Chapter 1
The training session had ended.
A resting room.
Recently turning sixteen, Haruto Minoru wiped the sweat from his brow as he peeled off his damp clothes, revealing a lean and toned physique.
A colleague entered from outside. Haruto gave a slight wave before picking up his toiletries and heading into the shower.
As the water cascaded over his face—some droplets splashing around, others flowing smoothly down—his mind wandered, reminiscing and contemplating.
This was Kogane Town.
A place steeped in steampunk aesthetics, where thick and thin metal pipes crisscrossed, gears turned incessantly, and rust-streaked, grimy cores lay exposed for all to see.
Though called a town, its population was comparable to that of a city within the region.
The town's wealth came from its seemingly endless mineral deposits underground, serving as its primary economic backbone.
Like most inland settlements in the Oure Region, it was surrounded by vast wastelands and deserts, where the horizon was dominated by dull shades of yellow, gray, and black, with barely any traces of vibrant green life.
Despite its technological advancements, it was far from a beautiful place.
Haruto often lamented his fate as a transmigrator—why couldn't he have been reborn in one of the main regions?
Oure was a harsh land.
Life quality aside, as an orphan with no money, no influence, and no status, obtaining a Pokémon and becoming a trainer was a near-impossible challenge, where the competition was nothing short of brutal.
Traveling? Entering tournaments?
Completely out of reach.
But the most critical issue was that Oure had no wild Pokémon to capture.
Being a remote corner of the world, most Pokémon in this region were imported, and naturally occurring wild Pokémon were a rarity.
Because of this, Haruto had yet to obtain a Pokémon of his own. And without one, changing his fate was a distant dream.
Still, he believed that his time would come.
And now, the organization he had unwittingly joined upon awakening—a second-rate faction called the Sandstorm Gang—was recruiting official members. The lower-ranked grunts who passed the selection process would receive a Pokémon from the higher-ups.
Though he wasn't thrilled about it, he didn't really have a choice. Once inside, leaving was no simple task.
Thinking about it, Team Rocket seemed almost humane in comparison—at least they frequently purged troublesome members. In Kogane Town, everyone was assigned work. If they refused, the lower-class citizens were simply sent to the underground mines. If luck wasn't on their side, they could end up mining for the rest of their lives.
Escape?
The nearest settlement was at least a hundred kilometers away. The journey was pure desert, where even finding a water-rich oasis was a struggle. Losing one's sense of direction was easy. And outrunning the high-tech hover bikes? Impossible.
The train station leading out of town was even more dangerous, riddled with pickpockets, thugs, and scammers, most of whom were secret informants for various factions. Anyone marked with a brand attempting to board would be dragged off immediately.
After all, human resources were the most valuable asset in Kogane Town.
Even if he somehow made it to another region, his lack of official identity would be a problem. Getting caught meant being sent straight back.
And to top it all off, he was illiterate, only capable of recognizing basic words. The town had no libraries, nor did it provide free education for grunts like him.
His only advantage was his young body. The Sandstorm Gang desperately needed fresh blood, and so, the two parties found themselves in a mutually beneficial arrangement.
As for what lay ahead, he decided to focus on obtaining a Pokémon first and worry about the rest later.
And then… there was this thing.
Haruto glanced at the countdown timer in the corner of his vision. It had been ticking since the moment he regained consciousness a week ago. Now, it was nearly at zero.
From what he knew about transmigrators, this was likely some kind of cheat ability.
Anticipation filled his heart.
After finishing his shower, he resisted the urge to rush back to his tiny dwelling and watch the timer hit zero. Instead, he joined a few familiar colleagues for a meal and drank a bit of beer.
Listening to their drunken complaints, he felt an odd sense of calm.
Blending in was crucial. Until he had the strength to protect himself, standing out would only make him a target. So, no matter how reluctant he felt, he needed to share drinks with this group.
Most of the Sandstorm Gang's grunts were just scraping by, living from day to day. Their paychecks rarely lasted a week, let alone a month.
But in this town, which was practically controlled by underground organizations, they were still better off than day laborers, enjoying stable pay and lighter workloads.
If they included their "side earnings" from extorting others, saving up for a Pokémon within a few months was possible.
However, raising a Pokémon wasn't as simple as just buying one. Food, supplements, medical treatments, battle recovery services—everything was absurdly expensive.
Owning a Pokémon was just the beginning of financial struggles.
Most grunts could only gaze enviously at others' Pokémon before using their hard-earned money to drown their frustrations in alcohol.
As for Haruto, he had the instinct to save money, but he often found himself repulsed by certain "side earnings." He couldn't bring himself to spend money obtained through extortion, secretly returning it in different ways, leading to less-than-ideal savings.
And yet, his own salary was far from clean.
Maybe he was just lying to himself.
Still, he wanted to hold onto something. Seeing the bitter, desperate faces of those who had been shaken down made it hard for him to spend that money with a clear conscience.
How long would it take before he was completely assimilated?
Even he was curious.
One of the gang-controlled districts, Aokiri Street, housed the grunts' lodgings.
From the outside, it was indistinguishable from a scrap heap.
Dilapidated two-story buildings riddled with holes, filth everywhere, meaningless graffiti, an unbearable stench, and rusted, jagged sheets of metal sticking out at odd angles…
No sane person would willingly live here.
But there was one advantage—it was extremely safe.
Though the Sandstorm Gang was only a second-rate force in Kogane Town, few dared to provoke them. The reason was simple: their leader was powerful, and their backers were even stronger.
Upon returning home, Haruto swiftly shut the door, keeping the stench outside, and collapsed onto his bed, waiting for the countdown to end.
What kind of cheat ability would it be?
He was excited but also vaguely worried—what if it wasn't a cheat but a countdown to death or disaster?
He had the fortune of arriving in the Pokémon world, but his starting point was nothing short of unfortunate.
The conflicting emotions made him uneasy.
Just as his thoughts began to spiral, the countdown reached zero.
A string of glowing text appeared before his eyes, flickering rapidly.
[Trainer Life Simulator Activated. Remaining Uses: 2. Next Recharge Countdown: 168:00:00]
A simulator?
Haruto froze, and another line of text popped up.
[Start Simulation? Yes/No]
Taking a deep breath, he felt relieved that the text was in Japanese. Slowly, he selected "Yes."
New lines appeared before him.
[Select Your Birth Region ▽]
[Select Your Gender ▽]
[Select Your Pokémon ▽]
He tapped the first option, revealing all the main series regions—but none of the spin-off ones.
He chose Kanto.
Gender options were simple: male or female.
He chose male.
But the Pokémon selection was odd—there was only a "Random" option. No classic Kanto starters, no Pikachu, no Eevee.
With no choice, he silently selected "Random" and confirmed his choices.
[Draw Your Talents]
He pressed the button.
A series of traits appeared before him, marking the start of his new path.