"[scared]Pikachu——!!" His voice came out. But there was no answer. The morning air was cold. It should have been September, but something smelled different. Satoshi remained sitting on the ground, unable to move for a while. Where... am I? Black, unruly hair swayed slightly in the morning breeze. A thin frame, 170 centimeters tall, dressed in an unfamiliar uniform. White shirt, navy pants. An unfamiliar school badge on his chest. Bright brown eyes swept across the surroundings. A school gate? "Prefectural Kazemiya High School" was written on the worn concrete gate pillar. He could read it. Somehow, he could read it. But he didn't understand what it meant. There was no sign of Pokémon. That alone was enough to panic. Satoshi stood up. He brushed the sand off his uniform pants, took a breath——and ran. At full speed. Legs trained through Pokémon battles flew down the paved slope like the wind. If measured later, they could run 50 meters in 6.2 seconds, but now that power was entirely devoted to escape. At the bottom of the slope, a bridge came into view. A sign reading "Akitsu River." The river surface glittered in the morning sun. Beyond the bridge was an arcade. Shops with half-open shutters lined the street. Minatoharaara Shopping Street——a name he would learn later, but now Satoshi just ran through it as "an unfamiliar place." A tea shop sign, white curtains of a dry cleaner, the sweet smell drifting from a bakery. But he couldn't stop. Train tracks appeared. A large station building. "JR Minatoharaara Station." Satoshi stopped in front of the ticket gate. Breathing heavily, he stared at the scene before him. What is this? Glass boxes lined up in a row. People passed through them one after another. When they held something up, it made a "beep" sound and a bar opened. A machine capsule? "[curious]Um... how do you——" The moment Satoshi reached for the metal bar, a station attendant in uniform came flying over. "Sir, you can't pass through there without an IC card or ticket!" "[surprised]A ticket...?" "Please purchase one at the ticket machine." The attendant pointed to another machine. A glowing screen. Numbers. Many unfamiliar words lined up. Satoshi took a step back. Standing at the entrance to the platform, the morning rush wave came. Salarymen in suits, students in uniforms, women with large bags. Everyone pulled something from their pockets and did the "beep" thing, passing by one after another. No one noticed Satoshi. Well, one student glanced at him. But their gaze quickly returned to their smartphone. Smartphone. A thin, rectangular thing. Everyone had one. (What is that... it looks kind of like a Pokédex, but it's not) Satoshi found a bench beside the ticket gate. He sat down hard. He hugged his knees. Let me think this through. Poké Ball——gone. Pokédex——gone. Pikachu——not here. Professor Oak, Kasumi, Takeshi——every time he remembered a name, his chest tightened. There was no sign of Pokémon at all. That sensation——the feeling of companions being nearby——had completely vanished. This isn't the Pokémon world. That much was clear. A train arrived on the platform. Doors opened, people poured out, then were swallowed up again. A giant metal box carrying people. Satoshi had never seen anything like it. But he didn't feel afraid. He just stared blankly. The sky was blue. A clear, September morning. Satoshi put his hand in his pocket. Without thinking. ...Paper? Folded paper was inside. When he unfolded it, there were characters and drawings. "Prefectural Kazemiya High School Year 2, Class 3 Transfer Registration" He could read it. Somehow, he could read it. He didn't know a few kanji, but he could make out "kazemiya koukou," "ninen sanku," and "tennyuu todoke." Another sheet——a hand-drawn map. "JR Minatoharaara Station → Walk north → Cross the Akitsu River bridge → Pass through shopping street → Climb the hill → Kazemiya High School" The map was simple, with a fish drawn in the river, a flag labeled "bread" in the shopping street, and small trees drawn on the hill. Who drew this? The drawing was surprisingly good. Satoshi stared at the paper for a while. (Who prepared this...) He didn't know. He had no idea. Why he was here, why he was wearing this uniform, where Pikachu was——none of it made sense. But. Staying still wouldn't get him anywhere. He knew that much. "[serious]...Let's go" He murmured it to no one in particular. Standing up from the bench, he patted the back of his pants, and gripped the map again. He retraced his steps. Crossing the Akitsu River bridge, the riverbank glowed orange in the morning sun. Cosmos flowers bloomed here and there. Satoshi paused for a moment to look at them. He thought he'd seen flowers like these in the Pokémon world. After defeating Team Rocket, he'd seen them in the grass——tiny flowers. He didn't know their names, but they were beautiful. Just that much calmed him a little. He walked through the shopping street. He'd run through it at full speed before, but this time slowly. The smell of the bakery tickled his nose. In front of a pastry shop, he could see cream puffs lined up in a glass case. One shop on the north side. The sign read "Patisserie Kojiro." (That looks delicious...) But he had no money now. Satoshi looked at the shop wistfully as he passed, then continued walking. He climbed the slope. Trees increased. On the south side of what the map called Kazemiya Hill, he could see the school building. A large reinforced concrete structure. Four stories. The main building and south building were connected. He stopped in front of the school gate. ...I woke up here this morning. It felt strange. Like he'd come full circle. Anyway, he went inside. --- The staff room was on the first floor of the main building. When he opened the door, many teachers were sitting at desks. They all looked at him at once. Satoshi froze a little, but held up the transfer registration form. "[serious]Um... I brought the transfer registration form" A male teacher, about 35 years old, stood up. He wore glasses, was a bit tall, and had a gentle face. White shirt and navy slacks. His voice was gentle too. "Ah, Satoshi. We've been waiting for you. I'm Tsutsumi, your homeroom teacher for Year 2, Class 3." Teacher Tsutsumi was smiling. A genuinely kind smile. Satoshi felt relieved. "[gentle]First, have a seat. Let me check these documents" As Satoshi sat down, Teacher Tsutsumi began spreading out various papers. "This is your schedule. This is the textbook list. This handout is——" "[curious]Um, handout... is that like an order or something?" Teacher Tsutsumi's hand stopped. "...An order?" "[curious]And schedule... what does that mean in English?" Silence. Teacher Tsutsumi slowly adjusted his glasses. "[gentle]...A schedule is a timetable for the day's classes. It shows what class you have at what time" "[surprised]Oh! Like the order of gym challenges!" "...Yeah, I guess you could say that." Teacher Tsutsumi's mouth twitched slightly. But he quickly returned to smiling. He was a gentle teacher. Satoshi thought that if he was in a place with people like this, he could feel a little safer. He received seven textbooks. They were heavy. "Japanese," "Math," "English," "Science," "Social Studies," "Physical Education," "Art"——all unfamiliar subjects. Well, fine. He'd take them for now. They went up to the third floor of the main building. The classroom at the end of the hallway was "Year 2, Class 3." Teacher Tsutsumi stopped in front of the door and turned back to Satoshi. "[gentle]Nervous?" "[serious]I'm fine. I'm less nervous than when I challenge gym leaders" "...I see." Teacher Tsutsumi opened the door. Forty pairs of eyes turned toward Satoshi. The classroom was spacious, with desks arranged facing the window side. Outside the window, the green of the hills was visible. Kazemiya Hill——the trees of the hill he'd just climbed swayed in the morning sun. Everyone was looking at Satoshi. "[gentle]I'd like to introduce our transfer student. Please introduce yourself" Satoshi stood in front of the podium. Forty pairs of eyes. Everyone was properly dressed in uniform. The same white shirt as his, navy pants, skirts. Kids about his age, silently watching him. (Alright) Satoshi put on a huge smile. This was the most important thing, he'd learned while traveling. The first smile had to be with all his heart. "[excited]I'm Satoshi! I've been traveling to become a Pokémon Master! Nice to meet you all!" Silence. Complete silence. For about three seconds, no one said anything. Satoshi waited, still smiling. He was always smiling, no matter what. Then came the murmur. "...Pokémon Master?" "What's that?" "Huh? Pokémon? Like the game?" "What do you mean by traveling?" No one was laughing. No one was angry either. Everyone just looked confused. Satoshi looked around at their faces. (Ah... this really is completely different from the Pokémon world) He realized something obvious far too late. Here, Pokémon seemed to be thought of as "game characters." Traveling wasn't "normal." Gym badges, Poké Balls——nobody knew about them. Teacher Tsutsumi cleared his throat. "[gentle]Yes, thank you. Now please take your seat. The back corner by the window" Satoshi sat in the assigned seat. Back corner by the window. The very edge. He could see the hill's trees through the window, the blue sky, and a residential area in the distance. Minatoharaara City. A town of about 180,000 people, he would learn later. A bedroom community a little ways from Tokyo, with JR and private railways running through it. But to Satoshi now, it was just "an unfamiliar place." Looking out the window, Satoshi whispered softly. "[whispers]Pikachu... where are you?" No answer came. --- He understood almost nothing from that day's classes. "x" and "y" and "differentiation"——unfamiliar symbols lined the blackboard. When he opened the Japanese textbook, densely packed vertical text filled the pages. English was the worst——just looking at the characters gave him a headache. He just sat there. That was his only job, he thought. Sixth period ended. Homeroom ended. Students filed out. Satoshi put his textbooks in his desk and stood up blankly. In the hallway, there was something like a bulletin board on the wall. Various papers were posted. Club announcements, event schedules, some committee notices... He tried to read them, but there were too many difficult kanji and he gave up halfway. "[sad]...What does this say?" He was muttering to himself when a male student walking in the hallway looked at him. "[serious]Um... where's the school store?" It was the first time he'd initiated a conversation. The student looked surprised, but told him "First floor of the south building." It took courage to ask. But he managed it. First floor of the south building. He walked across the connecting hallway and went down as directed. The school store was like a small shop. Bread and snacks were displayed in glass cases. Inside the register was a small elderly woman. Probably in her sixties, plump with graying hair, wearing an apron like a chef's. Her eyes had many wrinkles at the corners. But when she smiled, those wrinkles deepened a lot, and her face had a warm feeling. Looking over the counter, he saw it. "Curry Bread 200 yen" Curry. Satoshi's feet stopped. He smelled curry. Faintly, but definitely. Not from a convenience store or restaurant——he knew this smell. From a Pokémon Center. During his travels, on exhausted evenings, he'd rush into a Pokémon Center, leave Pikachu with Nurse Joy, and devour curry at a table in the lobby. That spicy, sweet smell. "[gentle]You want that?" The elderly woman called out to him. "[excited]...Oh, yes! I'll take it!" 200 yen. When he put his hand in his pocket, there was somehow loose change inside. Someone had prepared it. Along with the transfer registration. H