Fuse

"Don't worry, Dori," I reassured the tiny pinkhead who was most definitely not worried, "When was the last time you've seen me lose?"

Dori rolled her eyes, unimpressed, "Gacha."

Fuck, she's right.

Knowing she was right, I elected to ignore her, "I'll see you soon, then."

Dori waved goodbye, "I'll see you in like, an hour."

"That's soon."
"I know."

She's being real petty about this…

I sighed, "See you."

I jumped into the portal, the sensation of falling once again enveloping my entire body.

The trip was slightly longer than normal for some reason, taking 8 seconds to fall instead of the usual 5 seconds. But either way, a bright light revealed the end of my path.

Falling out of my portal, I ended up in a grass field. There was a pretty massive lake next to me, but there was nothing that really pointed out where in the Pokemon world I was.

Speaking of Pokemon, my next course of action was to figure out what Pokemon there were here. Half because I needed to know where I was, half because I wanted a Braviary.

I am going to name it Washington, in honor of the state, the capital, and the man.

Of course, I needed Pokeballs to capture one, or find a suitably small Rufflet that might be nice enough to just follow me without being captured.

And also… This is the Pokemon world, my opposing player probably has a full team of Pokemon.

It would be a waste not to fight a Pokemon battle against them, right?

So, do I find Pokemon first to figure out my region, or do I try and find a town to buy Pokeballs so that if I find something I want to catch, I'll have the Pokeballs to do so?

Hm, probably the Pokeballs. I would hate to lose something because I'm stupid.

I took a look around me, and I found a thin trail of smoke rising in the distance. It might be a village, it could be a person camping, it might be a Pokemon, but I figured it couldn't hurt to go try and take a look.

I began walking.

CUUUUUUUUUUUUT

Call me unlucky, because I haven't seen a single Pokemon since arriving here. And I've been walking for like 15 minutes.

Either way, I finally found the source of the smoke. It was a camp, and the smoke was from the leftovers of the meal they cooked.

If I had to guess, since the sun was still up, it was about lunch time.

Nobody was around, but the tent was closed, so I thought there was someone inside. Having no better ways to find a city or anything, I shouted at the tent, "Hey! Is anyone in there?!"
The tent starts to shift a little, confirming to me that yes, someone was in there.

And then a giant fucking Corviknight lands in front of the tent.

I probably should've looked up to find Pokemon, huh?

The Corviknight chirped, proving that it doesn't just say its name, and then out of the tent came…

…No, that's literally just a child. Like, she was short, but it was "Child short" and not "Short short" like Dori is.

It was a young girl, probably barely 10 years old. She had short hair that was dyed purple, (Considering the world, it could just be her natural hair color) and it looked like she just woke up.

Also, who gave a 10 year old an elaborate purple dress that looks like it would be worn by royalty? That's just weird.

The little girl rubbed her eyes awake, "Um… Hi?"

The girl opened her eyes, revealing that her eyes were purple too, then she looked shocked, "Oh."

Huh? What is she seeing in me? Is she just surprised to see another human being this far out in the middle of nowhere?

Well, just by context, I could figure out that this girl was on her Pokemon journey. Though, it is surprising that her parents would just let this tiny girl out into the world when she looks so frail and vulnerable.

Well, I haven't spoken to an actual child since… I was last a child, so I'll try to be a bit kinder than I usually would be, "Hey. My name is Fuse. What's your name?"

The child's mouth opened. Then closed. Then opened. Then closed.

Then she finally managed to scrounge up enough courage to say something, "Shouldn't you know?"
I tilted my head, not understanding. Is she famous or something? Maybe she is, and I just don't know it because she's an off-screen celebrity in one of the games.

Well, I'll just use [Observe] to check her name and pretend I was being polite.

Lily

Status: Healthy

Stamina: Healthy

Mana: Full

Race: Human

Title: Kind Soul, Pokemon Friend

Classes: Beast Master, Psychomancy.

Professions: Chef, Gatherer

Ranking Setting: Universal [Change]

Overall Ranking: D++

Power Rank: F- [Expand]

Magic Rank: D+ [Expand]

Social Rank: B- [Expand]

Perks: [Expand]

Titles: [Expand]

My next enemy player… IS A CHILD?!

Yeah, no fucking wonder she was thinking that I should know her name. WE HAVE THE SAME ABILITY! She must've been thinking I was stupid because she's a 10 year old who doesn't know what being polite is!

"Ah," I try to think of a way to defend myself, "My bad. I thought you were someone else so I didn't use it to be polite."

Yeah, she'll buy that. She's 10.

Lily looked understanding, "Oh, okay!"

Yeah, she bought that. She's 10.

Well, now I have a difficult conundrum in front of me. Do I have the strength to steel my heart to kill a 10 year old?

Obviously, the fight is going to be comically quick. Her ranks are way below mine, and I just finished killing a god a week ago, and a sealed god yesterday. Lily might've finished learning how to use the bathroom a while ago.

So really, it all boiled down to one question.

"Hey Lily, are you an American?" I asked.

Lily tilted her head, seemingly not understanding what that meant, "Uhh…"

Hm, well, maybe this would be a better question, "Where were you born?"

Lily seemed to get that one, proudly stating, "Oh! I was born in the Crown Tundra!"

The- Wait, I thought the only way to get a system was to die and be sent into another world. How could she possibly be born here?

And also, I can't imagine a 10 year old getting on a plane for some reason. And with the full grown Corviknight, does that mean we're in Galar?

Suddenly, a rotom-phone with a pink fairy type cover came out from Lily's pocket, talking with a girly voice, "Beep boop! GEM activated!"

Huh?

Lily seemed happy to see the phone though, "Oh! Hi Gem!"

Gem waved one of its rotom hands towards Lily, "Good afternoon, Lily!"

Gem turned to me, "Hello fellow gamer! I am Lily's system in physical form! I am currently on Gamer Explanation Mode, or GEM for short! I am here to answer any question you have!"

Ah, so that's why it's named Gem. And sounds like a girl.

Well, if it can answer any question, riddle me this, "Why do you exist?"

Gem explained fairly easily, "The random selection involved in granting out a Gamer System sometimes includes children! However, the 4 original gods in charge of granting these systems didn't want to pointlessly send children to their death. And so every child's Gamer System has a Gamer Explanation Mode that is turned on whenever the child requires any aid! I will be with Lily until she grows up and can flourish into a beautiful gamer."

Oh, that was fairly nice of Shapeshifter and his buddies to do.

Well, I suppose my next question is fairly obvious too, "Well, Lily said she was born in the Crown Tundra, which is in Galar. But we're in Galar. I thought she had to go to another world?"

"Depending on the timeline, the child can actually be revived with the Gamer System and begin their journeys on their original world," Gem said, "Even so, children are sent to less difficult worlds."

…Huh.

Well, I guess that settles it.

"Thanks, so Lily doesn't even know what America is?" I asked.

Gem shook her body, "Nope!"

"Great, thanks," I said, pulling out Washington, "That was all I needed to know."

I shot once.

To my great surprise, Lily somehow gained a shield around her, stopping the bullet instantly.

Well, she has immunity to bullets. That's great.

Lily was caught off guard, Gem looked incredibly surprised I was fighting a child, and the Corviknight was pissed.

"Corvy!" Lily cried out, and the Corviknight charged towards me.

I sidestepped the Corviknight, ducking under its wings. I put away Washington and pulled out Eisenhower and Roosevelt, charging directly at Lily.

I swung my sword into Lily.

…Only to hit another barrier.

"What?!" I shouted out in a mix of confusion and frustration.

"Raku!"

And then I got hit by an Obstagoon.

I was violently knocked away from Lily, and I barely managed to dodge Corviknight's combo by spreading out my wings to flap myself into a different direction.

Okay, why can't I-

[System Notice: User: Lily cannot be attacked until all of her Pokemon are fainted.]

Oh, you bastard. Why tell me this after I made myself look stupid after attacking a 10 year old child?

What level is her Pokemon anyways?

Corviknight

Level 109

[All of Lily's Pokemon's levels are boosted by 3 times when engaged in combat that is not a Pokemon battle.]

My system is being quite generous with me today.
Also, fuck me I guess.

I put away my swords and took out California's Pokeball, "Ugh, fine. I'll follow your stupid rules."

Lily confusedly asked, "Why are you trying to hurt me?"

I ignored her and called out, "California!"

California manifested into existence, happily chirping.

I have no idea what moves California said, so I just pointed him in Lily's direction, and he seemed to get me perfectly fine.

California leapt into battle against the-

Oh, the Corviknight flew up, and the Obstagoon stepped forward.

Well, rest in peace type advantage.

California tossed out a powerful thunderbolt directly at Obstagoon. The Obstagoon took that hit and punched California through the pain.

…That might've been a paralyzed guts powered punch.

California skidded over to my foot, and he started beeping unhappily.

Yeah, I lost this fight.

"Sorry, California," I apologized, pulling him back into his Pokeball, "Damn, I lost."

Lily smiled and clapped for herself, "Yay, I won!"

Normally, winning would mean killing me. But it looks as though Lily doesn't have a mean bone in her body, as she completely lacks anger despite me attempting to murder her.

That's how I know she's not American. An American would just shoot me.

Alas, it looks like I'm going to have to build a Pokemon team specifically for this.

Lily then looked at me curious, "By the way, Mr. Fuse. Why did you attack me?"

I hummed, deciding that a 10 year old child probably could handle the reason why, "Well, do you know about a domino?"

Lily blinked, "Oh, you mean this thing?"

Then Lily proceeds to throw up the food she just ate.

I may be a mass murderer by some standards, but watching people throw up is NOT my thing.

Then Lily scoops up something from her own throw up.

IT'S THE FRAGMENT OF THE DOMINO.

"Uhhh," I stupidly flounder for words to say, "Yeah?"

Lily hummed, "Well, I don't need it."

"...Can I have it, then?"

"No," Lily denied, "You tried to hurt me."

Well, damn. I really should've just talked it out first, then.

So, 10 year old girl, what's the catch?

"So, what can I do to earn it?" I asked.

Lily put her best thinking pose as she thought what was the best thing to ask, "Hmm…" Then, a lightbulb figuratively appeared over her head, "Oh! I know! Why don't you do your best to make an awesome Pokemon team to beat me?"

…Eh?

Lily elaborated on her idea, "To take care of Pokemon, you need to be really kind! So if you make a Pokemon team, you'll have to be kind, especially if you want to beat my team!"

…Well, it tracks. I just didn't think a 10 year old could think that well.

I sighed, "It's a deal, then."

Lily smiled, "Nice! I saw you had a Pokemon, do you know where to go?"

I shook my head, "No, I just arrived here like, 20 minutes ago."

Lily looked a bit shocked, "Wow! Really? Where are you from?"

…Well, it is a kid. And she's been nice so far, I guess I could play it up, "I came from a different world, actually."

"Wooow!" Lily looked impressed, "Gem told me I couldn't go to another world until I was older!"

That actually reminded me of something. I've been calling her 10, but I don't actually know how old she is, "And how old are you?"

"Oh! I'm 9!" Lily cheerfully answered.

WHO LET A 9 YEAR OLD DO THIS?!

Bonus Scene

Ad Astra Abyssosque! (Canon until the ending.)

Aether practically forces himself and Paimon towards Katherine. They were running low on energy, mora, and just about everything.

In the moment, helping the Aranara was rewarding. It felt good to find them all and help them with their problems. But they spent days in the jungle interacting with nothing but little green fairies, and it was beginning to weigh on them. So they ended up coming back to human civilization just to unwind.

Walking up to Katherine, Aether greeted her, "Hey, Katherine. It's nice to see you again."

Katherine tilted her head, "Oh? While I have heard tales about you from other lands, this is the first time we've officially met."

Aether sighed, having gone through the same conversation 3 times, "Yeah, okay. It's nice to meet you, then."

Katherine smiled, "Ad Astra Abyssosque-"

Paimon was pulled back through time upon hearing the three words she had to listen to every day when Aether was completing daily commissions, and she screeched in frustration, "If you say that again one more time-!

Katherine blinked, "Ad Astra-?"

Paimon pulled out a Glock, "ONE MORE TIME-!"

AN:
In this episode of Manifest Destiny, Fuse fights a child and loses. Forced to go on a long journey because of it.

I wrote half this chapter on a laptop downstairs because it was getting hot upstairs cause my air conditioner is trash in California weather. Honestly, the laptop is kinda nice I can see why people prefer it to the PC.

One thing I do have complaints about it, though, is that instead of a caps lock, I have the search key. Why do I need a search key when I can just google it?

And I finished this chapter on the 23rd, so I have time to spare! Will I spend that spare time working on 24 so I have a backlog in case anything goes wrong? No, I'm gonna continue writing my Ainz x Furina crackship fic.

[Next update on the 11th, then 24th for memorial day and the 25th to keep up with the 2 week schedule.]

[Yeah I didn't want to write Pokemon stats, so I didn't do them.]