In the dim room,
Adrian was sound asleep, drooling on a Gardevoir-patterned pillow.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
A dull sound rang out.
Adrian frowned slightly, mumbling, "Who is it? Waking someone up so early in the morning!"
Rubbing his sleepy eyes open, Adrian looked towards the source of the sound.
He saw a large red fish with two long whiskers, and fins shaped like a crown, frantically bumping against the glass fish tank, looking very agitated.
"Magikarp?"
Adrian was stunned for a moment, bewildered, "What's going on? Did I wake up too fast?"
How could a Magikarp from the Pokémon world appear before him?
"Ugh~ My head is so dizzy!"
Adrian patted his head.
He was originally an Influencer on a small video platform, specializing in fishing videos. Because he never managed to catch any decent fish, his fans jokingly called him 'Empty Sky Emperor'.
Some also called him 'Baiting Immortal' because he was very frugal with his own living expenses but always generous when it came to baiting for fishing.
"I remember yesterday, while fishing, I got incredibly lucky and caught a ten-pound long-whiskered fish. I even streamed the celebration."
Adrian tried hard to recall: "When I was stewing the fish soup, a netizen suggested adding some white mushrooms from the side to enhance the flavor, guaranteeing there would be no problem. I did as he said."
"As a result, not long after eating, I saw a dazzling array of colors, and then I felt a sense of oneness with the universe…"
Thinking of this, Adrian couldn't help but grit his teeth, "Those local netizens are truly impolite!"
"Wait a minute! Why is my head suddenly itchy?"
Suddenly, a torrent of memories that didn't belong to Adrian surged forth.
As the memories merged, the bewilderment on Adrian's face disappeared, replaced by delight: "I've transmigrated to the Pokémon world, the biggest IP of my previous life?!"
Besides fishing, Adrian's other great hobby was pokémon.
He had loved watching pokémon anime and playing pokémon games since elementary school, and he was intimately familiar with the attributes, skills, and evolution paths of various pokémon.
And his favorite team was the Rain Team, with Kyogre being his signature pokémon.
Adrian dreamed of riding Kyogre, soaring through the vast ocean, and freely roaming.
Now that he had transmigrated to the Pokémon world, did his dream have a chance of coming true?
However, after the initial joy, Adrian's brows furrowed as he murmured, "Kanto region? Orphan? Magikarp?"
According to his memories, his name was still Adrian, and his current location was Cerulean City in the Kanto region.
The original owner was an orphan who grew up in an orphanage but longed to become a pokémon Trainer.
So, after leaving the orphanage as an adult, the original owner worked hard for half a year, finally saving enough money to buy a starter pokémon from an official breeding facility.
But on the way to the breeding facility, the original owner encountered an uncle selling Magikarp.
Having grown up in an orphanage, the original owner had no social experience and was foolishly conned out of all his savings by the Magikarp uncle, receiving a 'lively' Magikarp in return.
"So, my starter pokémon is this Magikarp?"
Approaching the glass fish tank, Adrian's mouth twitched, "A Magikarp that can do nothing but 'Splash'?"
Adrian remembered the Pokédex entry for Magikarp: weak-bodied, dull-witted, almost useless, hence also called the 'weakest pokémon in the world'.
Although the evolved Gyarados is indeed very strong and cool, Magikarp are numerous, while Gyarados are extremely rare; truly capable of evolving is one in ten thousand.
Without 'Evolution's Foot', who can guarantee a Magikarp will evolve?
Therefore, starting with a Magikarp as a starter pokémon is almost a catastrophic beginning!
"Karoo~ Karoo~"
As if sensing the disdain, no sooner had Adrian finished speaking than the Magikarp in the glass fish tank suddenly leaped out of the water, its tail, like a fan, thrashing wildly.
Slap, slap, slap!
After a series of crisp sounds, Adrian's cheeks were crimson, and he nearly fainted.
The Magikarp, on the other hand, fell back into the tank, its eyes full of cunning, swimming leisurely.
Dare to say I 'can't do anything'?
Does your face hurt now?
"Ugh~ My face hurts so much!"
Clutching his swollen face, Adrian felt his head buzzing.
He was actually hit by his own pokémon!
"You rotten Magikarp!"
After realizing what happened, Adrian furiously exclaimed, "You dare to hit your Trainer? I'm telling you, you will have no future!"
"Karoo~"
The Magikarp's eyes flashed, and it made to leap out again.
Adrian's eyelids twitched, and he quickly shielded himself with the door.
Seeing this, the Magikarp gave up on attacking, but still bumped its head against the glass fish tank, its eyes constantly gesturing towards a box on a nearby table.
"Oh, I forgot to feed it. My bad, my bad!"
Adrian seemed to remember something and quickly opened the box on the table, taking out several energy cubes resembling chocolate.
"Karoo~ Karoo~"
As the energy cubes fell into the water, the Magikarp quickly gobbled them up, its agitated mood greatly calming down.
During this interlude, Adrian walked to the bathroom.
"Huh? It's actually a pretty boy?"
Looking at the fair-skinned young man in the mirror, Adrian's expression changed slightly: "My eight-tier fishing saint skin, which was almost soy sauce-colored, is gone?"
That was a symbol of his fishing prowess!
Looking closer, and seeing 'himself' with an upright posture and handsome face, Adrian stopped dwelling on his skin, happily saying, "With this face, I should be able to eat well even if I don't work, right?"
But thinking of the flower language of steel wool, Adrian immediately changed his mind, sternly saying to himself in the mirror, "People must rely on themselves!"
Buzz, buzz, buzz!
Just then, his phone suddenly vibrated a few times.
Adrian opened it and saw several private messages.
"Streamer, your Magikarp doesn't even have an attack skill, and you still talk about becoming a pokémon Master? Does the Streamer misunderstand the words 'pokémon Master'? I suggest the Streamer change his ID to 'Daydreamer'."
"Adrian, why haven't you updated your videos recently? Without you, I have no fun to watch!"
"Little Adrian, don't stop updating! Life is already so hard; without you to cushion my fall, I can barely hold on."
"Tell Lao Mo, I want to eat fish!"
...Adrian raised an eyebrow, only then remembering that after acquiring Magikarp, the original owner had registered as a video blogger on the world's largest entertainment website, 'PokéStation', with the ID 'Magikarp Dreamer'. He would update vlogs about his daily life with Magikarp and their journey to become stronger.
His personal profile was also very inspiring: A Trainer from an orphanage, hand in hand with Magikarp, determined to become a pokémon Master.
Unfortunately, ideals are rich, but reality is lean.
The original owner, being an orphan, had no money or resources, and was severely lacking in pokémon-related knowledge. Coupled with the Magikarp being so useless... his pokémon battles always ended in defeat, and despite his efforts, he couldn't find the right direction. His inspirational videos, when posted online, were always mocked and treated as entertainment...
Under repeated blows, the original owner's spirit was directly shattered.
"This is truly unbearable!"
Adrian continued to scroll up through the private messages, finding that netizens were mostly unoptimistic about the original owner, treating him and Magikarp as entertainment, like electronic pets.
Of course, there were occasional heartwarming messages.
"Streamer, if you really can't afford a starter Pokémon, I suggest you take a net and go catch a Caterpie in the forest. Caterpie is a Pokémon with low training requirements but extremely fast growth. In a month or so, it can evolve into Butterfree and have a certain combat capability, which is much stronger than Magikarp."
"The person upstairs is right! I'm a Bug Catcher from Viridian Forest. I also came from a humble background. If the Streamer needs help catching Bug-type pokémon, you can leave me a message."
Seeing this, Adrian's heart stirred.
Although he liked the Rain Team the most, raising a Caterpie as a transition (transition) was also feasible.
Besides that, some also suggested Adrian face reality and give up on being a Trainer, instead finding a job to earn money, at least enough to get by.
"Working is out of the question..."
Adrian scoffed, shaking his head, "I didn't work before transmigrating, and now I'm going to work after transmigrating? Then I wouldn't just have transmigrated for nothing, I'd be regressing."
As for his future means of livelihood, Adrian had already decided: he would return to his old profession and continue being an Influencer.
Because, according to his memories, he knew that the short video and live streaming industry in the Pokémon world had just emerged, with very little market competition—it was a complete blue ocean.
Currently, Influencer who have even a little fame are basically top-tier pokémon Trainers from various regions.
They are either cute ones like Elesa from the Nimbasa Gym in the Unova region, or Iono from the Levincia Gym in the Paldea region, or world-class Trainers like Red, Leon, and Lance.
Although Adrian currently had nothing, he had rich experience as an UP, knowing how to build a persona, how to create hype and entertainment in videos, and how to interact with the audience.
In the 'primitive and pure' Pokémon world, wouldn't this be an absolute slaughter?
No one understands Influencer Market better than me!!!
"I must earn money within a month, or else I'll be kicked out by the landlord."
Thinking that all his savings had been swindled, a sense of crisis immediately surged in Adrian's heart.
"But since things have come to this, let's go fishing first!"
Speaking of fishing, Adrian, the fisherman, immediately perked up.
The waters of the Pokémon world are home to various Water-type pokémon, and with his strength as an eight-tier fishing saint, catching a few should not be a problem.
If he could become a 'One-Ball Wonder' like Goh in the anime, that would be even better.
Thinking of this, Adrian took out a Poké Ball, recalled Magikarp, then borrowed an old fishing rod from the landlord and hurried out the door.
Adrian walked along the streets of Cerulean City, feeling that everything was so new and exciting.
There were many shops on both sides of the street, displaying various daily necessities as well as numerous pokémon-related goods. From time to time, Trainers could be seen passing by with their pokémon.
There were Pidgey, the common bird pokémon, fluffy and cute Eevee, bald Squirtle, and Nidoran♂ with a poisonous horn on its head...
"Huh? Pikachu?"
When he saw the yellow-skinned mouse, Adrian exclaimed in surprise.
This was a core character of pokémon!
However, thinking of how common Pikachu were in the Kanto region, like stray dogs on the street, Adrian felt relieved.
After all, not every Pikachu is called 'Pika-God'.
With full anticipation, Adrian arrived at a small river. The river water was clear, and the banks were covered with waterweeds.
"A small grass hole holds a universe; giant creatures hide by the reeds."
Adrian chuckled, "This excellent fishing spot will definitely give me a huge catch!"
He didn't expect to catch a bighead carp in the small river, but catching a small tadpole should not be a problem.
Adrian first released Magikarp, letting it play by itself, then hung his homemade bait and cast it forcefully: "Go!"
Thump!
The fishing hook drew a graceful arc in the air, splashing a small ripple as it hit the water.
Adrian's eyes were fixed on the water, his whole body tense, as if a giant creature would bite the hook the next second.
But unfortunately, the float remained motionless, as if Gengar had cast Disable on it.
Two hours later.
"Empty-handed right after arriving?"
Adrian's face was grim, muttering, "Is my title of 'Empty Sky Emperor' going to continue in the Pokémon world? No, please no!!!"
To avoid going home empty-handed, Adrian called Magikarp and commanded, "Magikarp, bite my bait for me, so I can experience the feeling of catching a big fish in the Pokémon world."
"Karoo???"
The Magikarp in the water was first bewildered, then looked disdainful.
Trainer, are you even deceiving yourself?
"Karoo~ Karoo~"
However, in order to eat delicious energy cubes every day, Magikarp still compromised, 'splashing' into the water and swallowing the bland bait.
Sigh~ It's just a Trainer's task!
At the same time, the float on the water suddenly sank.
"A bite, a bite!"
Seeing this, Adrian quickly gripped the fishing rod and pulled it up forcefully.
Before long, Magikarp was pulled out of the water.
Immediately after, three prompts appeared before Adrian's eyes.
[Caught 'Magikarp', rewarded 1 'energy cube'.]
[First time catching 'Magikarp', an additional reward of 1 'Soak' tm.]
[Fishing Space has been activated!]
"Huh???"
Adrian rubbed his eyes, somewhat uncertain, "Do I have a Cheat?"