A Gamer Tries His Best: Start
Skill gained: [Thief's Eye]
Accept skill?
[yes] [no]
Skill accepted!
–––
[Thief's Eye] has leveled up! (2/100)
–––
Skill gained: [Persuasion]
Accept skill?
[yes] [no]
Skill accepted!
–––
[Persuasion] has leveled up! (2/100)
[Persuasion] has leveled up! (3/100)
[Persuasion] has leveled up! (4/100)
–––
Skill gained: [Sneak]
Accept skill?
[yes] [no]
Skill accepted!
–––
[Sneak] has leveled up! (2/100)
[Sneak] has leveled up! (3/100)
[Sneak] has leveled up! (4/100)
–––
Skill gained: [Lockpicking]
Accept skill?
[yes] [no]
Skill accepted!
–––
[Lockpicking] has leveled up (2/100)
[Lockpicking] has leveled up (3/100)
–––
Class gained: [Thief]
Accept class?
[yes] [no]
Class accepted!
–––
+1000 Exp
Level up! (2)
+10 attribute points
Level up! (3)
+10 attribute points
Level up! (4)
+10 attribute points
–––
Skill gained: [Running]
Accept skill?
[yes] [no]
Skill accepted!
–––
[Running] has leveled up! (2/100)
[Running] has leveled up! (3/100)
[Running] has leveled up! (4/100)
[Running] has leveled up! (5/100)
–––
[Sneak] has leveled up! (5/100)
[Sneak] has leveled up! (6/100)
[Sneak] has leveled up! (7/100)
[Sneak] has leveled up! (8/100)
[Sneak] has leveled up! (9/100)
[Sneak] has leveled up! (10/100)
–––
[Persuasion] has leveled up! (5/100)
–––
[Sneak] has leveled up! (11/100)
[Sneak] has leveled up! (12/100)
[Sneak] has leveled up! (13/100)
[Sneak] has leveled up! (14/100)
–––
[Running] has leveled up! (6/100)
[Running] has leveled up! (7/100)
[Running] has leveled up! (8/100)
[Running] has leveled up! (9/100)
Ah…
The sound that comes out of my mouth as I slump to the ground and go over the backlog of notifications crowding my vision is decidedly weary. The sound of someone who knows they've well and truly fucked up.
I stare aimlessly at the midday sky before slowly turning my gaze to the large brown and cream egg in my arms.
Yeah… I may have made a mistake. Maybe. Definitely.
Maybe.
I run a hand through my hair and let loose a breath that I feel like I've been holding in all day. Stupid complete lack of self control and risk assessment, look where you've gotten us!
Actually, that's a fairly good question.
I shuffle up more firmly against the tree serving as my back rest and do a preliminary scouting.
Tree.
Tree.
Caterpie
Tree.
Hmm.
Well, nothing to it, but to toss it onto my ever growing pile of issues to deal with later.
And now onto the good stuff.
[Status]
Name: Grey
Race: Human
Age: 13
Class: Thief [+]
Title: Rookie [+]
Level: 4
Exp: 300/800
Money: p 670
–––
HP: 94/100
MP: 100/100
–––
STR: 10
VIT: 10
DEX: 25
INT: 10
PER: 10
CHA: 10
LUK: 10
Available points: 30
–––
[Skills] (5/5) [+]
[Traits] (1) [+]
[Perks] (0) [+]
–––
Key Items (2) [+]
It doesn't take too long to track down the source of my dexterity's sudden jump.
Class: Thief [-]
Exp gained from stealing.
Thief related skills level 10% faster.
+5 DEX per level
I'm… kind of okay with this?
The boost to thief related skills isn't huge, but it's definitely better than nothing. I'm certainly not going to say no to a little help. I flick up to the previous notifications once more. And it probably explains why [Stealth] leveled up so quickly. 14 levels in a few hours isn't anything to scoff at.
The +5 to DEX is certainly a nice surprise. A real nice surprise. Free stuff is always appreciated I pointedly think.
"Free stuff is always appreciated," I repeat out loud just in case.
My voice echoes a bit too loudly in the area for my liking. I still and cock an ear, but I seem to be in the clear. Except for that odd Caterpie that keeps giving me the eye.
I rub the top of my egg and murmur sweet nothings to my newest companion before checking back in with my [Status].
While DEX isn't the attribute I would have picked to focus on a priori, it'll be a right help in my new quest to be a dashing gentleman thief. While my gut instinct is to always go for whatever makes me least likely to die, I don't really have an issue with rolling with the punches so to speak. And vitality isn't exactly a rogue's wheelhouse.
I lift my arm and make vague swishing motions, wiggling my fingers this way and that.
Hmm.
I'm too exhausted to really tell, but I don't really feel all too dexterous. It's something to check when I'm a little more clear headed.
It does beg the question if stealing is my only means of gaining Exp or if the class simply opens up a new avenue in thievery. I wouldn't know as this was the first Exp I've gotten since waking up in this fever dream of a world.
Now normally, if my gamer tropes are correct, battling and defeating foes would be my normal source of Exp and leveling. Which is bit of a hurdle considering I'm a scrawny 13 year old with no combat skills in a world that veers from fluffy fun time to actual death world depending on the interpretation.
I let out an exhausted, yet happy sigh. This is good though. I really didn't want to have to resort to sucker punching people in dark alleys. I can more than deal with a case of sticky fingers instead.
Aww, who am I kidding. I love it. The suspense. The challenge. The rush of it all!
And did I mention I love free stuff?
I tap a happy staccato on my rotund companion.
And soon enough I'll be able to test a theory of mine. This is the world of Pokemon after all, and I would be very surprised if winning pokemon battles didn't count as defeating foes. In fact, I might very well be incredibly pissed if it didn't.
I have no cool extra dimensional pocket space, zen mind shield or instant information spell. At the very least let me grow stronger from the broken bodies of my enemies. Is that so much to ask?
No response as usual.
With a huff, I scroll down my [Status]. What else, what else…
Title: Rookie [-]
+5 points per level (title automatically lost at level 5)
Nothing new there. Although I am about to lose the title's benefits. Boo. I would argue that I'm still very much a rookie, no matter the level, but I've found a real lack of realtime customer support on this thing. Hopefully I'll stumble upon a replacement title sooner rather than later.
Although while I'm on the subject, time to delve into the best part of the gamer experience. Assigning stats. Because truly, what could be better than getting objectively better at a flick of a wrist?
HP: 94/100
MP: 100/100
–––
STR: 10
VIT: 10
DEX: 25
INT: 10
PER: 10
CHA: 10
LUK: 10
Available points: 30
Lets see, lets see…
A little top off to DEX, because why not? It is my core class attribute after all.
Five to LUK. Which… I can't actually do. Drat. Seems LUK operates on a different pipeline from the rest of my attributes. Just one more thing to figure out at some point when I'm not hiding in the woods.
Onward then!
Let's give PER a little love. I get the feeling it might just be the second most crucial attribute for a successful thief. Again, not something I would normally go for, but needs must and all that.
A nice little chunk goes to CHA. I'm not 100% sure what exactly it governs, but it seems fair to assume that it will help me out in the social arena. And boy howdy will I need help there. Plus, there's always the chance it includes actual physical attractiveness under its purview. Kind of a toss up on that. But I'm more than vain enough to gamble on the chance of looking better. I'm not ugly by any means, but who wouldn't want to be a handsome devil?
And…
Five to VIT to help shore up my I-don't-want-to-die fund.
I do one last check to review things and confirm.
HP: 144/150
MP: 100/100
–––
STR: 10
VIT: 15
DEX: 30
INT: 10
PER: 20
CHA: 20
LUK: 10
Available points: 0
And I definitely felt that one. It was subtle, and you had to be actively looking for it, but I could feel the slightest change in myself. I should probably make a note never to put 50 into INT at once or I'll probably stroke out.
[Skills] (5) [-]
[Thief's Eye] (2/100) [-]
Increases the chance of recognizing valuable items by 2%
Modified by PER
(Class Skill)
[Persuasion] (5/100) [-]
Increases the chance of persuading a target by 5%
Modified by CHA
[Sneak] (14/100) [-]
Increases the chance of remaining unnoticed by 14%
Modified by DEX
(Class Skill)
[Lockpicking] (3/100) [-]
Increases the chances of successfully picking a lock by 3%
Modified by DEX
(Class Skill)
[Running] (9/100) [-]
Increases speed by 9% while running
Modified by STR
Not a bad load out at all. Nothing combat focused, but that's what Pokemon are for.
I shoot a grin at the egg. Soon my precious, soon. I have a pretty decent idea of what you are, but we'll just have to wait and see. Although if [Thief's Eye] is anything to go by, you'll be something special. Out of all the eggs at the Professor's Lab, you stood out the most under my skill. Like a hunk of gold surrounded by bronze.
On a whim, I channel 20 MP to the hand on top of the egg, the feeling like a warm river flowing down my arm. I shouldn't have been surprised when the mana is quickly sucked down into the egg, but I am anyway. Thankfully no one else was around to see me jump.
No one, but that smug Caterpie.
I'm distracted from my thoughts of human on bug violence when the brown and cream egg gives a small shake back and forth.
Gah!
I love you already.
That said, you better not end up being a Pidgey, Meowth or anything of that ilk. I only have so much room in my heart and I don't know what I'll do if my first Pokemon turns out to be some basic scrub.
Ugh. Brown and Cream is too common a color scheme in Kanto to narrow it down for sure.
What was I doing?
Right, my skills.
I'm pretty confident in what I have. [Thief's Eye], [Sneak] and [Lockpicking] work as my core class skill-set. Identifying, reaching and acquiring whatever catches my eye should be possible with those three.
[Persuasion] is my token social skill that should hopefully cover a pretty wide range of situations. I'll have to play around with it, but I think it should partially cross over to situations like bartering and outright lying. In the end though, it's my first layer of defense if and when I get suspicion thrown my way. I'm going to need to grind it up until I can talk my way out of any situation.
Then there's [Running], my second layer of defense, for when I well and truly screw the pooch, [Persuasion] fails and I need to hightail it out of a bad situation. Case in point, today.
Now if I had more room to experiment, I might have dipped my toes into more esoteric skills like resistances, but I couldn't really afford to mess around. It was a bit of a surprise, an unwelcome one to be sure, to find I only had five skills slots open.
The more I learn about it, the more sure I am that I somehow ended up with the discount, off-brand Gamer System.
It's not all bad, if I squint really hard and stop thinking too much. It does force me to focus on getting good at a few key things as opposed to spreading myself thin with every shiny skill that crosses my path.
Oh, and speaking of disappointing things.
[Traits] (1) [-]
Trait locked
My one trait is still locked for some unknowable reason. Great stuff.
[Perks] (0) [+]
And no perks. Great stuff once again. Really.
No I'm not salty, you are.
And last and probably least is my not-an-inventory.
Key Items (2) [-]
Unidentified Pokemon Egg [-]
It moves occasionally. It may be close to hatching.
Miracle Seed [-]
A small brown and green seed bursting with possibility.
Plant in soil to grow any native plant.
Cost (mp) dependent on plant and speed of growth.
Reusable.
Which reminds me. I dig out my favorite seed in the whole wide world from my pocket, the brown and green speckled orb thankfully in one piece after my action packed day.
Scooting away from the tree trunk, I clear a small space of dead leaves and twigs to reveal the dark earth. A shallow hole is quickly dug and the prize I won upon arriving to this world is dropped down and tenderly covered up.
As I did with the egg, I focus and let my mana run down my arms, to my hands and into the soil in front of me. 10, 20, 50… Soon enough 80 mp is funneled into the Miracle Seed, an image of what I want clear in my mind's eye as I do so.
One of the reasons I'm okay with letting my INT languish at 10, besides not having any magic to speak of, is that 100 mp has proven to be more than I need for this specific endeavor. Sure, if I had more I could speed this process up, but I'm fine with waiting. It's well worth it in my opinion.
First, the earth rises up in a small area before a delicate green sprout bursts forth into the air. Over the course of about half an hour, I watch it shoot up a few feet, the fresh green stalk growing thicker, tougher and more stable. At the same time, the two initial leaves branch and grow until a small bush begins to take shape. And before too long I have myself a bona fide berry bush of my very own, practically bursting with bright and juicy Oran Berries.
I plop one into my mouth and practically moan at the burst of flavor and energy that courses through my body. Almost instantly I feel more awake and aware. I can practically see the scrape on my elbow closing up.
Opening my [Status] confirms it.
HP: 150/150
I really lucked out with that first lottery roll. Oran Berries are the best. It's too bad I never really played the later generations nearly as much as I did the first two. Subsequently, I have zero clue what other berries there are and you really need a clear idea of what you want or nothing will grow. Trust me, I tried.
It's something to look up when the heat dies down and I get to –
I don't even think. I spy movement in the corner of my vision - movement much too close to my bush and I lash out with a sweeping kick that takes a clump of grass and soil with it.
Oh, and that shitty Caterpie as well. It clears at least ten feet before clipping the edge of a tree and bouncing a few times on the ground.
+200 Exp
2.5 Multiplier for first victory!
Calculating…
+500 Exp
Level up! (5)
+10 attribute points
Huh.
It's not moving. I was sure they were sturdier than that.
Wait, no, there it goes. Conscience officially cleared.
I give myself a congratulatory nod and check out the second set of notifications.
Level 5 reached!
Item Lottery commencing
Rolling…
Rolling…
Rolling…
Ding!
Congratulations!
I feel a weight suddenly appear in my pocket. I reach in and pull out a pale green stone with a shining yellow core.
I… have no idea what this is. I really should have played the newer games.
I check my [Key Items] tab and sure enough I have zero idea what to do with this thing.
Shiny Stone [-]
A peculiar stone that shines with a dazzling light.
Welp. It's mine now and I love it no matter what anyone says.
And a source of a light should be pretty nice considering the whole hiding out in the woods thing. Yeah, I'll take it as a win. Better than a slowpoke tail, that's for sure.
Name: Grey
Race: Human
Age: 13
Class: Thief [+]
Title:
Level: 5
Exp: 0/1600
Money: p 670
–––
HP: 150/150
MP: 0/100
STR: 10
VIT: 15
DEX: 35
INT: 10
PER: 20
CHA: 20
LUK: 10
Available points: 10
–––
[Skills] (5/6) [-]
[Thief's Eye] (2/100) [+]
[Persuasion] (5/100) [+]
[Sneak] (14/100) [+]
[Lockpicking] (3/100) [+]
[Running] (9/100) [+]
–––
[Traits] (1) [+]
[Perks] (0) [+]
–––
Key Items (3) [+]
I've wanted to do a gamer story for a while. Not only do I enjoy the trope, but I think it'll give me some nice structure to write around. I've planned some stuff out, but no where near a comprehensive outline. Just a vague direction I plan to take things in. There's a lot of gamer stories I've been influenced by, but I'll be trying to make an effort not to be too derivative.
It is rated M, but I honestly have no idea if it will live up to that tag. Just wanted to cover my bases.
And I'm sure you've noticed, but Grey doesn't exactly have the full gamer load out. Which is intentional. If he wants the classics he'll have to earn them, somehow. Moreover I want progress to be earned, at least as much as it can in a gamer story. Sorry, but no bitch slapping Gods by chapter 10.
No idea on any kind of schedule.
And feel free to give me thoughts, comments and critiques. I'll try not to get too pissy if you don't like it.
Thanks for reading.
