A cramped, dimly lit room.
Inside, a frail, bony figure sat hunched at a filthy desk. His face was pale, yet flushed with an excited, feverish glow as he stared at the computer screen radiating faint light.
It was a disheveled, unkempt young man, completely naked. Beside him lay a pile of tattered clothes and shorts, surrounded by heaps of trash, scraps, and tissues.
Tissues, in fact, were the most abundant thing in the entire room.
Crumpled into balls and scattered everywhere, the only pristine roll left was perched on the desk.
Creak, creak… The wooden stool beneath him groaned, threatening to give way under his weight.
On the screen, countless pages flickered past pictures of female characters from the Pokémon anime and games.
Cynthia, Caitlin, Sabrina, Lorelei, Serena, Dawn, and more…
One by one, every image showcased them scantily clad, posed seductively, exactly the kind of artwork that shut-in fans craved.
Curves, long legs, slim waists, soft feet, alluring tongues, glistening sweat, and other suggestive details that left nothing to the imagination…
The beautiful, provocative images deepened the flush on the boy's cheeks.
"Huff…" He panted, staring intently at the most critical parts of each picture. His left hand under the desk moved in ways best left unspoken.
In the dim light, a shadowy bulge was faintly visible shockingly thick and long, thicker than his forearm.
"Ahh… huff…" His breathing grew ragged as the pictures grew more explicit. His mouse clicks sped up, the stool beneath him rocking faster and faster.
Snap! Suddenly, a spark burst, followed by the fizz of electricity. The room was plunged into darkness.
The boy froze, then slowly rose. The heavy appendage struck the desk with a dull thud as his gaunt ribcage gleamed faintly in the darkness.
Taking a deep breath, he shouted, "Big Sis Fang! Why'd the power cut out again?!"
Bang! The rotten wooden door burst open with a kick from a pair of thick legs.
"You never pay rent and still make demands! The cable broke get out there and fix it!"
Sunlight poured into the room, casting her obese figure in an even larger, more intimidating silhouette.
"Hey, hey, hey! Next time, can you at least knock before barging in?"
The boy frowned, slipping his shorts back on with visible irritation. Having the mood killed at such a critical moment left him thoroughly annoyed.
The woman glanced at him, her eyes widening at what she'd glimpsed. That monstrous thing… it made her shiver. Frail as he looked, the sheer size was unnatural like some kind of freak.
"How about you marry into my family, kid? You wouldn't have to live in this dump anymore," she offered, half-joking but tempted.
As the saying goes: good tools make for good work. She genuinely couldn't figure out why someone with such a… gift hadn't yet found himself a wealthy patroness.
Squeezing past her, the boy muttered, "Keep dreaming."
"I'd rather starve than end up with a three-hundred-pound landlady. I'd be crushed to death in bed before anything else."
With that, he nimbly clambered up toward the roof, where an old antenna cable was strung.
"Pah! Don't come crying to me when you end up dying alone with your hand!" she shouted after him.
He ignored her cursing, focusing on the task at hand.
His name was Yuto Shirogane, twenty-five years old. An orphan.
He had drifted through life in this city, doing odd jobs, never passionate about anything. He lived with no goals, only ever clinging to the bare minimum.
Like eating only when starvation forced him to.
That was why he lived in this soon-to-be-demolished slum, under the care of this foul-tempered landlady.
His material needs were few, but his spiritual cravings were intense.
And there was only one thing he truly loved, the one world he immersed himself in day and night: Pokémon.
Not only the creatures themselves, but also the countless girls within that universe.
For reasons he couldn't explain, only those "2D" girls ever stirred anything in his heart.
He had even starved himself down to ten meals a month for two years, just to save up enough to buy a second-hand computer.
All so he could see his beloved "waifus" whenever he wanted, and… release the pressure of reality.
And as the landlady had seen, in certain areas, Yuto was abnormally gifted.
The moment he reconnected the cable, the landlady's antique 1982 television downstairs flickered on, broadcasting loud static before a reporter's voice cut through:
"Today, in Pokémon Journeys episode 132, Ash Ketchum has officially defeated Leon to become the World Champion. From the day he first set out, April 1st, 1997, to now, November 11th, 2022, twenty-five years have passed."
Though distorted, the words were clear enough.
For once, Yuto's deadened heart stirred.
April 1st, 1997 that was his birthday.
And all these years, he had followed Ash's journey, step by step, sharing in his dreams of that world.
Dreaming of the girls he longed for.
"Defeat in Sinnoh, regrets in Kalos, doubts in Alola… all washed away in this moment," he whispered, sighing.
Stretching his back, he turned to head inside and check whether the blackout had damaged his computer.
But crack… The old roof tiles above him split.
A sense of dread barely had time to form before the world fell out from under him.
Crash! The second floor collapsed, burying him in rubble.
"Yuto!" the landlady cried, rushing upstairs.
But before she could reach him, the world seemed to freeze. A milky white light descended upon the unconscious boy lying in the ruins.
Boom… crack… shatter…
Through the haze, Yuto faintly heard the sound of breaking glass. Then came the feeling of being torn apart, of his very being corroded and devoured. His veins bulged, blood spurted, his face twisted in agony.
The pain was unbearable, as though his flesh was being flayed and his bones scraped clean yet his consciousness remained horrifyingly awake.
He could only endure, adapt, until the torment dulled into numbness.
He felt his life slipping away, or rather, his soul unraveling.
He no longer knew where he was, nor how long it had lasted.
As he hovered on the edge of death, a blinding light engulfed him. In that haze, he seemed to hear a voice:
"Farewell, Arceus. Farewell to your world. No… it's mine now. Hahahaha!"
Pokémon World, atop Mt. Coronet, Spear Pillar.
A shadowy figure laughed maniacally, while Dialga and Palkia stood nearby, their expressions strangely blank as Arceus's fragmented body slowly dissolved into nothing.
But the twin dragons moved unnaturally, their forms misshapen like clay crudely pinched into shape by clumsy fingers.
Arceus's remnants scattered further, and the shadow grew impatient. "Enough. Time to claim this perfect world… heh heh heh!"
With a flash, the three vanished.