"Sha~"

  The morning sunlight spilled into the senior-year cssroom as a piece of chalk flew through the air, heading straight for the back corner of the room.

  The students stifled their ughter, their eyes following the chalk’s trajectory.

  Thwack!

  Ye Qing felt a sharp pain on his forehead as the chalk bounced off. His blurry vision gradually cleared, and his muddled consciousness sharpened.

  A frustrated voice rang out from the podium: "Ye Qing, stand up and answer this question!"

  "Huh?"

  Ye Qing reflexively rose to his feet and looked up at the bckboard.

  [How many abilities does Bulbasaur have, and what are they?]

  "Garlic Toad?"

  Without thinking, Ye Qing blurted out the affectionate nickname.

  "Pfft—HAHAHAHA!"

  The cssroom fell silent for a moment before erupting in ughter. Some students ughed so hard they spped their desks, while others nearly cried from amusement.

  Ye Qing’s mind was still foggy. Why would the homeroom teacher ask a question like this, something straight out of an anime? At his age, shouldn’t he be past watching Pokémon?

  "Did I sleep so hard my vision’s messed up? Why does everything feel different all of a sudden?"

  Ye Qing sat back down in a daze, muttering to himself in confusion.

  "Ye Qing, did I say you could sit down? How dare you ignore your teacher like that! And ‘Garlic Toad’? You’re the toad here!"

  "HAHAHAHA!"

  The cssroom exploded with ughter again, all eyes fixed on Ye Qing in the back row.

  "HA! I’ve time-traveled! And it’s the Pokémon world!"

  Ignoring the teacher’s scolding, Ye Qing seemed to have an epiphany. He flipped open the textbook on his desk, staring excitedly at the vivid Pokédex entries inside.

  "Stop ughing! How can you, the absolute st in css rankings, still find this funny?"

  Once his thoughts settled, Ye Qing straightened up and confidently answered the question on the board:

  "Bulbasaur has two abilities: Overgrow and Chlorophyll, with Chlorophyll being its hidden ability."

  "Overgrow boosts the power of Grass-type moves by 50% when the Pokémon’s health is low in battle."

  "Chlorophyll doubles the Pokémon’s speed in harsh sunlight or under the effects of Drought."

  The cssroom fell silent. Though the question itself wasn’t hard, for someone like Ye Qing—who consistently scored single digits on exams—answering it so smoothly was unheard of. The students stared at him, standing there with such confidence, and for a moment, he almost seemed like a different person.

  Even Liu Jianguo, the teacher at the podium, was taken aback. He knew Ye Qing well—the kid had firmly held the title of css dunce for ages!

  Liu rapped the bckboard with an eraser, suppressing his surprise, and pressed further: "What can Gloom evolve into, and what are the conditions?"

  Ye Qing gnced at his cssmates, all staring at him intently. "With a Sun Stone, it evolves into Bellossom. With a Leaf Stone, it becomes Vileplume. And despite its looks, Gloom’s drool is actually top-tier nectar!"

  The css was stunned. A few students even dropped their pens in shock.

  Liu Jianguo swallowed his amazement and decided to raise the difficulty: "Which Fighting-type moves can Dragonite learn?"

  Ye Qing frowned slightly, then locked eyes with the css beauty—who was staring right at him—and smirked. "Focus Bst and Brick Break."

  The css beauty covered her mouth in surprise. Even she didn’t know the answer to that. After all, Dragonite, as a pseudo-legendary, was incredibly rare. Most students only knew bits and pieces from online rumors, let alone its full movepool.

  The css’s expressions shifted from shock to admiration, then outright awe. The teacher’s questions had clearly gone beyond the curriculum—none of them knew the answers.

  Liu Jianguo took a sip of tea, motioning for Ye Qing to sit down. Swallowing his burning curiosity, he continued the lesson, deciding he’d grill the kid properly after school.

  Ye Qing sat back down. After that round of questioning, the disorientation from his sudden time travel had mostly faded.

  Outside the window, flocks of Pidgey flew past. On the sports field, students raced around on Ponyta, while a Caterpie perched on the windowsill, tilting its head as it stared at him.

  Its sparkling eyes seemed to ask: "Hey kid, whatcha lookin’ at? Tryna raise me into a Rayquaza or somethin’?"

  Gncing around the cssroom, Ye Qing marveled at the fact that he’d somehow crossed into a world where Pokémon and reality merged. Thankfully, his parents were still his parents, and his cssmates were the same as ever.

  Css ended quickly. After calming himself, Ye Qing wanted to pull out his phone and look up this world’s history.

  "No phone?"

  He patted his pockets bnkly before remembering—his phone had been confiscated by the teacher yesterday.

  "Wang Yao, lend me your phone!"

  Leaning over his desk, Ye Qing poked his best friend—who sat diagonally in front of him—and whispered.

  Wang Yao was ridiculously handsome, popur with girls, and lived up to his nickname as the school’s "soft rice king"—a py on his ability to coast on charm.

  Startled, Wang Yao gnced at the teacher grading papers up front before whispering back, "Quit joking, why would I bring my phone if I wasn’t gonna cheat?"

  "You can borrow mine."

  Just as Ye Qing was about to give up, the css beauty—passing by to collect homework—handed him her phone.

  "Ah? Thanks."

  Ye Qing took it, watching as she smiled and walked away. He shook his head, touched by her kindness.

  "Rich people, huh."

  He fiddled with the brand-new iPhone 11, then started searching.

  The first thing that popped up was a stunning wallpaper of a Gardevoir.

  But why had the css beauty lent him her phone so readily?

  Sp!

  Ye Qing smacked his own face. "I’m such a scumbag—how could I get distracted while looking at Gardevoir?"

  Thanks to Pokémon’s existence, this world’s history had diverged wildly from his original timeline.

  Ancient Era:Prehistoric Pokémon emerged, and species gradually diversified.

  Hundreds of Millions of Years Ago: Kabuto and Genesect’s prototypes appeared.

  100 Million Years Ago:Lileep went extinct. Cranidos, Tirtouga emerged. Tyrantrum dominated. Relicanth remained unchanged to this day.

  Tens of Thousands of Years Ago: Kabuto, Omanyte, and other Pokémon went extinct.

  After that, historical dynasties remained the same—except now, Pokémon were part of the picture.

  - Lü Bu, riding a Rapidash, swept through rival warlords.

  - Meng Huo, atop a Mamoswine, crushed all opposition.

  - Zhao Zilong, astride a Zebstrika, rescued Liu Shan from an army of thousands.

  It wasn’t until a century ago that a master craftsman hollowed out Berries and used special nets to capture Pokémon, marking the first time the Pokémon Trainer profession took the world stage.

  The invention of the Berry Ball ignited World War I.

  As Berry Balls were refined and the first generation of Trainers grew, World War II erupted.

  After the wars, the Pokémon League rose rapidly, establishing a global presence and absolute authority.

  Meanwhile, technological advancements surged forward, fueled by Pokémon’s power.

  By the early 1990s, the modern Poké Ball was perfected. To compete for resources, nations worldwide prioritized cultivating elite Trainers.