to rely on your intuition to choose a path without looking at the map?"

Blaziken wasn't frightened by Tetsuya's appearance at all; it was used to it. Its youthful voice resonated in Tetsuya's heart.

Some time has passed since the conference, and Blaziken has become even more proficient in using waveguides.

At least before, it couldn't transmit such a long string of words through waveguides in one go, and without any error in meaning.

"Training isn't about gambling on intuition; it's about getting a better chance of encountering Pokémon!"

Zhe was very unhappy about being humiliated and argued frantically.

"You're not unlucky, you're just stubborn."

Blaziken, having learned a lot of useless knowledge from Tetsuya and Pidgeot, immediately retaliated in kind.

The surrounding fog became even thicker.

"Forget it."

Under these circumstances, Tetsuya quickly abandoned his somewhat weak words.

"Come out, Pidgeot."

Ignoring Blaziken's weak protests, he withdrew it and instead released Pidgeot.

"Beep~"

After it came out, the Pidgeot let out a cry, as if to say, "Look at this, it's no big deal."

"You're the best." Tetsuya, with tears in his eyes, hugged Pidgeot.

Pidgeot rolled its eyes in secret, out of Tetsuya's sight. After the conference, it felt that its old man's brain was acting strangely more often.

Thinking this, Pidgeot naturally lowered its body.

"Then, let's set off."

Tetsuya flipped over and sat cross-legged on Pidgeot's back, patted Pidgeot's back with a triumphant air, and waved his hand.

"Beep—"

The high-pitched birdsong echoed throughout the small forest, and the aura of their powerful strength made the surroundings somewhat quiet.

"Oh, the scenery here is really nice!"

As he looked down at the lake passing by, Tetsuya's voice echoed in the air.