Kai beamed and shook Professor Elm's hand.

It was more than he had expected. Without Elm's assistance, and his resources, who knew for how long these two eggs would rot in his Inventory? It was better to grab the opportunity when it was the best time to grab it.

-/One more thing, Elm,/- Kai said, smiling, as Meg and Petyr joined him. -/One more thing, then I will be on my way. As you are aware, most of my adventures take me to some island deep into the chaotic ocean south of the main landmass. I encounter Pokemon on an almost daily basis but do not know their capabilities. So, I was hoping you could give me a Pokemon and a Pokedex. I am old, just not that old to not be a Pokemon Trainer./-

Kai's heart was racing.

This was the decisive moment. This was the prime reason for which they had come here. To their surprise, Professor Elm laughed.

It was odd to see him laughing when Kai had scarcely seen him smile.

"Why not?!" Professor Elm replied. "I also give the starter Pokemon in the Johto Region. Generally, I don't give Pokedex to the trainers, because of their low supply. I have one, though, and I can give it to you if you can accept a request of mine in return."

Kai could do nothing but nod.

"I know you travel far and into the strangest of places," Elm proposed, "so, I would like you to collect the data on unknown Pokemon into the Pokedex. I know you would find the task challenging. Do we have a deal?"

Kai didn't know.

This request had no clear numbers. Nor did it mention the time and the exact nature of the request. Then he had no clue where he would find an unknown Pokemon.

Kai took a deep breath and nodded.

The notification came up again.

…

[

Your Magical Contract with Professor Elm is updated.

The terms of the contract are:

1. Professor Elm will incubate the two eggs, keeping the magical beast from the golden egg for himself upon hatching. The Contestant will get the magical beast from the other egg

2. Professor Elm will give a Pokedex to the Contestant. In return, the Contestant must store the data of 50 magical beasts, unknown to the Pokemon World, within 3 years (Primordial World Time). Once a year, the Contestant must show the progress to Professor Elm. No less than 10 magical beasts at the end of the 1st year, and 25 magical beasts at the end of the 2nd year, are required to be shown to the Professor. Failure to meet these limits will be counted as breaching the contract

3. The Contestant can request to teleport to this World Timeline once in three months, paying no Mission Credits for 3 hours

Warning: Failing the contract will be deemed unworthy and will have serious consequences. The Time Limit of visitation is unchangeable.

]

…

Kai let out an inaudible sigh of relief and smiled.

Professor Elm went to a cabinet and took out a device. It looked like a flippable mobile phone, orange-colored, and there was a glassy black bulge over its top flat side.

"As many of the Pokemon native to Johto are also native to the Kanto region," Professor Elm said, handing over the Pokedex, "this Pokedex will provide you data on both regions' Pokemon."

The moment Kai held the Pokedex, a notification appeared over it.

…

[

Congratulations Contestant Kai Stormborn

You have achieved a Milestone

…

Milestone: Get your first Pokedex

Milestone Rewards:

1. Live location in the Pokemon World (covering the regions of Pokedex entries)

Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

2. Charisma +1

3. Luck +1

4. Worth +3

…

Item: Regional Pokedex

Grade: Uncommon

Specification: Introduced in Generation II, it contains the list of Pokemon, putting the Johto starter Pokemon first, and following them with Pokemon native to both Kanto and Johto in a different order, according to their evolution. It also includes fossil Pokemon and Legendary Pokemon from both the regions

Requirement:

1. Elementary Pokemon Trainer

2. MP>0

Attributes:

1. Total number of Pokemon: 251

2. Weight: 250 grams

3. Mode: Pokemon, Map, New Data Storage

4. Empty Slots Available: (0/50)

Skill: Not Applicable

Effect:

1. Gives data on the recorded Pokemon upon pointing at it (Distance: 100 ft)

2. Stores a Magical Beast data upon capturing it (Capture Time Limit: 3 days)

3. Show live location on the map of the Johto and Kanto region

Quality: 94%

Warning:

1. Live location isn't available on worlds other than Pokemon.

2. The magical beast must not die or escape within the Capture Time Limit

]

…

Only sheer willpower was holding Kai back from laughing out loud.

If it was before, he would have never known how big a feat it was, to get a Pokedex. Meg had opened doors for Kai, which would have taken years to even show themselves to him naturally.

"Come with me," Professor Elm said. "The Pokemon are too energetic to allow them into the lab."

Kai and the others followed Elm out of the lab and to the small, open, garden-like area behind the mansion.

The orange sun was almost glowing yellow, perched over the horizon like a fruit.

All around them, the smell of morning and wet grass lingered, riding the wind, galloping away and towards them now and then. Splashing noises came from a water puddle that gleamed like a crystal-clear lake, reflecting the sunlight.

The Pokemon came running toward Professor Elm, suddenly.

"Chiko… Chiko!"

"Cynda…quil"

"Totodileeee!"

On the leftmost, and the fastest to come was a pale-green Pokemon with dark-green buds around its neck. It was 2 ft high, and its head was larger in proportion compared to its body. On its head was a large green leaf.

It was the grass-type Pokemon, Chikorita.

Meg had already told him much about the three starter Pokemon. She and Kai had decided on the water-type as it would let them participate in the Water Chariot Race. If it was in Kai's hands, he'd rather not have any of these three. But he must get one to have the Pokemon Trainer Ability.

The most energetic, and the Pokemon of their choice, was the rightmost one.

Totodile, a blue-colored crocodile-like Pokemon. It was bipedal and had a height of just over 2 ft. Several sharp teeth lined its long jaw, and there was a V-shaped yellow marking on its chest.

The two lively Pokemon were followed by a blue and cream, timid fire-type Pokemon, Cyndaquil. It had a long snout and on its back were four red circles.

As Totodile rushed toward Professor Elm, it tried to bite Chikorita several times in between. Professor Elm laughed, welcoming all three of them.

"Desmond, look," Elm said, crouching, and separating Chikorita and Totodile. "You will find a brilliant partner in Totodile. I know it's quite feisty and dynamic, but an adventurer like you won't have any problem with that, right?"

For the first time in the last five days, Kai realized the difference between him and Elm, as he saw and felt the genuine happiness brimming out of the professor. He could see the love Professor Elm had for the Pokemon, and how he enjoyed their company truly.

Kai couldn't fathom these feelings. He couldn't understand the reasoning or the purpose and benefit of it. When Kai looked at the three Pokemon, the only thing he saw was nothing but three potential food sources.

-/Of course!/- Kai beamed at Elm, crouching down beside him. -/Hello, Totodile. Are you ready to go on an adventure with me?/-

The sudden voice in its head baffled the Pokemon. It looked around, but it was then its intelligence shone. Totodile didn't take long to figure out who was speaking, and it snapped his jaw at Kai. There was a playfulness in its bite, though.

That seemed to be enough for the System.

…

[

Congratulations Contestant Kai Stormborn

You have achieved a Milestone

…

Milestone: Get acknowledged by a Pokemon

Milestone Rewards: Elementary Pokemon Trainer

Warning:

1. Contestants with Elementary Pokemon Trainer Ability can only bond with 2 Pokemon at max. It doesn't count Magical Beasts of other Random Worlds

2. To capture a Pokemon, the Contestant must defeat it using his own Pokemon

3. Catch Rate for the 3rd Pokemon - 0%

4. Only Pokeballs that are Items can take the Pokemon out of the Random World

5. A Pokemon can be traded only once

6. Disapproval from the Pokemon can affect the Proficiency

7. If a Pokemon leaves the trainer willingly, then Proficiency: -50%

]

…

"It looks like Totodile has already taken a liking to you," Professor Elm smiled.

Kai took out his Pokeball unseen to Elm's eyes. Before he could use it, Totodile himself came running and heat-butted the red and white ball. Then the tiny figure of the Pokemon turned into a mass of blue light and it disappeared into the Pokeball.

Beep! Beep! Beep!

A light trembling of the Pokeball followed every red-flashing beep. It didn't seem like the sign of struggle Meg had told him, Kai recalled. After the third beep, the Pokeball gave the last sound and all the beeping stopped.

Today is the day of notifications, Kai thought amusingly.

…

[

Congratulations Contestant Kai Stormborn

You have achieved a Milestone

…

Milestone: Get your first Pokemon

Milestone Rewards:

1. Elementary Pokemon Trainer: Proficiency 25% (+25%)

2. Correspondence +1

]

…

Heh! Kai smirked inside. It seems I don't need to worry about my Set Quota now at least.

With this Attribute Point, he only needed 3 more Points now.

The increase in Proficiency was a pleasant surprise.

Kai stood up and saw Cyndaquil jumping around Meg. On her left, Petyr was playing with Chikorita with his cane.

What happened next became the biggest surprise of today.