Pokémon Chronicles: The New Beginning

The wind howled as Natsume felt himself being lifted, as if something was pulling him up.

Once he reached a certain height, he floated in the air, but when the pulling force disappeared, he suddenly began to fall!

"Ah!"

Natsume shot up, gasping for breath.

Wiping the cold sweat from his forehead, he realized the dream had been so vivid that his back was completely soaked.

He looked around, wanting to call out for his Pokémon. It was strange to have such a nightmare; he must have been too exhausted. It seemed he needed Gardevoir to send out a Love Heal Pulse.

At first, his vision was blurry, but it gradually became clearer.

The blue sky, white clouds, green grass, and fruit trees—it was an unfamiliar scene that left him feeling disoriented.

"Where am I?"

Natsume scanned his surroundings, realizing this was not his Pokémon Day Care.

Just then, a sharp pain suddenly struck his mind, as if memories were being forcefully connected to him, flashing through his consciousness like slides.

Natsume, sixteen years old, orphaned since childhood and raised by his uncle and aunt.

His uncle was the village chief of Orchard Village in Hope City, where all the villagers made their living by cultivating fruit trees.

The sudden memories startled Natsume, as they all came from him, yet everything around him was reminding him that this Natsume was indeed he!

Have I traversed worlds?

Natsume was no stranger to the concept of world traversal; many novels included such plots.

Wait, this place seems ancient... Suddenly, Natsume was struck silent.

Then, he glanced down at the linen clothes he was wearing, recalling the distinctly medieval European architecture from his memories of Hope City.

"Huh? What is that..."

Suddenly, Natsume's gaze landed on a branch of a fruit tree.

On the not-so-thick branch stood a cherry, with a short stem on top that had two green leaves and a small fruit beside it.

What was most peculiar was that this cherry had a pair of bright, sparkling eyes and a small mouth, and at that moment, its gaze met Natsume's.

"Cherubi, a Grass-type Pokémon," Natsume whispered the name of this Pokémon.

As Natsume examined the Cherubi before him, he glanced at the short stem on its head. The fruit that had once been there was gone, leaving a neat cut in its place.

Cherubi is a type of edible food.

The sudden memory startled Natsume; Cherubi was indeed a delicacy highly favored by the nobility in this world!

Here, Cherubi did not refer to the fruit it bore, but to the whole Cherubi itself, rumored to have miraculous effects that could heal injuries and prolong life!

This made him think of Farfetch'd, a Pokémon that had long been consumed by humans and had nearly gone extinct due to overhunting by people.

Recalling these memories, Natsume's expression turned serious. As a Pokémon Breeder from the Pokémon world's Asia Alliance, his daily work involved caring for and breeding Pokémon, making it difficult for him to accept the concept of consuming Pokémon.

"Natsume, big brother, so you're here!"

Just then, a voice called out from a distance, and a ten-year-old boy came running.

With brown hair and wearing a linen tunic that looked like a dress, Natsume quickly recalled the boy's information.

This boy was Andy, his cousin, who was ten years old. The two brothers usually had a good relationship.

However, his gaze did not linger on his cousin; it shifted to a striking Pokémon behind Andy, covered in black fur and resembling a lion.

"That's Uncle Darby's Luxray..." Memories of Luxray flashed through Natsume's mind.

In the next moment, his pupils constricted suddenly, and his gaze fixed on the black metallic device strapped to Luxray's back.

He recognized that black metallic device from the history museum at Cameran Palace!

"Warcraft apparatus!"

He slowly murmured the name in his mind.

A thousand years ago, Pokémon were referred to as Warcraft by humans. At that time, there were no Poké Balls, and the Warcraft apparatus was a special tool used by humans to restrain and control Pokémon!

Warcraft... Natsume frowned, recalling the accounts in history books. The relationship between humans and Pokémon during that era was not as harmonious as it would later become.

"Natsume, big brother, what's wrong? Are you still not feeling well?" the boy asked with concern, tugging at Natsume's shirt.

Hearing the boy's words snapped Natsume back to reality. He instinctively patted the little guy's head and smiled, "I'm fine, just a bit tired."

At the same time, his gaze shifted to the distance, where he saw a pair of middle-aged people approaching—his uncle and aunt.

"Oh, Natsume, we finally found you!" The stocky brown-haired aunt hurried over and hugged him tightly.

"I'm sorry to worry you, Aunt Eileen." Natsume felt warmth in his heart; his uncle and aunt had always treated him very well.

Andy's father also came over. The fruit farmer, with dark skin and a serious expression, managed a smile and said, "It's good that you're fine."

Noticing the worried expressions on his uncle and aunt's faces, Natsume felt puzzled. What had happened in the orchard?

In the next moment, images suddenly flashed in his mind.

Natsume's uncle had previously been an adventurer who unexpectedly encountered a Petilil during his travels.

Petilil's leaves possessed magical healing powers, making it a very rare Pokémon.

Half a day earlier, Baron Reiser of Hope City had suddenly collapsed, and no pharmacist in town could cure him.

Somehow, they had heard that Uncle Darby had a Petilil and had forcibly entered the orchard to take it.

The reason they took Petilil was to concoct the legendary Full Heal, said to cure any illness.

Using Petilil to create Full Heal... Natsume frowned, gaining a new understanding of the darkness and savagery of this world. It truly was a feudal society of nobility supremacy!

"I see, so it's about Petilil, isn't it?"

Natsume had understood the reason; Petilil had spent so much time with them that deep feelings had formed, and its healing leaves were also the orchard's most important source of income.

Losing Petilil would be a tremendous blow to Natsume and his uncle and aunt!

"From today on, I will be Natsume," Natsume took a deep breath and murmured, "So now... I must find a way to rescue Petilil."