The blazing sun filtered through the branches and into the room...
The air conditioning was off, the window open, allowing waves of scorching heat to pour inside. The entire room felt like a giant steamer.
Caleb woke up drenched in sweat. He opened his eyes to find himself wearing blue shorts and a white T-shirt, buried under a thick cotton quilt.
Caleb: "..."
"Onii-chan isn't feeling well, he's resting upstairs!" A soft girlish voice came from downstairs, as if she were talking to someone.
Ignoring the commotion below for now, Caleb shoved the suffocating quilt aside, grabbed a tissue from the nightstand to wipe his sweat, and then opened his panel to check this mission's details...
[Main Mission: You are a poor Bug Catcher living in Oldale Town. Your dream is to become a powerful Trainer and travel the world, but due to certain circumstances, you've had to give up on that dream. Now, you reluctantly stay in this small town, taking care of your little sister while challenging passing Trainers whenever you can...]
[Mission Objective: Defeat traveling Trainers. Each victory grants +1 point...]
[Duration: 10 months... Final rewards will scale based on the number of opponents defeated!]
'Oldale Town... So this is the Hoenn region!'
Fanning himself with his hand, Caleb pondered what this "large-scale role-playing mission" entailed...
Just then, rapid footsteps echoed from downstairs. They grew louder until they stopped right outside his door.
*Click*
The door swung open.
Caleb looked up.
A little girl stood in the doorway... She was wearing a faded light-blue dress and had two messy pigtails. She couldn't have been more than four or five years old, her face smudged with dirt, her big dark eyes fixed on him.
"Onii-chan, you're finally awake! I thought you were gonna die!" The moment she saw Caleb, she burst into loud, dramatic sobs.
Caleb stared at her wide-eyed. Then, clutching his head, he groaned in fake pain and asked, "What happened yesterday? I can't remember anything!"
The girl hiccuped mid-cry, her expression shifting to panic, "Onii-chan, you don't remember Lily anymore?"
Caleb: "...I remember. Lily-chan is you, my adorable little sister."
The little girl, Lily, finally relaxed and sniffled, then she explained, "Yesterday, Onii-chan accidentally kicked a Zigzagoon in the butt while walking, and then it beat you up until you fainted! Uncle Morris had to carry you back. Lily was so worried!"
Caleb glanced at the thick quilt that had nearly roasted him alive.
'Also, could you stop saying Onii-chan three times per sentence?!' he complained inwardly.
Rubbing his temples, he said, "Lily-chan, can you not call me 'Onii-chan' anymore? Just 'brother', okay?"
Tears instantly pooled in Lily's eyes.
Caleb immediately backtracked, "Okay, okay! Call me whatever you want! Onii-chan is fine!"
The tears vanished in a second. Caleb wondered if he'd imagined them.
Lily beamed and said, "Onii-chan, today is the day new Trainers from Littleroot Town get their starter Pokémon from Professor Birch and start their journeys! Didn't you promise to take me to see them?"
'Finally, something related to my mission.'
Nodding, Caleb hopped out of bed, slipped on his sneakers, and took Lily to Route 101, the path connecting Oldale and Littleroot.
He'd already pieced together that this world followed the 'Pokémon Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald' timeline...
And when it came to those classic games, the first things anyone thought of were the legendary trio... Groudon, Rayquaza, and Kyogre.
Thankfully, before coming here, he had stayed up all night playing 'Pokémon Emerald', so he had a decent grasp of this region.
On Route 101, Lily pointed at a patch of tall grass, "Onii-chan, that's where you kicked the Zigzagoon!"
Caleb: '...Yeah, no. That wasn't me...'
He figured it'd be smart to learn more about his character's background before diving into the mission.
So he asked, "Lily-chan, do you miss Mom and Dad?"
Lily tilted her head, confused, "What's 'Mom and Dad'?"
Caleb patiently explained, "Mom and Dad are our parents. The people who brought us into this world. We were born from Mom's belly..."
Lily sucked on her finger, "But… didn't Onii-chan give birth to me?"
Caleb choked. Taking a deep breath, he said calmly, "Listen carefully Lily-chan, Onii-chan is a boy. Boys can't have babies. Only girls can."
Lily's face scrunched up in blatant disbelief.
'…Yeah, okay. Moving on.' Abandoning the interrogation, Caleb decided he'd just ask the kind neighbor, Uncle Morris, Lily had mentioned earlier.
As they walked, a boy in blue shorts and a cap approached from the opposite direction.
Spotting Caleb, the boy muttered unhappily, "Great. Another one stealing our business…"
In this world, when Trainers lost battles against NPCs like Bug Catchers or Swimmers, they had to pay out prize money... This is a rule that was set by the Hoenn League to encourage battles and make things more exciting.
As a result, 'professionals' like Bug Catchers and Swimmer Girls camped out on routes, preying on newbie Trainers for cash.
Caleb recognized the boy immediately... one of Pokémon's many cannon-fodder NPCs: a Youngster!
Just then, a rookie Trainer with a backpack emerged from Littleroot Town.
The Youngster's eyes lit up like a starving wolf spotting prey. He sprinted over and released his Pokémon, a well-groomed Poochyena...
...
Caleb and Lily watched from the sidelines as the rookie Trainer lost and reluctantly handed over a wad of cash...
Caleb's eyes gleamed. He officially dubbed this as the best world ever!
"Onii-chan, are you gonna challenge that Trainer too?" Lily whispered, "He looks really strong."
Caleb shook his head, his gaze locked onto the Youngster, "Nah. That Trainer is broke. This guy is the real prize!"
Pulling out Mimikyu's Poké Ball, he stepped in front of the Youngster who was busy counting his earnings...
"How about a nice and intense Pokémon battle?!"