{T/N: Your beloved TRANSLATOR here... Be on the lookout for these little notes of mine that you'll frequently come across in future chapters...
Please note that I'll be frequently interchanging between 'Kanto Alliance', 'Indigo League', & 'the League' in some parts of the translation... They all mean the same thing in essence, but I just use them according to which one sounds right in different contexts...}
....
Caleb Chase opened his eyes, and was welcomed by utter silence...
The room was square, with four double-decker iron beds crammed into a narrow space of about ten square meters.
It looked exactly like a high school dormitory.
"What happened?" he murmured.
His memory was still stuck on the moment the taxi he was riding in was sent flying by a truck.
When he opened his eyes again, he found himself in a completely unfamiliar environment... Four double-decker iron beds, each with a person lying on it.
Caleb quickly scanned the room and noticed the group included men and women, young and old, all lying quietly as if asleep.
'Great, a co-ed dormitory...'
Suddenly, under Caleb's silent gaze, the remaining seven people gradually woke up.
Some wore expressions of shock, others disbelief, while a few calmly exchanged glances with those across from them...
"Where is this?"
"What happened?!"
"What's going on? Who are you people?"
One of them, a chubby man, propped himself up on the bed and muttered, "Newbies again?"
He pulled out a cigarette from somewhere and lit it. Taking a leisurely drag, he exhaled a smoke ring with visible satisfaction.
At his words, the newcomers all turned their heads toward him.
Under their collective gaze, the chubby man finally spoke, dropping a bombshell, "You're all dead."
Then he fell silent.
Another, much thinner young man shot him a disapproving look before smiling and taking over the explanation:
"This is the Infinite World, just like in those web novels. Here, you'll get to travel through different scenarios/instances, complete missions, and once you've earned enough points, you can either revive..."
He paused, his face lighting up with longing, "...or start a brand-new life in another world."
"Tch." The chubby man scoffed...
He reached into the air in front of him and, to everyone's astonishment, pulled out a red-and-white spherical object.
A flash of white light later, a strange creature with stubby limbs, a round body covered in white fur, and a pig-like nose appeared in his arms.
As a Pokémon fan, Caleb immediately recognized it...
It was a Mankey! A Fighting-type Pokémon!
Pokémon, also known as Pocket Monsters or simply "monsters", were adorable creatures that existed in comics, anime, and games.
Caleb wasn't the only one who recognized it. The other newcomers did too.
A black-haired boy gasped in delight, "It's a Mankey!"
An elderly man with white hair rubbed his eyes in disbelief, nearly crying on the spot, "Oh my god… In my lifetime, I actually got to travel to the Pokémon world!"
The thin young man smiled and continued, "As you can see, everyone chosen for the Infinite World is a Pokémon fan. Earn enough points, and you can exchange them for a ticket to settle in the Pokémon world permanently."
"Easy, easy!" The old man was so excited he was practically trembling, as if he could jump up and run a thousand meters right then.
A short-haired girl who had been silent until now asked, "So how do we earn points? By completing missions?"
The thin young man chuckled, "Don't worry, the mission is coming right up."
No sooner had he spoken, footsteps echoed from the hallway outside. Then, the door to the eight-person dormitory swung open.
A man in a white uniform and a baseball cap walked in.
"Holy crap… What kind of scenario is this?" The chubby man muttered under his breath, his eyes locked on the large letter
The newcomer emotionlessly scanned the group and said in a flat tone, "Congratulations on passing the test. You are now official members of Team Rocket..."
"...Next, you'll be assigned to different bases to work for Team Rocket. Now, get out of bed immediately and go receive your starter Pokémon!"
His gaze then landed on the chubby man and the thin young man, "You two, no need to pick a Pokémon. Head straight to the station outside. Someone will escort you out."
The two exchanged glances but obediently followed the man's directions and left.
With the only two veteran players gone, the rest were all fresh-faced newcomers.
At that moment, a blue panel popped up in front of Caleb.
[Main Mission 1: Follow 'Random NPC' to receive your starter Pokémon...]
The others also seemed to be staring at the air in front of them.
Clearly, they had all received the mission prompt.
The group followed the Team Rocket member dubbed 'Random NPC' out of the room and into another chamber where six standard Poké Balls lay on a table.
The 'Random NPC' stood to the side, hands behind his back, and said tonelessly, "Go take your Poké Ball."
No hints, no introductions... No one knew which Pokémon was inside those ordinary red-and-white balls. It was all random.
Even someone as composed as Caleb couldn't help but feel nervous...
Team Rocket didn't believe in queues... The group rushed forward in a frenzy, quickly snatching up all the Poké Balls on the table.
Caleb grabbed the one on the far left... The moment it was in his hand, detailed information about the Pokémon inside automatically appeared before him.
«Mimikyu»
- Level: LV1
- Gender: Female
- Type: Ghost/Fairy
- Ability: Disguise
- Egg Move: Destiny Bond
- Moves Known: Scratch, Astonish, Copycat...
The next second, the main mission updated...
[Main Mission 2: You are an undercover agent sent by the Kanto Alliance to gather evidence of Team Rocket's crimes...]
[Mission Objective: Collect one piece of criminal evidence against Team Rocket and report it to the Kanto Alliance! (Newbie scenario... failure carries no penalty!)]
[Time Limit: 30 days! Exceeding the limit counts as failure!]
[Newbie Tip: Beware of other players! Not everyone can be trusted! Train your Pokémon, complete the mission, and survive!]
Caleb kept a straight face as he read through everything...
Then, a seemingly outgoing man sidled up to him and asked, "Hey man, what Pokémon did you get? Mine's a Zubat!"
Caleb offered a polite smile, "I got a Mimikyu."
There was no point hiding it, the others would find out sooner or later anyway.
The man's eyes lit up with envy, "Lucky!"
Caleb jerked his chin toward the other side of the room, "Someone over there got a Squirtle."
"No way! A starter?!" The man's eyes widened like he'd never seen anything so incredible before hurrying over to chat with the short-haired girl holding the Squirtle.
Caleb gripped his Poké Ball, swallowed hard, and pressed the button.
A flash of white light later, Mimikyu appeared on the floor in front of him.
Caleb crouched down and nervously reached out toward the little creature that vaguely resembled a Pikachu.
Pokémon... they were both familiar and foreign to him.
As a child, Caleb had watched Pokémon on 'Golden Eagle Cartoon' countless times, fantasizing about traveling to that world and becoming a Trainer.
But now that he actually had a Pokémon of his own, it still felt surreal...
Mimikyu hesitated at the hand reaching toward it. When the touch landed, its entire body stiffened.
In the past, whether human or Pokémon, everyone had feared it because its true form was too horrifying.
To avoid being hated, it had crafted a cloth disguise modeled after the beloved Pikachu.
Human touch and closeness were unfamiliar to it...
Then, it heard the human in front of it awkwardly greet it, "Uh… hi? You're Mimikyu, right? I'm Caleb. Barring any surprises, I'll be your Trainer from now on. I hope you don't mind me, okay?"
.....
Mimikyu... Mankey... Zubat... Squirtle...