Pokemon: I am a God-level Player

"After a day's rest, I feel much better," Eddie said to himself with a satisfied stretch.

The next morning, Eddie woke up early as usual. While enjoying his breakfast, he scrolled through the game forum to check if there was any noteworthy information.

"God-level player? This title is pretty good," he chuckled. "The imagination of these internet comedians is impressive. I'll happily accept this nickname."

Only then did Eddie realize that the community had actually bestowed upon him the title of "God-level player." Pleased with this recognition, he proudly embraced the designation.

"Well, apart from discussions about me, there's just trivial stuff—nothing particularly useful," he muttered.

After browsing for quite some time, Eddie discovered that the game forum only contained two types of content: discussions about him and mundane in-game information. Since he already knew about the things that everyone was talking about, there wasn't much point in reading further.

As he continued scrolling, an interesting headline caught his attention.

"SHOCK! This place called Victory Road is actually..."

"Hmm? This is interesting. Someone actually snuck past the checkpoint and ventured into Victory Road?" Eddie perked up, intrigued by the discovery. He had a feeling he could guess what happened next.

Every region had its own Victory Road, but Kanto's was special. The Victory Road in Kanto was closest to Starter town compared to those in other regions, which were considerably more distant. Additionally, the Pokémon League headquarters was located there, making Kanto more renowned and its native Trainers stronger than those from other regions. This referred to the indigenous residents, of course, not players.

In essence, while players might not be able to access other regions, Kanto's Victory Road was so close to Starter Town that it naturally sparked curiosity among players. However, entry required eight badges. Players had learned about gyms and badges, so some went to collect them before returning to see what this place had to offer.

Some players diligently collected all eight badges before entering, while others tried to sneak in for a quick peek. The player who created this post clearly belonged to the latter group, but simply gaining entry didn't mean they could make it all the way to the Indigo Plateau.

"Oh my God, I just entered and encountered a Level 46 Rhydon. It one-shot me! So terrifying. No wonder you need eight badges to enter." read the post.

As Eddie had anticipated, the player was immediately defeated after entering, barely managing a few steps.

"You've got to be kidding me. I'd probably be instantly KO'd if I went there now," Eddie thought, shuddering involuntarily. "Based on this game version, I'd likely encounter Pokémon above Level 50, maybe even Level 60, regardless of where I go in there."

Currently, Eddie was facing opponents at gym leader level. Although he could hold his own, that was when the opponent had a maximum of six Pokémon. In the wild, there were far more than six Pokémon to contend with. For Eddie, Victory Road was essentially a wilderness teeming with gym-level or even near-Elite-level Pokémon.

Even with near-Elite-level strength, he would need to proceed cautiously everywhere to avoid being surrounded by wild Pokémon. At his current Elite-level strength, venturing there might very well prove fatal.

"There's nothing else interesting here. I'd better go online and figure out where to go today," Eddie decided after searching through the forum once more and finding nothing beyond what he already knew.

He closed the forum and logged in immediately. "I'll check on the status of other gym leaders first, especially the one in Celadon City."

As soon as Eddie went online, his Pokémon gathered around him. After preparing breakfast for them, he opened the Pokémon Center's tablet to research information about other gym leaders.

"Celadon City gym leader Erika hasn't returned yet. Fuchsia City gym leader Koga is still missing since that Contest. Cinnabar Island and Viridian City are in the same situation. Only Saffron City gym leader Sabrina is actually present."

"Good grief, what kind of people are these?" Eddie exclaimed with frustration. "They're not doing their jobs! And while Sabrina is in Saffron, I can't go there now. I should only attempt that when I reach gym leader strength. Then it might be safe."

Eddie felt annoyed looking at these gym leaders neglecting their duties.

"Although, except for Erika, these people are actually busy with their own affairs. It seems that being a gym leader is more like a side job," he reflected. "Blaine, the Cinnabar Island gym leader, has been conducting research for years. Lt. Surge of Vermilion City, Sabrina of Saffron City, Koga of Fuchsia City, and Giovanni of Viridian City are all involved in 'bigger matters'..."

"The only dedicated gym leaders seem to be Brock of Pewter City, Misty of Cerulean City, and Erika of Celadon City. I must say, the Pokémon League in Kanto is truly in a sorry state. I suspect that many individuals have infiltrated the upper echelons of the League."

Eddie smiled at first, then shook his head. While he preferred not to get entangled in these affairs, confronting Team Rocket would be inevitable in future large-scale plot missions. By now, some players must have encountered or at least heard of Team Rocket, given their elaborate operations and widespread notoriety.

"Never mind. Since Erika hasn't returned, I'll head to Lavender Town to look around," Eddie decided. He knew Team Rocket was active there, but visiting now might lead to some worthwhile tasks. If not, he would have to continue leveling up where he was.

"While I'm not a leader, I can't remain idle," he mused. "Even if I go elsewhere to complete my Pokédex, catching some Ghost-type Pokémon later seems like a good plan."

Eddie suddenly remembered his current team composition. He didn't have any Ghost-type Pokémon yet, and acquiring one would provide good offensive capabilities against Psychic and Ghost types. Although he had Greninja, a Water/Dark type, it didn't possess many Dark-type moves, and relying solely on it to counter Ghost and Psychic types seemed inadequate.

"Alright, it's decided! I'll go to Lavender Town and catch Ghost-type Pokémon!" Eddie made up his mind, prepared to face potential conflicts with Team Rocket. As long as he didn't encounter their three executives, he should be fine.

Now his destination was the Pokémon Tower in Lavender Town. Eddie was going to embark on this journey!

After packing all his belongings, he led his Pokémon toward Lavender Town.

Eddie had always maintained that walking adventures formed the foundation of being a Trainer.

Although the Charmeleon in Eddie's possession had evolved into Charizard, giving him the ability to fly anywhere on its back, he still adhered to this principle. When visiting places he'd never been to before, Eddie made no exception to this rule.

Besides leveling up and battling other Trainers along the way, he still needed to capture Pokémon to complete his Pokédex.

So now, instead of flying directly to Lavender Town on Charizard, Eddie had chosen to ride his Pokémon to the eastern part of Cerulean City, specifically to the Route 9 intersection marked on his map. From there, he planned to continue on foot.

He was fully prepared to defeat every Trainer he encountered and capture wild Pokémon along his journey when suddenly—

"Ding! The mysterious Pokémon egg suddenly moved!"

A system notification made Eddie halt in his tracks. He knew exactly what this meant—the egg was about to hatch.

He immediately retrieved the mysterious Pokémon egg, unsure of what species it might contain. The egg trembled continuously as pieces of its shell began falling away.

Suddenly, a blinding white light burst forth. Eddie, who had been staring intently at the egg, was nearly blinded by the brilliance.

"Oh my god! I almost forgot eggs hatch like this! My eyes!" Eddie cried out as the intense light stung his eyes, forcing him to rub his face with his hands.

Then he felt an enthusiastic embrace from a creature that, due to its short stature, could only reach Eddie's abdomen. Unfortunately, its strength wasn't well-controlled, and so...

"Puff!"

Eddie's stomach received a direct hit from what felt like a Tackle attack—super effective! The impact knocked him backward, sending him tumbling to the ground.

"Ouch! Who did that? You actually attacked me! Charizard, why didn't you stop the enemy?" Eddie complained.

"Roar~~ Roar~~"

Charizard responded defensively, explaining that it hadn't anticipated a newborn Pokémon would charge at Eddie. Though the creature had obviously just wanted to rush into Eddie's arms, its force had been unexpectedly strong.

Through the translation power of Viridian, Eddie understood it wasn't an enemy attack—the newly hatched Pokémon had simply been too enthusiastic in its greeting.

"My stomach hurts, but at least I can open my eyes now. I guess I have to endure this pain to witness a Pokémon hatching," Eddie muttered as he slowly opened his light-dazzled eyes and finally caught sight of the hatched Pokémon.

The creature, seeing that Eddie had fallen, became dissatisfied and actually attacked Charizard.

The Pokémon used Tackle, but Charizard merely extended a claw, pressing against the newcomer's head. The Tackle was effortlessly blocked, leaving the small Pokémon immobilized.

Only now could Eddie clearly observe this newly hatched Pokémon.

It resembled a young shark with a massive dorsal fin on its head and two protrusions on either side. Its body was primarily dark blue, with a red coloration from its lower jaw to its abdomen, and light blue stripes on the protrusions of its back and head. Its mouth was enormous, lined with razor-sharp teeth, and its limbs were short but powerful, each ending in three toes.

Eddie was momentarily stunned before becoming ecstatic. He immediately withdrew his Pokédex.

Name: Gible

Type: Dragon + Ground

Ability: Rough Skin (When hit by contact moves, the attacker loses 1/8 of its maximum HP)

Level: 5

Potential: Elite

Moves: Tackle, Sand Attack, Outrage

"Wow! This Pokémon, this Ability! This potential! This egg move, Outrage!" Eddie leaped up with joy upon seeing the information.

He couldn't contain his excitement. This little creature met all his requirements perfectly.

"Gible eventually evolves into Garchomp, one of Sinnoh Region's pseudo-legendary Pokémon! It's Dragon-type, great for both offense and defense, and can even Mega Evolve! It perfectly meets my criteria!"

"And this Ability, Rough Skin—it's like punishing opponents for direct attacks, a defensive counterattack type of Ability. Excellent!"

"Plus this egg move, Outrage! Among Dragon-type moves, the only one more powerful is Draco Meteor!"

In truth, there were three more powerful Dragon-type moves, but those were exclusive to Legendary Pokémon, making them exceptions that couldn't be compared to standard moves.

"Though it has side effects, its power is unquestionable. Before learning Draco Meteor, this is the strongest Dragon-type move available!"

Having the strongest Dragon-type move from the beginning, combined with Gible's Ability, was simply perfect! It could overwhelm opponents with attacks while punishing them on defense. Unless facing Ice-types, Fairy-types, or other Dragon-types, this Pokémon would fear almost no opponent!

"And the Elite-level potential is almost secondary compared to everything else. Even if this Gible only had Gym-level or Advanced potential, I'd still train it."

"Rough Skin is Gible's Hidden Ability, and Outrage is the second strongest Dragon-type move. Plus it's a pseudo-legendary Pokémon that can Mega Evolve."

"With so many advantages, I don't care what its potential is—I'll use Silver Crowns and Gold Crowns to boost it to Champion level or even Master level!"

Eddie's face split into a wide grin as he laughed joyously toward the sky.

As for what others might think, he didn't care. Anyone who wouldn't laugh with delight at obtaining such a Pokémon must have facial paralysis.

"Roar~~~"

Both Charizard and Gible observed Eddie's laughter with momentary confusion before approaching him. Unlike Charizard, who walked over slowly, Gible excitedly ran to Eddie's side, clutching his legs with its small hands. Despite being classified as a violent Dragon-type Pokémon, it seemed remarkably affectionate toward Eddie.

It had just attacked Charizard, a much stronger Pokémon, but with Eddie, it behaved like meeting a long-lost relative.

"Is this because I hatched it, plus the power of Viridian? Its affection level is much higher than when Charizard first met me," Eddie remarked as he reached out to touch Gible's body, which felt rough like shark skin—likely due to its Ability.

In Eddie's opinion, Gible resembled an Earth shark that had somehow migrated to land and transformed into a dragon.

"It seems a bit strange that this Pokémon, which is obviously shark-like, isn't a Dragon + Water type but rather a Ground + Dragon type. But honestly, I don't care about that. It's just powerful!"