"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome aboard. Flight XXXX is expected to arrive shortly at Levincia Airport in the Paldea region…"
As the flight attendant's gentle announcement sounded through the cabin, Carl slowly straightened up from the soft first-class seat.
"Huh. So we're finally almost there?" Carl rubbed his eyes and turned to look out the window.
Since it was daytime, Levincia's famous "Million-Volt Night View," with its dazzling neon lights that supposedly shone around the clock, looked less impressive to Carl and more like plain old light pollution.
Anyone who flew often knew that when a plane announcement said you were "about to arrive," you still had quite a while before actually touching down. Wide awake now, Carl reached into his coat and pulled out a carefully preserved letter.
"To my grandson, whom I have never met:
Dear Carl, when you read this letter, you must be going through a difficult time and hoping for a change in fortune…"
Looking at the letter, Carl's expression turned complicated.
"Is this really just a coincidence… or was my grandfather in this life another transmigrator like me?"
That was right. Carl was not entirely native to this world. More precisely, he was someone whose soul had crossed over from a distant other world and been reborn here.
In this life, Carl's father had been a renowned explorer from the Paldea region, while his mother had been the star student of the famous Sinnoh Pokémon Professor Rowan. No matter how you looked at it, Carl had started this life with every possible advantage.
Unfortunately, when Carl was eight years old, his parents died in an accident while exploring ruins somewhere within the Spear Pillar mountain range. After hearing the news, the young Carl fell unconscious for an entire day and night. When he finally woke up, memories of his previous life had awakened as well. Not long after that, he was taken in by Professor Rowan.
Because of what had happened to Carl's parents, Rowan did not let him head out on a journey the moment he received his starter Pokémon. Instead, he kept Carl by his side, teaching him all kinds of Pokémon-related knowledge in the hope of raising him into a researcher.
But with memories from a previous life, how could Carl possibly not want to become a trainer?
Even without traveling, Carl still spent his free time taking his Pokémon out into the fields around Sandgem Town to train.
Perhaps Carl's passion and talent for Pokémon battles had finally moved Rowan, because when Carl turned fifteen, the professor at last agreed to let him begin his journey.
Less than a year after setting out, Carl won the Lily of the Valley Conference. Not long after that, with only two Pokémon, he tore straight through the Sinnoh League's Victory Road.
Theoretically, all he would have needed to do at that point was nod, and he would have been carried by popular acclaim onto the throne of Sinnoh League Champion.
But Carl chose not to take the Champion's seat.
Because he knew that in the nearby Kanto region, there were two monsters even more terrifying than he was.
So after recording his and his partners' names in the Hall of Fame, Carl returned to Sandgem Town for only a month of rest before setting out again with his Pokémon, continuing his journey of training across other regions.
Then came one month ago.
At eighteen, after successfully collecting all eight Kanto Gym Badges, Carl challenged the Kanto Elite Four and defeated them all in less than an hour.
After that, without stopping to rest, he climbed to the summit of Mt. Silver and challenged that legendary "man of battle," the "loner of Mt. Silver," the trainer countless players regarded as the strongest of them all, Red.
In that battle, Carl gave everything he had, clashing with Red in the fiercest fight of his life.
During the early and middle stages, Carl managed to suppress Red more than once. But once the fight entered its most intense phase, he truly came to understand what it meant to be called a "man of battle." No matter what tactic Carl used, Red could find a counter almost instantly.
In the end, the match finished in a draw.
But Carl knew perfectly well that if standard battle rules had not restricted Red's full potential, the one who would have lost in the end would definitely have been him.
Even so, Carl was more than satisfied with his performance in that battle. Whether it was the tactical back-and-forth with Red or the final all-out exchange of raw force, both he and his Pokémon felt their blood boil in a way they had not in a long time.
After leaving Mt. Silver in one piece, Carl returned to the Sandgem Town he had been away from for so long. And after facing Red, he suddenly realized something.
Maybe what he truly longed for was not the vague title of "strongest trainer," but the process of working toward a shared goal together with his Pokémon.
Then, on the very night Carl returned to Sandgem Town, Professor Rowan handed him the letter that had been sent all the way from the distant Paldea region.
From that letter, Carl learned a truth that had been buried for years.
In fact, his grandfather had already gotten in touch with Rowan back when Carl was fourteen.
But after learning of Carl's father's death, the old man's already poor health had worsened. Not wanting Carl to suffer the pain of losing another loved one, he never came to meet him, knowing his time was short. Instead, he quietly learned about Carl's life through Professor Rowan.
This letter had only reached Rowan after Carl's grandfather had already passed away, delivered across the sea by another person.
According to Rowan, the old man had made one request in his own letter:
"If Carl's life is not going well, then please give this letter to him."
The implication was obvious.
If Carl's life had gone smoothly, he would never have known this letter existed.
Rowan admitted that he had wrestled with the decision before handing it over, but in the end, he still chose to give it to Carl, because he wanted him to know about this precious final gesture.
At the end of the letter, the old man had written:
"My dear Carl, I have left you a ranch in Cabo Poco, in Paldea. I do not know whether you will choose to accept this gift, but aside from your father, it is the work I am most proud of in my entire life. If you ever want to try living a different kind of life, then perhaps you should consider accepting it. Good luck.
Love, Your grandfather."
After finishing the letter, Carl sat in silence for a long time.
He had never intended to give up being a trainer, but after reading it, he truly was tempted.
It was not just because the ranch represented his grandfather's feelings.
More importantly, after three years on the road, Carl really had begun to long for a more settled life.
And besides, who said a ranch owner couldn't also be a trainer?
So after talking it over with his Pokémon through the night, Carl decided to spend one more month resting in Sandgem Town before heading for the Paldea region.
Suddenly, a tremor from the seat beneath him cut off his thoughts. Carl turned toward the window and realized the plane had already landed. He carefully tucked the letter back into his coat and quietly waited in his seat.
As a first-class passenger, Carl was among the first to disembark once the plane came to a stop. Under the guidance of a flight attendant, he stepped out of the cabin carrying the large-capacity space backpack he had custom-ordered from Silph Co.
The moment he entered the terminal, one of the Luxury Balls at his waist suddenly opened, and a Pokémon that looked strikingly similar to Misdreavus appeared at his side.
This Pokémon was more than twice Misdreavus's size, with crimson eyes, golden irises, and two long, fur-like wings trailing from either side of its body, their tips shaded pinkish violet.
It was none other than the famous Paradox Pokémon from Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, Flutter Mane.
But unlike its savage and battle-hungry counterparts, this particular Flutter Mane carried itself with remarkable intelligence. The instant it emerged from its Poké Ball, it dove straight into Carl's arms, wrapping its two wing-like tufts tightly around his right arm and rubbing against him again and again before letting out an adorable cry.
"Fwu~" ("Good morning, Trainer~")
"Morning, Flutter Mane." Carl held it in his arms and used his free hand to scratch under its chin. Flutter Mane immediately let out a contented purr.
Carrying Flutter Mane like that, Carl followed the signs toward the terminal exit.
At the same time, inside a Stantler Café not far behind him, a tired, overworked middle-aged office worker had just accepted a double-shot iced Americano from a young barista.
Then he witnessed the entire scene of Flutter Mane emerging from the Poké Ball and throwing itself into Carl's arms to act cute.
As an employee of the Paldea League business department, Normal-type Gym Leader, Flying-type Elite Four member, and one of the people responsible for keeping watch over Area Zero, Larry would swear on his paid vacation days, if such mythical things actually existed, that the Pokémon resembling Misdreavus was absolutely Flutter Mane, a Paradox Pokémon from the depths of Area Zero.
Ignoring the cold sweat forming on his brow, Larry immediately pulled out his phone with trembling hands and dialed that mysterious number that could only lead to endless overtime.
"Chairwoman Geeta, this is Larry. I have an urgent situation to report…"
Meanwhile, Carl arrived with Flutter Mane at the airport's special takeoff platform for travelers with flying Pokémon. After carefully reading through all the posted flight regulations, he took out another Poké Ball and threw it.
A flash of white light burst forth.
Then a massive bird nearly eight feet tall appeared before him, its body covered in dark gray-black feathers that looked as though they had been forged from steel itself, radiating power and majesty.