Chapter 1: Raijin Pikachu of quasi-Elite Level! Infinite Reincarnation Trait!
Year XXX of the Pokémon calendar, Month X.
Kanto Region — Pallet Town.
"Ash! Aren't you up yet? Today's the day you start your journey!"
Delia Ketchum, wearing an apron and with a beautiful smile, called up the stairs to her son.
"Coming! I'm just packing food for Pikachu—it took a bit of time!"
Just as the words fell, a boy who didn't look at all like he was ten came running down the stairs with a thumping noise.
The boy had a handsome face, two lightning-bolt-like marks on his cheeks, a red and white cap on his head, blue jeans, a black undershirt, and a blue jacket.
He looked more like a teenager of fourteen or fifteen than a ten-year-old.
On his shoulder was a small, golden-yellow, adorable mouse—Pikachu!
Ash, with his blue backpack slung over his shoulder, walked up to Delia.
At ten years old, he was already taller than his mother, nearly 165cm, almost the height of some adult men.
"Ash, did you grow taller again?"
"Huh? Did I?"
Ash casually measured himself and then waved his hand indifferently.
"Ah, not important. Mom, I'm off! Wait at home for the news of me becoming Champion!"
"Pika Pi~!"
As soon as the words left his mouth, the boy and his Pikachu burst through the door.
Watching her son and his partner wave goodbye, Delia felt a moment of bittersweet sorrow.
The boy she raised with her own hands was finally ready to spread his wings and fly.
But she believed in Ash's words.
Her extraordinary son was destined to rise above the masses and become Champion!
Still…
Watching your child leave home, what mother wouldn't worry?
—
As Ash ran toward Professor Oak's lab with Pikachu on his shoulder, he thought back on the past ten years.
He was Ash, but not the original Ash.
His past-life memories had awakened when he was about two or three years old.
He never expected to be reincarnated into the Pokémon world—into Ash's body no less!
He wasn't some huge Pokémon fan, but he still knew iconic characters like Ash and Pikachu.
In his previous life, he died from overworking, collapsing on the road.
In this life, he finally experienced what it meant to have a real childhood.
Even though he wasn't a hardcore fan, he had played some of the Pokémon games casually growing up—games he never got to play as a kid but always wanted to try.
Thanks to those games, Ash began helping Professor Oak in the lab when he was five.
At six, he joined a summer camp, where he encountered a pink, cat-like Pokémon—and met his Pikachu.
Well, at the time, it was a Pichu.
After a series of events, the Pichu chose to follow him.
That incident also triggered the awakening of the Trait System inside Ash.
The system's condition for activation was encountering a legendary Pokémon—a Mythical Pokémon, to be exact.
And the pink cat-like Pokémon—Mew—qualified.
The Trait System allows Ash to materialize traits on his Pokémon.
After defeating opponents, the system would randomly generate traits.
Trait rarities: White, Blue, Purple, Orange, Red, Gold, and Rainbow.
Each tier of trait was vastly more powerful than the last.
A Rainbow Trait meant power beyond even Legendary Pokémon!
If Ash didn't want a certain trait, he could feed it into other traits as upgrade material.
Feeding enough traits can upgrade them—though Rainbow traits can only be exchanged with other Rainbow traits.
If you get a Rainbow trait you don't like, you can use it to upgrade one you do like.
Three Rainbow traits are required to upgrade a Gold one into Rainbow—outrageous!
Upgrading works like this:
10 White = 1 Blue
10 Blue = 1 Purple
… and so on.
And traits can also be applied to himself.
After gaining the Trait System, Ash confirmed that the Pichu he met was the same Pikachu he would have eventually received in the original timeline.
Looking at Pikachu now, his stats displayed before Ash's eyes:
[Name]: Pikachu
[Gender]: Male
[Trainer]: Ash
[Type]: Electric
[Level]: Gym Mid-Tier (Quasi-Elite)
[Ability]: Static
[Moves]: Thunderbolt, Quick Attack, Volt Tackle, Nuzzle, Agility…
[Innate Talent]: ???
[Special Move]: Giga Volt Thunder—Raijin!
[Traits]: Infinite Reincarnation (Rainbow), Thunder God (Gold), Movie Star (Orange), Exceptional Intelligence (Purple), Overloaded Techniques (Purple)
(Level Ranks: Beginner, Ordinary, Advanced, Elite, Professional, Gym, Elite Four, Champion, God Domain)
Pikachu's data was the definition of ultra-premium.
The note in parentheses—quasi-Elite—referred to his true power level!
Who else brings a Pokémon of this level at the very start of their journey?
Above this level is Elite Four status—each region has only four such trainers!
Telling the League you just started with a quasi-Elite Pokémon? They'd laugh at you for a decade.
It's just not possible!
But the truth was… Pikachu was at quasi-Elite level—because Ash had been grinding and farming wild Pokémon in Pallet Town's outskirts for years!
Every one of Pikachu's high-tier traits had been farmed in the wild!
Ash had no idea how many Rattata or Spearow Pikachu had electrocuted.
He wasn't even officially a licensed Trainer yet.
He couldn't venture too far from Pallet without adult supervision.
Though at age seven, he could already travel alone…
From the beginning, Pikachu came with two traits: Infinite Reincarnation and Movie Star.
That's how Ash knew this was his destined Pikachu!
He hadn't seen much of the anime, but he knew of the iconic memes:
Pikachu losing to a newbie after beating a Legendary.
Pikachu's level resetting every region.
Wasn't that just "Reincarnation" and "Movie Star" in action?
One was Gold from the start, the other was Blue—he had since upgraded them to Rainbow and Orange.
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