On the screen.
A little figure wearing a straw hat stood in the grass, looking around.
[You were born in Evergreen City, with an ordinary background]
Suddenly, a Caterpie emerged from the grass, and the little straw hat figure threw a small red ball, which absorbed the Caterpie inside.
[At the age of ten, you encountered your first partner in Evergreen Forest: Caterpie, and you both embarked on a journey]
After this line appeared, there was a pixel animation of a Caterpie at the bottom of the screen.
Baimu lying on his back changed his posture, thinking this first simulation was actually starting as a Bug Catching Boy.
The scene shifted.
The Bug Catching Boy appeared in front of a large house and stepped inside, only to meet an uncle with slicked-back hair.
A "fierce" battle began from there.
The specific process was more or less the Caterpie being released, and then instantly getting knocked away by the Rhyhorn sent out by the opponent.
Even though there was no background music, just by the explosion bubble appearing as Caterpie hit the wall, you could tell how severe that collision was.
[You lost to the Evergreen Gym Leader and failed to obtain the first badge]
Baimu: "?"
Wait a minute!
Going to the Gym without leveling up? And with a Caterpie?
The screen went dark and then bright again, and the Bug Catching Boy re-entered the Evergreen Gym in Baimu's bewildered gaze.
The events that just happened were replayed, with the exact same text appearing.
The third time, the fourth time, the fifth time...
Wait, wait, wait—!!
A Caterpie going to the Gym without leveling up, not learning any lessons?
This is not a novice hot-blooded youth; this is clearly a brainless youth who doesn't know regret!
Baimu silently watched the repetitive content on the virtual screen.
The tenth challenge failed.
The content finally changed.
[You lost to the Evergreen Gym Leader, but your steadfast perseverance earned his recognition, granting you a Green Badge]
A green wheat spike emblem appeared below the Caterpie.
Baimu choked speechlessly, thinking this badge was purely given by Giovanni because he was annoyed?
And at the same time the Bug Catching Boy obtained the badge, the Caterpie's appearance suddenly changed, evolving from a caterpillar into a cocoon.
[Your Caterpie evolved into a Metapod]
Finally evolved...
Even though it was just the beginning, Baimu inexplicably felt tired.
On the screen, the Bug Catching Boy left Evergreen City and came to a dense forest. Facing a golden Weedle emerging from the grass, he sent out the Metapod.
As he was wondering how to capture it, the former rammed into the latter, actually knocking itself out.
[You captured your second Pokémon in Evergreen Forest: Weedle, adding a partner to your journey]
...A dumb Trainer and a dumb Pokémon, a match made in heaven, that's fine.
Baimu suddenly really wanted an acceleration button.
The scene changed.
The Bug Catching Boy arrived at a stone city at the foot of a massive rock mountain.
[You have arrived in Nibi City. The towering rock mountain makes your blood boil, so you decide to challenge the Gym]
As expected.
Leveling up?
What's leveling up?
At least Baimu had never seen this guy let his Pokémon battle wild Pokémon, a living Gym-challenging machine, completely ignoring that after failing, specialized training can make Pokémon stronger.
Even though Ash Ketchum got several badges by grace, he at least knew to capture several Pokémon!
Can your Metapod or Weedle fight? No, they can't. Do you understand that they don't have that capability?
Like the Evergreen Gym, the Bug Catching Boy failed the Gym challenge for the tenth time and won the Gym Leader's appreciation with his perseverance.
[You obtained a Grey Badge]
An octagonal grey gem pattern appeared below the Weedle. At the same time, the Metapod and Weedle were enveloped in white light.
A Butterfree and a golden cocoon-shaped object transformed and formed.
[Your Metapod evolved into Butterfree, and your Weedle evolved into Kakuna. Excited, you decide to set out immediately for the next city]
Finally, one has fully evolved.
Baimu breathed a sigh of relief, and what made him even happier was that the Bug Catching Boy seemed to have figured it out.
[At the foot of Moon Viewing Mountain, you captured your third Pokémon: Venonat, adding a partner to your journey]
[In the Moon Viewing Mountain cave, you captured your fourth Pokémon: Paras, adding a partner to your journey]
[You lost to an unfamiliar Trainer]
[You defeated an unfamiliar Trainer]
[Your Kakuna evolved into Beedrill]
Joyful scenes gradually emerged as the Bug Catching Boy entered the Moon Viewing Mountain area, and the Hot-blooded Youth seemed to be transforming into a normal Trainer.
Until——
[You've arrived at Cerulean City, surrounded by waterways and rich in water resources]
The Bug Catching Boy went to the Cerulean Gym as usual, but was informed that the Gym Leader went out to do a mermaid performance.
A performance?
Is this an animated background?
Baimu was taken aback, he always thought the setting was based on the game, since it only featured cities from the game whereas the animation featured many original towns.
Suddenly he had a bad premonition, and this premonition quickly came true.
When the Bug Catching Boy arrived at the place where the Cerulean Gym Leaders performed, a chance encounter occurred.
[You accidentally bumped into a girl, and apologizing made you both happier. You exchanged contact information]
[You contacted that girl, you hit it off, and decided to travel together]
[You started challenging the Cerulean Gym, although you lost, the girl's presence made you braver for the next challenge]
[You started dating]
No way? Really?
What's with the dog food overflowing from the screen, the Trainer Simulator turned into a Romance Simulator!
Weren't we told there might be an option for a heterosexual relationship? This is a guaranteed relationship!
Baimu abruptly sat up.
The Bug Catching Boy was originally just a hot-blooded dumb Trainer, after getting a girlfriend, his fighting spirit didn't change, but scenes of the two being alone clearly increased.
The gritty battle details also felt off.
Originally, after battling seven or eight times, one could usually grasp some routines and fight back a couple of times.
But upon reaching the Cerulean Gym, it started with managing a couple of exchanges, then getting one-shot for the remainder.
By the time of the tenth loss praised for perseverance, he was completely reduced to a rookie.
The Pokémon wouldn't evolve either.
Seeing the image where two little people held hands, without encountering any wild battles or capturing the fifth Pokémon, they arrived at Golden City, continuing battles like before.
Baimu's heart kept sinking.
Golden Gym Leader Nazi, a meticulous superpower user. Her personality was completely different from the previous three, even if the Bug Catching Boy lost ten times, she still wouldn't give out the Golden Badge.
Just as he was contemplating how the Bug Catching Boy would break the impasse, the conclusion suddenly arrived.
The screen suddenly turned grey.
[The Quartz Conference is officially held, you missed the Quartz Conference with only three badges]
[Simulation ended]
The virtual screen froze on the Bug Catching Boy's fifteenth defeat.
"...This was simulating a conference's story."
Baimu's expression at this moment was like he'd watched a bad movie, who could have thought that a perfectly good hot-blooded Bug Catching Boy would suddenly turn into a romance-focused youth.
Originally battling the Gyms so many times was enough of a waste of time, adding a girlfriend as a further time waste, if you said the girlfriend could make the Bug Catching Boy stronger then maybe it'd be alright.
What does becoming weaker mean?
Love is supposed to empower people, right? What kind of simulator is this!
Thinking this way, a few lines jumped out in front of him.
[Choose Reward 1: Raise any Pokémon by one level (below Lv.30)]
[Choose Reward 2: Available Pokémon clue]
[Choose Reward 3: Move – String Shot (Choose a Pokémon to learn)]
[Choose Reward 4: Carry the [Peach Blossoms Luck] talent to the next simulation round]
There really are rewards.
Baimu tried it out and found he could choose two.
It's pretty good to choose two out of four.
Just that, without choosing, there's no way to start the second time, and whether rewards one and three can be carried forward is unknown.
Give it a try.
Simply must try it.
Baimu lit up options two and three, not even glancing at the fourth.
Fortuitously, the rewarded move can indeed be retained.
Simulator turns can also be accumulated, the countdown kept going, it didn't stop just because there was one remaining.
Baimu feels the level-up reward might be cumulative too.
But at this moment, his attention focused more on the clue—
[Please carry an Iron Ingot of no less than 1kg]
What kind of clue is this? At most it's a hint.
Baimu looked at the time and the sky outside, Pyrite Town was already shrouded in night, yet sounds from the mines and smelting plant persisted nonstop.
It's still early.
He washed his face, headed out to figure out how to deal with the Iron Ingot.
Once the Iron Ingot is sorted, he'll start the second simulation.