"Damn it, System, can there really be a Golden Magikarp in this crappy ditch?"
Hora pulled the brim of his raincoat lower, trying to shield himself from the lingering cold rain. His knuckles, gripping the bamboo fishing rod, were white from the strain. The rod was a five-year-old hand-me-down from the old lady next door; a thin crack ran through the tip, and the fishing line was frayed and fuzzy. Right now, it hung limply over the murky water, failing to stir even a single ripple.
The "river" before him hardly looked like it held any fish at all. Scarcely two meters wide and shallow enough to see the pebbles at the bottom, it occasionally saw a few Goldeen drift by with their red fins swaying, or a Poliwag paddling slowly with its transparent tail. There wasn't even the shadow of a normal Magikarp, let alone the legendary, gold-glinting rare specimen the System claimed was here.
"Please do not question the accuracy and authority of this System."
The cold, mechanical voice chimed in his mind right on time. It was flat and devoid of emotion, sounding like rusty gears spinning in a void.
Hora rolled his eyes, his gaze falling on the floating icon only he could see—a palm-sized Poké Ball design with a cheap metallic luster. In three years, it hadn't lit up a second time.
"Is it my choice to question you?" he hissed under his breath, nearly spitting on his raincoat. "Two hours! I've been standing in the rain for two hours! Everything I pull up is either a Goldeen or a Poliwag. Could you at least give me a normal Magikarp? Golden? I think you've got 'Golden' confused with 'Gold-colored Mud'!"
The icon remained motionless. The mechanical voice repeated: "Please do not question the accuracy and authority of this System."
"Crap!"
Hora slammed the fishing rod down. The bamboo hit the wet mud with a dull thud, and the crack at the tip widened further. Rainwater dripped down his jawline, mixing with a heat born of either the weather or his own rage, sliding down his neck into his collar—cold yet stifling.
"Trash System! Are you actually capable or not?" He glared at the Poké Ball icon, his voice carrying the pent-up fury of three years. "I've been reincarnated for ten years! I've been fishing in this godforsaken ditch for nearly three! I'm supposed to get my Trainer ID and start my journey next month. Forget a Golden Magikarp—I haven't even seen a single Magikarp scale! You said 'Pallet Town outskirts ditch, Golden Magikarp habitat.' Was that just a ruse to get me out here to feed the mosquitoes?"
The mechanical voice in his head was like a programmed parrot, repeating the same soulless response: "Please do not question the accuracy of—"
He cursed it up and down, yet he couldn't help but cling to a sliver of expectation. What if... what if he caught it tomorrow?
The name "Hora" was given to him by his parents in this life.
Ten years ago, he was a lonely old man in the year 2070. When he took his last breath at 77 in the old house his parents had left him, all he saw was the peeling, moldy ceiling.
But when he opened his eyes again, he saw two smiling faces. The man had short deep-purple hair, a lean build, and sunken eyes that crinkled with faint lines when he laughed. The woman had shoulder-length green hair with a small white wild-flower tucked behind her ear; her touch on his cheek was as gentle as a spring breeze.
He was still wrapped in swaddling clothes then, unable to even lift a hand. But looking at these two characters who looked like they stepped straight out of a manga, his heart skipped a beat. This wasn't just a normal reincarnation.
It wasn't until one day, while his mother held him in a rattan chair in the courtyard, that he spotted a blue, man-sized toad-like creature crouching by the wall. The pink palm-like flower on its back shimmered in the sunlight, and it slowly swayed its bud.
"Venu-saaur~" The giant blue toad lowed softly, nudging his mother's hand with its head.
Hora's pupils contracted sharply. A Venusaur! It was the Venusaur from the Pokémon series he used to watch over and over as a kid!
Just as his mind went blank, that mechanical voice rang out for the first time, clear as if it were whispered in his ear: "Pokémon detected. 'Pokémon Rare Individual Positioning System' activating... activating..."
He nearly lost his newborn composure and burst into tears—not out of fear, but excitement. Reincarnated into the Pokémon world with a built-in System? This was the classic protagonist script!
But he had celebrated too early.
For the next three years, the System acted as if it were dead. It remained "activated" but never uttered another word.
Their family lived in the villa district on the outskirts of Pallet Town, not far from Professor Oak's laboratory. The Venusaur in the yard was the partner his mother had traveled with in her youth, starting as a Bulbasaur; it was now retired, spending its days sunbathing in the garden.
There was a kid in the neighboring block named Ash who was the same age. Every time they met, Ash would shout about "becoming the world's greatest Pokémon Master."
Being the same age, it was only natural that he and the future World Champion "Ashy-boy" grew up playing together.
When he was seven, he went to the Pallet Town Basic Trainer School for the first time. Just as he sat down at his desk, the System voice he had almost forgotten suddenly echoed again:
[System Activation Complete.]
[Mission Issued:]
* Mission Type: Initial Mission
* Content: Capture a rare individual—Golden Magikarp.
* Location: Pallet Town Outskirts Ditch (Coordinates X39, Y11)
* Time Limit: Five Years.
* Reward: Unknown.
The moment the voice vanished, the floating Poké Ball icon appeared before his eyes.
Suppressing his excitement, he tried to touch the icon with his thoughts. A map materialized before him.
The map was surprisingly high-tech. His position was marked by a chibi-style avatar, while the mission objective was represented by a Golden Magikarp icon pulsing with a faint red glow.
Then came these three years.
Hora shouldered his fishing rod and walked out of the woods. From a distance, he could see the lights of his home. Venusaur must have heard his footsteps, as it poked its head from behind the courtyard wall, its blue skin glowing softly in the twilight.
He took a deep breath, leaned the rod against the wall, and reached out to rub the top of Venusaur's head. At least the warmth in this world was real.
"One more day," he whispered to Venusaur, as if trying to convince himself. "If I don't catch it tomorrow, I'm moving on. I'm not wasting any more time on that stupid System."
Venusaur blinked and gently nudged his palm with its flower bud, as if offering comfort.
Hora didn't see it, but the moment he turned to enter the house, the Poké Ball icon before his eyes flickered slightly—so fast it seemed like an illusion.
And in that murky ditch where he had fished for three years, beneath the surface of the water, a faint glint of gold flashed momentarily before sinking back into the depths and vanishing.