Chapter 1 Ryan Ford

June 9, 2016, summer.

The weather was pleasant, with clear skies and not a cloud in sight.

But as Ryan Ford lay in bed sound asleep, he suddenly felt a chill.

"I feel like I forgot something..."

After opening his eyes, Ryan Ford stared at the ceiling and rubbed his head.

That's it!

Today is the day of the college entrance exam, and it's the last day.

He reached for his phone to check the time, and Ryan Ford was instantly shocked—it's already noon?!

"Did the alarm not go off..."

After hurriedly putting down his phone, Ryan Ford's heart skipped a beat. Oh no, just yesterday, he had promised the senior who was also taking the college entrance exam that he would go cheer her on today... and now... he overslept?

Logically, he went to bed early last night, so even if the alarm didn't ring, he shouldn't have slept until noon.

He picked up his phone again, feeling terrible, thinking about how to apologize to the senior.

But...

Ding!

At that moment, a message box popped up from the system.

Senior: The battle exam this morning went smoothly. My opponent's Pikachu was too weak.

"Haha, looks like it went well."

Ryan Ford was about to reply with congratulations and an apology, but suddenly, he felt something was off.

Battle exam?

Pikachu?

Aren't you taking the college entrance exam? Do you think you're playing Pokémon or something!

"I must still be dreaming."

At this moment... yet another flood of message boxes popped up, this time from Penguin News.

The headline of the first news article was already bizarre. Ryan Ford glanced at it and felt even more uneasy.

"Four professional trainers explore the secret realm of the Western Liaoning Grand Canyon, encounter a ferocious ancient Pokémon—Aerodactyl. Only one survives!"

Ryan Ford frowned and opened the comments.

Talk Later: Aerodactyl? Dragon? Have they discovered a new species of dragon-type Pokémon?

Big Chrysanthemum First: Looks like things are about to get lively in Western Liaoning. Whoever captures this Aerodactyl will definitely become famous. But even four professional trainers couldn't handle it, so this Aerodactyl must be exceptionally strong.

Book Mountain Duck Pear: What? Another new Pokémon species? Strongly protest! Absolutely oppose adding new Pokémon data to the textbooks!

At this moment, Ryan Ford's headache worsened. When Psyduck gets a headache, it awakens psychic powers, but when he gets a headache, he awakens a flood of memories.

A few minutes later, after suffering through the pain, Ryan Ford suddenly showed a complicated expression.

He finally understood what was going on.

"No wonder, I'm still Ryan Ford, that's right..."

"But the history of this world..."

Whether it's the Pikachu the senior mentioned, or the Aerodactyl reported by Penguin News, they really do exist.

A hundred years ago, countless special spaces called "secret realms" suddenly appeared all over the world. After investigation by international teams, it was discovered that each secret realm was a new world independent of Earth, inhabited by all kinds of "monsters" possessing terrifying powers far beyond cold and hot weapons.

Years later, the secret realm "Viridian Forest" merged with Earth for the first time, and monsters descended upon the planet. Some were highly aggressive, but there were also those friendly to humans.

As more secret realms merged with Earth's space, the first war between humans and monsters broke out, known as the Monster War. This war rapidly advanced human technology and deepened understanding of monsters.

When the first Monster War ended, an organization called the Pokémon League was established, with members from countries around the world. The League held a leading position globally, and from that year on, monsters were officially called "Pokémon" by humans.

Soon after, the modern Poké Ball for capturing Pokémon was invented by Dr. Ron at Yuhong University. To guard against threats from the secret realms and prevent individuals from monopolizing the immense benefits they might bring, countries established Trainer Associations, and the profession of trainer appeared on the world stage for the first time.

By the 21st century, every country in the world wanted to cultivate more trainers. The reasons were top national secrets. To ensure the quality of schools as educational institutions and the healthy development of aspiring trainers, our country reformed some universities, redefined the concept of key universities, implemented the Trainer Law for 16-year-olds, and increased the proportion of Pokémon-related subjects in the entrance exam, making Pokémon battles part of the college entrance exam.

"It really is Pokémon..."

Ryan Ford patted his cheeks.

After waking up, the world had completely changed. Creatures from the Pokémon series had merged with the real world. Could anything be more absurd than this?

Ryan Ford quickly ran to the bathroom, splashed his face with cold water, and tried to sort out the situation, but his heart was still pounding.