"Maybe I'm getting old. Sometimes I really don't understand what you young people are thinking. Those monsters are vicious things—even the military has trouble dealing with them. If you youngsters run into one, you should be fleeing for your lives. And yet you still dare to run straight toward them…"
In a clean, bright hospital room, a doctor in a white coat spoke softly while examining the young man lying on the bed.
Thinking about what had happened to this young man, as well as the recent news reports, the doctor couldn't help but shake his head helplessly.
Just half a year ago, all kinds of miraculous creatures had suddenly begun appearing across the world.
Grasslands, forests, ponds, oceans, the skies—if one looked carefully, these beings could be found almost anywhere. They were entirely different from the animals of Blue Star, brimming with an air of the unbelievable, like brand-new forms of life.
They were called unbelievable because, unlike the creatures that had evolved on Blue Star over tens of millions of years, these beings possessed supernatural powers that existed only in works of fiction.
Spitting water, breathing fire, releasing electricity, stirring up storms—there was almost nothing they couldn't do.
Humanity suffered heavy losses in its clashes with these new creatures. Combined with the terrifying abilities that seemed ripped straight from fantasy, people began calling them monsters.
Now, under the large-scale invasion of these monsters, humanity's sphere of activity had continued to shrink. Governments repeatedly warned the public to avoid going out whenever possible—especially not to venture alone beyond the city limits—lest they fall victim to monster attacks.
And yet, in such an environment, this young man had dared to leave the city by himself and head into the forest. The outcome was exactly as one might expect: he was attacked by a monster.
If not for a group of kind-hearted passersby who happened to discover him, he would likely have been as good as dead.
"All right. If there are no complications, you should be able to leave the hospital this afternoon," the doctor said. "But there are a few things I still have to say. Young people shouldn't chase thrills too much. Times are unstable right now—stay in crowded places inside the city. Don't think about running off to create some big headline. That's not realistic."
"Thank you, doctor. I've thought it through. I definitely won't do anything that foolish again."
Hearing the young man's earnest assurance, the doctor nodded in relief. After finishing his instructions, he turned and left the ward.
A cool breeze drifted in through the window.
The young man's black, slightly messy hair was gently lifted by the wind. Sitting alone on the hospital bed, his face was a little pale, yet his handsome features were still striking. His expression, however, was extraordinarily complicated.
"I… transmigrated."
It was strange to say. Not long ago, after a full day of hard work, Chen Mo had comfortably climbed into bed, ready to enjoy a good night's sleep. But when he opened his eyes again, he saw the very doctor from earlier.
Though panic surged in his heart, fragments of unfamiliar memories gradually flooded his mind, allowing Chen Mo to piece together his current situation.
He had transmigrated—into the body of someone in another world who even shared his name.
"Monsters… what exactly are monsters?"
In this world, which was both familiar and unfamiliar compared to his previous life, the greatest difference was undoubtedly the sudden appearance of monsters half a year ago.
As he carefully recalled what he knew about them, a new image instantly surfaced in Chen Mo's mind.
It was a creature somewhat resembling a rhinoceros, its entire body covered in thick gray armor. It charged forward in a straight line, unstoppable—trees and rocks alike were unable to hinder it in the slightest.
As for why Chen Mo remembered it so clearly, it was because, in that memory, "he" had been standing directly in the creature's path.
Although he had narrowly escaped the brute charge of the beast, the original owner of this body must have been especially unlucky that day. A massive rock kicked up in the chaos struck him squarely as he tried to flee.
And after that, Chen Mo arrived in this world.
But still…
"This rhinoceros… why does it look so familiar?"
Chen Mo's expression turned odd.
No matter how he thought about it, the rhinoceros that had claimed the original body's life looked exactly like a creature from a famous animated series in his previous life—something called a Pokémon.
He even remembered its name clearly: Rhyhorn.
Perhaps because he had only just absorbed these memories, Chen Mo's mind felt muddled. He picked up his phone and searched online for more images related to the monster invasion.
Ten minutes later.
Chen Mo put down his phone, now completely certain about the truth behind these "monsters."
The terrifying fire-breathing dragon rumored to have wiped out an armed squad was actually Charizard.
The extremely violent rat demon that often infiltrated cities, using massive teeth capable of piercing iron plates to bite through doors and invade people's homes, was actually Rattata.
And the butterfly-like demon whose mysterious powder could knock people unconscious, paralyze them, or even poison them to death, was actually Butterfree…
Countless examples proved one thing: the monsters invading this world were truly the Pokémon from the anime of his previous life.
"This is bad…"
Recalling the news he had seen earlier, Chen Mo didn't feel any calmer. Instead, a growing sense of unease settled in his heart.
Because Pokémon had appeared so abruptly and bizarrely, humans had harbored intense wariness toward them from the very beginning. As incidents of Pokémon injuring and killing people continued to occur, the conflict between humans and Pokémon only escalated further.
One could say that statements like—
Either all Pokémon are driven out, or human civilization heads toward destruction—
were everywhere on the internet these days.
"What a joke. Wipe out all Pokémon? With humanity's current level of technology, how could that possibly be done…"
Chen Mo recalled the Pokémon movies he had seen in his previous life, especially the godlike Pokémon whose power could devastate heaven and earth.
Heh.
Drive Pokémon away? If beings like that were truly angered, the entire world would probably be finished.
"But what does any of this have to do with me? Whether in my past life or this one, I'm just an ordinary person."
In his previous life, Chen Mo had been nothing more than an unremarkable corporate drone. This life was slightly better: thanks to decent looks, the original owner had worked as a small streamer on a minor video-streaming site, supported by a few wealthy female fans who tipped him monthly.
But the original owner was probably not too bright. He had actually listened to his fans' suggestions and gone chasing the "monster" hype—only to lose his life in the process.
After some thought, Chen Mo decided it would be best not to wade into the muddy waters of Pokémon affairs. With his current frail build, in this new age of conflict and exploration, he probably wouldn't even make a ripple.
"I'll just be an honest streamer. With the cultural knowledge of two worlds, I can totally rise to the top by plagiar—ahem, adapting content. A bright future is right in front of me…"
Just as Chen Mo was indulging in fantasies about his future career, a voice suddenly rang out in his mind.
[Ding! Severe escalation detected in the conflict between Pokémon and humans. System activating…]