When Bai Chen returned home, the hatchling that had been waiting impatiently all day immediately threw herself at him.
He caught her easily, laughing softly as he stroked the rough scales on her head.
"Easy there, little one. I brought food."
Nergigante blinked her golden eyes, the spikes on her back twitching as Bai Chen set down the bundles of packed meat. She dove straight in, tearing into the meal with the same appetite that had nearly emptied his freezer the night before.
Meanwhile, Bai Chen turned away to pack.
He'd already made up his mind.
It was time to leave the Astera base.
Staying any longer was suicide.
He had once believed the system's mysterious white egg would hatch something at most on the level of a Rathian or Rathalos. But now… the reality was far beyond imagination.
He had hatched an Elder Dragon.
That alone would have been a miracle. But not just any Elder Dragon—he had brought forth the Elder Dragon Slayer itself: Nergigante.
In the New World, taming monsters wasn't unheard of. Hunters sometimes trained small wyverns as mounts or companions. If he could somehow convince the Commander that his hatchling posed no threat—that she could even aid hunters in their expeditions—then maybe, just maybe, the Guild would allow him to keep her.
But there was no escaping the truth.
Nergigante wasn't a harmless hatchling. She was born to hunt other Elder Dragons.
In the eyes of the Guild, that made her a walking disaster waiting to happen.
Elder Dragons were the pinnacle of life on the planet—the personifications of natural calamity. The Guild had created the entire New World Research Commission just to study their mysterious migration from the Old World.
Now imagine what they would do if they learned a rookie hunter had tamed one capable of killing Elder Dragons.
They'd take her away.
They'd take everything.
Even if the Guild wasn't cruel, Bai Chen wasn't naïve enough to trust in human kindness. He and his companion couldn't afford a single mistake.
He tightened the straps on his travel pack and gently scooped up the small black dragon, who now weighed as much as a large dog.
"Listen, Nergi," he whispered, slipping her carefully into the wide pack. "No sound. No movement. Whatever happens, stay hidden."
The hatchling blinked once, then nodded. The bond stone glimmered faintly at his neck—a sign she understood.
With a steady breath, Bai Chen gripped the handle of his iron katana and stepped toward the door.
The moment he pushed it open, a cold mechanical chime rang in his ears.
[Countdown complete. Commencing world transfer.]
"What—?"
Before he could even react, his vision warped. A blinding light swallowed everything, and his body was hurled through an endless tunnel of color and sound.
When he opened his eyes again, the world had changed.
The smell of grass filled his nose.
He was sitting in a sunlit field, surrounded by green hills and soft wind.
"Where… am I?"
Overhead, a flock of small gray birds took flight, their wings glinting in the morning light.
Bai Chen recognized them instantly.
"Pidove…?"
His heart skipped. He looked up at the blue sky and felt the truth settle in his chest.
"I… crossed over? This is the Pokémon world?"
Opening his system interface, he checked the glowing countdown:
[Return Countdown: 29d 23h 59m]
So it wasn't permanent—he had thirty days. Thirty days in an entirely different world.
He slung the pack over his shoulder and walked toward the nearest ridge. From the cliff, he could see a sprawling coastal city by the sea—glass towers, paved roads, and neon lights flickering even in daylight.
Modern civilization.
Technology.
A world completely different from the savage wilderness of the Monster Hunter lands.
His lips curved upward.
"So this isn't just a skill system… it's a world-traveling system."
The Pokémon world—peaceful, structured, and bursting with life. Here, humans reigned supreme. Even Legendary Pokémon rarely interfered with human cities.
For Bai Chen, this was paradise.
A world full of skills and abilities just waiting to be copied.
He adjusted his katana, tightened the straps on his pack, and started down the slope.
Then the ground trembled.
A deep boom echoed from the valley ahead—an explosion, no more than two kilometers away.
Bai Chen's instincts kicked in. His muscles tensed, and with a single leap, he was sprinting toward the sound.
His Titan's Physique made him faster than most wild Pokémon. In less than a minute, he reached the source.
A narrow mountain road curved along the hillside. At its center sat a luxury black car—half-scorched, surrounded by a pack of Pokémon.
Meowth.
Dozens of them, their gray-blue fur marking them as the Alolan variant. At the center of the group stood a larger one—a Persian, its gem glinting with malice.
The road was chaos. The explosion he'd heard was no doubt from their attacks.
Near the car stood an elderly butler in a black tailcoat, a silver beard gleaming under the sunlight. Beside him hovered a brightly colored bird—a Pom-Pom Style Oricorio, its feathers sparking with electricity.
They were fighting valiantly, but the butler's side was losing.
Bai Chen scanned the battlefield at a glance.
Persian: roughly level 24.
The smaller Meowth: 17–18 on average.
Oricorio: level 28, but outnumbered six to one.
At this rate, it wouldn't last long.
Then came a high-pitched cry from inside the car.
A Meowth was clawing at the door handle, prying it open.
The butler's eyes went wide. "Miss!"
He raised his voice, commanding desperately:
"Oricorio—use Revelation Dance!"
But the Persian moved first.
A burst of shimmering stars—Swift—shot from its gem, slamming into Oricorio and knocking it out of rhythm.
The Meowth's paw hooked under the handle. The door was half-open.
The butler started forward—but someone else moved faster.
A shadow flashed.
Bai Chen appeared beside the car, seized the Meowth by its head, and smashed it into the pavement.
The impact cracked the road like thunder.
[EXP +22]
He straightened, eyes cold. "One down."
Compared to wyverns like Jagras, these creatures felt fragile. Cute, even.
Turning to the butler, he said calmly,
"Old sir, I'll handle the small fry. Focus your Oricorio on their leader."
The man hesitated only a second before nodding. "Understood."
Bai Chen drew his blade.
Level 14 or not, with the strength of an Elder Dragon's blood coursing through him, these wild Pokémon were nothing.
"Let's end this quickly."
He inhaled slowly—Spirit Blade Breathing.
Power surged through his limbs.
The first Meowth lunged.
Bai Chen stepped forward, a single, fluid motion. The blade flashed, its back striking Meowth's head with bone-rattling force.
[EXP +18]
The cat dropped instantly.
From the car, a girl's voice screamed—"Behind you!"
Bai Chen pivoted.
Claws slashed at his back; he raised his forearm to block. The attacks barely scratched him, leaving only faint white marks.
He caught one Meowth by the neck and hurled it into another.
[EXP +19]
[EXP +16]
The air was filled with dust and fur.
Inside the car, the young girl stared, speechless.
"He's… fighting Pokémon barehanded!?"
Bai Chen exhaled, his breath steady as stone. Around him, the Meowth lay unconscious one by one.
For the first time since hatching Nergigante, he felt like what he was always meant to be—
Not a gatherer.
Not a forager.
But a hunter.
And in this new world of strange creatures and boundless power, he could feel it—
A new hunt had just begun.