Pokémon: The Wrong Way To Transmigrate

Yuu Kisaragi spent the night at the hospital. 

It wasn't because Yuu's condition was so severe that they couldn't be discharged, but because the Pokémon Center, which originally provided lodging, had suffered an unexpected explosion in the evening—reportedly caused by a group of thieves attempting a robbery. 

"...Seriously, did it have to be this intense?" Yuu, who had been about to head to the Pokémon Center for the night, witnessed the explosion firsthand. "At this level, it's less of an 'accidental explosion' and more of a terrorist attack, no?" 

The massive explosion didn't completely flatten the building, but it effectively wiped out half of it. Clearly, no one expected the place to remain operational. 

Not that Yuu couldn't afford a hotel—that ridiculously cheap dad of theirs had given Yuu some pocket money before they left. But since it was just "pocket money," the amount was limited, and Yuu needed to buy a new set of clothes—the ones they were wearing had been through wind, rain, and being dragged on the ground, so they were pretty much done for. 

So Yuu decisively turned around. "Ah... I suddenly feel dizzy. Maybe I should have Nurse Joy check me again... Huh? Why is there a Nurse Joy in the hospital too?" 

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Early the next morning, a freshly dressed Yuu stood at the hospital entrance with a pained expression—why pained? Because the new clothes they had asked Nurse Joy to buy... 

"Nurse Joy! I told you I'm a boy. Why did you buy these clothes?" 

"Ara, but Yuu looks so good in this outfit! You're just too cute!" The questioned Nurse Joy answered with absolute confidence. 

Alright, Nurse Joy, are you secretly a sadist or something... 

A white fitted T-shirt, a red cropped vest jacket, dark blue denim hot pants, black elbow and knee pads, paired with the original black sneakers and fingerless gloves—Yuu now looked like a full-blown sporty girl... Nurse Joy even kindly provided a hairband to tie Yuu's hair into a short ponytail. If not for Yuu's desperate resistance, Nurse Joy would've even added a ribbon bow... 

"Let's go, Gastly!" Yuu waved at the Gastly beside them. "We're gonna find new Pokémon, and you're gonna lick them to death!" 

"Gah-ha!" Gastly let out an enthusiastic cry before immediately lashing out with its tongue... 

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Beyond Viridian City lay a vast, well-preserved forest, uncreatively named Viridian Forest. Rumor had it that it was home to a large number of Bug-type Pokémon, as well as one edgelord... 

But Yuu's target wasn't Bug-types, given Gastly's vivid example. If even a cute little ball like Gastly could turn into this creepy skull-faced monstrosity, then what kind of abominations would a bunch of bugs turn into? Yuu genuinely didn't want to know... 

Yuu's real goal was the reward from Gastly's friendship mission. 

The one free stat point had already been dumped into Special Attack—according to the system, Yuu's stats actually buffed their Pokémon's stats, meaning their Pokémon's stats were their own base stats plus Yuu's. Even though Yuu had never played the games, just looking at Gastly's appearance made it clear it wasn't a physical attacker, so boosting Special Attack was the right call. The real prize was the second reward: the ability to specify the next wild Pokémon encountered. 

Yuu decided to catch a Psychic-type! In their vague memories, there was a Psychic-type Pokémon that looked somewhat humanoid. And following the rule of "monsters turn creepy, humans turn pretty," this Psychic-type... might actually be worth looking forward to! 

"Rustle rustle..." The grass by the path shook, and soon, a Pokémon emerged. 

A massive, brightly colored, wriggling Weedle. 

"..." Yuu's eye twitched. They say if you magnify any bug a thousand times, it'd make a perfect kaiju. Faced with this half-meter-long, glossy, fleshy yellow caterpillar, Yuu couldn't muster even a shred of desire to catch it. 

"Whatever, whatever..." Yuu shook their head and looked up at the sky. "The weather's so nice today~ I didn't see anything... Huh? What's that?" 

Not far ahead, a strange dark cloud rose from the dense forest—upon closer inspection, it was a swarm of Beedrill! Judging by their ferocious appearance, Yuu could tell that pissing off a hive here wouldn't just result in a few stings... 

"Gah-ha ha!" Gastly suddenly started yelling. 

"What... Ah!" 

While Yuu had been staring at the Beedrill swarm, the Weedle from earlier had silently charged forward and headbutted Yuu straight onto their back with its horn. 

As they say, in a big forest, you'll find all kinds of bugs. If there were docile Caterpie like Ash's that could be caught at full HP, then naturally, there were also aggressive Weedle that attacked on sight. 

Beep! Side Quest Triggered: First Battle—Defeat and capture the wild Pokémon in this battle. Reward: Attack +1, Free Stat +1; Failure Penalty: Pursuit by an angry Beedrill swarm. 

Oh, come on! 

The rare system task with a punishment sent Yuu into a rage—they'd been about to specify a potentially gorgeous Psychic-type! 

"You're digging your own grave!" Yuu angrily waved a hand. "Gastly, go! Lick it!" 

"Gah-ha!" Gastly happily lunged forward with its tongue—only for the Weedle to leap out of the way! Midair, the Weedle's horn glowed before firing a volley of translucent purple needles—Poison Sting! Caught off guard, Gastly was instantly turned into a pincushion... 

"...No way? This caterpillar's that strong?" Yuu's eyes nearly popped out. "Hey! Gastly, you okay?" 

"...Gah-ha ha!" Maybe because they shared the Poison type or because Gastly lacked a physical body, the Poison Sting didn't seem to do much damage. Instead, it only fired Gastly up further. 

"Again, Gastly!" Yuu tried directing the battle. "Make it jump—it can't dodge in midair!" 

"Gah-ha!" 

Round two. This time, Gastly body-slammed the Weedle, forcing it to jump again—only to get smacked midair by Gastly's pitch-black tongue. 

"Good job!" Yuu pumped a fist, only to gape as the Weedle remained lively. "Huh? Why no paralysis? It always paralyzes me when it licks!" 

Beep beep. The Pokédex at Yuu's waist chimed. After fumbling with it for a while, Yuu finally understood: Weedle had an ability called Shield Dust, which nullified additional effects from attacks... 

"Ref! They're cheating!" 

"Fine, then we'll just use a different move..." Yuu finally thought to check Gastly's moveset: "Mean Look... Spite... Hypnosis... What the hell? All status moves? We're completely countered!" 

"Ugh, whatever! Lick still does damage!" Not wanting to be chased by Beedrill, Yuu steeled themselves. "Gastly! Stick to the plan! Use your mobility and watch out for Poison Sting!" 

"Gah-ha!" 

...Five minutes later. 

Yuu stared blankly at the Poké Ball in their hand. Inside was, of course, the Weedle—but it hadn't been Gastly who took it down. After a grueling battle where both sides exhausted themselves, Yuu had sneakily chucked a rock at the Weedle to finish it off... 

Beep! Side Quest: First Battle completed. Reward: Attack +1, Free Stat +1. 

Beep! Due to the unique completion method, an additional reward is unlocked: No Holds Barred Lv1—During wild Pokémon battles, the trainer can attack independently and reduce generated aggro (The ends justify the means!) 

Beep! Side Quest Triggered: Growing Pains—Evolve Weedle into Beedrill within one week. Reward: Free Stat +1, random Evolution Stone. 

"...I feel like I've lost something intangible, but at least the quest's done." Yuu shook their head. "Still, I really need to brush up on Pokémon knowledge—types, abilities, all that. Today's battle was downright embarrassing..." 

"Gah-ha ha..." Gastly nodded vigorously. 

"Shut up, I don't need a skull-faced freak lecturing me... Oh, and I should look up ways to speed up bug evolution—feed it golden fertilizer or something?" 

"Gah-ha?" 

"No, never mind... Wait, did I forget something...?" 

PS: Major plot hole spotted! Nurse Joy works at Pokémon Centers, not hospitals! Fix: Uh, this hospital's Nurse Joy is a retired Pokémon Center nurse who occasionally moonlights here thanks to her superb medical skills! Yeah, that's it! This excuse... I totally believe it! (Flees while covering face)