c2: How Can There Be No Gold Finger in Time Travel
Time flew by like an arrow; the sun and moon chased each other like a shuttle. In the blink of an eye, two months had passed.
Location: Shencheng East Lake Park formerly Reservoir Park the city's earliest large-scale municipal green space. With its sprawling lakeside trails, themed gardens, and well-maintained battle arenas, it stood as a prime training ground for Pokémon enthusiasts across all age groups.
By the large artificial lake in the park's center, a crisp and youthful female voice rang out.
"Ralts, use Confusion to restrain that Poliwag don't let it dive into the water! Then follow up with Magical Leaf!"
"La-lu!"
The target, a wild Poliwag, had just sprung into the air near the lake's edge, clearly trying to escape. Before it could reach the water, a shimmering blue psychic glow wrapped around its body, halting it midair. The aura originated from a small humanoid Pokémon light teal hair framing its pale face, orange horn-like sensors on its head glowing as it concentrated.
Then, as Ralts's eyes narrowed in focus, a swirl of glowing, razor-sharp purple leaves materialized and zipped toward the struggling Poliwag.
It's super effective!
The attack connected with precision. Poliwag dropped like a stone, its spiraled eyes indicating total defeat.
"Nice job, Ralts!" came the jubilant voice again.
"Lalu!" Ralts replied with a skip of joy and began trotting back to its Trainer, little Stephanie also known as Chen Xiaoxiao.
Midway, however, Ralts's body began to glow bathed in a radiant white light. Its form stretched and shimmered, evolving right before Stephanie's eyes. When the glow subsided, what stood before her was no longer the tiny Ralts, but the more elegant and humanoid Kirlia now almost as tall as her Trainer.
"Wow! You evolved congratulations, Kirlia!" Chen Xiaoxiao cried, rushing forward to wrap her arms around her partner. She rubbed Kirlia's head affectionately before standing back to compare their heights. "You're almost as tall as I am now!"
"Chirrut…" Kirlia looked away shyly, her cheeks flushed a soft pink.
Indeed, this was the same Chen Xiaoxiao from the recent Ditto-classroom impersonation incident.
So why wasn't she sitting in class learning about the teacher's thrilling lesson titled 'Why Zero Times Any Number Is Still Zero'?
Simple.
It was finally winter vacation.
And the very first morning of her break, Chen Xiaoxiao eagerly took her first Pokémon out to train and level up.
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"System, display my profile and Kirlia's status."
Trainer: Chen Xiaoxiao
Gender: ♀
Age: 6
Special Ability: Intermediate-level Psychic-Type Pokémon Language (can communicate with Pokémon clearly)
Pokémon Owned: Kirlia (Shiny), Unknown Pokémon Egg
System Credits: 8876
Pokémon: Kirlia (Shiny)
Gender: ♀
Level: 22 (Elite Tier: Primary) [Note: +2 level boost from evolution]
Type: Psychic/Fairy
Nature: Modest (Sp. Atk +, Attack -)
Ability: Synchronize (Passes burn, poison, or paralysis to the attacker)
Hidden Ability: Telepathy (Prevents damage from allies in multi-battles)
Held Item: Twisted Spoon (Boosts power of Psychic-type moves by 20%)
Potential: Champion-tier (Indicates maximum growth potential and faster development rate)
Yes as expected in a time-travel narrative Chen Xiaoxiao wasn't without her golden finger, or cheat.
This so-called System had crossed over with her soul, and her Ralts (now Kirlia) had been gifted as part of the Novice Starter Pack.
However, this System wasn't some all-powerful, sentient AI with dialogue boxes and missions. It was entirely silent purely an auxiliary interface.
Its core functions were:
Digitally quantifying a Pokémon's strength, attributes, evolution potential, and battle experience.
Turning Pokémon ownership into a game-style system with a progression loop.
Offering a System Mall with tiered items and upgrades, broken into Common and Limited Exchange categories.
The Common Mall included everything a Trainer might need:
Basic healing items like Potions, Energy Cubes, and Revives
Battle-enhancing held items such as Twisted Spoon, Black Belt, Magnet, etc.
Evolution stones and stat-boosting consumables
Technical Machines (TMs) for teaching moves
The Limited Mall, however, carried rare treasures:
Qualification-enhancing tonics
Shiny Potions (alters color variants)
Exp. Shares
Mega Evolution Stones though only available in small, event-style quantities to avoid breaking game balance.
All items were purchased using System Credits, earned exclusively by participating in Pokémon battles and completing achievements tied to the battle system.
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[System Mall – Open]
Item Class: Medicine
Ice Heal / Paralyze Heal – 5 credits
Full Restore – 10 credits
Item Class: Battle Props
Twisted Spoon / Magnet / Black Belt – 3000 credits each
Item Class: Technical Machines (TMs)
Range: 500 to 5000 credits based on rarity and type
Item Class: Evolution Stones
Basic Stones (Fire, Leaf, Water) – 500 credits
Intermediate – 1000
Advanced – 2000
Ultimate – 5000
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Despite the System not being "alive," it was game-changing.
Without it, Chen Xiaoxiao wouldn't have been able to obtain a Shiny Ralts right out of the gate. The System ensured she wasn't just another child with a weak Pokémon struggling to get noticed by a local Gym. She was walking the path toward true elite status one carefully structured level at a time.
As the gentle waves rippled across East Lake Park and the sun glinted off Kirlia's glowing horn, Chen Xiaoxiao grinned.
Vacation had just begun. And with her golden finger, she had all the tools she needed to become someone in this world.
Mega Evolution Stones are priced at 10,000 points each, while the Master Keystone, required to activate Mega Evolution, costs 5,000 points.
The selection in the System Mall remains limited but highly impactful, with each item carrying strict exchange conditions and strategic value.
Qualification Enhancement Potion: 30,000 points, limited to 6 purchases. (Can only be applied to Pokémon with Elite-level qualifications. Upon use, it upgrades them to Champion-level potential.)
Magical Flash Incubation Potion: 20,000 points, limited to 1 purchase. (When applied to a Pokémon egg, it accelerates the hatching process and guarantees a Shiny Pokémon upon birth.)
Ability Modification Card: 10,000 points, limit of 20. (Allows the user to change a Pokémon's Ability, but only to another Ability already naturally available within its evolutionary family.)
Ability Add-On Card: 10,000 points, limit of 20. (Adds an additional Ability from the Pokémon's known Ability pool including Hidden Abilities. However, Pokémon already with two Abilities cannot gain a third.)
Double Experience Card: 10,000 points, limit of 20. (When used on a Pokémon, all battle-earned experience is doubled for the next 30 days.)
Item Grid Expansion: 10,000 points, limit of 20. (Grants a Pokémon the capacity to carry an additional held item. In this world, all Pokémon are limited to one held item for balance except the protagonist's partner, who can break this rule thanks to this exclusive upgrade.)
Character (Nature) Modification Card: 10,000 points, limit of 20. (Allows the Trainer to change a Pokémon's Nature, impacting its growth stats and battle style.)
Exp. Share: 20,000 points, limited to 1 purchase. (Functions identically to the sixth-generation game mechanic. When active, all non-participating Pokémon in the party receive 50% of the EXP gained. This bonus EXP is added on top, not deducted from the main battler's share.)
Portable Pokémon Space: 100,000 points, limited to 1 purchase. (A private, spatially expanded environment tied to the Trainer's Poké Balls. Pokémon stored here remain connected and can be summoned instantly. The space spans roughly 5 square kilometers ideal for raising multiple Pokémon in freedom.)
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"I've been in this world for over four months, and due to school, I only get two hours during lunch each day to train. If not for that, Kirlia would already be much stronger… and now I've barely managed to save 10,000 points."
Chen Xiaoxiao quietly reviewed the system panel, her brows furrowed in reflection.
The real bottleneck was the low-level wild Pokémon within city limits.
To ensure public safety, national regulations mandated strict power suppression of wild Pokémon populations inside urban areas. The green belts near residential zones hosted only Bug-, Grass-, and Normal-type Pokémon like Caterpie, Hoppip, and Pidgey. Most were capped at levels 5 to 10, classified under Common: Intermediate-tier.
Even the more naturalistic wilderness zones like Grand Duke Gardens only allowed slightly stronger wild Pokémon, ranging between levels 10–20. These included occasional Growlithe, Nuzleaf, or Starly, categorized into Common: Advanced, peak, or occasionally even Elite: Primary-tier.
This enforcement was handled by specialized patrol units. Whenever strong wild Pokémon emerged near city borders, they were systematically captured and relocated to parks, nature reserves, or far-flung wilderness areas.
These parks were further monitored by monthly inspections, ensuring that any newly emerged or evolved threats were again escorted beyond the city perimeter.
Moreover, under strict national law, no Trainer under age 16 was permitted to explore untamed wilderness zones solo, even if formally licensed.
(In this world, the human body is far more resilient to attacks. An Elite-tier Pokémon might cause moderate injury, but only quasi-Elite or higher could pose lethal danger. True Elite-tier threats are virtually never seen near cities they're found only in deep forests or remote mountain ranges. This structure helps explain why even orphans or the poor can afford to catch Pokémon. With government subsidies providing basic Poké Balls and local wilds offering safe, weak targets, everyone gets a fair shot.)
"I have to make full use of this winter break," Chen Xiaoxiao thought, "and raise Kirlia's strength as much as possible. If I can hit level 30, I'll evolve her into Gardevoir and then I'll be strong enough to sneak beyond the city."
With her goal locked in, she tightened her grip on Kirlia's hand. The elegant, freshly evolved Pokémon gazed back with trust in her eyes.
And so, the girl and her partner resumed their training journey seeking out the few wild encounters the city still allowed.
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System Strength Segmentation:
Level 1–20: Common
Level 21–40: Elite
Level 41–60: Quasi-Elite
Level 61–80: True Elite
Level 81–100: Champion
Level 101+: Legendary
Each 20-level band marks a major tier, while every 5-level increment within those is a minor stage divided into Primary, Intermediate, Advanced, and Peak sub-levels.
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