On a stormy night, a Houndour covered in wounds and accused of arson and assault broke into a Pokemon rescue center on the verge of closing.
It didn't steal food or attack anyone. Instead, it carried a feverish, unconscious Pidgey chick in its mouth and laid it in front of Gu Linchuan.
Even harder for Gu Linchuan to ignore was the scorched whistle hanging around Houndour's neck. It had belonged to his father, who disappeared three years ago.
To uncover the truth, Gu Linchuan took in Houndour for the time being, though it trusted no humans, obeyed no commands, and wouldn't even enter a Poke Ball.
From the rookie Trainer selection trials to the Number Zero test subject in Bell Gorge; from Pokemon forced under someone else's control to the Homecoming Project spreading across the Lanchuan region, an experiment buried for years gradually comes to light.
And Gu Linchuan will lead the Pokemon who have been abandoned, hurt, and written off as failures, step by step along the path to becoming a Trainer in his own right.
He wants to become Champion.
But first, he has to tell everyone:
Pokemon are not tools, and they are certainly not experimental subjects to be assigned numbers at will.
